RouterOS¶

In this article

• RouterOS: Key Features
• Getting Started with RouterOS After Deployment
• Authentication
• Working with Licenses
• Ordering a server with RouterOS using the API

RouterOS: Key Features¶

• Routing: RouterOS supports a wide range of routing protocols, including BGP, OSPF, RIP, and others. It allows for creating static and dynamic routes, configuring policy-based routing, load balancing, and failover.
• Firewall and Security: The operating system includes powerful tools for network protection. This includes traffic filtering, access control, NAT, VPN (including IPSec, OpenVPN, L2TP, PPTP), and traffic encryption.
• Hotspot and User Management: RouterOS provides the ability to create hotspots for public internet access with user authentication options. It also supports speed and traffic limits, session management, and connection time tracking.
• Wireless Connectivity: Support for various Wi-Fi standards, including 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, allows RouterOS to be used for creating wireless networks of varying complexity, including mesh networks and repeaters.
• QoS (Quality of Service): RouterOS includes tools for managing traffic prioritization, allowing for bandwidth optimization and guaranteed quality of service for critical applications.
• Monitoring and Diagnostics Tools: The operating system provides a wide range of tools for monitoring network status, including SNMP, NetFlow, graphical load representation, event logging, and integration with monitoring systems.
• Scripting Support: RouterOS supports writing scripts in its built-in language, allowing for automated network management and customization to specific requirements.
• Virtualization Support: RouterOS can operate in virtualized environments such as VMware or VirtualBox, enabling its use in lab settings or cloud deployments.

Getting Started with RouterOS After Deployment¶

After you pay for your order, you'll receive an email notification at the address you provided during registration, indicating that your server is ready. This email will include the VPS IP address and login credentials. Our company's clients manage their equipment through the server management panel and API — Invapi.

You can find the authorization details in either the Info >> Tags section of the server management panel or in the email you received:

• Login: root;
• Password: Sent to your email address after the server is ready for use following software deployment.

Authentication¶

To begin working with RouterOS, you need to:

• Download and install the Winbox program from the official MikroTik website (if using Windows) or using Wine (if using Linux).

• Launch Winbox, enter the server's IP address in the Connect To field. Enter your login and password into the respective fields, then click the Connect button to connect:

  

  Information

  After successful connection, it is recommended to immediately change the administrator's password for security purposes. This can be done in the System >> Password section.

• Configure basic network parameters, such as interface IP addresses, routing, and firewall:

  

You can also connect to the server and work with RouterOS using SSH:

• Open a terminal and connect to the server with the command:

  ssh root@<server_ip>
  

• Enter your password when prompted. After successful connection, you will be in the RouterOS command line.

Working with Licenses¶

When using Winbox to view the license level, go to the System >> License tab. By default, a free (free) CHR (Cloud Hosted Router) license is installed:

You can check the license in the terminal using the command:

/system license print

The free CHR license has the following characteristics:

• Allows CHR to run indefinitely;
• Limits the speed to 1 Mbps per interface (both upload and download). This is enough to build and test virtual network setups, learn how to configure RouterOS, and experiment with various network settings;
• All other CHR functions are available without restrictions.

To change the license level, you need to purchase a new license from the official MikroTik website through your existing account. After a successful purchase, open Winbox, go to the System tab, then License, and click the Renew license button. During the update process, you will need to authenticate using your MikroTik account credentials and enter the new license key. After these steps are completed, the device will update its license status, allowing you to use the expanded RouterOS features according to the purchased license level:

Ordering a server with RouterOS using the API¶

To install a server with RouterOS using the API, follow these instructions.