Things I don't like about MikroTik...

[@SafirJamil]

Mikrotik's main focus was to provide a cost effective solution to whoever needed it. And started mostly as a last mile solution. Now they're getting more & more into the core network. The feature list has grown from their initial focus on the network edge. It'll take time for them to get there.

[@telecomcraft]

The lack of true HA clustering and configuration syncing is a real concern. This is my top vote. As a service provider engineer, I'd also like to see the addition of Metro Ethernet capabilities.

[@drumaddict89]

that also would be a great benefit if that FINALLY would arrive at RouterOS

[@System0Error0Message]

i will say, even cisco lacks a lot of true HA too. One place i worked used cisco with hotspot in the office, and it was terrible. They should've used radius with azure for connecting to google.

[@blindside995]

Big fan of Mikrotik here in the states. At my company we use Mikrotik for routing and switching. Been simply great for me and I do hope you can find a new career that will keep pushing you and challenging you. You obviously are incredibly intelligent and have motivation. I would think if an employer even came across your channel they could see the value in your effort and consistency.

[@vs4147]

I work in a data centre in the UK and see a lot of racks full of them! It might be tough selling them as a solution to large corporate clients, but for small companies who want the latest feature at a fraction of the cost; you cannot go wrong. Juniper/Cisco equivalent would cost so much more.

[@BattousaiHBr]

very true, we have their switches doing advanced L3 deployment to clients in our datacenter as well, works at wirespeed for a fraction of the cost (and power consumption) of the competition.

[@System0Error0Message]

large corporate clients are lead by IT dinosaurs who think cisco is the best, AMD Is unreliable and slow.

[@johnwalshaw]

My biggest gripe with Mikrotik, when I compare to other platforms, like Cisco, and HP Procurve, is that the GUI and CLI allows configuration when is not a supported feature on the given switch chip. So you have no way to fumble around and have to know the method, based on a credible, and fully documented process.

[@System0Error0Message]

with ROS 7 they went back to separating hardware and software features, although this meant i had to reset and start from scratch again. This means for devices with configurable switches you will see a separate section.

[@mfarokh27]

Yeah, one of the main reasons I opted for CCNA over MTCNA despite the fact that most of my equipment I have currently is Mikrotik is because of the foundational knowledge CCNA offers.

[@mikkio5371]

i basically study ccna to understand network , currently learning for ccnp . i learn these to know network and apply the knowledge to mikrotik .

[@KillaSnipaWoof]

As a Network Operations Technician at a smaller time ISP in Virginia, we use Mikrotiks as the gateways for most of our traffic. They are pretty solid, and are Swiss Army knives if you need a lot of functionality in a package reasonably priced for the quality. Personally, before working for said company, I didn’t have a clue about Mikrotik, only Cisco, and the SOHO router brands. They work quite well, and we have replaced them only a couple of times, but even that is easy compared to other companies. If Mikrotik marketed in other countries more, they could make a name for themselves. The functionality is great, and only growing.

[@aliancemd]

I did CCNA in “High School”, which Cisco offered for free, to pull people into their ecosystem - must say, it’s an effective strategy, because many go on to create companies with that knowledge or push for Cisco hardware in companies because of that knowledge, naturally propagating that further as a hiring requirement. I am not an industry pro, just a techy consumer and I definitely have a few bones to pick with Mikrotik: hardware tech is usually lagging behind, like wireless and they definitely should hide by default stuff like BGP on a tiny wireless device, just like they do with their phone app, which has a semi-hidden advanced mode which allows you to see all the RouterOS options/features. Regular users get scared of it(or people are afraid to suggest such a complicated device to regular consumers) while pros get annoyed by consumer features. Saying all that, I love all the Mikrotik devices I bought for myself and some for my parents, exactly because of their full access to all the features strategy - the pros outweigh the negatives.

[@geerliglecluse5297]

I live in Indonesia and can tell you that Mikrotik do run a training and certification programs for vocational senior high schools here. I know a few people here who got theirs that way. There's something on offer from Mikrotik at college/university level as well. And guess what, Mikrotik is a very big party in the network market and Indonesia is their single biggest market on a per country basis.

[@nezu_cc]

The "niche" is very region-dependent. My current employer (Poland, EU) has been almost exclusively using MikroTik for years now and has only recently started to utilize Fortinet. Also, I love the fact that Mikrotik doesn't try to segment their software. Why would an ISP need parental controls? Well, they don't, but they are the ones deciding that, not Mikrotik. If the hardware is capable of doing something, then why try to artificially limit it in software. The cost is identical.

