Feature Request: More stuff on the serial port

[MrSmith]

I've got an old Routerboard where one of the two Ethernet ports got zapped. Unfortunately, it was "ether1," and at the time the board was on default settings. There's still a working StarOS install on the system, as the boot log on the serial port shows that both Ethernet ports are still there, and that the system is licensed, and it's probably just something fried on that Ethernet jack.

I can't use this system, as I have no way to configure it, but all the other parts are still working. (I pulled its flash card and installed a RouterOS demo license to confirm that everything else is working.)

So, my feature request: I'd like a bit more flexibility to make configuration changes through the serial port. A full-blown tty on the serial port with the StarOS interface would be sweet, but I realize this probably won't happen. But, at least, the ability to change/add IPs on the other interfaces would be very handy indeed.

[lonnie]

As a work around all you have to do is assign an IP subnet on every interface. You could even go as far as attaching DHCP to the port and then all you have to do is plug in and it will talk.

The real issue is that the Ethernet got zapped, which means the License probably will not be any good. Are you going to spend money for a license to a board that has already been zapped?

[MrSmith]

How can I assign an IP address to the board without logging in via ssh? (ether1 has, presumably, its default address, but since that's the port that doesn't work, that doesn't help.) I also thought that DHCP clients had to be explicitly enabled, and weren't turned on, on any interface, by default.

It already has a paid-for, working license. The board was pulled from a tower that got zapped. Our standard procedure is to just wholesale replace everything, then later sort out what does and doesn't work. Part of that usually involves resetting anything that has a configuration.

So StarOS got reconfigured via the serial port, so it has the default IP on ether1 and that's it. It shows an Ethernet link, just won't pass traffic, so chances are one of the pins is shot. Anyway, by testing RouterOS, I was able to confirm that the card slots, miniPCI slot, and the second Ethernet port are all still working.

The license appears to be good, based on StarOS' serial port boot messages. It's just that I have no way to use said license. We don't use much Mikrotik software in our network, so while that's an option, I don't know what I'd actually DO with the board. Aside from that one little quirk, the board works, and I'd hate to throw away $350 of almost-working hardware for something so comparatively silly.

[lonnie]

I was meaning to do this before you deploy the unit and don't reset to default. In the current situation there is not much you can do. Our system defaults to the first Ethernet and the serial port is not very advanced. Maybe v3 will do better. It is on the list.

[bradg]

The board was pulled from a tower that got zapped. Our standard procedure is to just wholesale replace everything, then later sort out what does and doesn't work. Part of that usually involves resetting anything that has a configuration.

So StarOS got reconfigured via the serial port, so it has the default IP on ether1 and that's it. It shows an Ethernet link, just won't pass traffic, so chances are one of the pins is shot. Anyway, by testing RouterOS, I was able to confirm that the card slots, miniPCI slot, and the second Ethernet port are all still working.

The license appears to be good, based on StarOS' serial port boot messages. It's just that I have no way to use said license. We don't use much Mikrotik software in our network, so while that's an option, I don't know what I'd actually DO with the board. Aside from that one little quirk, the board works, and I'd hate to throw away $350 of almost-working hardware for something so comparatively silly.

First off, not to be a jerk or anything, but I'd honestly question the wisdom of redeploying somehting you know took a ESD/discharge/spike hit sufficient enough to toast an ethernet port. You really don't know how deep into the unit the discharge went, and there is almost certainly more damage that has weakened other components that in turn causes the unit to have a much higher probability of failure in the future.

Anyway, back on topic, and a little electronics lesson. The most likely culprit to have been toasted is the ethernet isolation transformer and termination network, which is easy enough to do a simple test on, and replace if you are proficient at somewhat delicate soldering.

Use an Ohm meter / VOM and test resistance from RJ-45 pins 1 to 2, and then from pins 3 to 6. The resisitances should be nearly equal, and not near or at zero or infinity. If they're at zero or infinity, or there is a large percentage difference between them, it's most likely the transformer - remove it and retest for resistance, you should see opens (infinite resistance) - if not, troubleshoot the termination network, PoE, and physical jack (it could have thrown an arc across pins leaving a conductive carbon track).

If that troubleshooting doesn't reveal the problem, it could still be the transformer, but at that point it may have taken out the driver as well, in which case you'd have to replace it too - and I'd personally declare the board a loss and toss it.

I will fix gear when it makes sense to (and I've got the time or need a break from other things), but will only rarely redeploy it. I am using a repaired WRAP board at my house (power supply issues previously), and a few other pieces of repaired gear in spots on the network (employees houses, etc), but they mainly stay on the shelf in case of massive emergency use only.


Brad

[butchkemper]

If you have another RouterBoard with a StarOS license, you could:

Install a flash with a virgin software load in the good RouterBoard.
Enter the license key for the good RouterBoard, assign IPs to both Ether1 and Ether2, and then save the configuration.
Move the flash to the RouterBoard with the bad Ether1 port and start the system.
Connect to the RouterBoard through Ether2, install the license key for RouterBoard #2, and then save the configuration.

Remember, when the RouterBoard boots from the flash and goes into demo mode because the license key does not match, the saved configuration becomes operational and is ERASED from the flash. A second boot will revert to the StarOS default configuration and you have to start all over again at step 1.

Butch