If you have the TP-Link T1700G-28TQ switch...

[BLinux]

I posted a deal about the TP-Link T1700G-28TQ switch some time last year and I know a few of you were able to get this switch at a really good price. In general, the switch has been running well for me, but last week I had a strange problem where the switch stopped learning and would only continue to forward packets that were already in it's MAC address table. Anyway, I got in touch with their support and was told to try out their latest beta firmware. But it turns out, the latest beta firmware is for their "V2" hardware, and not their "V1" which is what i have. On their website, they have a warning about not applying the wrong mis-matched firmware between V1 and V2. However, their tech support basically said it's not a problem to run the V2 firmware on the V1 hardware and that I can go ahead and use their V2 beta firmware on my V1 switch. I just tried it and it works just fine!

And now, internally, it says I have v2 hardware, although of course the sticker on the outside says otherwise. I don't think there's much difference in feature set, but the web-UI appears to have been updated a little bit and it seems V2 is where there is active development if you want anything to be fixed. I'm working with them to see if they can fix a few issues I've found.

They also make some source code available for download and it looks like they may be running some customized Linux OS on their switches.

Anyway, just thought I'd share this bit of info...

 

[MiniKnight]

That's always the issue with TPlink and that kind of switch. I still wish I had gotten one but these stories scare me.

 

[BLinux]

That's always the issue with TPlink and that kind of switch. I still wish I had gotten one but these stories scare me.

huh? what scares you?

 

[MiniKnight]

huh? what scares you?

TP link is basically a Shenzhen outfit that pumps out cheap networking. For low end stuff it isn't bad, but I've had a few and there's a noticeable difference between TPL and Netgear just in the physical design.

 

[BLinux]

TP link is basically a Shenzhen outfit that pumps out cheap networking. For low end stuff it isn't bad, but I've had a few and there's a noticeable difference between TPL and Netgear just in the physical design.

yeah, but NetGear is a very old company and has been around for a very long time.

That said, the build quality of the TP-Link switches I owned and those I've deployed at small business sites have been excellent. Very heavy (probably because of the heatsinks to passively cool them) and solidly built. Perhaps their lower-end consumer products are more flimsy, I don't know as I've never used them. But the 4 or 5 different models of managed switches I got from them have been pretty solid.

That said, they are not flawless either... hence why i'm trying to get them to fix a few issues in their firmware.

 

[zhoulander]

Hmm interesting bug. I just bought a second one because of how much I liked the first. Was going to see if I can stack two using Mikrotik 10GbaseT SFP+ modules.

 

[Drewy]

I’ve been through many beta & release firmware versions offered by tp-link including v2 versions. However my switch still locks up every 50-60 days.

 

[BLinux]

I’ve been through many beta & release firmware versions offered by tp-link including v2 versions. However my switch still locks up every 50-60 days.

which switch model? do you know the cause?

 

[Drewy]

T1700G-28TQ. Don’t know the for sure but since I can almost set my watch by it I’m inclined to believe it’s possibly a memory leak.
It hasn’t happened yet on the latest v2 firmware but I’ve had a couple of power outages so the switch hasn’t got to 60 days uptime as yet.

If it does crash again they’ll be having it back. I’ve pretty much given up on it.

 

[BLinux]

T1700G-28TQ. Don’t know the for sure but since I can almost set my watch by it I’m inclined to believe it’s possibly a memory leak.
It hasn’t happened yet on the latest v2 firmware but I’ve had a couple of power outages so the switch hasn’t got to 60 days uptime as yet.

If it does crash again they’ll be having it back. I’ve pretty much given up on it.

oh ok, so your issues are with the switch in the OP. are you symptoms similar to mine? packets that are already in the MAC tables continue to be forwarded, but the switch stops learning new MAC addresses?

what is the exact version of the V2 firmware you are currently trying?

 

[Drewy]

Currently running 2.0.1 Build 20170608 Rel.61525(s).
Prior to this version it has been locking up (not passing any traffic except untagged, no access to web, ssh, telnet) every 50-60days. Without fail.

 

[BLinux]

Currently running 2.0.1 Build 20170608 Rel.61525(s).
Prior to this version it has been locking up (not passing any traffic except untagged, no access to web, ssh, telnet) every 50-60days. Without fail.

i'm currently trying out firmware version 2.0.1 Build 20171218 Rel.64382(Beta).

 

[Drewy]

Like I said I’m about done with being fobbed off with different firmware versions to try. I figure they are (almost) trying to string me along until the warranty expires
Hopefully it’s sorted now, since other than this issue I’m pretty happy with it. There was an issue earlier that prevented me from adding more than 1 vlan to a lacp lag. But you could do it via the cli. I haven’t tried since via the web gui, kinda used to doing it via cli.

 

[BLinux]

Like I said I’m about done with being fobbed off with different firmware versions to try. I figure they are (almost) trying to string me along until the warranty expires

i believe their warranty is lifetime.

 

[Drewy]

I’m good for a while. I’m in the UK so I have mandatory protection for a number of years, despite what any manufacturer may say. It hasn’t been fit for purpose from day one and I’ve given tp-link every opportunity to resolve the issue. My patience will expire long before the “warranty”

 

[Occamsrazor]

Any users of this switch have an idea if it would accept 3rd-party Netgear compatible AGM731F SFP modules running at 1G?

 

[i386]

https://static.tp-link.com/res/down/doc/T1700-28TQ_1.0.pdf

You can order this switch with tp-link branded 1gbe transceivers, so yes. It should work with 1gbe modules.

 

[zhoulander]

Welp, I just got notifications that several devices on my home network are offline... and it seems it's all items plugged into my T1700G-28TQ.

EDIT: Looking at photos I took of my rack, it seems it really was 60 days ago (Jan 20) when I rewired it all to the TPLink.

EDIT2: Had someone at home check it out. all the lights are on but seems no traffic being passed. I guess that's why there is a reboot schedule in the firmware.

 

[zhoulander]

Found the beta firmware that BLinux mentioned:
T1700G-28TQ memory overflow in stacking configuration and provisioned state - Page 2

 

[Drewy]

I’d be interested to know if anyone has luck with this beta version keeping the switch up for longer than 60 days. I haven’t yet made it to 60 days on the v2 release firmware I’m running but so far that’s down to power outages rather than the switch.

 

[BLinux]

I’d be interested to know if anyone has luck with this beta version keeping the switch up for longer than 60 days. I haven’t yet made it to 60 days on the v2 release firmware I’m running but so far that’s down to power outages rather than the switch.

not yet:

34 day - 23 hour - 18 min - 0 sec

Since installing the beta firmware. I'll let you know if I get to 60 days. However, checking on the system memory monitor, it's been stable at 75%.