[@TheNetworkBerg]

Indeed, that is why I specifically said that where I come from (South Africa) it was used a lot and that in a place like Indonesia it is almost THE networking platform. I don't think I want MT to remove features either, but some other comments suggested something I think could make more sense and that is feature sets that a user can choose when logging into Winbox. It might make the learning curve look less daunting for some home labber just getting into MikroTik. I think my biggest issue with the feature set is some of the missing features that an ISP would want. Like EVPN, Segment Routing or IS-IS.

[@JackCrombie]

I think it’s great that everything is available in the one package. It means that the cheapest RB can be used to learn skills or prototype a network design. If they did segregate features, there should be a consumer facing simplified router os package and a full package that’s the same as the current router os that can run on all of the hardware. I love that I can deploy hAPax2 as an edge device with zero tier and that it costs less than $200. The best thing about it is I can connect it to existing networks via VLAN trunks or dedicate Ethernet interfaces to different L2 networks, and get remote access to those networks, on a device so cheap. Something you can’t really do with the ease and flexibility of other routers in that price range.

[@Brygi1985]

Agree. 5 router MPLS core network at my apartment for labing purposes besides EVE-NG (i work for ISP). However, in company network we use MikroTik only for simple things, like customer CPE (as a WISP provider) or simple NATing for few /22 subnets. PIM? MPLS on company core? Forget it. There are missing features, stability problems, or something doesn't work as it should. And sadly v7 is a joke :( We keep latest v6 where we can.

[@aliancemd]

They don’t need to segregate features but at least hide them by default on consumer devices like a wireless AP. They already do that for their phone app. Consumer-friendly UI by default and then they have the “Advanced” mode where you can access all the options of RouterOS.

[@chriseggroll]

I'm a home user using a mikrotik router and switch, and your videos have been helpful for me getting it configured. I'm an IT person but deal more with the software end of things these days instead of networking, but I see them as a relatively cheap way of getting a 10g home network.

[@matelotjim9035]

You've shared a lot of the frustrations we all have. I'm almost evangelical about Mikrotik, but I'm a realist about it. Want a shiny home wifi for your average Joe who isn't a CCNA, then buy Ubiquiti. I run pure MT at home with Capsman, but I'm don't recommend it to my work colleagues. Talking of which, we're crying out for experienced network engineers! If you're close to Hampshire or Glasgow then we have jobs available 😊

[@miankamran802]

I'm in Glasgow looking for the opportunity Regards

[@gorgonbert]

I REALLY want to love MikroTik… but SOMETIMES they make it REALLY hard for me to do so 😂

[@cybersholt]

Well said, been really "loving" wifi wave2 lately 😂

[@RobNicholson1234]

Ohh I can so relate to this.

[@AI-xi4jk]

Very fair points. It’s a great company with room to grow

[@GlenKowalchuk]

I like "niche" ! MikroTik focuses on what they do best. Don't waste time trying to copy the competition. Obviously they are doing it right with the growth they are having these recent years. Keep up the great work. Best of luck in 2024 MikroTik.

[@vontarx4026]

Fully agree about 1st. I'm from Latvia and here you can easely buy Mikrotik hardware, but not to order Mikrotik based solution - you must know some Mikrotik guru or design/implement that solution by yourself.

[@pbrigham]

Great points, they could easy put an advance mode and home mode to filter access option on winbox or webconfig and still keep all the features on all devices. A centralise controller is also a must in 2023.

[@TheNetworkBerg]

Definitely I think that would make everyone's lives easier especially for home users.

[@kresimirpecar4925]

There was a discussion on Mikrotik forum about that but nothing yet... I would like to see that as I have 30 devices and more to manage in different places. And that number is growing... As much as i love mikrotik and their devices are really reliable they are behind others, especially in wifi segment. I saw wifi7 ap from tp link, and 6e is pretty much becoming a standard now yet mikrotik is bragging about wifi 6. Also one period i was forced to use unifi wifi because wifi in earlier versions of ros (7.9) was shit... Unusable...

[@andriesetyawan6275]

In some areas of my country (Indonesia), the use of Mikrotik products is being used as a pilot network to make internet connection costs more affordable. This is because major ISPs charge prices that are not affordable for low-income communities. By using assembled, used, and modified wifi routers, internet can be priced cheaply and affordably.

[@TheNetworkBerg]

Yeah Mikrotik has definitely help in many countries like Indonesia or even South Africa to make network connectivity possible for even rural communities.

[@cyrilpinto418]

As a home user, the reason I switched to MT and away from Asus / NetGear is because these companies end support for their consumer routers after 2 yrs or so, relative to MT that supports it devices for many years. I really wish they would put more effort into the Wifi aspect of their product line and software.

[@TheNetworkBerg]

Yeah I love that they aren't stingy about licensing or stuff like that. There are people that have devices nearly 20 years old that they can load the latest stable RouterOS version 7.

[@BattousaiHBr]

at work we still have a bunch of rb2011 that still work to this day, 10 years in service and counting, and they still get latest releases, kind of crazy when you think about it.

