Michael McNamara

Factory Reset Motorola Wireless LAN Switch

Michael McNamara — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 03:00:00 +0000

If you loose the administrator password for the Motorola Wireless LAN Switch (WS5000, WS5100) you can factory default the configuration and administrator password with the following procedure.

You’ll need to console up to the physical switch with a null serial cable. I believe the majority of Motorola (Symbol) equipment defaults to 19200-8-N-1. You need to login to the console as the username “restore” with the password of “restoreDefaultPassword”. Here’s an example;

WS5100 login: cli

User Access Verification

Username: restore
Password: restoreDefaultPasword

WARNING: This will wipe out the configuration (except license key) and
user data under "flash:/" and reboot the device
Do you want to continue? (y/n): y

After the switch reboots you’ll need to use the default administrator username and password to log into the switch. They are username “admin” and password “Symbol”. I’ve seen some cases where the password was “symbol”, the difference being the case of the first letter.

Cheers!

WS5100 v1.x to v2.1 Upgrade

Michael McNamara — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 01:02:00 +0000

The purpose of this post is to outline how to upgrade a Symbol 5×00 Wireless LAN switch. In the example provided we will upgrade a switch running v1.4.3.0-R12 to v2.1.1. This upgrade is a major upgrade in that it literally replaces the core operating system with Linux. The upgrade is done in two steps. The first step you upgrade to v2.1 and in the second step you upgrade to v2.1.1.

You’ll be using the CLI interface to perform the upgrade; there will be no need for the web Java GUI until after the upgrade is complete.

[root@madmax ~]# telnet sw16r-wireless.tlh.acme.org
Trying 10.115.255.253...
Connected to sw16r-wireless.tlh.acme.org (10.115.255.253).
Escape character is '^]'.
user name: cli

When prompted for the “user name” use “cli”. When prompted for the “userid” use the default of “admin” and “symbol” as the password.

Symbol Wireless Switch WS 5000 Series.
Please enter your username and password to access the Command Line Interface.

userid: admin
password: *********

Retrieving user and system information...

Setting user permissions flags..
Checking KDC access permissions...

Welcome...

Creating the Event list...
System information...

System Name                  : sw16r-wireless
Description                  : WS5000 Wireless Network
Switch Location              : Data Center
Software Ver.                : 1.4.3.0-012R
Licensed to                  : Symbol Technologies
Copyright                    : Copyright (c) 2000-2005.  All rights reserved.
Serial Number                : 00A0F865B362
Number of Licenses           : 0
Max Access Ports             : 30
Max Mobile Clients           : 4096
Active Switch Policy         : Wireless Switch Policy
Emergency Switch Policy      : Not defined
Switch Uptime                : 35d:23h:41m
# of Unassigned Access Ports : 0

sw16r-wireless>

It’s advised to start out by backing up the switch configuration and then uploading that configuration to the TFTP server on the network. You’ll first need to delete the existing configuration file. (If the switch is a standby switch there is no need to backup the configuration file).

sw16r-wireless> del sw16-wireless.cfg
Removing sw16-wireless.cfg.... done.

sw16r-wireless> save configuration sw16-wireless.cfg
Saving running configuration in: sw16-wireless.cfg

Saving wireless network management configuration...
Configuration saved successfully.

sw16r-wireless> copy sw16-wireless.cfg tftp://10.101.20.1/sw16-wireless-tlh.cfg

Copying 'sw16-wireless-tlh.cfg' from Switch to tftp://10.101.20.1...
File: sw16-wireless-tlh.cfg copied successfully to 10.101.20.1

Once you’ve backed up the switch configuration you need to make room for the new image. Delete all the files from the flash memory. You can use the “dir” command and “del” command.

