moving from N66U to AC66U - settings?

[greggy101]

I will be switching around 2 routers - changing places.
Both are on the Merlin's 21.
Can I restore settings of one using config. file from the other one?
So, having N66U restored from .CFG that was saved from AC66U?
And vice versa.
DHCP settings are my main concern as I have 31 static IPs.
Thanks for any help.

 

[RMerlin]

I will be switching around 2 routers - changing places.
Both are on the Merlin's 21.
Can I restore settings of one using config. file from the other one?
So, having N66U restored from .CFG that was saved from AC66U?
And vice versa.
DHCP settings are my main concern as I have 31 static IPs.
Thanks for any help.

Don't do that - the saved settings contain a lot of hardware-specific settings.

Instead, manually export and restore the settings you want to keep. For instance, in the case of DHCP static leases, run this either over Telnet/SSH or through the Run Cmd page:

nvram get dhcp_staticlist

Copy the output, and import it that way on the other router:

nvram set dhcp_staticlist="the_output_you_saved"

A few interesting settings you might want to transfer this way:

qos_rulelist
vts_rulelist (port forwards)

 

[greggy101]

Thanks much Merlin!
Will do that.

 

[HawkInOz]

Export & Import Settings

Don't do that - the saved settings contain a lot of hardware-specific settings.

Instead, manually export and restore the settings you want to keep. For instance, in the case of DHCP static leases, run this either over Telnet/SSH or through the Run Cmd page:

nvram get dhcp_staticlist

Copy the output, and import it that way on the other router:

nvram set dhcp_staticlist="the_output_you_saved"

A few interesting settings you might want to transfer this way:

qos_rulelist
vts_rulelist (port forwards)

With 30 entries in my DHCP list, this simply does not work. The export is fine, but the line is far too long on the import and becomes truncated, leaving me with an error and no entries accepted (or remaining) in the list after the failed import. Can the export/import be done to/from a file instead of the screen?

If not, can one append entries rather than overwriting them, so that the list could be broken up into smaller groups - still saving considerable retyping (and possible typos) in the process?

 

[maycribb]

With 30 entries in my DHCP list, this simply does not work. The export is fine, but the line is far too long on the import and becomes truncated, leaving me with an error and no entries accepted (or remaining) in the list after the failed import. Can the export/import be done to/from a file instead of the screen?

If not, can one append entries rather than overwriting them, so that the list could be broken up into smaller groups - still saving considerable retyping (and possible typos) in the process?

You can use putty with log enabled and get that line from the log.

 

[HawkInOz]

You can use putty with log enabled and get that line from the log.

Thanks. What level of logging is required, and how do I extract only what I want from the log (what is the specific command I need to use)?

 

[maycribb]

Thanks. What level of logging is required, and how do I extract only what I want from the log (what is the specific command I need to use)?

Open putty, before you connect to your router, enable logging, then click open.

After you logged in, type nvram get dhcp_staticlist.
Your output should be truncated on screen. The complete output should be recorded in the logging, open it and copy it. Then nvram set dhcp_staticlist="paste"

 

[HawkInOz]

Open putty, before you connect to your router, enable logging, then click open.
After you logged in, type nvram get dhcp_staticlist.
Your output should be truncated on screen. The complete output should be recorded in the logging, open it and copy it. Then nvram set dhcp_staticlist="paste"

I never have a problem with the output being truncated on the screen. It's all there every time. I can copy it from the screen without any problem. I have already pasted it into a text file for safe keeping. What gets truncated is the 'nvram set ... ' line, because it is too long (1273 characters for just the DHCP data) - whether I'm using Putty or Tools > Run Cmd on the router. That's why I was hoping I could pull it directly from a file rather than using the 'paste' option on the command line - or break it up by appending the data rather than overwriting it.

 

[HawkInOz]

Export & Import DHCP Settings

I never have a problem with the output being truncated on the screen. It's all there every time. I can copy it from the screen without any problem. I have already pasted it into a text file for safe keeping. What gets truncated is the 'nvram set ... ' line, because it is too long (1273 characters for just the DHCP data) - whether I'm using Putty or Tools > Run Cmd on the router. That's why I was hoping I could pull it directly from a file rather than using the 'paste' option on the command line - or break it up by appending the data rather than overwriting it.

Any ideas?

 

[RMerlin]

Try putting the command with the values inside a script, and run the script.

 

[HawkInOz]

Try putting the command with the values inside a script, and run the script.

Sounds so simple, but I have zero experience with scripts. After reading the readme file included with your firmware, I have to ask if this would require me to enable and format JFFS? If not, where would the script need to be created/placed and are there any special naming conventions?

I'm guessing the "command with the values" would look something like this:

#!/bin/sh

nvram set dhcp_staticlist="<1a:2b:3c:4d:5e:6f>192.168.2.10>Device<..."

Then I have to make the script executable:

chmod a+rx /path/script

Am I missing anything? What is the command to actually run it manually?

Sorry for my ignorance. Thanks again for your help.

 

[RMerlin]

No, you got that right. Just those two lines, make the script executable, then run it by specifying the full path. If it's in your current directory, then run it like this:

./myscript.sh

No need to use JFFS, since you only want to run that script one time. Once you've run it succesfully and you can see your settings are stored in nvram, just do an "nvram commit" to ensure it gets written back to flash, and you're done.