[@ramsamba59]

You're absolutely right about Asus and end-of-life models. If a model fails and dies, there's no way you'll be able to move your settings to another model. Moreover the settings are not text based like an .rsc file in MikroTik. Just 2 weeks ago, an NGO where i volunteer had both their MikroTik RB1100AHX2 die. Fortunately, I had made .rsc backups (compact and verbose). I replaced the dead MikroTiks with MT hEX, edited the .rsc files and restored the settings on the hEX. Life saver! Time saver too since I only volunteer at the NGO. You can't do that with Asus or TPLink, etc. This is exactly why I like MikroTik

[@renderance3551]

My first encounter with MikroTik was working as a technician for an ISP. It was a whole new world for me coming from cisco.

[@JordanEE]

Just started learning Mikrotik's myself and so far they seem to be fantastic value and are very feature packed. The learning curve is steep though, having a filter option for use case and providing more support in their forums would help a great deal. Bought a L009 and RB5009 to learn with.

[@funkiam9214]

I completely agree with your opinion! but the customer is always right and has the opportunity to choose which of the vendors is more suitable for the business! p.s it looks like mikrotik is still living in the year 2000 sadly but truth!

[@NixHasMusic]

I used to work at an ISP as a network engineer in the USA with all mikrotik. Now I do general telecommunications, the dude is great but if the router talked to it instead of it talking to the router initially that would be amazing for customers with DHCP on other ISPs.

[@dvreshta]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I am from a country and the region where Mikrotik is used on all possible scenarios you are mentioning. I am sure that Mikrotik is up to the level of the Goal that they have assigned for themselfves: "to make existing Internet technologies faster, more powerful, adaptable and affordable to wider range of users" Working and training some other technologies except MikroTik I feel the tensions you are explaining when you compare and constrast Mikrotik with other vendors but some market are in chapter 3 and the other markets are in chapter 33 🙂. I am sure, based on the market I am working, that MikroTik availability have speed up development. Other vendors are still consider very expensive. Yes, the biggest room in the world is the room for improvement and there are a lot of improvement lately, i.e. we have some very good switches from Mikrotik followed by a very good switching training course. Another example , new CCR 2xxx series are performing very well, etc

[@soulstring4772]

Viewer from the philippines here.. serving thousands of customers in the US using mikrotik 😊... for me, more on automation.. like incrementing subnets for dynamic vlan assignment is missing

[@GrimmerPl]

About being a niche hardware - well, in my company (our HQ is in Poland) core routers are CCRs and they are quite solid even while chugging full BGP table. Also, one of my clients is running 80+ MikroTiks as branch routers that they use to connect with HQ. What is infuriating for me is the lack of features if you don't want to script it yourself. For example nowadays almost every company is using at least 2 ISPs and with MikroTiks it is a PITA to do IPsec tunnels redundancy without GRE or extra hoops. No true HA and laughable gateway/internet connectivity check (without scripting a solution yourself) is also painful to deal with. To be honest I never thought about doing MikroTik certification - exactly because of what you said. It is strictly focused on their own gear while CCNA is an *amazing* entry level "Networking 101" course. BTW, I love your CP2077 background - this game is awesome after 2.0 release :D.

[@TheNetworkBerg]

Yeah I LOVE Cyberpunk as a genre and watching things like Bladerunner or playing the Cyberpunk2077 game, I totally agree the 2.x release with Phantom Liberty expansion has been freaking awesome!

[@dennisolsson3119]

The "overkill for home use" I have reacted on too, BUT, I see the routers as Linux devices I can do whatever with. HOWEVER: I would like to see something between Webfig and Quick that has more settings but filters out things more enterprise. Maybe different configuration pages for Home/SOHO/etc, just to make the setup easier. Still keep all of them on all machines for flexibility, but allow filtering of options for ease of use.

[@TheNetworkBerg]

That's an outstanding idea, I think it would make getting into MikroTik a lot easier for home users too.

[@grizzlyrideemwet1698]

As far as jack of trades, part of the alternative is a whole mess of software feature sets, which is really a headache. Yes, more features would be good, but not more software packages.

[@dcheek2]

I concur with the one box to solve all problems is a bit overkill for some and not enough for others. As a home user, I don't need any advanced routing or traffic shaping (or kid control). Mikrotik already has a package system in place, perhaps in future releases they could implement a more granular approach; (One package for the OS, one package for wireless, one for basic routing, etc.)

[@EdiUtomoPutra]

As someone from Indonesia i couldn't agree more with your statement 😅. we need "affordable" solution compare to cisco and other brand solution. moreover many small ISP especially in rural area just need "as long as it is work why would we spend much?". The learning curve also not as steep as other. There are many "geek" home user like me also that want to control everything in our house and mikrotik could provide those things with little barrier of entry.

