MikroTik RouterBoard RB2011 series

The RB2011 series consists of different models. The base model has 5 * 1000M + 5 * 100/10M ethernet ports and supports passive PoE input on port 1. Some models then add an SFP port, 802.11b/g/n wireless, USB port and passive PoE on port 10.

Features are encoded in the model name. The format is RB2011x-y-z.

First part describes shared across all releases:

• A - touchscreen LCD
• i - passive PoE output on ethernert port 10
• L - no touchscreen LCD
• S - SFP port
• U - USB port

Any combination of these (except A+L) is possible.

The second part, if present, indicates the presence of wireless and contains 2HnD (2.4 GHz dual chain).

The last part, if present, indicates the case type. If not present, the model is a bare PCB (without the metal case):

• RM - rack mount case
• IN - indoor (desktop) case

Every model identifies itself to the OpenWrt linux kernel with a different model name (eg: 2011r5 for RB2011-UiAS-2HnD-IN). The OpenWrt kernel only boots when it recognizes the model name.

In general, non-PoE-out models are discontinued by Mikrotik, and some of them (UAS) even removed from the website. However, some sellers might have the stock of those old devices.

See Metarouter Virtualization on Mikrotik RouterBoard

Note: Metarouter requires some patches which seems to be unmaintained for versions past 15.05.

This link is dead because of the mailing list failure --- danijeltudek 2021-02-27 19:00 Register layout

AR9344 - Atheros Datasheet

AR8327 - Atheros Datasheet

Do we need this?

0x6f: 30 29    27 26 25 24
0x3e:    29 28 27 26 25

Make sure you use openwrt-19.07.10-ar71xx-mikrotik-vmlinux-initramfs.elf for netboot and not the LZMA file linked above. It wont work.

This should be updated for ath79 once the support is merged.

1. Setup DHCP Server with TFTP Boot (set your PC to static IP of 192.168.1.0/24 range). Note that the initramfs file should be in the directory indicated by the command.

   sudo dnsmasq -i eth0 --dhcp-range=192.168.1.100,192.168.1.200 \
   --dhcp-boot=openwrt-ar71xx-mikrotik-vmlinux-initramfs.elf \
   --enable-tftp --tftp-root=~/directory/where/file/is/ \
   -d -u $USER -p0 -K --log-dhcp --bootp-dynamic

2. Connect PC to ethernet port 1.

3. Power off router, and hold reset while powering on. Wait 20 seconds until you see PC send file. Release reset, and remain connected to ethernet port until you see Router report Openwrt hostname.

4. Connect PC to a different ethernet port.

5. Logon to OpenWrt netboot

6. Sysupgrade the proper Mikrotik sysupgrade.bin. (it's either 64M or huge. You can get the right one by opening up and reading the part # on the tsop48 ic. But, it shouldn't matter if you flash the wrong one, here.)

If you make a mistake, repeat netboot and try again. There is a UART on the PCB near the power cable, if the netboot works, but the sysupgrade fails for some reason. It's possible you may need the 64M image, but the bootloader will remain so the device is not bricked if the wrong sysupgrade is used.

It can be quicker and easier to load ethernet (tftp) from the bootloader, rather than holding down the reset button upon boot.

If you see ECC errors on the UART (rel. 18 and earlier. Has been fixed in 19.07), refer to this forum post: https://forum.openwrt.org/t/ecc-errors-in-ubi-rb2011uias-2hnd-in-and-solution/16424/15

Users have reported seeing multiple devices corrupt their flash upon the 2nd sysupgrade. When this occurs, the device is only usable in netboot mode. See: https://forum.openwrt.org/t/rb433-bad-sector-cannot-start-openwrt/71519/12

For more details see:

• Common Procedures for Mikrotik RouterBoard Products