Production router running BGP - want to install routing-test

RouterOS General
1

Hello,

I have a production router where I can (at great distance however) travel to obtain physical access - so I’m avoiding physical access if possible. The router is running the ‘routing’ package, however, I have found some MPLS examples that I’d like to try on our infrastructure (controlled by the production RB1000 unit) and the examples require the ‘routing-test’ package.

The system is presently running the BGP protocol with some peers. I am concerned that if I install the router-test package to the router I am going to lose connectivity altogether (even after the reboot). Does anyone have any experience changing a router from the ‘routing’ to the ‘routing-test’ package? What impact might this have? I also make backups and exports of the configuration. This production router always restores the BGP sessions gracefully and is up and running in a minute or so after a reboot (firmware updates, ‘power outage’, etc).

I am referencing the following example: http://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/A_complete_Layer-3_MPLS_VPN_example

Essentially, I am updating ‘router C’. My production router is hosted in a data centre, and it terminates ADSL connections and ethernet extensions. I have two ADSL connections running back to my office (they exist only for testing, no production) where I intend to setup the PE1 and PE2 (test) routers, so that I can simulate a configuration for a customer. My ADSL connections are LAN extensions back to the main production router (full 1500 MTU ethernet transport, but at ADSL speeds)

I normally ‘bench’ these experiments, however it’s a saturday and I’m low on available routers to perform the test. The example calls for 5 routers, I don’t have that many left over. I’m benching the MPLS VPN example for a customer that desperately needs to be connected this week. I can’t get any routers during the weekend as my supplier is closed (and we use a courier to get the goods from them). Basically, if my supplier has stock, I won’t see the routers until Tuesday at the earliest. That is why I have to make due with what I have, and why I’m considering changing the routing package on the core router from ‘routing’ to ‘routing-test’.

Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated.

Kind regards

2

if your willing to ‘test’ on production then it would be fine ; ) I wouldn’t do it, especially if you would be affecting paying customers (and its far far away). Maybe you can setup the routers in a vmware environment ? No old retired pcs laying around ?

In 2.9.51 the effects between running routing and routing-test is minimal, in 3.x i think they are quite different. It may work out of the box, but since you say ‘production’ I would say ‘test’ things first on another router.

Sam

3

If you have a PC with a CPU supporting virtualization, you could install 5 copies of router-OS on it using xen with a linux domain-0.