So - my customer pulled an old RB2011 off the shelf (new in the box) and handed it to me for a deployment. I got on-site, but the DHCP-client on ether1 refused to pull an IP from the DHCP server it was connected to. I logged in via WinBox (in MAC mode, because there didn't appear to be any IP assigned to any of the other ports - weird...) and found that the DHCP-client was properly configured. I deleted it and recreated it and got nothing.

I assigned a static IP to ether2, put my own machine on the same subnet and tried to connect WinBox via IP mode and got no response. Given I was on-site and had a tight timeline, I pulled a different router out of my bag (an hAP if you're curious) and deployed that, taking the RB2011 home for further testing.

This RB2011 had 6.1 installed from the factory, so it was an early run. I figured, I'll update it with Netinstall and see how it does afterwards. Netinstall couldn't 'see' the RB2011 after several tries, so I hooked up a serial cable. It consistently read:
occasionally it'd read
I was able to get connected via WinBox on ether2 (in mac mode again.) and copied in the upgrade npk. I'm thinking, 6.1 is pretty old. Lets update this puppy, the update the firmware and see how it does.

No problem - files copied, rebooted the router, the serial console indicated that the update was successful. Still no IP connectivity on the ports though. Using the console, I executed the firmware upgrade and rebooted. Same problem.

At this point I looked at the device and noticed that, every 20 seconds or so ALL the link lights would go solid green for a couple seconds. Then dark for a couple seconds, then the link would come up on ether1 for ~5 seconds, then the whole process would repeat. Its like the switch chipset(s) are resetting, etc. Thinking maybe it was power capacity related, I tried a bigger power supply, then a different voltage, just in case... Nothing.

So now I'm starting to think the switch chipset or similar subsystem is failed or at the very least out of sync, or bad in some other way. I then proceeded to update the RouterBOOT environment via serial/x-modem and it continued to do all the same things. At this point I'm kind of stuck. I can no longer access the device via ethernet and Netinstall only ever fails.

I've tried all the different resets, etc. The last thing I did (in retrospect, a stupid move) was format the NAND. It did exactly what it should, and remove RouterOS entirely. Of course, since Netinstall isn't working, my options at this point are pretty limited.

A couple questions for the experts (both for this situation, and for my knowledge base):

[*]Is there anyway to somehow reset the switch chipset or similar?
[*]I can't find any documentation on how to configure an environment to utilize the DHCP boot mode (vs the bootp mode). It seems to be willing to sit and try for an IP via DHCP longer than bootp.
[*]What about USB? Is there a way I might be able to boot the device off USB and have the update load that way?
[*]Is there any way to load RouterOS via serial? I see that Netinstall has serial port / baud rate options but I can't figure out how to get them un-greyed out, etc. I'm not sure the RB2011 even supports that.

At the end of the day I doubt any of this matters (if the chipset for the switch(es) are bad), but I feel stupid for formatting the NAND. Thanks in advance!

AndyML

Use serial console to set booting from ethernet and try to netinstall over the ether1. Should be working. If not you need to send it back to distributor for warranty repair or replacement.

Late reply, but maybe for some still relevant: I had exact the same problem, including all leds lighting up shortly and no possibility to load mikrotik .npk file over ethernet. I tried all switchports, but it really needs to be the first. Also tried direct connection with utp cable to laptop. No dice, until I tried sending the file over serial cable (cisco cable, microsoft hyperterm) which is also a possible choice from the settings menu which pops up if you press a key within 2 seconds after rebooting. I tried all kinds of "modems", and the X modem succeeded in sending the latest npk file. It took nearly an hour, but after that, netinstall picked up the routerboard and now loading over ethernet was also possible. Routerboard saved!