[@Being_Joe]

I just got a Mikrotik for home because it is great bang for the buck. I have a feeling many others are also picking up Mikrotik for the same reason. In 10/20 years when people that have been using these babies for years are going to probably introduce them more into corporate and you will see them in enterprise. Need to establish a fan base.

[@fnordingers]

Maybe Cisco/Juniper/Arista/etc do have a bigger Lobby in EU/USA. I really like the Mikrotik Stuff!

[@TheNetworkBerg]

Yeah don't get me wrong, I LOVE MikroTik solutions. I just wish it was more recognized in the bigger markets. Not sure how they can get in there unless they push for some big marketing campaign and have a larger show of presence with more MUMs etc.

[@conraadvandenberg]

I personally love that all of their hardware comes with the full feature list. It makes the barrier for entry much lower, especially in countries like SA where other hardware like Cisco gear is really expensive and difficult to acquire. I would love to see a simple mode for more normal users, though.

[@TheNetworkBerg]

Yeah a few comments have been mentioning that, maybe an option in Winbox/Webfig to go into "Home" or "SOHO" mode so that the options are limited to what someone might want in those environments, but always having the option to switch to a full feature list if you ever want to play around.

[@conraadvandenberg]

@@TheNetworkBerg that would be fantastic! Quickset is a start, but it’s missing a lot. I have noticed them make a push with the MikroTik app on mobile to bring some of the basic features to the forefront, but I’d honestly love a basic frontend that even my mom could use while we troubleshoot remotely.

[@Max78224]

You see it here in Germany from time to time, but other vendors like cisco or juniper are way more common.

[@RobNicholson1234]

Nobody gets fired for recommending Cisco... hardware may cost a LOT more but support is widespread.

[@fiski24]

I hope mikrotik will never change it's featureset philosophy. To me that is a pro! And one of the reasons I chose this beautiful brand. I just don't like the licensing models of Cisco and Juniper. And with that said, I'm looking to eliminate all American made networking equipment. I want it to be all European. But you do have a point on central management. Thank you for your valuable channel. The Network Berg.

[@valkoh5161]

Central management is scary if youre looking for the ultimate safety. Someone breaching in forced by steps feels more safe approach, and it can be seen beforehand actually by you, ofcourse depending on your firewall. It goes both ways. Just imagine if your unifi cloud got hacked...its not in your hands in the end.

[@Robin99910]

Love Mikrotik besides Wave2 and this hard process of reflshing these "older" (ac) low memory devices with these WinBox Stuff. I basically have devices where I can not figure out how to make them work. But I also do run two 100G Links in my house....

[@sohelahmad5625]

As a home user, I use mikrotik devices in my houses. Control kids and others from different location. Routers are interconnected. So removing features could be a bad idea for some users. They wanted to provide a all in one software solution and they did. They may seperate different routing protocol to disable/enable/remove. I've same issues with their cources.

[@altatensioneip]

Hello, about training I agree 100%. I don't want become Mikrotik Trainer anymore. I choose to become Comptia Partner...

[@RobNicholson1234]

And documentation. I stumbled on Mikrotik buying a cAP lite because I couldn't just believe the size/power. I asked early on if there were any books or online training. Didn't find much in UK.

[@Just_Lew]

1001% concur. wifi6 with 2x2 radios is beyond me

[@Andrew_Thrift]

It seems daunting, but once you get it running you will realise it's actually quite simple

[@TheMchip]

dont worry in slovenija most of the ISP provieders use mikrotik fo CORE uplinks! ... even other european companys are switching to mikrotik! dont worry ... the process is slow ... but belive me mikrotik is the main compatitor for uniper and cisco!¸.....btw the mikrotik certification is most respected in the real IT world! ... the comapany that dont see that is a company who throws out money!...the teaching part .. is just funny ... becaue if you learn the netwoork stuf at mikrtik you know the netwoork stuf for other hardware ....

[@kresimirpecar4925]

I would like to see Mikrotik implements PPSK function... All major players have this... Mikrotik equivelent is messing with radius, user manager, mac auth...

[@TheNetworkBerg]

That's a very good suggestion, I think it would be a great addition to MT as well!

[@ivansavitsky449]

Initially, I was enthusiastic about PPSK. Then I found that Management Frame Protection is incompatible with PPSK. On the other hand we are going towards adoption of Wi-Fi 6E which uses WPA3 and onwards. So, if I start using PPSK now, then I'll have problems with Wi-Fi 6E devices.

[@JimmerofOz]

Here in Tasmania, Australia you will find Mikrotik everywhere, I use it at home, ive seen it used all over our capital city in various capacities. Not to say there arent complaints about it. My main complaint is the RouterOS 7 'stable' branch is not as stable as it could be and the lack of a long term release in the 7.x train is a concern.

