Router boots with different configurations

RouterOS General
1

Hi,

I have a strange situation.

I have RB260GSP which is powering 3 SXT devices. Power consumption is low, so there is no problem with that part.

If switch is rebooted all the devices are rebooted as well. Two SXTs start normally and there is no problem with them. Third SXT starts with some strange configuration on it - no IP address, no IP routes, wireless disabled… I can connect through mac address. If I reboot it, it reboots with “full” configurations and everything is up running.
This happens every time I reboot the switch. This one device starts with different configuration which is always the same. If I reboot only that device it boots normally.
It seems like it has two configuration repositories and for some reason it boots with different configuration in some cases.

I tried to upgrade the software and firmware, but the behavior is the same.

Did someone have similar experience and what could I do? I wouldn’t like to reset the device to default and configure it from beginning because it is on very remote location and I don’t have access to it.

2

Check partitions. If there are more than one, remove the unnecessary partitions.

3

There is no additional partitions, just the default one. I just double checked it.

I really don’t understand where is this other boot configuration coming from…

4

Then there is the most common almost everything healing procedure: the netinstall.

5

Unfortunately it’s very remote location and I don’t have direct access to equipment. Nobody will go there for months. So I won’t be doing netinstall for sure.

I could ask Mikrotik directly. They should know how the configuration files are booted and how to possibly delete other boot configuration.

6

Ask them and send them the supout file. Be prepared for netinstall answer.

7

There is no “second configuration.” Other than a second partition, there is no place to store it. Trust me, I know…I have examined the filesystem layout of RouterOS and know where the config files are stored.

To me, It sounds more likely that you are not getting a “second configuration” but instead a BLANK configuration, as if RouterOS was unable to read the config files from the disk. When you reboot it, it tries a second time to read the config and is successful.

Here is a simple test you can run (make a backup first before you do this and copy the backup off-site so that you can upload and restore if something goes wrong!! Depending on what is causing this issue, this test could actually end up wiping out your config):

Next time you get this “second” (blank) configuration, make a simple change, like add an IP address. Then reboot the router. If your real configuration comes back and your change is not there, then try to get the router in a state where the “second” config is back. Once that happens, check for your change. If it is not there (and I doubt that it will be), and instead all config is gone again, then clearly it didn’t save your change to disk in this hypothetical place where a second config might exist. At this point, you know that you are dealing with an issue that is preventing the router from reading its config, and so it thinks it doesn’t have one. Then it presents you with a blank slate.

(It is possible that when you run this test, when you make a change to the system while the “blank” config is what is showing, that RouterOS will try to write the change that you just made to disk. If it is successful, it is possible that it might replace that subsection of the config with what you added, completely overwriting was used to be there. In other words, the next time you boot it up to get your config back, you might find that all of your config is there except all of your IP addresses got wiped out, with the exception of the one you added while everything was blank.)

Regardless of the outcome, you are most likely dealing either with defective hardware (bad flash chip, or flash controller, or something), or a filesystem that is not in a good and consistent state. If it is the latter, about the only thing that is going to solve that is a format and Netinstall.

– Nathan

8

Hi,

It’s not blank configuration because there is some configuration there, for example wireless interface is configured, but disabled. There is no IP address on the bridge interface though. I didn’t go through all configuration to compare what is the same and what is different between the “first” (full) configuration and this “second” (partial) configuration.

But I did the test you suggested yesterday. I rebooted the switch and this partial configuration came up on the SXT powered from switch. I added the IP address (same as in the full configuration) but left everything else untouched (disabled wireless interface,…). After that I rebooted only the SXT and full configuration came up.
Then I rebooted the switch again and the partial configuration with IP address came up (wireless interface disabled). After that I rebooted only SXT and full configuration came up.

So the change in this “second”, partial configuration was saved and it really seems there are two configurations. I don’t know where it is held, but it’s very strange behavior.
I didn’t contact Mikrotik yet, it’s not critical, but I will as I’m interested what is happening there.

9

It more and more looks like two partitions in the sxt. When you reboot the switch it probably powers the sxt for a while and then resets the power or the power supply drop for a while. The booting of sxt is unsuccessful and for the second time the backup partition is set to be booted on. Look at it once again.