Hello everyone … yesterday I was experimenting with the “Branding marker” function on the site. I made a package with the conf.rsc, the Telnet ASCII logo and the WEBFIG logo .. I notice that if I paste the package created in file and restart the ASCII logo is successful but the rest does not .. and if I update the routerOS version, even the ASCII logo disappears .. it is not possible to create a package that remains forever in the device and in addition to the customizations insert a valid conf.rsc?
The branding package should be “sticky”, that’s kinda the idea.
But you mention attaching a conf file to the package. Here is were you might have trouble, applying a script (whether netinstall or branding or even :import in CLI) is often error-prone since an exported file isn’t always just importable at startup. I’ve never tested this…but if the script didn’t compile or had errors, it might be possible Mikrotik does not make the branding permanent. Just a guess. So might be good to know a script in branding working via netinstall method, since the script you use with branding should become the default-configuration, you’d want to make sure it work once via netinstall first 
. If you remove the config file from a branding package, & the ASCII art was sticky after upgrade/reset, that also tell you something (e.g. it’s the script your importing).
so the Branding package should I load it with netinstall instead of pasting it into the Tab file?
Yes you can you use netinstall to install the branding kit. But you need to understand that the branding kit will modify the system’s default-configuration, so reset-to-defaults will get the branding kit’s configuration. If your branding kit config failed, you’re left quite a config mess or bricked router. Netinstall’s script will only change the active configuration, but so a reset-default will get Mikrotik default configuration per https://help.mikrotik.com/docs/display/ROS/Default+configurations. Why I’m suggesting ignoring the branding kit for now; and, focus on netinstall + config script. If that works, the move on the branding kit/package, since that really should be permanent once installed (unless another branding package is installed). While netinstall can be more easily repeated (and you can still get to Mikrotik’s defaults if you use netinstall – while with a branding package containing a default configuration file, Mikrotik’s defaults are gone)
So I guess my question is did you already test the config file to know it work at startup BEFORE trying it in the branding package? There is a LOT of subtleties in how configuration files get imported that need to be covered before using them in a branding package. So if you just did something like “/export file=mydefaults”, it is HIGHLY unlikely to just work if you take that file and use it as the config file in the Branding Maker. And, unless you actually reset to defaults, the Branding help suggests this:
Note that when using the default configuration file, configuration is > appended > when simply installing the package, > but > after using system reset, only the configuration in your file will be used, all other standard default config will not be used during reset.
So it could look like to worked, but if you do a factory reset, you may have nothing.
Basically if your goal is just replacing the ASCII art, Branding Kit is pretty simple. Otherwise, for Branding Kit, you likely want to MODIFY the script from /system/default-configuration/print to your purposes – that has some need checks/delays that are need to import a configuration file. See https://help.mikrotik.com/docs/display/ROS/Default+configurations as there are a few flavors of them, so you’d want to pull the one from the type of device you want to use the branding kit on.
Anyway… it’s a LOT of work if you really want to replace the default configuration using Branding Kit. Managing config/backup is not easy BEFORE you even bring the branding packages into it. Why I’m suggesting using netinstall to TEST any config you want to eventually use in the branding kit.
Why I’m suggesting ignoring the branding kit for now; and, focus on netinstall + config script
how do i load a conf.rsc with netinstall without creating a branding package?
You check the “configure script” checkbox, and link to the same script you’d would have used in the Branding Maker website. See https://help.mikrotik.com/docs/display/ROS/Netinstall
But what are you trying to do? In general, you don’t have to use Branding Maker, or netinstall – and using them is requires a pretty good understand of lot of RouterOS stuff & likely a good understanding of Mikroitk scripting. Certainly knowledge of the “normal” methods here: https://help.mikrotik.com/docs/display/ROS/Configuration+Management
If you need to copy a config between two device, it often easier to just “/system/reset-configuration no-default=yes” on a new device, then import your script.
Loading the conf.rsc with netinstall everything works correctly..to the question what should I do the answer is this..I have to configure 45 ltap with the same basic configuration..then I will change 4 things counted later when they are installed including apn etc .. I have to make a package that I load on each router, I select apn from the drop-down menu where they are already configured for all national operators and complete the management VPN credentials, including the ip server user are preset but to be completed .. so I would say that I can proceed with the creation of the package .. now to load the package created with Branding marker should only the Branding package be loaded? or should the original package with the desired routerOS version also be selected?
