I have 3 MT hotspot controllers running in different PCs. One unit is aging and I wanted to migrate the system to a new PC.

I easily loaded my 2.8.15 router into the new PC with three ethernet ports. My old system had 3 ethernet ports and they were identified in the old system as ether1, ether2, and ether3. I entered the LAN address and gateway onto ether 1 so I could communicate with the machine via the ethernet. All this worked fine. Then I used FTP to upload my backup file from the OLD router into the NEW router (with a new key). This all SEEMED to work OK, but when it got uploaded, communications with the router was lost on "ether1" and it did not appear on either of the other two ethernet ports either.

I investigated (for a couple of days as I have pretty well forgotten how this router works!).

I found that inside the NEW system the ether1/ether2/ether3 ports were converted so that
ether1 became ether2
ether2 became ether4
and
ether3 became ether5

Also, the new ethernet ports (Ether4 and ether5) were disabled. Also, the gateway interface was listed as "unknown" and the port used by my local LAN became "unknown" as well.

When I sorted out these THREE diverse problems, everything started working normally.

What is going on here? I thought if I used the same firmware and the mating backup file on a new computer, that the Mikrotik would "take off running" without a hitch. Is every move to a new unit of hardware fraught with problems like these?

Is there a way to more easily migrate to a new unit of hardware?

Another Question: I was going to try to upgrade to version 3.1.0 as a part of the hardware upgrade and I got sidetracked by the above. Does anyone know what I am going to run into if I try to upgrade to 3.1.0 from 2.8.15? Do I have to do it in multiple steps?

Thanks for any advice as I have a couple of more hotspots that have aging hardware.

Thanks
Joe

Hi w2jo

Remember when restoring a backup, your exact settings will be transferred. Since the address you added before restoring the backup was NOT on the previous router, it will be cleared together with any other settings and ONLY the backup's settings will be restored.

Lucky for us Winbox now has the MAGIC BUTTON (the 3 dots ...). When you click on the magic button, you can access the router with MAC-Winbox, no need for an IP address initially.

Hope it helps! G

The problem is actually to do with the MAC addresses changing. So it's better to do an export of the settings when changing hardware. I would not export the IP addresses though, I just found this caused some problems so I manually configured these and then imported all the other settings; firewall, wireless, dhcp, vpns etc.

The upgrade to 3.10 should be fine but if you have any scripts running, these will probably break so it's maybe prudent to search up on the differences.

Thanks for the information.
It looks as if the basic hotspot is now working but some of the special routing features are "broken". I guess they were casualties of the etherX changes as well.

So, are you saying that even with the latest (3.1.x) versions that it is still impossible to make "clones" of a running router without a lot of manual work?

Is exactly WHAT manual work is required defined anywhere? In other words, are the items that WILL NOT make the transition to a new hardware vehicle known to the users in the form of an application note or such? Or does each router user have to search out what has gone wrong in his own special case?

Thanks.
Joe

Who ever said our industry is easy?

I am very skeptical and careful when upgrading any MT. I only upgrade when I need a new feature or when something isn't working as expected.My rule of thumb is to upgrade highsites at a time where it will be possible to "quickly" go out and fix if needed and have a backup router handy with older OS.

When updating more critical routers such as usermanager, CORE routers or any routers with lots of scripts and queues, I first setup a new router with the new ROS and try all my scripts on it.

When upgrading from 2.8 to 2.9 there's lots of differences and the same when going from 2.9 to 3.x. But when upgrading from 3.1 to 3.5 or 3.10 for argument sake, you hardly ever have these kinds of platforms. It's similar to upgrading from Windows 95 to 98 to XP to Vista. (ok, not really, but you get the picture)

If you're not sure, never ever backup a live and important server without first testing it on another router. Ideally, setup a new router completely and then replace your old router with the new one.

G

Is exactly WHAT manual work is required defined anywhere? In other words, are the items that WILL NOT make the transition to a new hardware vehicle known to the users in the form of an application note or such? Or does each router user have to search out what has gone wrong in his own special case?

I personally think you are mad to upgrade to another version on a live system without testing this procedure first on a test bed. I've seen way too many posts recently where users bleat horribly about config changes between the versions, but they haven't bothered to test first.

This is what I would do, export every section to a file, then as you import these into your 3.10 test router, you can see which section causes problems. That way, you'll be able to carry over the settings you know wont break and you'll also know which ones to fix.

So do something like this first;

/export file=[/system identity get name]

and then break it up into logical sections.

Hope this helps.

I fully agree with Hilton

Never ever ever try these dangerous stunts on a live system! Or you will get your fingers burnt!

Giepie and Hilton.. My thanks to both of you. I think you have given me great advice and I shall take it. And How True! Anyone who tries to upgrade his "online" MT router should plan for an extended system outage. That is another lesson from my past!

I can still (painfully) remember my startup with Mikrotik. It was about the last of the 2.6 routers in maybe 2003. I studied, worked and upgraded a dozen times over about a YEAR before I got to a stable platform at 2.8.15. That software system has performed flawlessly over about 4 years time in several routers I built. I do covet some of the new version 3 features, but I can feel a nightmare of upgrade problems if I give it a try. Best I wait until I HAVE to have it!

With your sage advice, I think I will finish up getting 2.8.15 working 100% in this new computer. Then I will retrofit the PSU, CPU fan and HD in the old unit and keep it for a spare for this particular hotspot.

Mikrotik has a WONDERFUL system, but they (seemingly) have yet to solve many of the upgrading problems which have been a plague on their users since the beginning. One would THINK that at a MINIMUM, it would be possible to CLONE a working system into another hardware vehicle painlessly! It is like if every install of Windows had to be manually manipulated on every computer before it would run!

Anyway.. I am now up to functional on my new computer running 2.8.15. I will leave my thoughts of upgrading to 3.1.x for another time when one or another feature becomes imperative to have. Maybe by then MT's router will have come of age. The MT system is so superior in so many ways, one wonders why MT management fails to come to grips with these extremely time consuming support issues.

Do I remember correctly that if I change the HD on my old unit that I have to go to MT and get a new software key? If this is still true in 3.1.x, that is (and was) another maintenance headache. It would be much more user friendly if they keyed their software to the CPU serial number rather than the HD.

Thanks again!
Joe

Hi Joe

It's our pleasure to serve you

Yes, if your harddrive packs up, it will cost you $10US for a replacement key. Always a good idea to have a backup drive handy grr.

Have you considered making use of RB600's, perhaps with a daughterboard?

Have a good one! G