Netbooting

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Being able to netboot your router can be very handy, especially it things have gone a bit pear shaped!

First of you will need some software to be able to transfer the kernel to the router, you can use your own BootP and TFTP server, but luckily enough the Efficient Configuration Manager has both included.

NOTE: You will need to have the BootP server running every time you reboot the router unless you transfer kernel to the router.

If you have a working copy of the kernel on the router then it will automatically default to using this, so to netboot you will have to change the boot loader option to boot from network first, rather than the flash which is the default.
An alternative is when rebooting the router hold the reset button in while power is applied and the LED's start flashing, this usually takes 10 seconds or so.

First off start the bootP server and select to autostart the TFTP server

Also important is to set your bootP database file from the File, Edit Database File menu, the only difference to the one below would be the hardwareaddr, which is the MAC of the router.

Now copy the firmware you wish to boot with to a location on your hard drive (the root is best). Important: It must be named kernel.f2k otherwise it won't work!

Manually start the TFTP server (File, Start TFTP Now) and make sure that the Set Root directory is the same location as where the firmware is stored, then close the TFTP server.

You may need to statically assign PC's IP address to the same subnet as the router (http://192.168.254.1 for example), it may work without doing so but best to be sure!

Reboot the router and if all is correct the TFTP server window should open and show that it is transferring the kernel to the router.

When this is complete you should be able to connect to the router using telnet or the web GUI.