MikroTik RouterOS™ V2.7 Basic Setup Guide

PDF version

Document revision 1.3 (09-Jun-2003)
This document applies to the MikroTik RouterOS™ V2.7

Table Of Contents

Summary

MikroTik RouterOS™ is independent Linux-based Operating System for PC-based routers and thinrouters. It does not require any additional components and has no software prerequirements. It is designed with easy-to-use yet powerful interface allowing network administrators to deploy network structures and functions, that would require long education elsewhere simply by following the Reference Manual (and even without it).

Related Documents

Software Package Installation and Upgrading
Device Driver List
License Management
Ping
Queues and Data Rate Management
Packet Filter (Firewall) and NAT (Network Address Translation)

Description

MikroTik RouterOS™ turns a standard PC computer into a powerful network router. Just add standard network PC interfaces to expand the router capabilities.

The Guide describes the basic steps of installing and configuring a dedicated PC router running MikroTik RouterOS™.

Setting up MikroTik RouterOS™

Downloading and Installing the MikroTik RouterOS™

The download and installation process of the MikroTik RouterOS™ is described in the following diagram:

1. Download the basic installation archive file.

Depending on the desired media to be used for installing the MikroTik RouterOS™ please chose one of the following archive types for downloading:

2. Create the installation media

Use the appropriate installation archive to create the Installation CD or floppies.

3. Install the MikroTik RouterOS™ software.

Your dedicated PC router hardware should have: For installation purposes (and only for that time) you should also have: Boot up your dedicated PC router from the Installation Media you created and follow the instructions on the console screen while the HDD is reformatted and MikroTik RouterOS™ installed on it.

After successful installation please remove the installation media from your CD or floppy disk drive and hit 'Enter' to reboot the router. While the router will be starting up for the first time you will be given a Software ID for your installation and asked to supply a valid software license key (Software Key) for it. Write down the Software ID. You will need it to obtain the Software License through the MikroTik Account Server. If you need extra time to obtain the Software License Key, you may want to power off the router. Type shutdown in the Software key prompt and power the router off when the router is halted.

Notes

The installation from CD or network requires Base (paid) License. If you intend to obtain the Free Demo License, you should use the floppy installation media.

The hard disk will be entirely reformatted during the installation and all data on it will be lost!

You can move the hard drive with MikroTik RouterOS™ installed to a new hardware without loosing a license, but you cannot move the RouterOS™ to a different hard drive without purchasing an another license (except hardware failure situations). For additional information write to support[at]mikrotik.com

Obtaining the Software License

The MikroTik RouterOS™ Software licensing process is described in the following diagram:

Software licensing process

After installing the router and starting it up for the first time you will be given a Software ID.

  1. Write down the Software ID reported by the RouterOS™.
  2. If you have an account with MikroTik, follow to the next step.
    If you do not have an account at www.mikrotik.com, just press the 'New' button on the upper right-hand corner of the MikroTik's web page to create your account.

    Account signup

    You will be presented with the Account Sign-Up Form where you chose your account name and fill in the required information.

  3. To obtain the Software License Key, log on to your account at www.mikrotik.com entering your account name and password (upper right-hand corner on this webpage), for example:

    Account login

  4. After logging on to the Account Server select "Free Demo License" or "Order Software License" in the Account Menu.
  5. The Software Key will be sent to the email address, which has been specified in your account setup.
  6. Read your email and enter the Software Key at the router's console, for example: 
    Software ID: 5T4V-IUT
Software key: 4N7X-UZ8-6SP

Instead of entering the license key you can enter shutdown to shut down the router and enter the license key later, or enter display to read the License Agreement, or help to see a help message.

After entering the correct Software License Key you will be presented with the MikroTik Router's login prompt.

Notes

The CD or Netinstall installation cannot be 'unlocked' with the Free Demo Key. Use the Floppy installation or purchase a Licensed Key.

Logging into the MikroTik Router

When logging into the router via terminal console, you will be presented with the MikroTik RouterOS™ login prompt. Use 'admin' and no password (hit 'Enter') for logging on to the router for the first time, for example: 

MikroTik v2.7
Login: admin
Password:

The password can be changed with the /password command.

Adding Software Packages

The basic installation comes with only the "system" package and few other packages. This includes basic IP routing and router administration. To have additional features such as IP Telephony, OSPF, wireless and so on, you will need to download additional software packages.

The additional software packages should have the same version as the system package. If not, the package won't be installed. Please consult the MikroTik RouterOS™ Software Package Installation and Upgrading Manual for more detailed information about installing additional software packages.

