Ruckus Wireless as an Unifi alternative?
- Thread starter pcmoore
- Start date
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EDIT: Don't install or upgrade to Unleashed 200.15! You will probably be rolled-back to 200.14, but I can't promise you won't break your AP!
I received an R730 today (thanks @e97 !).
I set the model and name to R850 (by installing ZD 10.1.2.0.120 firmware and exiting to a root shell then running
I had no problem installing Unleashed (200.14.6.1.199), which has run flawlessly all day so far.
I bought the R730 to run as a dedicated master, but I'll leave it as my main AP for a few weeks to see if there are any issues/gotchas.
If you're wanting to do this, then there were a few tricky things...
EDIT: I added a guide on my webpage.
EDIT 2: I added in-browser extraction of the AP image, so the conversion should be easier for e.g. Mac users.
I received an R730 today (thanks @e97 !).
I set the model and name to R850 (by installing ZD 10.1.2.0.120 firmware and exiting to a root shell then running
bsp set model R850, bsp set name R850, bsp commit).I had no problem installing Unleashed (200.14.6.1.199), which has run flawlessly all day so far.
I bought the R730 to run as a dedicated master, but I'll leave it as my main AP for a few weeks to see if there are any issues/gotchas.
If you're wanting to do this, then there were a few tricky things...
- If I factory reset the ZD 10.1.2 firmware after changing the model and name then the main PoE network port stopped working, so I had to connect to the 2nd port.
Once Unleashed was running the 2nd ethernet port stopped working, so I had to connect back to the main port.
So I would definitely avoid factory reseting the ZD 10.1.2 firmware - use it to immediately install Unleashed. - The AP won't show up in Unleashed until it picks up a DHCP lease or you manually set the IP.
So don't leave DHCP enabled if you want to setup Unleashed while the AP is directly connected to your PC. - After I'd setup Unleashed, I had an extra
Technical.Support-xxxxSSID.
I killed this the usual way by enabling Unleashed Multi-Site Manager (Admin & Services>Administration>Network Management>Unleashed Multi-Site Manager) with an unreachable IP, then immediately disabling it again. It has, so far, stayed gone.
EDIT: I added a guide on my webpage.
EDIT 2: I added in-browser extraction of the AP image, so the conversion should be easier for e.g. Mac users.
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I got a R730 with poe port no ethernet signal, but still poe, sencond port is OK
So I shouldn't try Unleashed for thí R730
Your strick is fantastic.
I bought a used R710 which had zoneflex on it. I foolishly factory reset it and now it is in a loop where it will boot for about 2 minutes and then reset itself. I have tapped into the serial header on the board and I do have a u-boot prompt. I have tried the bootnet command, which will transfer a firmware file successfully via TFTP, but it fails to boot the image: u-boot> bootnet R710_200.7.10.2.339.bl7Using eth0 deviceTFTP from server 10. - Pastebin.com
I'm not even sure I'm going down the right path here. Any advice would be appreciated!
UPDATE: Turns out it was my power supply. The one marked 2.5A was causing the boot loop, while one rated at 1.5A works great. Go figure...
I'm not even sure I'm going down the right path here. Any advice would be appreciated!
UPDATE: Turns out it was my power supply. The one marked 2.5A was causing the boot loop, while one rated at 1.5A works great. Go figure...
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Hi,
my two cents to the awesome guide for reflashing the Xclaim-APs:
I think there might be an easier way to flash another FW to the ap (just in case it may help someone somewhere):
set rpmkey wsgclient/ignore-fw 1 # this will force the AP to accept any firmware as valid, this will also disable auto-FW-update when connected to a controller (vSZ and maybe ZoneDirector)
fw set host 1.1.1.1 #tftp server
fw set proto tftp
fw set control rcks_fw.bl7 # FW-binary at tftp server
fw up #start the upload process
Could the model be set with the rpmkey command as well?
When I tried to join the ap my to my test vSZ, I found that the AP rebooted and came back with the xclaim-FW but with the ruckus user/pw. Therefore I had to flash the AP again using the ruckus credentials for SSH access (super/sp-admin).
Is it possible that the join process somehow uses the other firmware on the AP to boot? What would happen if I flash the new firmware on both firmware partitions (mtd5 and mtd7)?
Furthermore I had to issue the following command on my vSZ to allow the xlcaim AP to join:
enable
config
no ap-cert-check
This is due an expired device certificate which prevents joining the AP to a vSZ. Maybe there is a similar behaviour with ZoneDirectors (I'm not sure if the ZoneDirector requires a device cert for inital connection as well), unleashed seems to be not affected.