sw16r-wireless> dir
Date & Time        Bytes  File Name

Mar 29  2005        15480  WS5000Defaults_v1.4.1.0-014R.cfg
Jan 24  10:46    19591051  WS5000_v1.4.3.0-012R.sys.img
Jan 24  10:48       16138  WS5K_v1.4.1.0-014R-Upg.cfg
Oct  3  2005         6517  cmd_template.sym
Oct  3  07:22       17345  sw16-wireless-tlh.cfg

sw16r-wireless> del WS5000Defaults_v1.4.1.0-014R.cfg
Removing WS5000Defaults_v1.4.1.0-014R.cfg.... done.
sw16r-wireless> del WS5000_v1.4.3.0-012R.sys.img
Removing WS5000_v1.4.3.0-012R.sys.img.... done.
sw16r-wireless> del WS5K_v1.4.1.0-014R-Upg.cfg
Removing WS5K_v1.4.1.0-014R-Upg.cfg.... done.
sw16r-wireless> del cmd_template.sym
Removing cmd_template.sym.... done.
sw16r-wireless> del sw16-wireless-tlh.cfg
Removing sw16-wireless-tlh.cfg.... done.

Now you can go ahead and download the new system image and accompanying files via FTP. I’ve already placed the system image on the FTP server. The following files will need to be downloaded from the FTP server (10.101.20.1); WS5000_v2.1.0.0-029R.sys.kdi, dominfo, PreUpgradeScript, WS5k_domfix.cfg. You can confirm that the file gets copied down by listing the directory contents using “dir”.

sw16r-wireless> copy ftp system -u mcnamm
Enter the file name to be copied from FTP server : PreUpgradeScript
IP address of the FTP server : 10.101.20.1
Enter the user password : **********

Copying 'PreUpgradeScript' from ftp://10.101.20.1 to Switch...
Data connection mode : BINARY (Connecting as 'mcnamm')

Status : Transfer completed successfully
19633 bytes received in 0.0098 seconds (2e+03 Kbytes/s)
/bin/dedos: line 69: syntax error near unexpected token `dir'
/bin/dedos: line 69: `dedos -R

sw16r-wireless> copy ftp system -u mcnamm
Enter the file name to be copied from FTP server : dominfo
IP address of the FTP server : 10.101.20.1
Enter the user password : **********

Copying 'dominfo' from ftp://10.101.20.1 to Switch...
Data connection mode : BINARY (Connecting as 'mcnamm')

Status : Transfer completed successfully
48346 bytes received in 0.015 seconds (3.2e+03 Kbytes/s)

sw16r-wireless> copy ftp system -u mcnamm
Enter the file name to be copied from FTP server : WS5k_domfix.cfg
IP address of the FTP server : 10.101.20.1
Enter the user password : **********

Copying 'WS5k_domfix.cfg' from ftp://10.101.20.1 to Switch...
Data connection mode : BINARY (Connecting as 'mcnamm')

Status : Transfer completed successfully
1410387 bytes received in 0.15 seconds (9.5e+03 Kbytes/s)
Verifying configuration file...
Valid configuration file. Completing verification.

sw16r-wireless> copy ftp system -u mcnamm
Enter the file name to be copied from FTP server : WS5000_v2.1.0.0-029R.sys.kdi
IP address of the FTP server : 10.101.20.1
Enter the user password : **********

Copying 'WS5000_v2.1.0.0-029R.sys.kdi' from ftp://10.101.20.1 to Switch...
Data connection mode : BINARY (Connecting as 'mcnamm')

Status : Transfer completed successfully
39661568 bytes received in 22 seconds (1.8e+03 Kbytes/s)

sw16r-wireless> dir
Date & Time        Bytes  File Name

Oct  3  07:28       19633  PreUpgradeScript
Oct  3  07:29    39661568  WS5000_v2.1.0.0-029R.sys.kdi
Oct  3  07:28     1410387  WS5k_domfix.cfg
Oct  3  07:28       48346  dominfo

sw16r-wireless>

The next step is to execute the PreUpgradeScript and check if there is adequate space for the upgrade. You’ll need to enter “service mode” to execute the following commands. You can enter “service mode” by entering the command “service”. The password may either be “password” or the switch admin password.

sw16r-wireless> service
Enter CLI Service Mode password: ********
Enabling CLI Service Mode commands...... done.