Sorry didn’t mean to imply it’s a bad approach. More just you’d have to test it pretty carefully. If want you want is forever the LtAP will go to whatever config you load with branding kit upon a “reset to defaults”. This may be useful if you have end-users that might “reset” them. If you in control of the router long term, you can use netinstall, to program each of your units and just be done too… Flashfig does similar to netinstall, but if you plug all the devices you want to program into a switch, with flashflig all of them can be program at once. Lots of options, any will work in reality.
Basically the branding package is similar to an “extra-package”. So you can copy the .npk to the router’s root file system, reboot, and it should be loaded, forever on the device. The default configuration is appended during the first reboot, so that may be part your issues. So you’d want to try the do a reset to defaults (press and hold reset >8 seconds or “/system/reset-configuration” to make sure your replaced default work and got applied from a clean state.
If netinstall with your script worked, but branding with a default configuration did not work… you might want to add some
/log info "where you are in the script"
inside your config script to make sure it’s running and/or see if it failed.
In fact that the issue with any automation here is that the import scripts are imported one line at time, so an error could mean a partially applied config got installed.
- thus all the questions about “does your script works”, you can’t debug the script once it’s in a branding package (or installed by netinstsall). This just isn’t easy.
Also, nothing stops you from using netinstall with a branding kit package ALONG WITH the routeros NPK. The branding kit is really just the files you add, and RouterOS basically copies them in the right place. It doesn’t replace the actual software packages. Since it’s like an “extra-package”, you can install your branding package using netinstall (or webfig). While you probably could do both netinstall script and a branding package, but you should NOT do BOTH methods (branding kit with default + netinstall script). In theory, they happen at phases of the process, but using both make this even more confusing.
To clarify one point:
netinstall will apply what specified as the configuration file upon reboot.
branding kit NPK file will only change what is /system/default-configuration – so you need to do a /system/reset-configuration after the first reboot, to then have next reboot load what in your replaced default configuration.
So the two places to add scripts do kinda different things. The trick is both do run at startup, so not easily debugged and lots of gotchas on the order, interface names, etc., etc. Since your default won’t change if ROS changes some CLI, your defaults could break in future if they changed some syntax.
so I could just load the routerOS mother package with a conf.rsc file and put the Branding package without default configuration in the system root folder? and so I have both the configuration and the ASCII logo forever?
Yup. In all cases, always need the “mother” package (e.g. package with routeros in the name). The branding package will take care of the logo. Netinstall will take care of your config. That one step per unit to configuration. The logo and config will persist through updates. Only another netinstall without your branding package would remove the logo.
Similar how the ASCII logo is just add over the “mother” package, whatever you set “default configuration” in the branding maker website, just changes a file with a default configuration for use after reset-configuration . But that’s different than what is going to be used after initial install.
After thinking this, I think your first branding package with the configuration would have worked, IF you installed routeros+branding packages FIRST, reboot, and THEN do a /system/reset-configuration. But since you likely NEVER did a “/system/reset-configuration” AFTER installing the branding kit, so it wouldn’t have NOT used the configuration from the branding kit. Likely why you thought what you’d done originally didn’t work – it was still using the Mikrotik/original default configuration. In other words, the branding kit will not cause it’s default configuration to get applied - it just replace the file with it.
In fact, if you think of the branding kit as “ZIP file” that’s unzipped AFTER the “mother” routeros package, that may be easier – it doesn’t have an “actions” itself, other copy files. So the default configuration from the branding package isn’t used just by installing it. Everything else about how configuration files/netinstall/etc doesn’t change - the branding kit just let you change a few files from the “mother” package. Upon future upgrades, your branding sticks around (e.g. your branding package doesn’t have an new version, so like Linux, the branding package remains in the system even if other packages are upgrades)
Another note, I cut-and-pasted a default configuration from the LtAP here: http://forum.mikrotik.com/t/ltap-setup-issues-with-lte/156647/6
That’s the code’s that’s replaced by the branding kit’s configuration. So if you’re going to use a script in the branding kit, you’d really want to start with the original defaults and ADD what you need. If you look at their default script in the post above, there are a lot of checks etc.
The branding kit’s default configuration file will replace what’s shown by:
/system/default-configuration/script print
But the catch-22, is the branding package is loaded after the “mother” package, so orginal default would have already been applied. But an subsequence /system/reset-configuration would use whatever code from the /system/default-configuration/script.