You may need to install the MikroTik RouterOS on a Routerboard (or removable media such as a CF card). So far, I had to net install some router boards. The most common reason was to delete old device configurations where passwords were forgotten in time.
The second common reason was that the device worked in harsh environments, often rebooted improperly, and was most likely shocked by an unstable power source. After all, such devices were completely unstable.
The third situation, which is less common today, can be used to install RouterOS on removable media such as MicroSD cards and CF cards. Such memory cards can be used in the second half of 3.rd Party appliances such as PC Engines WRAP, Alix, APU boards.
Things necessary?
This task requires:
- MikroTik router board (RB450G in my case)
- Windows-based PC with serial port (USB-2 serial adapter can also be used)
- Null modem cable
- Any terminal application (PuTTY plays that role)
- One desktop (at least) high speed ethernet switch
- Some network (UTP) cables
- Device RouterOS installation file (in my case – for MIPS-BE platform)
- Mikrotik Netinstall tool for that RouterOS version (also available on the MikroTik download site)
Need to connect:
- Ether1 for Mikrotik devices with switch
- PC with switch
- Connect your PC and MikroTik with a null modem cable
It is not important to have a particularly expensive network switch. It is only important that this switch can provide a stable, high-speed network connection. Other features are completely irrelevant. Even better, these little 5/8 port desktop switches are easy to bring into your backpack.
The reason for using this switch is that every time the PC loses the link, MikroTik needs to be restarted several times. We recommend that you always maintain the link.
If one of these router boards is in a plastic case, you don’t need a null modem cable because it doesn’t have a COM port. The process is a little different. I’ll talk about this in another post.
In addition, many new router boards are equipped with the same RJ45-based terminal ports used in Cisco network devices. In such cases, you will need a serial-to-console port cable.
Preparation on the PC side
I connected the USB-2 serial adapter to the USB port on my laptop. You can see this device in the device manager GUI. Must exist and be installed correctly.
You can also check the COM port number here. You can specify any number starting with 5 for these additional COM ports. The first four are reserved by the original PC specifications. If you connect this adapter to another USB port, the numbers will be different. For I COM10..
I started PuTTY. Serial connection that’s all COM10 At port speed 115200 bps. Most new boards use this speed for serial communication. However, always check the appropriate documentation for your device.
click [ Open ] Start a new session. If the router board is not booted, the terminal window will be blank. that’s OK.
Launch the Netinstall tool
Open the folder on the disk where you unzipped the Netinstall tool. Start this tool with administrator privileges.
This tool started and only one local disk was displayed. Netinstall will show all drives here except C.
The next step was to configure an integrated BOOTP server. I clicked on the named button. [ Net booting ] A new window has opened.
Confirmed named options Boot server enabled You have entered the IP address assigned to the RB450G. IP can be assigned freely. Keep in mind that you should always use a private range IP address.
Clicked the button [ OK ] I closed this dialog. You have started the BOOTP / PXE server.
But at that point, my BOOTP server didn’t help. The NIC did not have the correct IP address. So the next step was to manually assign any IP address from the same subnet.
I assigned the following IP (192.168.42.101) within the same range. This is a Class C network range and the network mask remains 255.255.255.0. There are no further adjustments here.
The final step was to select the folder that contains the RouterOS package.I used a button [ Browse… ] Navigate to the folder that contains your RouterOS files.
Now you are ready to launch the Routerboard.
Start RB450G
When I connected the power adapter to the RB450G, the boot sequence started. All messages are displayed in the terminal window.
push Any key (A mysterious key that only exists on special keyboards. You can usually replace it with a regular keyboard using the space bar.) Next, enter the main settings menu. I have selected this option. O for Boot device..
I chose in the next menu e for Boot via ethernet.. This option activates the PXE client.
The RB450 has restarted and started searching for a BOOTP server. Responded to this request because the PC is already configured. As you can see, the RB450G has already received the configured IP 192.168.42.100.
When I switched to Netinstall, my router was in the list.
I chose it and Netinstall entered some fields for me (such as software ID). Must Have your license key!
I checked the source folder again and selected the package. I clicked everything without any problems. [ Install ]..
The installation process has started
The automatic installation process has started. It only takes a few minutes. This process can be done in a terminal window.
When this process finishes (a message is displayed in the terminal window), Netinstall indicates that the router has been reinstalled and is OK.
You need to reboot. Press Enter in the terminal window to reboot.
Undo boot options
Waiting for the RB450G to restart, I pushed one of the mysteries again Any key.. I ran the same process and changed the boot order, but chose a different option – n..
My RB450G continued the boot process from the internal NAND (flash) drive.
Like all other Linux systems, it generated its own SSL key. This process always takes 1-2 minutes. After that, every other reboot will be much shorter.
I was using the console of the router I just reinstalled. Now we have taken another step.
Router board firmware upgrade
A router board is actually a small computer or appliance. Like any computer system, the board’s microcode (firmware Or BIOS) using specific hardware operating system further- RouterOS..
A new version of the firmware is now included in all base RouterOS packages. It does not need to be downloaded separately from the MikroTik site.
I checked both Installation is complete And Available Firmware version.
The command is
system routerboard print
Check the value of Current firmware And Upgrade-Firmware.. In many cases, you can install new firmware.
Enter the command to install the new firmware
system routerboard upgrade
Please check this behavior [ Y ] After a few seconds you will see that message
Firmware upgraded successfully, please reboot for changes to take effect!
Just enter the command
system reboot
Please check this action again [ Y ] Reboot the router.
Check your router
Finally, I checked the router again. I didn’t have to set it up later. All I had to do was remove the obsolete configuration and upgrade at the same time.
Here are two of the most useful commands: To see all the details, such as RouterOS version and hardware parameters, type:
system resource print
You can see the output of that command in the top half of the previous screenshot. Second too
system routerboard print
Please check the current firmware version again.
As expected, I shut down this router.
Shutdown command
system shutdown
You need to check this action again [ Y ] The router shuts down properly.
that’s all!
This is one of the most important basic steps for a MikroTik router board. Even better, if you are learning about MTCNA, this topic is part of such training.
You can do the same with WinBox. System> Shutdown.. Of course, you can also check the resources (System> Resources) Or Routerboard property (System> Router Board). In addition, you can upgrade the firmware via the GUI.
stay tuned.