SM-sw16r-wireless> launch -c chmod +x /image/PreUpgradeScript

SM-sw16r-wireless> launch -c /image/PreUpgradeScript freemem
PreUpgradeScript : freemem - computing Free memory
DOM firmware upgrade will NOT be performed
Finding out the Free Space Needed ... !!
Total Free Space on the System: 148 (in MB)
OK. Required space to do the upgrade exists .. !!

If you receive the “OK” you can go ahead with the upgrade. It may be necessary (with Wireless LAN Switch 5000s) to run the “PreUpgradeScript freemem” prior to downloading the WS5000_v2.1.0.sys.kdi image. The 5000 switches only have 128Mb of flash space available.

SM-sw16r-wireless> launch -c /image/PreUpgradeScript upgrade
PreUpgradeScript : upgrade - upgrading the system
Deciding on DOM firmware upgrade, based on switch platform
This is a butterfly 1.4.x series switch
This is WS5100 switch, no need for firmware upgrade
Verifying checksum for : dominfo
Checksum verification for dominfo : passed
Showing details of DOM

Model Number______________________: Kouwell DOM
Serial Number_____________________: HyFlash     00004020
Controller Revision Number________: 14/05/02

Able to do Double Word Transfer___: No
Controller buffer size (bytes)____: 512
Transfer Speed____________________: > 10 Mbit/sec
Drive Type________________________: Removable
IORDY Supported___________________: No
Can IORDY be disabled by device___: No
LBA Mode supported________________: Yes
DMA Supported_____________________: No
Number of ECC bytes transferred___: 4
Number of sectors per interrupt___: 1

Number of Cylinders_______________: 980
Number of Heads___________________: 16
Number of Sectors per Track_______: 32

Enter the Image Name: WS5000_v2.1.0.0-029R.sys.kdi
Verifying Image Checksum
Image Checksum Verification Passed
Saving the Configuration before upgrading
Saving wireless network management configuration...
Configuration saved successfully.
Creating the configuration tar
tar: Removing leading / from absolute path names in the archive.
image/upgrade.cfg
Copying the image
Rebooting the system
Shutting down snmpd agent.....done.
Shutting down apache server...done.
Shutting down cell controller.......done.
Shutting down database main thread...done.
Rebooting the switch...
Connection closed by foreign host.

Now you’ll need to wait.; it should take between 5 and 10 minutes for the switch to upgrade and reboot. After the switch has rebooted you can re-establish your telnet session;

[root@linux ~]# telnet sw16r-wireless.tlh.acme.org
Trying 10.115.255.253...
Connected to sw16r-wireless.tlh.acme.org (10.115.255.253).
Escape character is '^]'.
=========== WS5000 Switch ===========

Copyright(c) Symbol Technologies, Inc. 2005.
All rights reserved.

user name: cli

Symbol Wireless Switch WS 5000 Series.
Please enter your username and password to access the Command Line Interface.

userid: admin
password: *********

Retrieving user and system information...

Setting user permissions flags..
Checking KDC access permissions...

Welcome...

Creating the Event list...
System information...

System Name                  : sw16r-wireless
Description                  : WS5000 Wireless Network
Switch Location              : Data Center
Software Ver.                : 2.1.0.0-029R
Licensed to                  : Symbol Technologies
Copyright                    : Copyright (c) 2000-2005.  All rights reserved.
Serial Number                : 00A0F865B362
Number of Licenses           : 0
Max Access Ports             : 30
Max Mobile Clients           : 4096
MU Idle Timeout value        : 1800  seconds
Active Switch Policy         : Wireless Switch Policy
Emergency Switch Policy      : Not defined
Switch Uptime                : 00d:00h:03m
Global RF stats              : Disabled
# of Unassigned Access Ports : 0
CLI AutoInstall Status       : Enabled

sw16r-wireless> copy tftp system
Enter the file name to be copied from TFTP server : WS5000_v2.1.1.0-006R.sys.img
IP address of the TFTP server : 10.101.20.1