[@TheMisterNebo]

The reason people don't use Mikrotik is that is simply is too much work to keep them going. They need constant fidgeting, constant micro-adjustments. Or at least, they did. I changed over to Ubiquity and the stuff just works - I installed it 5 years ago, it still works. I only upgraded firmware once when there was a RCE discovered. No issues whatsoever, no reboots needed, no tweaks needed. Mikrotik went the tinkerer way and there's not many tinkerers.

[@TheNetworkBerg]

I definitely agree that MikroTik is more of a tinkerer's dream since you can really make it do whatever you want if you apply your time to it. It does feel bad when some new firmware comes out and changes certain things on the system and you will have to tinker again to get things back into that working state.

[@drumaddict89]

it start's to establish foot in europe, in particular central europe. thanks to other vendors focusing to subscriber license models ;)

[@TheNetworkBerg]

Yeah don't get me started on how silly some vendors are with their subscriptions. I don't understand how it is cheaper to buy a completely new device with a 3yr license attached to it than what it is to renew a licence

[@drumaddict89]

yes this is something i do not understand too. and as you pointed out well in the video - the feature-set. i and i have seen many others, would love to have that modularity back as in v6 where one can enable and disable features more granulary (as with additional packages) at home my router wouldn't need something like mpls, radius, dot1x, advance-routing, capsman (debatable), ... and so on btw. hope you had a good travel migrating to the UK and fine to see content again here ;)

[@RobNicholson1234]

Indeed... a client I used to support sold the company so my time of supporting them is ending. Just 15 of them and they had a perfectly functional Draytek Vigor connected to Virgin Media cable internet. Rock solid for years. New company mentality - rip it out and replace by a Cisco Meraki. Can't remember the model but I checked the price - £750. Plus nearly £200/year (!) for the license. CISCO laughing all the way to the bank.

[@maxvideodrome4215]

I snoop around in a major carrier hotel / data center in Canada.. about 1/5 of the racks have Mikrotik. Others have bleeding edge Cisco/Juniper - and majority have 2nd or 3rd generation old Cisco/Juniper. Of course, I've seen one rack use TP-LINK and had an old Apple server in it 😝

[@mrd4233]

As a CCNA certified it takes a long time from 8 months to over 1 year duration, to really understand the whole topics and pass the exam! Those marketing terms "pass your CCNA in 6 weeks" are just a joke in the new version of v7 that includes Automation and little bit of APIs! Cheers!

[@vasjabatareikin6016]

Cisco routers don't have HA or configuration sync and even get MC LAG on cisco you need high DC level gear. What I think mikrotik missing is Enterprise line up of products . They hardware has UI in few ways and simple CE side is way on budget . For deployment of 5 G failover is only mikrotik . It works . Also VXLAN, VRF in v7 finally gave some hope for integration with leaf spine architectures . ISIS , BGP l2vpn still missing which prevents enterprise deployment. MCLAG is a nice feature. It kind of looks like incomplete scenario yet, but will see. Forgot, they Wifi 6 finally is produce good performance and meet enterprise deployment. Will see ...

[@DavidPritt-xh7qq]

I am in the UK, and agree that very few people know about MikroTik, but there is little marketing activity, I never met anyone promoting Mikrotik when I was visiting IT Networking conferences or fairs.

[@TheNetworkBerg]

Yeah I mentioned in another comment that I think MT needs to just be more active with their marketing campaigns in first world countries. MikroTik used to do this thing called a MUM (MikroTik User Meetup) which acted as a conference of sorts for people passionate about MT. The last MUM was in 2021 in Indonesia a Market that they already dominate. I really think they should bring this back and have it in places in the first world and advertise what they are doing. I think if more people just saw how good MikroTik actually works they would deploy it in many more places.

[@Jerrec]

MicroTik is for ma Prosumer Product and ideal for Startups, because it is cheap. But I saw MikroTik in Core Systems in eastern EU Countries like Hungary and Czech Republic. I love what you can do with MicroTik, but to be honest, you cant haul 40 Tons with a Ford Raptor. So use it where it is useful. Dont force it to do things it was not designed for. You also dont Route with a CRS326.

[@miankamran802]

Dear all, Little bit from me about the Mikrotik. I have done CCNA insted of MTCNA. No doubt Cisco is Market champion. But according to my experience and learning Mikrotik naked all Networking features. For example when I'm stuck on any topology or deployment Mikrotik help me to leran all the features for my required deployment. How much you will explore Mikrotik You will learn about networking and clear you concepts in other vendors like Cisco etc

[@matiaspaz]

yes, we need HA feature soon

[@CompuWhizz]

Lack of support from Mikrotik is one of the main reasons, that and the poor responses on their forums from staff doesn't help them. That said we use Mikrotik in our stack of options but the learning curve is steep especially as previously mentioned they don't help!