Software Licensing Issues

If you want to upgrade your 'free' version of MikroTik RouterOS™ installation to a 'paid' version, please purchase the new Software License KEY for the Software ID you used when getting the 'free' demo license. Similarly, if additional license is required to enable the functionality of a software package, the license should be obtained for the Software ID of your system. The new key should be entered using the /system license set key command, and the router should be rebooted afterwards: 

[admin@MikroTik] ip firewall src-nat> /system license print
         software-id: "SB6T-R8T"
                 key: "3YIV-ZW8-DH2"
    upgradable-unitl: apr/01/2004
[admin@MikroTik] system license> feature print
Flags: X - disabled
  #   FEATURE
  0 X AP
  1 X synchronous
  2 X radiolan
  3 X wireless-2.4gHz
  4   licensed
[admin@MikroTik] system license> set key=D46G-IJ6-QW3
[admin@MikroTik] system license>/system reboot
Reboot, yes? [y/N]: y
system will reboot shortly

Notes

If there is no appropriate license, the appropriate interfaces wont show up under the interface list, even though the packages can be installed on the MikroTik RouterOS™ and corresponding drivers loaded.

Navigating the Terminal Console

Welcome Screen and Command Prompt

After logging into the router you will be presented with the MikroTik RouterOS™ Welcome Screen and command prompt, for example: 


  MMM      MMM       KKK                          TTTTTTTTTTT      KKK
  MMMM    MMMM       KKK                          TTTTTTTTTTT      KKK
  MMM MMMM MMM  III  KKK  KKK  RRRRRR     OOOOOO      TTT     III  KKK  KKK
  MMM  MM  MMM  III  KKKKK     RRR  RRR  OOO  OOO     TTT     III  KKKKK
  MMM      MMM  III  KKK KKK   RRRRRR    OOO  OOO     TTT     III  KKK KKK
  MMM      MMM  III  KKK  KKK  RRR  RRR   OOOOOO      TTT     III  KKK  KKK

  MikroTik RouterOS v2.7 (c) 1999-2003       http://www.mikrotik.com/

Terminal xterm detected, using multiline mode
[admin@MikroTik] >

The command prompt shows the identity name of the router and the current menu level, for example: 

[admin@MikroTik] >                Base level menu
[admin@MikroTik] interface>       Interface configuration
[admin@MikroTik] ip address>      IP Address management

Commands

The list of available commands at any menu level can be obtained by entering the question mark '?', for example: 
[admin@MikroTik] > ?

     driver  Driver management
       file  Local router file storage.
     import  Run exported configuration script
  interface  Interface configuration
        log  System logs
   password  Change password
       ping  Send ICMP Echo packets
       port  Serial ports
       quit  Quit console
     radius  Radius client settings
       redo  Redo previosly undone action
      setup  Do basic setup of system
       snmp  SNMP settings
       undo  Undo previous action
       user  User management
        ppp  Point to Point Protocol
         ip  IP options
      queue  Bandwidth management
     system  System information and utilities
       tool  Diagnostics tools
    routing  Various routing protocol settings
     export  Print or save an export script that can be used to restore
             configuration


[admin@MikroTik] > ip ?

      accounting  Traffic accounting
         address  Address management
             arp  ARP entries management
             dns  DNS settings
        firewall  Firewall management
        neighbor  Neighbors
         packing  Packet packing settings
            pool  IP address pools
           route  Route management
         service  IP services
  policy-routing  Policy routing
            upnp
     dhcp-client  DHCP client settings
     dhcp-server  DHCP server settings
       dns-cache  DNS cache management
           ipsec  IP security
          export  Print or save an export script that can be used to restore
                  configuration
[admin@MikroTik] > ip

The list of available commands and menus has short descriptions next to the items. You can move to the desired menu level by typing its name and hitting the [Enter] key, for example: 

[admin@MikroTik] >                      Base level menu
[admin@MikroTik] > driver               Enter 'driver' to move to the driver level
                                       menu
[admin@MikroTik] driver> /             Enter '/' to move to the base level menu
                                       from any level
[admin@MikroTik] > interface            Enter 'interface' to move to the interface
                                       level menu
[admin@MikroTik] interface> /ip        Enter '/ip' to move to the IP level menu
                                       from any level
[admin@MikroTik] ip>

A command or an argument does not need to be completed, if it is not ambiguous. For example, instead of typing 'interface' you can type just 'in' or 'int'. To complete a command use the [Tab] key.

The commands may be invoked from the menu level, where they are located, by typing its name. If the command is in a different menu level than the current one, then the command should be invoked using its full (absolute) or relative path, for example: 

[admin@MikroTik] ip route> print                  Prints the routing table
[admin@MikroTik] ip route> .. address print       Prints the IP address table
[admin@MikroTik] ip route> /ip address print      Prints the IP address table

The commands may have arguments. The arguments have their names and values. Some commands, may have a required argument that has no name.

Summary on executing the commands and moving between the menu levels

       Command                               Action
command [Enter]      Execute the command
[?]                  Show the list of all available commands
command [?]          Display help on the command and the list of arguments
command argument [?] Display help on the command's argument
[Tab]                Complete the command/word. If the input is ambiguous, a
                     second [Tab] gives possible options
/                    Move up to the base level
/command             Execute the base level command
..                   Move up one level
""                   Enter an empty string
"word1 word2"        Enter 2 words that contain a space

You can abbreviate names of levels, commands and arguments.

