Extreme Flash

This tool allows flashing Enterasys / Extreme Networks access points fully automatically, using OpenWRT's initramfs image.

Installation

Install the tool:

pipx install extremeflash

or

pip install extremeflash

Usage

Prerequisites

1. connect a USB serial device to the local machine and to the serial port of the Enterasys AP
2. identify the IP configured on the local machine that will be used to connect to the Enterasys AP
3. download an OpenWRT initramfs-kernel image, e.g. for the WS-AP3710i
4. download an OpenWRT-based squashfs-sysupgrade, e.g. for the WS-AP3710i

Note: While it is generally recommended to use the same version for initramfs-kernel and squashfs-sysupgrade, the process can work with different versions. This is especially important if a downstream OpenWRT firmware (e.g. Gluon) with a different version should be installed on the router.

Run the tool

1. Make sure that the serial cable is connected to the access point, but it is not powered on yet

2. Run the tool

   • let it autodetect the serial port:

     extremeflash --local-ip 192.168.1.70/24 \
     --model AP3710 \
     -i ~/Downloads/openwrt-23.05.0-mpc85xx-p1020-enterasys_ws-ap3710i-initramfs-kernel.bin \
     -j ~/Downloads/openwrt-22.03.3-mpc85xx-p1020-enterasys_ws-ap3710i-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin
     

   • or manually specify the serial port:

     extremeflash  --port /dev/ttyUSB0 --local-ip 192.168.1.70/24 \
     --model AP3710 \
     -i ~/Downloads/openwrt-23.05.0-mpc85xx-p1020-enterasys_ws-ap3710i-initramfs-kernel.bin \
     -j ~/Downloads/openwrt-22.03.3-mpc85xx-p1020-enterasys_ws-ap3710i-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin
     

   • For more information run:

     extremeflash --help
     

3. Power the access point and connect the LAN cable to power the AP.
   Note: for APs with two or more LAN ports, make sure the local machine is connected to port 2, not port 1.

4. The tool will flash the access point automatically. When it finishes, the access point can be reached via 192.168.1.1 (OpenWRT's default IP).

Contributing

Install dependencies

If the dependencies are not already installed, run poetry install followed by a poetry shell to get an environment with all necessary dependencies.

Running modified code

After modifying the code, run the tool by executing python -m extremeflash inside the repository's folder. For example:

python3 -m extremeflash --help