[@TheNetworkBerg]

Yeah I am personally afraid to post on their forums

[@CompuWhizz]

​@@TheNetworkBergWISP's are where we see it used the most here.

[@woobm]

@@TheNetworkBerg What a relief reading that from you ! :) I almost thought they would eat me alive after some of my posts.

[@TheBeardedITDad]

There has always been somthing about Mikrotik that has always left me uneasy running them... but ive never tryed them

[@TheNetworkBerg]

I am a huge MT fanboy though, I've used their equipment in the DC, as CPEs at customer sites and everywhere inbetween. One thing that makes them miles more friendly to smaller business is the perpetual licensing. You buy a router, you get all the features until it dies. No needing to renew anything. I would highly suggest testing them, even if it's just on a virtual lab with EVE-NG or GNS3, you can download the CHR (VM) image for free and have all features available. Throughput on the interfaces are capped at 1Mb for trial purposes, but a VM license costs like $40 if you want to commit to it. And you can even move the license to a new VM if the need ever came up.

[@m-electronics5977]

The big fish in the background is funny😂

[@nickerejv]

DNSSEC support would be a nice addition for soho networks

[@BattousaiHBr]

does any website even use that though? i think only government institutions and banks are sometimes required to use it.

[@tiaanvandermerwe1449]

Can you do Mikrotik online or do you need to go in and do the full course? on site?

[@TheNetworkBerg]

The first time you get certified it unfortunately has to be in person on site by an approved MikroTik trainer with a course that usually runs for a few days consecutively. If you re-certify that can be done remotely. I am hoping that MikroTik updates this.

[@proteuss15]

+1 for HA

[@The8BitHero]

As someone from a Cisco world I haaaaaaaaate Mikrotiks VLAN handling. I've tried to ages to wrap my head around it and I just can't. I've never felt so stupid trying to configure a piece of network gear. I can configure an entire datacenter on Cisco but can't figure out VLANs on Mikrotik. They use the same terms for different things in their own eco system, split settings into weird locations. It's just bad.

[@TheNetworkBerg]

Yeah VLANs on MikroTik has made many people go crazy, the fact that there are multiple ways to configure VLANs with some of these ways also being able to cause misconfigurations is really strange. It would be nice if they just handled it like a majority of all other vendors and just got rid of all these multiple ways of doing it.

[@valkoh5161]

@@TheNetworkBerg But again its not a big deal when you figure it out. It may be different yes, but when you get to know it, theres no difference to using it over others. I would say it could be the newbies first love, and then the rest feels odd.

[@RobNicholson1234]

Very true re the UK and Mikrotik. Unifi is far more popular and part of that is because of the very simple and easy to use cloud controller

[@kirksteinklauber260]

Good video but Mikrotik is not the only vendor trying to do one shoe fits all. Juniper with their JunOS and Fortinet with their FortiOS tries to do the same thing

[@RobNicholson1234]

I don't think there is any fundamental reason why we can't have one OS covering all features. They have recently split the packages into core and wireless so the architecture can handle it. The main problem is that ALL the settings are put in front of you and is very daunting for SOHO users. Be honest, how many of you have ever changed anything but about 10 parameters on the Wi-Fi window? There are entire tabs that I've never touched :-)

[@aperson1181]

which router would you recommend for home use? What is a good authorized seller in the USA?

[@TheNetworkBerg]

If you want the "Best" home/homelab router I would highly recommend an RB5009, although for wifi I would probably recommend something like the hAP ax3. Personally I am not too familiar with the distributors in the USA, although the ones listed on MikroTik's website are typically very trustworthy. You can take a look at a list of distributors here: mikrotik.com/buy/northamerica I usually try and find the closest one.

[@aperson1181]

@@TheNetworkBerg Thank you, what are your thoughts on Protectli? How hard is it to setup RB5009, is this a plug-and-play for the base?

[@Tw0Kings]

Mikrotik should segregate more those features with packages plus add some more hardware specific approach to have less confusion.

[@TheNetworkBerg]

Definitely, I think it would be a great idea for MT to package things! Have a set for ISPs, a set for Enterprise/Businesses and then something for users. I can only imagine how many home users logged into a MikroTik for the first time and lost their way around it because there was just too many things going on.

