Legacy Open Mesh: Custom.sh scripts approval process

Topic

This article explains the approval process for custom .sh scripts.

Environment

  • Datto Access Points

Answer

Historically Open Mesh had allowed users to host and download any custom.sh scripts onto our access points. New FCC rules mandate that an access point's 5GHz radio cannot be modified in a way that would allow it to operate outside of FCC regulations. This required that we lock down hardware models with 5GHz radios made on or after June 2016, and that we review and host custom.sh scripts before they are deployed onto networks with FCC restricted hardware.

For security and compliance purposes, only custom scripts approved by Datto may be run on networking devices. To be eligible for support, scripts must have completed the approval process and be hosted on a Datto server. Custom script support will be deprecated by the end of Q4 2019. If custom scripts are critical to your deployment and you require ongoing support after this date, contact your Datto sales representative. If you are a Datto partner and require presence analytics, consider configuring the Datto Networking syslog or presence API features.

Affected Countries and Hardware

Keep in mind that if you are not within an affected country, or do not have affected hardware, you can still self host the custom.sh file yourself, and do not need to go through the approval process.

The FCC restricted countries are: United States and Canada, and any countries or territories that must adhere to FCC regulations.

The affected hardware models include: MR1750v2, OM5P-AC, A40, A60, A42, A62, and any future hardware models that support 5GHz.

Custom.sh restrictions

The following restrictions apply for hosted custom.sh files

  • Only a single custom.sh file is allowed. If you have multiple files, they must be combined into a single file.
  • We cannot host binary packages.
  • Your script cannot query or download additional files from other URLs.
  • Your script should be less than 500 lines of code.
  • Your script should be written in a manner that makes it clear what the script is trying to do. Overly complex scripts will not be approved.

If your script is not able to comply with the above restrictions, please open a feature request.

Approval Process

The new process for deploying custom.sh scripts is as follows:

  • Send an email with your custom.sh file as an attachment to support@open-mesh.com.
    • In the subject state "custom.sh approval"
    • Include a description of what your script does and what you need to accomplish with it.
    • Provide a contact person (email, phone) for additional questions, as our team reviews your files.
  • Wait for our team to review and process the file.
    • Once we are done reviewing and approving the file, we will host it on our servers and provide you a URL.
  • Once you get back a URL from our team, you can use it to install the custom.sh script using CloudTrax.

Keep in mind that we reserve the right to refuse hosting of a script for any reason.

Unapproved custom.sh scripts will generate an error in CloudTrax: "Your custom.sh script was not applied to all access points."

For details on how to install custom.sh scripts via CloudTrax, please read Custom.sh scripts overview.