RUCKUS Forums - New AP’s not joining the vSZ/SZ due to expired AP ... - CommScope RUCKUS Community Forums (ruckuswireless.com)
Years ago there was a semi-automated cert update process, when an outdated AP connected to a vSZ but this process seems to be gone.
my two cents to the awesome guide for reflashing the Xclaim-APs:
I think there might be an easier way to flash another FW to the ap (just in case it may help someone somewhere):
set rpmkey wsgclient/ignore-fw 1 # this will force the AP to accept any firmware as valid, this will also disable auto-FW-update when connected to a controller (vSZ and maybe ZoneDirector)
fw set host 1.1.1.1 #tftp server
fw set proto tftp
fw set control rcks_fw.bl7 # FW-binary at tftp server
fw up #start the upload process
Could the model be set with the rpmkey command as well?
When I tried to join the ap my to my test vSZ, I found that the AP rebooted and came back with the xclaim-FW but with the ruckus user/pw. Therefore I had to flash the AP again using the ruckus credentials for SSH access (super/sp-admin).
Is it possible that the join process somehow uses the other firmware on the AP to boot? What would happen if I flash the new firmware on both firmware partitions (mtd5 and mtd7)?
Furthermore I had to issue the following command on my vSZ to allow the xlcaim AP to join:
enable
config
no ap-cert-check
This is due an expired device certificate which prevents joining the AP to a vSZ. Maybe there is a similar behaviour with ZoneDirectors (I'm not sure if the ZoneDirector requires a device cert for inital connection as well), unleashed seems to be not affected.
RUCKUS Forums - New AP’s not joining the vSZ/SZ due to expired AP ... - CommScope RUCKUS Community Forums (ruckuswireless.com)
Years ago there was a semi-automated cert update process, when an outdated AP connected to a vSZ but this process seems to be gone.
@asuz also ran into the problem with the AP rebooting back to the other xclaim partition. This is why my guide first installs solo firmware, then unleashed. The initial flash into solo, followed by the flash into Unleashed we actually wanted, is only in the guide to fix the reboot-to-xclaim issue.
ZoneDirector and Unleashed don't check the cert. Yes it's a pain that ruckus got rid of the cert upgrade page. But for my home use, once I realised the issue, it was no great bother to just disable cert checks every time I do a vsz install.
EDITED:-
OK, I tried setting the rpm key wsgclient/ignore-fw = 1, but this isn't bypassing the image-platform check. I assume it's either bypassing a different check, or isn't functional in the xclaim firmware:-
# rpm -p wsgclient/ignore-fw="1"
# fw up
fw: Updating rcks_wlan.main ...
flash id is 0x10220
imghdr.product=zf7752 != 11n-scorp-x
_check_new_image_hdr(192.168.0.22, R500_104.0.0.0.1347.bl7), incorrect image type
** incorrect firmware image type
**fw(14111) : Get Error
#
So I think the steps I have are the minimum required for Unleashed.
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I missed answering a couple of questions in your comment....
But
So these are 2 separate 'databases'.
Damaging the
So to write to both mtd5 & mtd7, you need to e.g. boot into mtd7 and write mtd5, then boot into mtd5 and write to mtd7.
And actually, there is only really an mtd5 and mtd6:-
The AP's kernel splits the active mtd into two virtual mtds: one for the kernel and one for the rootfs. This is why the bkup mtd partition is at mtd7 when you booted from main (which has been split into mtd5 + mtd6). So if you figure out some way of unmounting and writing to the in-use partitions, you need to write to mtd5, mtd6 & mtd7.
APs have a key-value db on the writable filesystem, which
rpmkey reads/writes. Configuration entries are copied here from the /defaults folder during a factory reset.But
bsp/rbd settings, like model/name/antinfo etc. are read from /proc/v54bsp/, which has a /dev/mtd flash partition as its backing store.So these are 2 separate 'databases'.
rpmkey isn't fussy, and the CLI will let you ruin this database if you're not careful, safe in the knowledge that a factory reset will fix it.Damaging the
rbd/bsp can brick your AP, so the CLI only lets a very few commands through and santizes their arguments.Unfortunately, you can't write to an in-use mtd partition. You can get around this in two ways:-
- Boot an initramfs kernel, so that all mtds are available (OpenWRT does this).
- Have 2 partitions. So you can write to the spare, then verify the write was successful, then set the spare as the new 'active' partition and reboot (Ruckus does this).
So to write to both mtd5 & mtd7, you need to e.g. boot into mtd7 and write mtd5, then boot into mtd5 and write to mtd7.
And actually, there is only really an mtd5 and mtd6:-
The AP's kernel splits the active mtd into two virtual mtds: one for the kernel and one for the rootfs. This is why the bkup mtd partition is at mtd7 when you booted from main (which has been split into mtd5 + mtd6). So if you figure out some way of unmounting and writing to the in-use partitions, you need to write to mtd5, mtd6 & mtd7.
