I recently purchased the Alta Labs Launch Pack to replace some aging Ubiquiti equipment and an Eero Pro 6e system while also convincing two friends to try out some Alta Labs gear. Due to the age and construction of our house, I’ve spent more money than I care to admit trying to find a solution for Wi-Fi coverage that’s simple and reliable. My current setup is a Firewalla Gold —> S8 switch —> two AP6 Pro units for my core network. I also have a Ubiquiti NanoHD plugged into the S8 that’s meshing to UAP-AC-M in a detached building but it’s a single flat network at the moment. The remaining Ubiquiti gear will be replaced with Alta Labs gear once they release an outdoor mesh solution.
I disabled the link lights on the switch when I first turned it on because they were brighter than the Christmas tree while I was testing everything out. Within the last week or so, I’ve noticed I’ve started receiving emails about devices being offline from Alta Labs and thought it was related to my VDSL connection being saturated or Firewalla having issues. My hardwired Apple TV started cutting out during football games over the weekend as well. I ended up factory resetting the Firewalla and flashed a fresh image to it via USB. The issue still continued with streaming and devices going offline so I factory reset the Apple TV to rule it out. I also tested and replaced all of the network cables in the process. All of the Alta Labs gear have the latest firmware available.
I moved all of the gear to a permanent home today and when I powered the switch back up it seemed fine except the link lights were back on so I left them alone. I left the house for a bit and received several emails saying the equipment went offline. When I arrived back home, it happened again and I watched the switch go through what appears to be a reboot cycle. The link lights stop, PoE lights stay on , the Alta logo stays lit on the top then starts changing colors, and eventually the link lights come back on.
I attempted to factory reset the switch by holding the button down for 10 seconds and nothing happened. I let it sit for a few minutes and finally pulled the power. I tried holding the reset button down while plugging in power and it came on but only had the orange PoE lights on for a while. After letting it sit again I held the reset button down for a few seconds and it came to life. I’m not sure if it’s a hardware or a firmware issue at this point so I’ve left it in the current state so the logs will be preserved.
I should add when it came back after the reset, it had downgraded back to firmware 1.2d from 1.2k and I had to upgrade it to 1.2k via the console again. I had previously applied the PoE update when it had 1.2k before.
Would it be possible to invite me to the site so I can gather some diagnostic information and review the logs? I’ll send you a DM with the email address to invite.
I’m not seeing any red flags off the bat, but I’m not entirely sure that I understand the network topology.
Would it be possible to put a topology together so I can fully understand what’s going on? Based on the text, it sounds like we have Alta gear on either side of a Ubiquiti meshed link. What I’m not understanding is what’s where in that topology. I’d also like to ping the first hops across this meshed link. i.e. if the switch is powering the NanoHD which is then uplinked to AC-M, I’d like to ping the AC-M and the NanoHD from the switch. Would it be possible to get those IP addresses so I can run those ping tests?
A quick explanation of this situation. What you ultimately did with the pressing reset button while applying power is our POR like you’re probably used to do with Ubiquiti. Ours is a bit different. This process triggers the bootloader to reach out to our fileserver to download a set version of firmware that we choose. In this case, 1.2d. The switch will factory default, apply this binary, and boot up. The basic factory default method is to simply hold the reset button until the LED changes OR simply click the trash can icon next to the switch in the cloud interface.
@Alta-Matt_v2 Thanks for the explanation. I have been doing some testing here to see if I can pinpoint the root cause so I apologize for the delayed response. After testing different cables and monitoring the console, I believe the switch was overheating and rebooting itself. Currently, the switch is on a shelf in a TV stand and it’s floating between 109 to 113° F. This is without being behind a door and without any equipment directly on top of or next to it. If I close the sliding door for the shelf even partially and the temperature rises, the switch will start rebooting which is understandable based on the operating temperature range of 23 to 122° F.
Edit: When the issue first started, it was in the same TV stand but on a different shelf and never had a door blocking airflow.
My question is, is this the normal operating temperature for the S8 switch that is not wall mounted and providing PoE power since it’s fanless?
The switch rebooted itself again. It doesn’t display the temperature in the console now. If I try to manually change the link lights on or off from the console, nothing happens but if I change the LED color on the top of the switch it’s instantaneous.
Being in an enclosed space of any kind would certainly explain it. Even a switch with a fan would likely overheat (in an enclosed space) because you’d be circulating hot air back through it. I would open that door up and pay attention to the alerts for devices going offline.
@Alta-Matt_v2 you are still added to my site, please feel free to make any changes needed for logging.
I’ve had the switch, while still on the shelf, exposed to open air by leaving the door open for the last few days. I know it’s not an apples to apples comparison, I previously had a Ubiquiti US-8-150W in the same space for the last few years with no issues.
Change implemented. This should enable rotating logs, so if it crashes again, let me know and I’ll check the logs.
I actually replaced a US-8-150W with the S8-PoE, it was my first Alta switch and I always thought the original ran hot so about an hour after it was installed and configured, I checked the temperature and noted the S8-PoE was running 15-20°F cooler. Mine is closed in on 3 sides, rear, right side, bottom and open on the top left side and front so a bit more airflow potential.
I actually replaced a US-8-150W with the S8-PoE, it was my first Alta switch and I always thought the original ran hot so about an hour after it was installed and configured, I checked the temperature and noted the S8-PoE was running 15-20°F cooler. Mine is closed in on 3 sides, rear, right side, bottom and open on the top left side and front so a bit more airflow potential.