Netgear GS105PE firmware upgrades

[Murrayfield]

I have a number of Netgear GS105PE switches in my network which were all running FW V1.6.0.6.  They were all happily behaving themselves (I know if it works don't fix it) but I thought hey lets upgrade to the latest version V1.6.0.17 so I did.

No problems there, then I noticed my POE webcam had gone off air, toggled the port and it came back.  A few days later it went off air again.  I reverted the FW upgrade back to V1.6.0.6 and the camera has been stable since I reverted.

I then noticed that two Netgear WN370 WAPs that I had hanging off the PoE port of another couple of switches had also gone off air since I upgraded the switch firmware.  I reverted those switches as well and lo and behold all is rosy in the garden again.

Does anyone have any idea why this has occurred, in the interim I am going to revert all the switches back to the V1.6.0.6

Many thanks in advance

[Murrayfield · Accepted solution]

Hi Kurt

Many thanks for the extremely detailed explanation, yes you are correct, in both cases I am powering the GS105 switches from GS108v3.

I did experiment with daisy chaining 2 GS105 PE (again upgraded to V1.6.0.17  from a single port (4) of a 24 port NETGEAR JGS524PE-100EUS but again this did not work.  When I downgraded the GS105PE it supported the second GS105 in the daisy chain, so as you say I must be operating right on the limits, good to know.

Given that prior to upgrade everything worked, albeit as you say in a potential fault scenario, I propose to revert all my switches back to V1.6.0.6 and document the ratiionale for not upgrading to V1.6.0.17.  That way if it ever goes flaky, I or whoever comes after me will have a guide as to the reasoning.

Given the way these outlying bits of my network are architected it is extremely difficult to get 240V to either the switch or the camera without incurring a great deal of expense but I will note for the future.

Many thanks again for your time and trouble

Regards

Ian

[schumaku]

Everything very vague. Report lacks of the PoE source used to power the GS105PE, lack of information of the PoE Webcam, ... 

The GS105PE Firmware Version 1.6.0.17 Release Notes does show, among others:

Bug fixes

• Fixes the issue where port 5 incorrectly adjusts PoE power requests from the powered device (PD).

Worth noting, the long standing GS105PE: PoE troubleshooting remains valid.

So yes, something changed in this area, but it's difficult to follow up your report I'm afraid.

[Murrayfield]

Hi Schumako,

Please see the following

1st Scenrio webcam going off air

Netgear GS108 PEv3 firmware level V2.0.5.24 PE port 4 connected to GS105PE running FW V1.6.0.6 port 1 connected to Axis M1125 Camera all working fine.

Netgear GS108 PEv3 firmware level V2.0.5.24 PE port 4 connected to GS105PE running FW V1.6.0.17 port 1 connected to Axis M1125 Poe port 1 shuts down

2nd scenario Wireless access points shutting down

Netgear GS108 PEv3 firmware level V2.0.5.24 PE port 3 connected to GS105PE running FW V1.6.0.6 port 1 connected to Netgear WN370 and port 2 connected to Netgear WAX214 all working fine.

Netgear GS108 PEv3 firmware level V2.0.5.24 PE port 3 connected to GS105PE running FW V1.6.0.17 port 1 connected to Netgear WN370 and port 2 connected to Netgear WAX214 both shutdown.

It is almost as if the upgrade has reduced the power budget on the GS105PE.

If push comes to shove I will just document this as an issue with the sw upgrade and leave the switches on the working version

Many thnaks

Ian

[Murrayfield]

Further to previous

Axis M1125 Class 2, WAX214 Class 1 and I cannot find any detail for the WN370 regarding Power

Cheers

Ian

[schumaku]

Hello Ian,

In either use case, the GS105PE is powered from a GS108PEv3?

Fear you are trying to operate these devices ways out of specs 8-/

Please carefully review the GS105PE: PoE troubleshooting again.

Lets break briefly down the available power situation. The GS108PEv3 has four PoE 802.3af ports, so the power available for the GS105PE, when powered by IEEE 802.3af, :the GS105PE can power up only one Class 1/2 PoE device. Anything more that appears to work with -two- devices was possible by error only. Nothing wrong with the GS105PE and the current V1.6.0.17 firmware. Powering one Axis M1125 Class 2 is possible. Anything beyond is out of specs.

When powered by IEEE 802.3af:

The GS105PE can power up only one Class 1/2 PoE device.

For the WN370, I can't provide any experience. Indeed, can't find the PoE Class is these devices request. Based on the .Typical Power Consumption specs, with typical 5.1 W, it might be a Class 2 device. Have none of these at hand to connect to s Smart or Managed PoE switch to see what Class this device does request in a real-world environment.

Assuming the WN370 is a Class 2 PoE device (max 7.6W), and the second device you like to power is the  Axis M1125, also a Class 2 device (max 7.6W):

Assuming the WN370 is a Class 2 PoE device (max 7.6W), and the second device you like to power is the  Axis M1125, also a Class 2 device (max 7.6W):

Powering these two might be possible if you use a 802.11at PSE to power the GS105PE

When powered by IEEE 802.3at:

The GS105PE can power up only one Class 0/3 PoE device or two class 1/2 devices.

 

Related to the WAX214, I doubt this is a PD Class 1 device (some docs refer Type 1 ... this is not the same pair of shoes). Sure, a WAX214 can be operated on a 802.11af PD, very likely it requires all power capacity for it's own, so Class 3 (or Class 0) with 16.4W power allocated. No way to operate such a WAX214 in parallel with another PoE device on a GS105PE. That other device would get a PD fault signaled and unlikely to be powered reliably.,  

Sorry for bringing your hopes back to the hard standardization world in the PoE arena. PoE, the unknown creature 8-/

Regards,

-Kurt

[Murrayfield · Accepted solution]

Hi Kurt

Many thanks for the extremely detailed explanation, yes you are correct, in both cases I am powering the GS105 switches from GS108v3.

I did experiment with daisy chaining 2 GS105 PE (again upgraded to V1.6.0.17  from a single port (4) of a 24 port NETGEAR JGS524PE-100EUS but again this did not work.  When I downgraded the GS105PE it supported the second GS105 in the daisy chain, so as you say I must be operating right on the limits, good to know.

Given that prior to upgrade everything worked, albeit as you say in a potential fault scenario, I propose to revert all my switches back to V1.6.0.6 and document the ratiionale for not upgrading to V1.6.0.17.  That way if it ever goes flaky, I or whoever comes after me will have a guide as to the reasoning.

Given the way these outlying bits of my network are architected it is extremely difficult to get 240V to either the switch or the camera without incurring a great deal of expense but I will note for the future.

Many thanks again for your time and trouble

Regards

Ian