Firmware
- Custom Firmware (old)
- MikroTik Firmware
- Ubiquiti Firmware
- APC UPS Battery Backup Firmware Update Process
Custom Firmware (old)
Old firmware Repositories
Old firmware build instructions are in our nycmeshfeed repo's README file.
MikroTik Firmware
MikroTik RouterOS v6 firmware is generally stable. We are currently using 6.49.11 (some run 6.49.12)
Do not use version 7 (not yet supported) or version 6.47/6.48/6.49.2 (occasional hangs)
routerOS v6
Download 6.49.11 OmniTik (mipsbe) here and SXTsq (arm) here
Remember that OmniTiks use the "mipsbe" firmware and SXT's use the "arm" firmware due to different processors.
We have documented issues with 6.47/6.48/6.49.2 so don't use them.
We have many OmniTiks running 6.49.11 without any problem.
Note: with some OmniTiks in some cases it seems the memory gets used up and not released. When we encounter such a device we add a script that automatically reboots the OmniTik between 2 & 3am when the memory usage reaches 75%.
Connect to your Omni via ssh and copy & paste these lines. This will add a script and schedule the script to run every 15m.
Slack discussion here.
RouterOS v7
Don't use it yet - it won't work!
This has finally been released but it doesn't work with our configuration yet. We keep testing it as we are eager to deploy the newly added WireGuard. If you are interested in beta-testing the WG setup, post in the #software-firmware channel on Slack.
If you need to downgrade, read the instructions here
Mikrotik devices come in a variety of architectures and form-factors. Fortunately the firmware versioning and build levels are the same across all platforms. The main variant is the architecture, which might be a different chip for each device model.
We usually use the stable version of RouterOS 6 (currently 6.49.11, though some are running 6.9.12)
Below is a table of the 6.49.6 firmware for Mikrotik devices that are used on the mesh:
| Model | Architecture | Firmware link |
|---|---|---|
| OmniTik 5ac | MIPSBE -6.49.11 | Download |
| SXTsq ac | ARM -6.49.11 | Download |
| hAP ac^2 | ARM | Download |
| CCR Series | TILE | Download |
| hAP mini | SMIPS | Download |
| hAP lite | SMIPS | Download |
Installing firmware
- Login to your Mikrotik box Web UI (or CLI if you know how)
- Go to WebFig > Files section, upload the firmware file
- Reboot the router
- The firmware version is visible at the top of the Web UI: watch for the new version
Alternatively
- if your device has Internet access you can use the GUI: go to System, Package, Check for update, download & install
or
- ssh in and type /system package update install
Ubiquiti Firmware
Ubiquiti firmware has some buggy versions that need to be avoided. In general never use a ".0" release. It is beta quality and will probably have serious bugs that may be fixed by .1 or .2 version.
Ubiquiti have two very separate product lines with different firmware, AirMAX and UniFi
Don't use the latest firmware from Ubiquiti! Use the stable versions below
AirMAX
We are currently updating to 8.7.11 on most CPE (like the LiteBeams)
Version notes:
8.7.11 (the latest) seems to be working and stable
8.7.7 and 8.7.9 are good
8.7.4 and 8.7.5 tend to crash
8.7.5 has a TDMA bug which causes performance to fail after a few days.
8.7.1 the management radio disconnects constantly
Ubiquiti changed the signal to read 5db hotter in versions after 8.7.1, so a -50
So a -55dB in the newer versions would be -60dB in 8.7.1 or earlier
Download 8.7.11 here
For sector AP's we use 8.5.12 for DFS stability (or 8.7.1 if this is not an issue)
Download 8.5.12 here
NEVER UPGRADE A SECTOR WITHOUT ASKING EVERYONE FIRST!
We disable AirView on sectors to improve CPU performance
UniFi
We've found all versions after 4.3.20 to be buggy. Basically meshing broke in the later versions so your network will go down after a day or so, unless all of your AP's are wired. Not only will a meshed AP crash, it will take down the rest of the local network!
Download 4.3.20 here
APC UPS Battery Backup Firmware Update Process
NMC2 APC9630 Network Card Firmware Update
- Download the .exe 7.1.6 file from APC and use
unzip name.exeon the file to get its files. https://www.se.com/us/en/product/AP9630/apc-ups-network-management-card-2/ - If using a Windows computer or VM, just run the EXE and it will automatically do all steps of the firmware process after you put in the IP, username, and password
- Otherwise, use FTP to update https://www.apc.com/us/en/faqs/FA156047/#FTP (don't use https://www.apc.com/us/en/faqs/FAQ000242942/)
ftp ftp://apc:apc@x.x.x.xto connect with user APC and password APC- Then
binto enter binary mode and thenput apc_hw05_bootmon_109.bin. Once it uploads, disconnect withexitand/or CTRL+C and reconnect after a couple minutes - Repeat this process twice more, firstly for
put apc_hw05_aos_716.binfirst, thenput apc_hw05_sumx_716.bin - Modify the preconfigured config file. Update the naming everywhere else by find-and-replacing the Network Number (NN) and other similar descriptions. The MAC address can be safely ignored. Then go to Configuration/General/User Config File, pick the
nn2299-roof-apc-nmc2-config.iniand apply it. Then reboot the NMC using Control/Network/Reboot to permanently apply the settings.
UPS Firmware Update
- These are updated way more rarely.
- Thankfully, this can be done easily through the NMC2's web UI under Configuration → Firmware upgrade. Pick the file and wait 5-10 minutes for the upgrade to complete
- Download the UPS firmware ZIP and find the relevant file inside. For example, a UPS with ID18 and model SMT750RM2U is going to need
SMT18UPS_15-0.encas per the reference table in the FAQ https://www.apc.com/us/en/faqs/FA170679/. First turn off the outlet group, which cannot be on while it's updating.