[@arnoldvanzyl6473]

Home user of 2 mikrotik hap ac2 one as hub for extra lan and main for router I love mikrotik but wifi signal suck I had to de solder antenna and solder RF SMA for decent wifi range

[@ramsamba59]

I totally agree. At the NGO where I volunteer, their Asus wireless router had the wifi dying although the router continued to work. Because I had good experience with wired MikroTik routers, I availed the MikroTik cAP Lite. What a big mistake it was but I didn't know better. I thought the cAP lite is as robust as the wired routers. The users in the office kept complaining about not being able to connect, or once they connected the line would drop. It wasn't just a single person, almost all the staff in that office space complained. It was especially painful for iPhone users who found it impossible to connect to the cAP Lite, although the unit was mounted on the ceiling with excellent line of sight, between 6-20 feet away in an open space I had no choice but to get a cheapo Tenda access point. And it worked like magic, no more problems with connectivity, even for the iPhone users. That was like 6 months ago, and I still haven't received a single complaint. (Tenda sucks when it comes to settings, primitive!) I probably will never look into using an MT access point ever again. Probably never Tenda again as well.

[@irfanmahardika8182]

Indonesia mikrotik user here :D

[@homemark22]

because of mikrotik I been involve and love to study networking setup , before I use tplink that has limited feature. so what is the point here?

[@TheNetworkBerg]

The point is that MikroTik should consider adding something like feature sets, that users can select what type of operational mode they might be running the equipment in. As a basic home user you will never touch BGP or MPLS, on the flip side as an ISP you will never use stuff like Kid Control. It's just so that their solutions don't look so messy to someone coming into from the outside the very first time. None of the features should be removed, just preferences users can set.

[@JViz]

As a small/medium size business technician who has to be a jack-of-all-trades myself, I don't want to spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars just learning how your cryptic router OS works. I don't want to spend the millions of dollars it takes to get the data center gui for Juniper or Cisco that Mikrotik routers come with by default. I just want to click the button and make it go brrrr. If SONiC OS had half the ease of configuration that Mikrotik has no one would even need certificates.

[@hwy9nightkid]

my rb5009 is my first mikrotik router ever.. I love it for my homelab.. BUT the windows requirement to use their tool was a bit of a turn off since I am a linux mac user

[@TheNetworkBerg]

Yeah I can see why, luckily they are working on a native linux/mac build. You can also use wine to access winbox on other linux systems like Ubuntu.

[@ch3vr0n123]

it works well with wine ;)

[@ramsamba59]

I installed WinBox on Wine running Kubuntu 20.04 LTS. No problems encountered. Ran fine. Try it.

[@metallicw2643]

I have never heard of Nokia routers too in Kenya

[@Andrew_Thrift]

Wow, Nokia make some of the best core routers on the market.

[@ghostbiker7391]

u could find an easy job at Sewan but they are based in france and only speak french they use Mikrotik in their infa a lot I used to work there and I learned many thing from you, your profile will be very interesting for them but the only obstacle is the language u know french ppl

[@SymbroIT]

If you ever visit one of my Taco Bell or Subway stores in the UK you will see a Mikrotik router

[@TheNetworkBerg]

I'll definitely be on the lookout if I am ever in one of these franchises :D!

[@stephenwong9723]

You didn't say, Mikrotik's release channel is no different from beta!

[@TheNetworkBerg]

Yeah totally forgot to mention what has become an inside joke in the MT community. Test = Dev Stable = Test Long-Term = Stable

[@stephenwong9723]

@@TheNetworkBerg Exactly, it harms Mikrotik's reputation! And new hardware can only support new firmware, ridiculous! One more point, their WiFi is crap, compare with Unifi, and miles away with Ruckus or Aruba!

[@abcpsc]

No one talks about overheating? Especially with hAP series?

[@BudiSetiawan-id9en]

mikrotik have a great hardware i think will be used as enterprise device but the software development and bugs fix very poor, specially now for v7 wiith their ccr with arm processors

[@idtuner]

I just hate there is no official way to use m.2 LTE cards - all kinds of work arounds thou....

[@m-electronics5977]

7:16 I think good about that you can buy a router and don't must think about what it can or what not. 🙂

[@benjaminandreasable]

I think MT is "too good" for the price too can drive with a 500$ router 10Gibts and there are 100GB switches for 800$ A normal user does not need VXLAN and EOIP or BGP In the professional environment there are existing network core components and no network admin will change the core components of the network because he is a fan of a brand like Mikrotik. If I can build a new environment and I am given a free hand to choose what technology to use (like at home) I like Mikrotik but in large networks there are teams and specifications. Of course you can save a lot of money by using Mikrotik but unfortunately the money saved is not returned to the IT department. Again in summary if I can start somewhere from 0 I like to use MT but if I have existing network infrastructure then I use the infrastructure the customer has.

[@slightlyevolved]

Arrrrrg.. Nokie. noooooooo. I've worked with a number of devices, and sadly enough, the worst ones have been Nokia. Mind you, I have a grand total of TWO devices I've used that were Nokia. A Nuage e200 SDWAN gateway (constantly dropped network connections 2-3 times per day, for 2-3 minutes each time.) and a few of the T-Mobile 5G home internet gateways. Also dropped connections often. But, seeing the same type of symptoms across a couple of devices has never instilled any confidence in them. Like consumer Netgear routers. I just expect that it'll need.a restart every 48 hours....

