Overview

Covers diagnosing and resolving wireless printer (or other headless device) connectivity loss where the device connects successfully but loses its routable IP after a period of time. The most common causes are session timeout without auto-re-login, max_sessions or max_devices set to 1 on a multi-device account, and idle timeout sweeping low-traffic devices. Applies to any rXg deployment with headless devices (printers, IoT sensors, smart displays) on accounts shared with other devices.

Problem

• Wireless printer connected to WiFi but has no routable IP / no internet
• Printer worked for approximately one hour before losing connectivity
• Rebooting the laptop on the same account did not resolve the issue
• The account has two wireless devices: a laptop and a printer
• Printer MAC OUI may map to embedded Wi-Fi module suppliers (e.g., Murata Manufacturing 7c:b8:da)

Root Cause

When a LoginSession is destroyed (for any reason), the rXg executes this callback chain: 1. debit_account -- debits usage from account 2. destroy_vlan_tag_assignments -- removes VLAN assignment (if expire_vtas_at_logout is true) 3. flush_pf_states -- creates a DeadIp record, flushing all PF firewall state for the IP 4. radius_accounting_stop -- sends RADIUS Accounting-Stop 5. destroy_upnp_port_forwards -- removes any UPnP forwards

The expire_sessions daemon (Perl, runs every ~1 second) destroys sessions for: - Session-Timeout -- expires_at has passed (configured via Landing Portal session_minutes or RADIUS realm) - Idle-Timeout -- device traffic fell below threshold for idle_minutes - Sessions-Exceeded -- account's max_sessions limit was breached - MAC-Mismatch -- another device acquired the IP - Quota-Exceeded -- usage limits exhausted

The Account model defaults max_sessions and max_devices to 1 when unlimited_sessions/unlimited_devices is false (account.rb:3055). A multi-device account MUST have both set to >= 2.

Printers cannot interact with a captive portal. Once a session expires, the printer stays offline unless: - Account has automatic_login: true, AND - Landing Portal has background_automatic_login: "mac"

Without both, the expire_sessions daemon cannot re-create the session.

Ranked hypotheses for "worked for an hour then stopped":

Root Cause Hypotheses
âââ #1 Session timeout (~60 min) + no auto-re-login [HIGH]
â   âââ "Worked for an hour" matches 60-min session_minutes
âââ #2 max_sessions = 1 (default) [HIGH]
â   âââ Laptop's session destroys printer's session
âââ #3 Idle timeout [MEDIUM]
â   âââ Printers idle most of the time
âââ #4 max_devices = 1 [MEDIUM]
â   âââ Adding laptop triggers Device.cleanup_account_devices
âââ #5 Usage expiration [LOW]
    âââ no_usage_expiration: false and usage window passed

Solution

1. Pull the destroy_reason from Login Session Log

This single command confirms the exact root cause:

/usr/local/bin/bundle exec rails runner "
  LoginSessionLog.where(mac: '<printer-mac>')
    .order(login_at: :desc).limit(10)
    .each { |l| puts \"#{l.login_at} -> #{l.logout_at} | reason: #{l.destroy_reason} | IP: #{l.ip}\" }
" --environment production

2. Audit the Account Configuration

/usr/local/bin/bundle exec rails runner "
  a = Account.find_by(login: '<account-login>')
  puts 'State: ' + a.state.to_s
  puts 'max_sessions: ' + a.max_sessions.to_s + ' (unlimited: ' + a.unlimited_sessions.to_s + ')'
  puts 'max_devices: ' + a.max_devices.to_s + ' (unlimited: ' + a.unlimited_devices.to_s + ')'
  puts 'automatic_login: ' + a.automatic_login.to_s
  puts 'no_usage_expiration: ' + a.no_usage_expiration.to_s
  puts 'Devices: ' + a.devices.pluck(:mac, :name).map { |m,n| \"#{m} (#{n})\" }.join(', ')
  puts 'Active sessions: ' + a.login_sessions.count.to_s
" --environment production

3. Check the Landing Portal and RADIUS Realm

/usr/local/bin/bundle exec rails runner "
  a = Account.find_by(login: '<account-login>')
  lp = a.policy&.landing_portal
  if lp
    puts 'Portal: ' + lp.name
    puts '  session_minutes: ' + lp.session_minutes.to_s + ' (unlimited: ' + lp.unlimited_session_minutes.to_s + ')'
    puts '  idle_minutes: ' + lp.idle_minutes.to_s + ' (unlimited: ' + lp.unlimited_idle_minutes.to_s + ')'
    puts '  bg_auto_login: ' + lp.background_automatic_login.to_s
  end
  a.policy&.radius_servers&.each { |rs|
    puts 'Realm: ' + rs.name + ' session_min=' + rs.session_minutes.to_s + ' expire_vtas=' + rs.expire_vtas_at_logout.to_s
  }
" --environment production

4. Apply Fix Based on destroy_reason

The most likely fix is a combination of: 1. Set max_sessions >= 2 on the account 2. Set max_devices >= 2 on the account 3. Enable automatic_login on the account 4. Set background_automatic_login: mac on the Landing Portal

All changes are immediate -- no service restart or downtime required.

5. Verify Recovery

1. Confirm both devices show active Login Sessions in Identities > Sessions
2. Confirm the printer MAC has a NAT assignment (routable IP)
3. Have the user print a test page from the laptop
4. Wait 2+ hours and re-check -- confirm the printer's session persists or auto-renews

CLI Verification

Check login session logs for the printer: bash /usr/local/bin/bundle exec rails runner " LoginSessionLog.where(mac: '<printer-mac>') .order(login_at: :desc).limit(10) .each { |l| puts \"#{l.login_at} -> #{l.logout_at} | reason: #{l.destroy_reason} | IP: #{l.ip}\" } " --environment production

Check account limits and auto-login settings: bash /usr/local/bin/bundle exec rails runner " a = Account.find_by(login: '<account-login>') puts 'max_sessions: ' + a.max_sessions.to_s puts 'max_devices: ' + a.max_devices.to_s puts 'automatic_login: ' + a.automatic_login.to_s puts 'Active sessions: ' + a.login_sessions.count.to_s " --environment production

Code references: - account.rb:2801 -- enforce_max_sessions - account.rb:910 -- can_be_online? - device.rb:272 -- cleanup_account_devices - login_session.rb:239 -- session destroy callbacks - rxgd/bin/expire_sessions -- session expiry daemon