How to Reset an X1700 Socket (USB Drive)

This article explains how to reset an X1700 Socket to the factory image using an USB drive.

Note

WARNING! Cato has two certified Socket hardware models for X1700 sites (X1700 and X1700B). Make sure that you identify the exact Socket model before installing the image on the Socket.

For more information about the two X1700 Socket models, see Overview of Reimaging Cato Sockets.

Identifying the USB Port on the X1700 Socket

The X1700 Socket has two USB ports on the front panel, use the USB2 port on the X1700 Socket to install an image. This is the port that you can use to reimage the X1700 Socket with a USB drive.

1700_USB_Ports_Callouts.png

  1. USB1 port - Don't use to reimage the X1700 Socket

  2. USB2 port - You can use USB 2.0 flash drives to reimage the X1700 Socket with the USB2 port (Using a USB 3.0 flash drive will cause issues during the installation process)

Resetting the Socket to the Factory Default Configuration and Version

This is a high-level overview of the steps to reset a Socket to the factory image using an USB drive.

  1. Prepare the image - download and untar it.

  2. Burn the image to the USB drive.

  3. Install the image on the Socket.

Resetting the Socket with Add-Ons

For X1700 and X1700B Sockets with add-on modules, you must remove the modules during the entire reimaging process.

After the Socket successfully boots, reinsert the add-on module into the Socket.

Preparing the Socket Image

  1. Download the image file

    For more information about getting the image file, see Socket and vSocket Image Files.

  2. Untar the image (see instructions below).

  3. Get a USB drive with at least 8GB. If it is necessary to format the USB drive, use either the exFAT or FAT32 format. When using the FAT32 format, the USB drive should not be larger than 32GB.

Burning the Image to the USB Drive

This section explains how to burn the Socket image to the USB drive for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

After you untar the image, compare the file hash of the uncompressed DD image file to the Cato verified, correct file hash. This confirms the disk image integrity before writing the Socket firmware to the hard drive.

  • A file with the verified hash is attached to this article

  • Save the file to the same directory as the uncompressed disk image

Note

IMPORTANT: You must use the USB2 port to install the image on the X1700 Socket. You can't install the image with the USB1 port.

Burning the Image with Windows

  1. Connect the USB drive to your Windows device.

  2. Move the downloaded image and hash files to the same directory, for example c:\Cato

  3. Untar the image, from the elevated Powershell in the same directory as both files, run tar -xf <archive-filename>

    Note

    Note: Common decompression software (such as Winzip, 7zip or Winrar) will corrupt the image, resulting in a file that is ~135MB in size. Extracting the file using the Windows CLI tar command should result in a file size that is larger than 1GB.

  4. Run the following command to compare the file hash of the Socket image:

    (Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 .\IMAGE_INSTALL_socket_X1700_16873_socket-production-16462_v17.0_2023_06_04.dd).Hash -eq (gc .\X1700-hash.txt).split()[0]

    The command returns True when the hashes are the same.

  5. Download and install disk imager software, such as Win32 Disk Imager.

  6. Write the image to the USB drive. (You may need to show all the files with *.* to see the DD file)

Burning the Image with macOS

  1. Connect the USB drive.

  2. Open a terminal window.

  3. Identify the new drive using the command diskutil list

  4. Unmount the identified drive using diskutil unmountDisk <diskN>

  5. Untar the image (double-click the file).

  6. Run the following command to compare the file hash of the Socket image:

    shasum -a 256 <archive-filename>

    Compare the output of this command with the verified hash above.

  7. Run the following command to write the image file to the USB:

    dd if=./IMAGE_INSTALL_socket_X1700_16873_socket-production-16462_v17.0_2023_06_04.dd of=/dev/diskN bs=16m

    Notes:

    • For supported versions, you can append status=progress to the dd command to see the status of the write-to-USB operation.

    • Make sure you write the image on the USB drive and not on your hard disk.

Burning the Image with Linux

  1. Connect the USB drive to your Linux machine

  2. Identify which device is your USB /dev/sdb or /dev/sdc

  3. Untar the image.

  4. Run the following command to write the image file to the USB

    dd if=./IMAGE_INSTALL_socket_X1700_16873_socket-production-16462_v17.0_2023_06_04.dd of=/dev/sdX

    Notes:

    • For supported versions, you can append status=progress to the dd command to see the status of the write-to-USB operation.

    • Make sure you write the image on the USB drive and not on your hard disk.

Installing the Image on the X1700 Socket

After the Socket image is prepared on the USB drive, insert the drive in the Socket. When the Socket boots up, it installs the image and resets to factory default settings.

Note

Note: If the Socket is currently shown in the Cato Management Application as assigned to a site, unassign the Socket from the site (see Managing Sockets). Then after the new image is installed, you can assign the Socket to the site again.

To install the image on a X1700 Socket:

  1. Power off X1700 Socket.

  2. For Sockets with add-on modules, remove the entire module from the Socket.

  3. Insert the USB flash drive that you prepared in section 2 in the USB2 port.

  4. Power on X1700 Socket.

  5. Installation starts upon X1700 boot, it should last around 1.5-2 minutes depending on USB flash drive speed.

  6. After installation completion X1700 will be powered off automatically, so this event (power off) designates end of installation.

  7. Eject the USB flash drive.

  8. IMPORTANT! Disconnect the power cord and then connect it again it to power on the X1700 appliance.

  9. While connected to the X1700 terminal and upon completion of its boot process X1700 login prompt shall be displayed as

    Cato Networks Socket X1700

    X1700 login:

  10. For Sockets with add-on modules, re-insert the module into the Socket.

Verifying the Socket Version

After installing Socket image, you can verify that the process has been successful by using the Socket WebUI to verify the Socket version.

For more about logging in to the Socket WebUI, see Using the Socket WebUI.

Note

Note: If you are logging in to Socket WebUI locally after installing the Socket image, the login username and password are reset to default settings.

To verify the Socket version:

  1. Log in to the Socket WebUI.

    You can use an Ethernet cable to connect to Socket port 8 on the X1700 Socket to the computer.

  2. Navigate to the About page.

  3. Confirm that the Version is the same as the image file you downloaded above.

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5 comments

Date Votes
  • Comment author
    Yaakov Simon

    Updated article to show that you use the USB2 port to reimage the X1700 Socket

  • Comment author
    Yaakov Simon

    Updated article - only USB 2.0 flash drives are supported to reimage the X1700 Socket

  • Comment author
    Yaakov Simon

    Updated article for v13.0 Socket image

  • Comment author
    Rob Pfrogner

    The file extraction from the command tar-xf <IMAGE> actually unpacks to a folder structure of:

    data/jenkins/workspace/Socket/build_socket/live, and the Socket Image can be found there.  Additionally, the SHA image file downloads as:

    IMAGE_INSTALL_socket_X1700_12362_production_socket_v13.0_20211205_2022_04_17.dd.sha256.txt, but the filecheck command looks for:

    IMAGE_INSTALL_socket_X1700_12362_production_socket_v13.0_20211205_2022_04_17.dd.tgzsha.256.txt 

    So the compare appears to fail, but it's due to an inability to find the file specified.   It would also be useful to call out the need to run all command in Powershell at the start of the instructions for Windows users.  

  • Comment author
    Yaakov Simon

    Updated article for v17.0 Socket image

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