Below are the instructions to boot tor-mips-ramdisk either on an Atheros AR7161 cpu, or in a QEMU environment.

Booting an Atheros AR7161

We've tested our image for the Atheros AR7161 cpu on the RB433AH board which is available here. However, it will probably work on any board with an AR71XX series cpu since the kernel is targeted for the whole series.

Before proceeding, you need to know that the image file "tor-mips-ramdisk.elf" is a vmlinux+initramfs ELF image. It contains the kernel with the initramfs image embedded in an ELF section. It is used for net booting. (We do not recommend copying this release to flash memory yet since it is still beta.)

Here's how to boot it:

1. Put the image on your tftp server, and configure your dhcp server to do bootp to the MAC address of the board. Eg. On Debian/Ubuntu servers, make sure you have dhcp3-server and tftpd-hpa installed and properly running. Then add the following to /etc/dhcp3/dhcpd.conf

host tor-mips-ramdisk
{
hardware ethernet 00:0c:42:1a:3d:F1;
fixed-address 192.168.5.2;
filename "tor-mips-ramdisk.elf";
}

Of course, change the MAC and IP to what you need. Make sure you copy the ELF image to /var/lib/tftpboot/tor-mips-ramdisk.elf

2. Attach a serial line from the board to your computer and run minicom. (You'll need a a DB9f - DB9f serial null-modem cable with loopback.) For the RB433AH, set the port discipline to 115200 8N1 with no hardware flow control

Power the board and enter the setup by hitting any key within 2 seconds:

RouterBOOT booter 2.16
RouterBoard 433AH

CPU frequency: 680 MHz
Memory size: 128 MB

Press any key within 2 seconds to enter setup

RouterBOOT-2.16
What do you want to configure?
d - boot delay
k - boot key
s - serial console
o - boot device
u - cpu mode
f - cpu frequency
r - reset booter configuration
e - format nand
g - upgrade firmware
i - board info
p - boot protocol
t - do memory testing
x - exit setup
your choice:

Choose o

e - boot over Ethernet
n - boot from NAND, if fail then Ethernet
1 - boot Ethernet once, then NAND
* o - boot from NAND only
b - boot chosen device

Choose e and then exit the setup.

3. Use the interface to configure tor-mips-ramdisk as discussed here

Booting in (big or little endian) QEMU

If you want to get tor-mips-ramdisk running in QEMU you have to use TUN/TAP with a bridge. Here's a quick howto:

1. Copy qemu-ifup to /etc. Chown it to root and chmod 755 it. Note that it will have to run with root privileges, so you may want to use sudo as suggested hrere.

2. Edit 00-tuntap.sh and change the IPADDR/router values to those appropriate for your environment. Run the script.

3. Note any other changes you may have to make, like firewalling. Wherever you were using eth0 you'll want to replace it with br0.

4. Boot using 01-boot.sh

5. Use the interface to configure tor-mips-ramdisk as discussed here