ePipe ML-IP Family User Guide

Advanced Topics

This chapter provides details on advanced options. Topics include:

Upgrading Software
- Upgrading ePipe ML-IP Gateways
- Upgrading ePipe Ml-IP Concentrators
Resetting or Erasing ePipe
- Resetting ePipe ML-IP Gateways
- Resetting ePipe Ml-IP Concentrators

Upgrading Software

Upgrading ePipe ML-IP Gateways

Firmware updates for the ePipe ML-IP gateway are available as binary flash firmware image files. These firmware files can be downloaded directly into the ePipe ML-IP gateway from a TFTP server. To be able to do this you must already have a functioning TFTP server on your network. Most UNIX operating systems have a TFTP server, although it may not be ready for use until it is configured. Windows operating systems are not supplied with a TFTP server, however there are third party TFTP servers that can be downloaded from the Internet. An easy to use example of a TFTP server for Windows is “Pumpkin” from Klever Group, Inc. (http://www.klever.net/) ¹.

For more information on configuring your TFTP server, consult your TFTP server or operating system documentation.

The ML-IP Manager is the configuration software of the ePipe ML-IP gateway and can be accessed using any JavaScript-enabled web browser by browsing to the ePipe ML-IP gateway’s IP address.

Follow these steps to upgrade your ePipe ML-IP gateway using a TFTP server and the ML-IP Manager:

Ensure your TFTP server is operational and files can be downloaded from the server’s download directory.
Download the flash firmware image file from the ML-IP web site (http://www.ml-ip.com/) and copy it to the download directory of your TFTP server. The name of the file will be similar to “mlip-2300-flash-NNN.bin” where NNN is the firmware version number. E.g. mlip-2300-flash-241.bin is the file name of the firmware image for a 2300 series ePipe ML-IP gateway with version number 2.4.1.
Using a web browser, browse to the ePipe ML-IP gateway’s IP address and select the General Settings section then the Firmware Update tab.
Type in the IP address of your TFTP server and the name of the firmware image file in the spaces provided. When finished, click on the Apply button.

WARNING

Once the Apply button has been pressed, the ePipe ML-IP gateway will immediately reboot and start the firmware upgrade process. This will disconnect all users and other connections.

After about 2 minutes, the firmware upgrade process should have finished and the browser should reload the Multilink IP Manager page.

This completes the upgrade.

NOTE:

¹ ePipe Inc and ePipe Pty Ltd make no warranty, either expressed or implied, as to the usefulness or capabilities of any software herein mentioned. Use of any software referred to in this document is at the sole discretion of the reader.

Upgrading ePipe Ml-IP Concentrators

To upgrade the ePipe ML-IP Concentrator, you will need to install the new software as per the instructions in the ePipe ML-IP Concentrator Getting Started Guide (PDF).

The installation will detect another version of the ML-IP Concentrator and will ask if it should be removed or the install continued. To upgrade, continue the install. The installation of the ML-IP Concentrator will also detect that an existing configuration is detected and ask whether the configuration should be overwritten. To keep the old configuration, answer NO to this question.

NOTE:

Check the release notes to ensure compatibility between configurations from different versions of ML-IP Concentrator.

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Resetting or Erasing ePipe

Resetting or erasing the configuration of your ePipe ML-IP device should only be done if you wish to configure the ePipe ML-IP device from the very beginning. This may be the case if you are redeploying an ePipe ML-IP device to a different location or wish to start a configuration again after doing some testing.

Resetting ePipe ML-IP Gateways

To reset the ePipe ML-IP Gateway (e.g. ePipe 2344) to factory defaults, simply use a biro or similar thin instrument to depress the erase button while the ePipe ML-IP gateway is powered up. The erase button is situated at the bottom right corner of the rear on ePipe 2344s. Simply depress the erase button until you feel a click and then you should see the ePipe LEDs on the front/top of the ePipe proceed through the boot sequence.

WARNING:

Once the ePipe ML-IP gateway has been erased, all of its saved configuration is lost. Also, the unit will revert to the default IP address and default password for the "root" user.

Resetting ePipe Ml-IP Concentrators

To reset the ePipe ML-IP Concentrator to factory defaults, there are two (2) methods that can be used:

Uninstall and then re-install the ePipe ML-IP Concentrator software.
Re-install the ePipe ML-IP Concentrator software and do not preserve the existing configuration.

To uninstall ePipe ML-IP Concentrator, log in to the Linux PC as the root user, and go to /usr/local/sbin. Run the uninstall_mlip file in that directory. This will uninstall the ePipe ML-IP Concentrator.

To install (or re-install) the ePipe ML-IP Concentrator software simply use the procedures detailed in the ePipe ML-IP Concentrator Getting Started Guide (PDF).

If you reinstall the ePipe ML-IP Concentrator software over an existing ePipe ML-IP Concentrator installation, the install routine will ask you if you wish to preserve the existing configuration. To reset the configuration, simply answer NO to this question.

WARNING:

Once the ePipe ML-IP Concentrator has been erased, all of its saved configuration is lost. A complete reinstall will be necessary to make the software operational.

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Next: Appendices