[@alastairnewman1233]

If you want the foundation stuff, get it from someone else. One cannot be competent on Mikrotik devices UNLESS you have a grasp of the foundation stuff! And there are two ways of getting it; The first is by formal study, the second is by practical conversation. But most importantly, Mikrotik sells itself. The most challenging networking environments are not found in Europe or the UK, they're found in places where deep and broad skills are required and those skills are never found in Europe and the UK. Mikrotik knock it out of the park. It's a community system and certification comes second to pragmatism

[@KFMEDIA_07]

just following to learn coz i have no knowlwdge

[@stephanszarafinski9001]

You walked into the western european ‘we have to much money to waste’ mentality. The companies can afford stupidly expensive network equipment… managers don’t want to risk their jobs trying something new…

[@TheNetworkBerg]

Yeah it's crazy just how much money companies can save if they just switched over to MikroTik, even if it is just at the CPE level. MikroTik should just bring back the MUM and market it more heavily in the west.

[@bentheguru4986]

Way too many options and features while way too low on processing power.

[@---tr9qg]

Mikrotik is good for router as virtual appliance

[@TheNetworkBerg]

It is very good as a VM!

[@jamesw5584]

Stability. Thats all I ask for. Wake up this morning to "router was rebooted without proper shutdown, probably kernel failure" followed by "kernel failure in previous boot" I use mikrotik for an ISP in the UK. I am beginning to loose patience with it. Having worked now at 3 ISPs using Mikrotik, its the same every time. Shockingly poor stability.

[@Andrew_Thrift]

Do you understand HW vs FastPath vs Kernel forwarding ? I have been consulting to Mikrotik based ISP's for 15 years, and when I see these type of reboots it is almost always related to a lack of understanding around how the packets make their way through the router for various functions, and the config of the router pushing the packets out of hardware or FastPath and into kernel forwarding that burns CPU cycles.

[@jamesw5584]

​@@Andrew_Thrift its due to badly written software and poor quality hardware. Sure you can tinker with fast path etc but there is a reason why mt costs 1/10th the price of juniper. Because its fine for small isp's and wisps etc but when you grow you move away and get the big boys stuff. Believe me when i say over the past 5 years i have made mt aware of several vulnerabilities, i have proven the badly coded kernel and various open source packages they use to be at fault. I have helped test packages for them and fixes but the issues persist. Its not just me speak to anyone running an isp on scale and they all say the same. Everything has its limits mt is no different.

[@bmxcyber3045]

hallo iam from indonesia iam used mikrotik for my house

[@drasked]

My one pet peeve with Mikrotik is them shipping v7 out of the box without letting you downgrade to v6. For production environments this is a nightmare. RB4011's that can run v6 are becoming a rare commodity in my area.

[@DimitriPappas]

If you're in South Africa I'll happily trade you my RB4011iGS+5HacQ2HnD (US version, factory firmware 6.47.10) for the international version. I'm happy with v7 but the wlan radio is locked down to US channels

[@sidewinder7602]

Did you just compare the UK with the US? My man, those are two ENTIRELY demographics😆Besides, there is a ton of companies in the UK that are running tiks in production.

[@TheNetworkBerg]

I'm more or less comparing the first world to the first world :P, but yes the demographics are definitely a bit different. I am certain there are companies that run MikroTik, just not many big service provider type environments using them.

[@wrnrt]

Get rid of the greenscreen and background.

[@TheNetworkBerg]

I'll do that once I have a new studio up and running, immigrated to a new country and living with relatives. Doubt anyone wants to see the room we are living in :)

[@wrnrt]

@@TheNetworkBerg At least don't have the animated background. It will make editing (and watching) easier.

[@mikrocloud]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/kGOrloRtr9N-eNU 🤣

[@TheNetworkBerg]

👻

[@goutammani2063]

Mikrotik is good, if unwanted feature is there - don't use it. but don't suck money from customers like CISCO for each and every feature.....!!!!

[@TheNetworkBerg]

Yeah I definitely agree some other vendors are terrible at trying to milk as much as they can from their customers. One of the biggest Security companies that does big firewalls is exactly like that where they will sell ortiAuthenticator, ortiClient, ortiAnalyzer, ortiSiem, ortiGate, ortiEVERYTHING so MikroTIk is definitely better in that regard. I think my point is more or less that it makes it seem like they (MikroTik) doesn't know who their core users are. Is it Home users? Is it ISPs? Is it Enterprises? Is it Home Labbers? They dabble around in a bit of features in everything instead of specializing in anything so even though it's nice having so many features sometimes it makes you wish they did more in X Y or Z.

[@adiknoth]

#1 on my wishlist: proper PoE (802.11af/at/bt).