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Lab 01-04 · Your own brand: the branding package

MTCNA

Module 1 · Introduction. Official course slides 62–63: branding packages and the "Create a branding package" LAB (optional).

Real hardware only

This lab is done in class, on your hAP (hAP ax², or hAP ac²). It cannot run in the virtual lab: the branding package is generated on your mikrotik.com account and installed on a real router. There is no topology.clab.yml or check.sh: the files in initial/ and final/ are the commands to look at the router before and after.

Look at the cereal shelf in a supermarket. The famous brand box and the supermarket's own brand often come from the same factory, with a different box. That is called a white label product.

Internet providers do the same with routers. The router your family got from its provider may well be a MikroTik inside, with the provider's name and logo on the login page. Today you make your own "box" for your hAP.

What you will learn

  • What a branding package is and what it can change
  • Generate one with Branding Maker on your mikrotik.com account
  • Install it on a router by uploading it and rebooting
  • See where the branding shows up: CLI login, WebFig, platform name
  • How to remove it (Netinstall with -b)

What a branding package is

A branding package is a special RouterOS package (file extension .dpk) that changes how the router presents itself, and can carry your own default configuration.

It is generated in the Branding maker section of your account at mikrotik.com, and installed exactly like any other package (lab 01-03): upload, reboot. It works on any RouterOS version, although a few options need a recent one.

What you can change:

Option Where you see it
Router name (one word) used as the platform name and the default identity, instead of "MikroTik"
Company URL shown in the console at login
Manual URL the help link WebFig opens
ASCII logo (max 8 lines) the big letters at CLI login, instead of MMM KKK...
WebFig logo and login page http://192.168.88.1
Hotspot login logo the captive portal page (Module 9)
Skins (.json) simplified WebFig/WinBox for groups (lab 01-01)
Default configuration the configuration the router gets after a reset
LCD logo (max 160×72 px) the screen of routers that have one
Hide "MikroTik" in SNMP monitoring tools (Module 9)

Why the default configuration matters most

For a provider, the most useful part is not the logo: it is the default configuration. Every time a customer presses the reset button, the router comes back with the provider's settings instead of MikroTik's.

flowchart LR
    BM["<b>Branding Maker</b><br>mikrotik.com account<br>name, logo, URL..."] -- "download" --> F["<b>my-brand.dpk</b><br>(on your laptop)"]
    F -- "upload: WinBox Files<br>or scp" --> R["<b>Your hAP</b>"]
    R -- "reboot" --> B["<b>Branded RouterOS</b><br>new name, logo,<br>login page"]

The scenario

Device Role Address
your hAP ax² the router you brand LAN 192.168.88.1, Internet from the class AP (lab 01-02)
your laptop WinBox, browser, terminal 192.168.88.x by DHCP

Start the lab

Download the lab files and unzip them: 01-04-branding-package.zip. Open a terminal inside the 01-04-branding-package folder.

  1. Connect the hAP to the class AP by cable (ether1) and your laptop to a LAN port, as in lab 01-02.
  2. Open WinBox (or ssh admin@192.168.88.1).
  3. Make sure you have a mikrotik.com account (free registration on mikrotik.com).

Step 1 · Take the "before" picture

Why: you cannot see a change if you did not look first.

In WinBox: System → Resources, System → Packages, Files. Or paste the commands of initial/r1.rsc in a New Terminal:

:put ("platform:  " . [/system resource get platform])
/system package print

Expected: platform: MikroTik and the packages routeros and wifi-qcom. Log out and in again with SSH: note the MMM KKK MikroTik logo.

Check yourself

Write down in your report the platform name and draw (roughly) the login logo.

Done when: your report has the "before" data.

Step 2 · Design the package in Branding Maker

Why: the package is generated by MikroTik's servers and signed, so the router accepts it.

  1. Log in at mikrotik.com, open your account and then Branding maker.
  2. Fill in at least: Router name (one word, e.g. ClassNet13, with your student number), Company URL, and a small ASCII logo (8 lines maximum).
  3. Optional: a WebFig logo (mikrotik_logo.png) or a skin from lab 01-01.
  4. Generate and download the .dpk file.

One word, no spaces

The router name becomes the platform name and the default identity, so it must be a single word.

