Proxim/Orinoco b/g on AP 520wl?

[Brann Mitchell]

As the subject says, I've got a 520wl and a Proxim/Orinoco gold b/g card (8470-WD), but the 520wl doesn't work with it. I have scores of other Proxim/Orinoco cards that do work, both gold and silver, but not this 11g one.

I might have missed something, but the AP is running the latest firmware, 2.4.5. Do I load a different MIB? What the heck is a MIB?

Cheers,
Brann

[Matt Hobbs · Accepted solution]

Although not officially supported by HP, you can update the 520wl to the latest Proxim firmware which is 2.5.5.

http://keygen.proxim.com/support/orinoco/ap-2000/2.5.5/OR_AP2000_R2.5.5-B1070-WEB.zip

The supported b/g card that you should get is J8432A.

[Brann Mitchell]

Well, thanks. I was wondering if that was possible... so, I flashed to the 2.5.5, but it still didn't enable the Orinoco b/g card. Red Light. Bummer.

I'm fairly certain that the Proxim b/g card is the same as the 170wl, however, it could be that Proxim made special versions of the b/g cards for HP.

I'm also trying to convert the 520wl to PoE with a splitter, but that doesn't seem to work either.

Does anybody know if the 2600-8PWR has a CLI command to turn PoE on and off on a selected port?

[Brann Mitchell]

In the immortal words of Homer, "D'oh!"

I just read a bulletin from Proxim... nope.

[quote]No. Using the Clients cards in place of the 802.11a and 802.11b/g Kit Cards will not work, since the Kit Cards have a specific hardware ID that the AP is required to detect before recognizing and activating the radios.

The only exception is the Orinoco Classic card, 8410-WD, which is an 802.11b-only radio, and will work as either a client card or as an AP radio card.[/quote]

Awwwww.

[Sergej Gurenko]

I'm not sure if this works but here is he software capable of re-flashing PCMCI wireless cards:

http://www.lincomatic.com/wireless/software.html

The main purpose is to convert Silver to Gold (40bit WEP to 128bit), but also capable to edit other card parameters.

[Travis Truax]

>> I'm also trying to convert the 520wl to PoE with a splitter, but that doesn't seem to work either.

>>Does anybody know if the 2600-8PWR has a CLI command to turn PoE on and off on a selected port?


We have many 520wl APs and after I noticed they were just Proxim AP-2000s, I stopped buying them and started getting the Proxim units. The 520wl do not support poe period. Disassembling the two units yeilded a drastically different board layout... I don't think the circuitry is there for anyone to toggle in firmware.

HP officially backed my assessment on that after I called (for what that is worth). At the time, they seemed to have VERY little knowledge of the units - and I was particularly disgusted that they were so clueless about the product. Where necessary, we used Hyperlink injectors AND splitters for the HPs, and desoldered the strange (good luck finding a replacement) power connector from the power supply. I would be hesitant to load the Proxim FW on a 520wl. The box is the same, but the guts don't match!

Travis-

[Brann Mitchell]

Thanks for the info, Travis. I was contemplating how far with a soldering iron I should dive into these units... but you just answered that!

Well, we also found some AP 420's on eBay, so the two 520wl's I got are pretty much limited to conference room use. On the upside, so far, the regular Proxim firmware seems to work quite well.

Oh, I figured out the PoE off/on too... the 'no power' command (from the CLI) on the port will turn it off.

[Travis Truax]

>>>Oh, I figured out the PoE off/on too... the 'no power' command (from the CLI) on the port will turn it off.

On your 520wl??

[Matt Hobbs]

I'm taking an educated guess here, but I suspect there are different revision 520wl's out there. Some which may be based on the original AP-2000's which did not support PoE, and the later ones are based on the AP-2000 AE's which do.

I've got 2x 520's and I've noticed the different revisions printed on the sticker where the mac-address is, also the more recent unit boots up a lot quicker. I haven't looked into the PoE feature though so next time I get a chance I'll check it out.

[Matt Hobbs]

>>>>>Oh, I figured out the PoE off/on too... the 'no power' command (from the CLI) on the port will turn it off.

>>On your 520wl??

I was confused too, looking back I think Brann was referring to the 2600-8-PWR.

[Brann Mitchell]

Yes, I am the master of the obtuse reply... on the 2800-8PWR. The wi-fi project I've been tasked with is to install 13 AP's in the plenums across 8 floors. I should make a different thread for this though.

But, the big question I had with the AP's is how to power cycle them without leaving the comfort of my chair.

I've busted out the tools... and you're right, the layout is different, but it looks to me like they have the same chip counts. The two versions of the 520wl I've got are 0A and the other is 0B. Neither of them work with the PoE splitter. The 0A has 'SPIN REV : A2' on the PCB, and the 0B 'SPIN REV : A5_A'. The 0B rev takes just under forever+day to reboot, and the 0A just under 45 seconds.

It would be very interesting if somebody has an AP-2000 AE version to compare...

[Travis Truax]

The 520wl units we have are 'SPIN REV : A2', but the proxims are 35 feet up on the warehouse ceiling, so they're a bit too much hassle to look at... :)

[Matt Hobbs]

I came across this today, looks like the 520's are pre-standard.... anyone want to take a chance and buy one of these splitters?

http://www.powerdsine.com/Support/Certification/product.asp?company=HP&PDModel=WL520

[Matt Hobbs]

It looks that this one actually has its own power supply, so I think it would still be difficult to remotely power cycle one.... at least you wouldn't have to get up to wherever the AP is though.

[Brann Mitchell]

Hey, good find! I don't know exactly what the 'pre-standard' means. I do know that the 2600-8PWR also does 'pre-standard' but I was informed this is so that it can power Cisco AP's? I also wonder where the intelligence is, in the switch or in the splitter?

The PoE splitter I got off eBay for the AP-2000, which didn't work for the 520wl, are also 'approval pending standard', so I'm guessing that means proprietary or pre-standard.