Copying 'WS5000_v2.1.1.0-006R.sys.img' from tftp://10.101.20.1 to Switch...
File: WS5000_v2.1.1.0-006R.sys.img copied successfully from 10.101.20.1
Verifying imagefile...
Valid imagefile. Completing verification.

sw16r-wireless> restore system WS5000_v2.1.1.0-006R.sys.img
This command will reset the system and boot up with the new restored image.
Do you want to continue (yes/no)  : yes

Restoring system image and configuration from WS5000_v2.1.1.0-006R.sys.img
It might take a few minutes.......

Saving wireless network management configuration...
Configuration saved successfully.
Stopping Postgres database.. done
Creating Default Configuration file for 2.1.1.0-006R..

Rebooting the switch...

Shutting down dhcp daemon.. done
Shutting down apache server in the SSL mode...done.
Cell controller not running.
Shutting down Postgres....done.
Connection closed by foreign host.

You’re all done.

The only issue I’ve discovered is that you need to re-configure the SNMP community string and TIMEZONE on any upgraded switch.

Enjoy.

Motorola Wireless LAN

Michael McNamara — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 23:47:00 +0000

I’ve worked primarily with Motorola (formerly Symbol) since the early 802.11b FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) days. When 802.11b DSSS (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum) came to the forefront I worked with the Symbol 4121/4131 Access Points (some of which were OEM’d for Nortel Networks at the time). The Access Points were very versatile and had a very extensive SNMP mib. I was able to write several Perl scripts to help manage the large number of Access Points that we had deployed at numerous locations and facilities.

Symbol was the industry’s first company to design a switched-wireless networking architecture, pioneering the thin or lightweight Access Points (or Access Ports as they would come to be known as). The Symbol WS5000 Wireless LAN Switch was driven by LynuxWorks operating system. Later software releases of the WS5000 and later the WS5100 would use an internally developed version of Linux (I know their using Linux I’m just not 100% sure who’s developing it for them). The primary wireless design constraint with the Motorola WS5100 is the maximum 48 port Access Port adoption limit. The hardware can only support 48 simultaneous Access Ports in a single switch. At one hospital we have over 200 Access Ports and over 18 WS5100s deployed, 9 primary WS5100s and 9 standby WS5100s .

Motorola has just recently released the RFS7000 Wireless LAN Switch that promises to support up to 256 Access Ports. I won’t go into all the features, I’ll let you find that out from Motorola’s web site. Motorola’s recent Wi-NG software release (v3.x) also offers clustering options allowing around 2,500 Access Ports within a single cluster. In previous releases you needed to have a primary and standby WS51000 for every switch, with clustering you can now have N+1 redundancy within the cluster. The new software also sports a very Cisco like command line interface which is great step up from the previous CLI interface in their v2.x software release. Network administrators will also be happy to know that the same version of software will now run on all “Motorola Wireless LAN Infrastructure”, including the WS2000, WS5100, RFS7000 and AP5131. I’ve worked with all three types of thin Access Ports currently available from Motorola; the AP100 (802.11b), the Ap200 (802.11a/b), and the latest AP300 (802.11a/b/g). We’ve deployed these Access Ports using Nortel ES460, ERS5520 switches providing Power over Ethernet (PoE).

The web based console on the early (v2.x software) releases was a Java based application that was horrible to work with from a configuration and troubleshooting perspective. It was slow and would continually crash and lockup. In order to alleviate this problem I wrote a web based application so our network engineers and help desk could monitor the wireless network without having to launch the Java application. I wrote the application in Perl at the time because that was the language I was most familiar with and the most comfortable. The application uses SNMP to query the wireless LAN switch and then outputs the data to the user.

You can find the source code along with some additional details on my website under the Perl section. The application will only work against v2.x software releases. Motorola completely re-designed their software in their v3.x software release along with the associated SNMP mibs.

I just recently started looking a Meru Networks as an alternative solution to Motorola.