How can I run router firmware in a virtual system?

Question

I am interested in doing customization's to a router firmware. I want to run the router firmware in a virtualized environment so that i can run the modified code instantly without having to burn it into the router itself. And also any bugs also can be discoverd easily. And finally most importantly i will not have any risk of having to throw away my router due to buggy code. Is it possible to run router Operating systems on virtualbox and test it ?

Answer 1

Most routers are based on MIPS processors. VirtualBox allows you "emulate" (it's not real emulation is the only virtualization) only your host processor (probably it's x86 or x86_64). So you can't use this software to do this. Try qemu software - it's a real emulator and can emulate lots of kinds of processors, including MIPS.