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Thank you for your detailed answer. I did not try to flash the AP with the commands above because I was scared to break the AP with flashing an image without setting the correct boot parameters. And thank you for explaining the mtd-part. I'm not that expirienced with emedded devices and therefore I really appreciate your input. I try to learn .
.I picked up a R730 after seeing this thread, and got it running the latest version unleashed without too many hassles. I didn't have any issues with ports going dead, the thing just flashed and booted right up over PoE. It was blasting out wifi happily on the unleashed firmware, and then I kicked it over to the dedicated master. Been up a day now, handled a power cycle and appears to be acting fine.
Great result.
I'm very happy with it too. I also plan to run dedicated master but, apart from some problems when I tried to use 160MHz channel width, the thing has been flawless as my only AP at home for more than a week now.
(And I'm pretty sure the PoE port only went dead for me because I set the model to R850 then factory reset while running a firmware with no R850 support. Do both your ethernet ports work now in Unleashed?).
Both ports work in unleashed. The PoE port is plugged into a 2.5G switch, and reports that properly as well. I was digging around a bit, and all the options appear to be functional.
Really cool to see a sorta straightforward hack to give these aging bricks some new life. The effort put into the documentation on your website is appreciated.
Really cool to see a sorta straightforward hack to give these aging bricks some new life. The effort put into the documentation on your website is appreciated.
This thread has me considering an R730 from ebay ($95 each seems like a steal for this?) but am a bit green on some of this. I am looking for POE AP's that support VLANs. I am trying to find one that supports mesh where I can put one in a detached garage and use the AP to extend my WiFi via mesh but also put out ethernet for my POE cameras. This this would be a good fit? I've been booking marking links and working my way back through this thread.
Thanks!
Pic of network for reference:
Thanks!
Pic of network for reference:
I think the 730 was the model that came out shortly before a new wifi standard was ratified and caused problems...
See this psot here: https://forums.servethehome.com/ind...ts-r730-how-do-i-control-it.35208/post-324028
R730 has limited Wifi6 support and was removed from SmartZone recently. It does NOT support Unleashed (you can "crossflash" it to R850 and use it as Dedicated Unleashed Master without Wifi / Radio enabled)
Thanks for the quick response. Is there another model that you think would be a better choice? still reading this thread as you responded.
R710 or R720 (I prefer R720) if Wifi6 is not a hard requirement.
I think it depends on your risk tolerance, and how many WAPs you intend to deploy. I'm quite fond of the R710, especially given its current used pricing being ~$65-75 USD shipped. It only does gigabit backhaul, but the dramatically increased power consumption and reduced sensitivity on the R720 and R730 don't offset the small bandwidth gains for me. Plus the operating temp range is wider, if you had any intent to deploy them into unconditioned spaces that are otherwise protected from the weather. I would lean towards deploying R710's today over a hacked R730, but if you're willing to fiddle, the R730's do appear to work. They consume something like ~3x the power of the R710. With a 2 stream client, I was getting around 650/900 on the hacked 730. I normally see around 500/700 on the 710s. For my clients, 400mbit is typically sufficient, and if it isn't, get R770s and go zoom.
That said, I have barely used mesh. Presumably a 6E unit with 3 radios would help a lot here? They're still quite pricy, however.
That said, I have barely used mesh. Presumably a 6E unit with 3 radios would help a lot here? They're still quite pricy, however.
This is great input. I currently have 5gb internet and was hoping to just "get faster" on wifi. I don't think I'll ever hit speeds that I'll notice a difference past ~500mb/s on wifi. I have few devices that actually support those speeds. This is for my residence, I was thinking I'd put one in my office, maybe one in the upstairs depending on penetration through walls, and one in my detached garage for my workshop and backyard. I am currently on Eero's that I bought used for $20 and they don't support VLANs. My current POE Switch only has gigabit ports (Brocade icx-6450), I was thinking that in a year or so I'd upgrade to different switch with multigig poe and it would be nice to already have the AP's in.
part of me wants to "future-proof", do it right and be done with it. The other part of me wants to tinker.
Quick question, for the Ruckus R710 (and i guess all of them) if I mesh one AP in my garage that I can't run ethernet to - can I use the ethernet ports on the AP for a wired connection to a desktop or switch out there?
Thanks so much!
Definitely the R610/R710 is a much better choice for home.
But the R730>R850 crossflash will actually do ordinary Unleashed with the radio enabled. So long as you stick to 20/40/80MHz then it works great.
For WiFi 5 definitively.
Nowadays, R650/750 also is an option for home if WiFi 6 is what you want. I got a R750 for a reasonable price and sold my R710.