Check yourself

Which option would an Internet provider care about most, and why?

Done when: the .dpk file is on your laptop.

Step 3 · Upload it and reboot

Why: like any package, it is installed during the boot.

In WinBox: open Files and drag and drop the .dpk file into it. Or from the laptop's terminal:

scp my-brand.dpk admin@192.168.88.1:

Then reboot (System → Reboot):

/system reboot

Done when: the router is back up (about one minute).

Step 4 · See your brand

Why: check every place the branding shows up.

Log in again with SSH: your ASCII logo and URL appear. Then paste the commands of final/r1.rsc:

:put ("platform:  " . [/system resource get platform])
/system package print

Expected: the platform shows your router name, and the package list shows the branding package. Open http://192.168.88.1 in the browser if you added a WebFig logo.

Check yourself

Compare with your "before" data. Which three things changed?

Done when: you see your brand in the CLI login and in /system resource.

Step 5 · (Optional) Remove it

A branding package survives normal resets: it is part of the installed system, not of the configuration. To get rid of it, reinstall RouterOS with Netinstall and its -b option, which removes the branding package (lab 01-07):

sudo ./netinstall-cli -b -r -a 192.168.88.3 routeros-7.23.8-arm64.npk wifi-qcom-7.23.8-arm64.npk

If something goes wrong

Symptom Likely cause Fix
Nothing changed after the reboot the file was not uploaded completely, or the router did not reboot check Files, upload again, System → Reboot
Old identity still shown the identity was already set by you (labs 01-02, 01-05): branding only changes the default look at the platform name and the login logo instead
Branding Maker refuses the router name it contains spaces or symbols use one word, letters and digits only
You want the MikroTik look back the branding package stays after a reset Netinstall with -b (lab 01-07)

Key takeaways

  • A branding package (.dpk) customises how RouterOS presents itself: name, logo, URLs, WebFig pages, skins.
  • It is generated in Branding maker on your mikrotik.com account and installed like any package: upload and reboot.
  • It can carry a default configuration, which comes back every time the router is reset: the most useful part for providers.
  • It survives a configuration reset; Netinstall -b removes it.
  • This is how white label routers are made: same hardware, different box.

Quick check

1. What is the file extension of a branding package?
  • .dpk
  • .npk
  • .rsc
  • .backup

Branding packages are .dpk files. Normal packages are .npk, exports are .rsc and binary backups are .backup.

2. Where do you generate a branding package?
  • In Branding maker, in your mikrotik.com account
  • In WinBox, under System → Packages
  • In WebFig, with the Design Skin button
  • With the export command in the CLI

The package is generated by MikroTik in the Branding maker section of your mikrotik.com account, then downloaded and uploaded to the router.

3. How do you install a branding package on a router?
  • Upload the file to the router and reboot
  • Import it with the /import command
  • Restore it from System → Backup
  • Paste its contents into a New Terminal

A branding package installs like any package: upload it (WinBox Files, scp, FTP) and reboot. /import is for .rsc scripts and Backup is for .backup files.

4. Why is the default configuration the most useful part of a branding package for an Internet provider?
  • After a reset, the router comes back with the provider's settings
  • It makes the router faster than the MikroTik default
  • It hides the router from the customer's network
  • It prevents the customer from ever resetting the router

The default configuration is what RouterOS applies after a reset. With the provider's own, a customer who presses the reset button still gets a working, provider-ready router.

5. A classmate reset their branded hAP to defaults and the logo is still there. Why?
  • The branding is an installed package, not part of the configuration
  • The reset button only works when RouterOS is switched off
  • The logo is stored in RouterBOOT and can never be changed
  • Resetting the configuration also reinstalls the branding

A configuration reset clears the configuration, not the installed packages. To remove branding you reinstall RouterOS with Netinstall -b.

6. Which two things can a branding package change?
  • The ASCII logo shown at CLI login
  • The router name used as the platform name
  • The CPU architecture of the router
  • The license level of the router

Branding changes how RouterOS presents itself: logo, router name, URLs, WebFig pages, skins and default configuration. It cannot change the hardware or the license.

You know now that a router's look is just a package away. Next lab: give your router a name, real users and only the services it needs.