The best thing I was able to find was a post on the MikroTik forum which vaguely mentioned setting up an FTP server with the package files, and adding a static DNS entry within the router to make it use that server instead of MikroTik's server. Next I tried searching the web for information about how it works. The only thing it had was a simple list of the commands under that menu, but nothing about the mechanism it uses 'under the covers' to find out what versions are available, or how it actually downloads or installs them. So my first thought was to check MikroTik's documentation. All of the ones I've seen rely on the ' /system package update' mechanism to actually update the software, but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of information out there about how that mechanism actually works, particularly how to control what version it installs.

There are several 'automatic update' scripts out there already. On top of this, a few of the users (C-level executive types who fancy themselves nework engineers) have SSH access to the routers in their homes, and insist on updating the software themselves - and of course they do it whenever they feel like it, whether I've had time to test the new software or not. One of the problems I wrestle with is keeping the software on the routers up to date, but only after I've had some time to test each new version. Part of my job involves managing a pair of VPNs, one for remote software developers and one for remote testers.

Update routeros mikrotik