05 Oct 08 APNIC Box - Linux on a Mikrotik 532a, Part 3 - Installing Debian, Prebuilt Disk Image
>> Forums...Follow on from 01 Oct 08 APNIC Box - Linux on a Mikrotik 532a, Part 2
The device runs a 2.4.30 kernel on a debian woody (mipsel) environment. If anyone can contribute anything for 2.6.x and debian etch, that would be great.
In this part, I’m going to provide a download link to a prebuilt image which you can write directly onto your own CF card with dd or similar tool. I’m also going to provide a step by step to installing debian yourself without my prebuilt disk image.
Prebuilt image is here:
MD5: 8a13e1e5bec61a732065525b82409c45
The prebuilt image also contains a number of scripts and tools that I’ll comment on and come to in later parts.
Now installation instructions:
apt-get install toolchain-source
apt-get remove autoconf
apt-get install autoconf2.13
apt-get install fakeroot
tpkg-make mipsel-linux
apt-get install debhelper
apt-get install dpatch
debuild -uc -us
debinano -w /usr/bin/tkpg-install-libc
>>SERVER=${TPKG_SERVER:-”ftp://ftp.debian.org”}
>>wget $SERVER/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-${debarch}/Packages.gz -O $TDIR/packageset.gz || exit 2
tpkg-install-libc mipsel-linux
#Build boot kernel
#Download linux-2.4.30
#Download http://www.routerboard.com/files/linux-2.4.30-yaffs2.patch.gz
#Apply patch
make ARCH=mips menuconfig
#Turn ON CONFIG_PACKET / CONFIG_FILTER
nano -w Makefile
#Change kgcc to gcc
make ARCH=mips CROSS_COMPILE=mipsel-linux- dep
make ARCH=mips CROSS_COMPILE=mipsel-linux- vmlinux
cp vmlinux linuxrc
echo “root=/dev/ram0 ramdisk_size=8192″ >kernel.params
echo “root=/dev/cfa2″ >kernel.params
mipsel-linux-objcopy –add-section kernparm=kernel.params vmlinux
mipsel-linux-objcopy –add-section initrd=initrd.gz linuxrc
mipsel-linux-strip vmlinux
mkdir /rb/
cp vmlinux linuxrc /rb/
#Prepare your initrd
mkdir test
cd test
dd if=/dev/zero of=initrd bs=1024 count=8192
/sbin/mke2fs -F -b 1024 initrd
mkdir mnt
mount initrd -o loop ./mnt
cd mnt
wget http://archive.debian.org/debian-archive/dists/woody/main/disks-mipsel/current/root.tar.gz
tar -xzf root.tar.gz
mv debian-mipsel-root/* .
rm -f debian-mipsel-root
rm linuxrcmknod dev/cfa b 13 0
mknod dev/cfa1 b 13 1
mknod dev/cfa2 b 13 2
mknod dev/cfa3 b 13 3
mknod dev/cfa4 b 13 4
sed -e s/delo// usr/lib/debootstrap/scripts/woodycd ..
umount mnt
gzip initrd
mv initrd.gz /rb/
Prepare dhcpd and tftpd on your host machine so that the routerboard can network boot it’s setup
nano -w /etc/dhcpd.conf
>>default-lease-time 21600;
>>max-lease-time 2100;>>host rb500 {
>> hardware ethernet 00:0C:42:0A:6A:7A; #mac address of your routerboard’s eth0
>> filename “/linuxrc”;
>> fixed-address 192.168.0.10;
>>}
>>subnet 192.168.0.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
>> option subnet-mask 255.255.255.0;
>> next-server 192.168.0.2; #tftp server ip
>> option broadcast-address 192.168.0.255;
>> option routers 192.168.0.1;
>>}
apt-get install atftpd
remove atftpd from /etc/inetd.conf
killall -HUP inetd
atftp –daemon /rb/
Set your machine up for masquerading so the device has network access for setup.
iptables -F
iptables -X
iptables -t nat -I PREROUTING -i eth0 -j ACCEPT #internal interface
iptables -I FORWARD -j ACCEPT
iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o eth1 -j MASQUERADE #external interface
At this point, you’re ready to start your routerboard and begin the setup. You have an initrd (initrd.gz) and a kernel (linuxrc), as well as the host serving these via DHCPD/TFTPD. Connect your RB via serial console and ensure that the it is set to Ethernet boot. The vmlinux that you made will be used after setup. You can use gtkterm/minicom on Linux, or PuTTY/Hyper Terminal on Windows. If you’re seeing nothing or a load of junk output to your console, a) make sure that the cable is correct and connected, b) Make sure your connection settings are: 57600 8N1
For the installation process via your serial terminal:
Run through installer
Create 4M partition on /dev/cfa1 (0×27)
Create 475M linux partition on /dev/cfa2 (ext3)
Allocate remaining space to /dev/cfa3 (swap)
* Perform install
Once install is complete of base system, execute a shell.
Generate a new kernel on the host machine
cp /usr/src/linux-2.4.30/vmlinux ./vmlinux
echo “root=/dev/cfa2″ > kernel.params
mipsel-linux-objcopy –add-section kernparm=kernel.params vmlinux
mipsel-linux-strip vmlinux
* wget this vmlinux onto the routerboard
dd if=./vmlinux of=/dev/cfa1
Edit /target/etc/inittab with nano-tiny
Add:
t0:23:respawn:/sbin/getty -L console 115200 vt100
cd /target/
mknod dev/cfa b 13 0
mknod dev/cfa1 b 13 1
mknod dev/cfa2 b 13 2
mknod dev/cfa3 b 13 3
mknod dev/cfa4 b 13 4
reboot
* Configure setup options and root password
apt-get remove ppp pppconfig tasksel setserial info nvi pppoe pppoeconf ed fdutils bsdmainutils adduser man-db console-common gettext-base groff-base manpages modconf libreadline4 libgdbmg1
apt-get install wget dropbear debconf-english localepurge [Don't select any locales]
apt-get upgrade
apt-get clean; rm -rf /var/lib/dpkg/*-old
And you’re done. 
These are the notes that I took and corrected throughout my own installation process. I’m sure that there are corrections and a number of explainations required - please do contribute or comment. Thanks!
Tags: 532a, apnicbox, apt-get, atftpd, CF, compile, cross compile, Custom Kernel, dd, debian, dhcpd, dhcpd.conf installer, forward, initrd, initrd.gz, iptables, ip_forward, kernel, Linux, linuxrc, masquerade, mikrotik, mipsel, mkfs, mknod, mount, partition, prebuild image, routerboard, routerboard 532a, scripts, sed, tftpd, vmlinux, wget
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I'm Adam Palmer, and I'm an Embedded Linux/Embedded Hardware enthusiast.
I spend most of my time managing server clusters, and doing some PHP/MySQL development, whilst what little spare time I have is dedicated to playing with gadgets.
I'm always happy to consult on or manage any Linux related, Web Application or Hosting project. Please get in touch with me!
Widgets & Links
I can not remember all but I have the same box running with etch, 2.6 and ispconfig.
The only thing I can remember is it did it with qemu.
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