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 the old device configuration where the password was forgotten in time.
The second common reason was that the device worked in harsh environments, was often rebooted improperly, and was most likely shocked by an unstable power source. After all, such a device was completely unstable.
The third situation is less common today, but you can use this method to install RouterOS on removable media such as MicroSD cards and CF cards. Such a memory card can be used later in 3.rd Party appliances such as PC Engines WRAP, Alix, APU boards.
What is needed?
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 the 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 switches
- 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 you need to restart MikroTik several times, each time your PC loses the link. We recommend that you keep the link up at all times.
If you have one of these router boards in a plastic case, you don’t need a null modem cable because they don’t have COM ports. The process is a little different. I’ll talk about that in a separate 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 see 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.In the case of 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 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.
I checked the named options Boot server enabled You have entered the IP address assigned to the RB450G. You can freely assign an IP. 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 moment, 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.
Assigned the following IP (192.168.42.101) within the same range. This is a class C network range, leaving a network mask at 255.255.255.0. There is no further adjustment here.
The final step was to select the folder containing the RouterOS package.I used a button [ Browse… ] Navigate to the folder that contains the 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.
pushed Any key (A mysterious key that only exists on special keyboards. You can usually replace it with a regular keyboard using the space bar) and then enter the main settings menu.I chose this option O for Boot device..
In the next menu I chose e for Boot via ethernet.. This option activates the PXE client.
The RB450 has restarted and started searching for a BOOTP server. I responded to this request because my PC is already configured. As you can see, the RB450G has received the already configured IP 192.168.42.100.
When I switched to Netinstall, the router was in the list.
I chose it and Netinstall entered some fields for me (such as software ID).you Must Hold your license key!
I checked the source folder again and selected the package.Everything is fine and I clicked [ 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 (the message is displayed in a 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
I waited for the RB450G to restart and pushed the mysterious one 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 done another step.
Router board firmware upgrade
The Routerboard is actually a small computer or appliance. Like any computer system, the board’s microcode (firmware Or BIOS) with specific hardware operating system Moreover – RouterOS..
A new version of the firmware is now included in all base RouterOS packages. There is no need to download them individually from the MikroTik site.
I checked both Installation 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 confirm this operation [ 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 the router
Finally, I checked the router again. I didn’t have to configure it 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. The second is also
system routerboard print
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 will shut 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.
