This is the director’s cut on the story of how it came back to life.For Inova employees: This webpage has links to Citrix applications (Inova remote network access), referring physician PACS access, InovaNet, and MyTime.My main goal in this endeavor was to make my device cloud-managed once more. The unit was in a box like a no longer wanted and unused toy (echoes of Toy Story here…) until I happened across a possible alternate ending. Since this unit was for demo only, there was no justification for paying the licensing costs. However, with the passage of time came the passing of the three-year license and I lost the ability to manage the MR12. I had my hands on a free Meraki MR12 Wireless Access Point and I was delving into its capabilities. The following table describes the parameters that require specific values to collect events from Cisco Meraki: Table 1: Cisco Meraki Syslog Log Source Parameters.A long time ago I wrote a blog on the Meraki experience Cisco does something “Meraki-lous”.I like all of those, but it was trial and error until I got one to work with my project. I tried TFTP32 and 64, I tried the SolarWinds TFTP server, as well as Pumpkin TFTP, with varying degrees of success. To see if your device is compatible, go to OpenWrt Wireless Freedom.At the time of this writing, this is what showed for my AP:I followed the OpenWRT instructions found here:I did experience some issues trying to use TFTP from my Windows 10 box (this issue was mentioned under Caveats Installing Cucumber on Cisco Meraki), but I did succeed using an old XP box. My device is the MR12, but there are other Meraki units that can undergo this procedure. Here are the steps of my journey. Here is my roadmap:While I am all for OpenWRT as a solution to bring an AP to life (note my previous blog on a similar solution Enabling DD-WRT (OpenSource firmware) on your wireless router, as I mentioned, I wanted to end up with a cloud-managed device.If you wish to avoid creating your own build, you can grab the needed files directly. I will cover that later in this blog.I am not going to repeat the step by step instructions found on the OpenWRT Wiki, but I will add this bit of info. (Here is a video on disassembling, it also shows attaching an external antenna, which I also did. I also show a pic of how I connected it to the disassembled Meraki unit. Here is a pic of that cable:I got it from adafruit.com.
Find Address For Meraki Free Meraki MR12I followed the instructions for Cucumber that are located here: (Sign up for your free account while you are there.)I had the best results with PumpKIN TFTP. If your goal is just to have your Meraki converted to OpenWRT, stop! you are done!Now that I knew it worked, time to dump it and move on. I really just wanted to know for myself that my OpenWRT would work on my Meraki. I created an SSID and joined. I just downloaded the zipped file, then extracted them and placed the correct files in my TFTP Root directory.Once the instructions were followed, it seems I had a functioning AP once more! To verify functionality, I set an SSH login and password and then used Putty to test it. Hey! This was my first attempt and this is the underside anyway. If you do drill through the metal case, remember that you will need to drill a slot into the plastic case so it will slip over the antenna.I did have to use my grinder on the inside of the metal case to fit the antenna flush to the inside wall, and as you can see, I took off a bit too much. Here is the antenna (two for under $10) I selected, which I found on Amazon:There were two in the bag when it arrived, but I used one! I did drill through the metal of the case, which is different from what is shown in the video, but with the length of the pigtail, you can choose whichever way you like best. I followed the steps shown in the aforementioned video to install my external antenna. Note that if you are not present at the web page when the chat is answered, you will also receive an email with their response(s).Once I verified that I could log in to my Cucumber dashboard site, I wanted to add the external antenna to my device. I received assistance from several persons within Cucumber – all of whom knew the product inside and out. Mac disk cleaner reviewThe finished product is shown:Above image shows how it looks on the inside with the antenna attached:There was originally some black adhesive securing the antenna connector to the board, but I didn’t have any of that, so I used a miniscule drop of Gorilla Glue. You may decide to blast it in one go instead of incrementally, but I did it in baby steps. I started with a small drill bit and worked up to ¼ inch. You can see there is not much space left. Here is a screenshot of what my initial page looks like:Once I get to my own location, I see this:From here you can view your device(s), create networks (up to 16 networks per location), and so much more. Once you sign up, your welcome email will explain how to access your dashboard. Your choice.Let’s see how it responds to cloud control. It didn’t seem to me that it would disconnect on its own, as it took a bit of effort to unsnap it. The antenna actually snaps into place on the board, so you may choose to go with no adhesive at all. You can also apply either of these solutions to a device in perfect working order also however, most are loathe to wipe a currently licensed unit. If you are brand new, here is the place to begin: Getting Started.I created a couple of networks, joined them with a variety of clients (smartphone, desktop, laptop), did a couple of speed tests (performance was on par with our corporate Wi-Fi), and wandered around the building to see how well I would stay connected (excellent results, by the way).So if you have an Access Point taking up space on your shelf and want to see if you can make it useful again, take a look at OpenWRT and/or Cucumber WiFi.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorAndrew ArchivesCategories |