#System: packages, updates, firmware, reboot

File: src/topics/system.j. Paths: /system/package, /system/package/update, /system/routerboard, /system/resource, /system/identity (SYSTEM_PACKAGE_PATH, SYSTEM_UPDATE_PATH, SYSTEM_ROUTERBOARD_PATH, SYSTEM_RESOURCE_PATH, SYSTEM_IDENTITY_PATH).

#Background

Keeping a MikroTik healthy involves two separate update tracks that newcomers conflate:

1. RouterOS packages - the operating system. Checked and installed via the package updater; installing reboots the router.
2. Routerboard firmware - the boot loader underneath. Every RouterOS update ships a matching firmware, but it is only flashed when you ask, and it takes effect at the next reboot.

So the full update dance is: check → install (reboots) → reconnect → upgrade routerboard → reboot again. routeros gives you each step and tells you which ones drop the connection.

#Structs

mt.SystemInfo   { version, boardName, architecture, uptime, cpuLoad, freeMemory, totalMemory }
mt.Package      { id, name, version, disabled }
mt.UpdateStatus { channel, installedVersion, latestVersion, status, updateAvailable }
mt.Routerboard  { model, serialNumber, firmwareType, currentFirmware, upgradeFirmware, upgradeAvailable }

updateAvailable / upgradeAvailable are computed for you (both versions known and different).

#Functions

#Examples

Health report:

def info as mt.SystemInfo init mt.systemInfo($c);
io.printf("%s: RouterOS %s on %s, up %s, cpu %s\n",
    mt.identity($c), $info.version, $info.boardName, $info.uptime, $info.cpuLoad);

The full, safe update sequence:

def st as mt.UpdateStatus init mt.checkForUpdates($c);
if ($st.updateAvailable) {
    io.printf("updating %s -> %s\n", $st.installedVersion, $st.latestVersion);
    mt.installUpdates($c);          # router reboots itself; client is dead now
    # ... wait for the router to come back, then reconnect ...
    # def c2 as mt.Client init mt.connect($host, $user, $password);
    # if (mt.routerboard($c2).upgradeAvailable) {
    #     mt.upgradeRouterboard($c2);
    #     mt.reboot($c2);           # firmware takes effect
    # }
}

Rename a batch of routers:

mt.setIdentity($c, "office-gw");

#Device mode

RouterOS gates the features that can execute code - the scheduler, /tool/fetch, e-mail, containers - behind a device mode. On a router in home mode those menus report as missing rather than refused, which is worth checking first when a feature "does not exist":

def d as mt.DeviceMode init mt.deviceMode($c);
io.printf("mode=%s scheduler=%t container=%t\n", $d.mode, $d.scheduler, $d.container);

Raising the mode is deliberately not something a remote script can finish on its own:

mt.updateDeviceMode($c, mt.DEVICE_MODE_ADVANCED);

That call only makes the change pending. The router applies it when someone power-cycles it - a cold boot, not reboot(c) - or presses the reset button, within a few minutes. Miss the window and the request is discarded silently, leaving the mode as it was. Modes are DEVICE_MODE_HOME, DEVICE_MODE_ADVANCED, and DEVICE_MODE_ENTERPRISE.

#Connection-dropping semantics

installUpdates, reboot, and shutdown succeed by killing the connection. routeros distinguishes the two outcomes: a router refusal (!trap, e.g. the user lacks the reboot policy) is re-thrown as Error{kind: "mikrotik"}, while the transport error from the dropped connection is swallowed - that is what success looks like. After any of them, the Client is unusable; reconnect with mt.connect.

#Pitfalls

• checkForUpdates needs the router itself to have working internet and DNS (dns.md); a failure comes back as kind: "mikrotik" with the updater's message.
• Update, then firmware: upgradeRouterboard flashes the firmware version that shipped with the currently installed RouterOS, so run it after installUpdates and its reboot.
• shutdown on a remote router means a car ride. The docblock says as much; prefer reboot.
• Version strings are reported verbatim (e.g. "7.15.2 (stable)" in SystemInfo.version); comparisons beyond equality are on you.

#Related

• scheduler.md (nightly backups before updating is a good habit), tools.md (verify the uplink after a reboot).