For the IP address configuration, instead of using the 'address' and 'netmask' arguments, in most cases you can specify the address together with the number of true bits in the network mask, i.e., there is no need to specify the 'netmask' separately. Thus, the following two entries would be equivalent: 

/ip address add address 10.0.0.1/24 interface ether1
/ip address add address 10.0.0.1 netmask 255.255.255.0 interface ether1

Notes

You must specify the size of the network mask in the address argument, even if it is the 32-bit subnet, i.e., use 10.0.0.1/32 for address 10.0.0.1 and netmask 255.255.255.255

Accessing the Router Remotely Using Web Browser and WinBox Console

Summary

The MikroTik router can also be accessed remotely using http and WinBox Console, for example, using the web browser of your workstation.

Description

The Winbox Console is used for accessing the MikroTik Router configuration and management features using graphical user interface.

All Winbox interface functions are as close as possible to Console functions: all Winbox functions are exactly in the same place in Terminal Console and vice versa (except functions that are not implemented in Winbox). That is why there are no Winbox sections in the manual.

The Winbox Console plugin loader, the winbox.exe program, can be retrieved from the MikroTik router, the URL is http://router_address/winbox/winbox.exe Use any web browser on Windows 95/98/ME/NT4.0/2000/XP to retrieve the router's web page with the mentioned link.

Note that if you change the default port for www service on the router, you will have to specify it just after the IP address separated by column (eg. 10.0.0.1:8080).

The winbox plugins are cached on the local disk for each MikroTik RouterOS™ version. The plugins are not downloaded, if they are in the cache, and the router has not been upgraded since the last time it has been accessed.

Starting the Winbox Console

When connecting to the MikroTik router via http (TCP port 80 by default), the router's Welcome Page is displayed in the web browser, for example:

Winbox

By clicking on the Winbox Console link you can start the winbox.exe download. Choose the option "Run this program from its current location" and click "OK":

Winbox

Accept the security warning, if any:

Winbox

Alternatively, you can save the winbox.exe program to your disk and run it from there.

The winbox.exe program opens the Winbox login window. Login to the router by specifying the IP address (and the port number if you have changed it from the default value of 80), user name, and password, for example:

Winbox

Watch the download process of Winbox plugins:

Winbox

The Winbox console is opened after the plugins have been downloaded:

Winbox

The Winbox Console uses TCP port 3986 (not secure) or 3987 (secure; requires security package to be installed). After logging on to the router you can work with the MikroTik router's configuration through the Winbox console and perform the same tasks as using the regular console.

Overview of Common Functions

You can use the menu bar to navigate through the router's configuration menus, open configuration windows. By double clicking on some list items in the windows you can open configuration windows for the specific items, and so on.

There are some hints for using the Winbox Console:

Troubleshooting for Winbox Console

Configuring Basic Functions

Working with Interfaces

Before configuring the IP addresses and routes please check the /interface menu to see the list of available interfaces. If you have Plug-and-Play cards installed in the router, it is most likely that the device drivers have been loaded for them automatically, and the relevant interfaces appear on the /interface print list, for example: 

[admin@MikroTik] interface> print
Flags: X - disabled, D - dynamic, R - running
  #    NAME                 TYPE             MTU
  0  R ether1               ether            1500
  1  R ether2               ether            1500
  2  R ether3               ether            1500
  3  R ether4               ether            1500
  4  R ether5               ether            1500
  5  R sync1                sync             1500
  6  R pc1                  pc               1500
  7  R ether6               ether            1500
  8  R prism1               prism            1500
[admin@MikroTik] interface>

The interfaces need to be enabled, if you want to use them for communications. Use the /interface enable name command to enable the interface with a given name or number, for example: 

[admin@MikroTik] interface> print
Flags: X - disabled, D - dynamic, R - running
  #   NAME                 TYPE             MTU
  0 X  ether1               ether            1500
  0 X  ether2               ether            1500
[admin@MikroTik] interface> enable 0
[admin@MikroTik] interface> enable ether2
[admin@MikroTik] interface> print
Flags: X - disabled, D - dynamic, R - running
  #   NAME                 MTU   TYPE
  0  R ether1               ether            1500
  0  R ether2               ether            1500
[admin@MikroTik] interface>

The interface name can be changed to a more descriptive one by using the /interface set command: 

[admin@MikroTik] interface> set 0 name=Public
[admin@MikroTik] interface> set 1 name=Local
[admin@MikroTik] interface> print
Flags: X - disabled, D - dynamic, R - running
  #   NAME                 MTU   TYPE
  0  R Public               ether            1500
  0  R Local                ether            1500
[admin@MikroTik] interface>

Use of the 'setup' Command

The initial setup of the router can be done by using the /setup command which enables an interface, assigns an address/netmask to it, and configures the default route. If you do not use the setup command, or need to modify/add the settings for addresses and routes, please follow the steps described below.

Notes

The device drivers for NE2000 compatible ISA cards need to be loaded using the add command under the /drivers menu. For example, to load the driver for a card with IO address 0x280 and IRQ 5, it is enough to issue the command: 

[admin@MikroTik] driver> add name=ne2k-isa io=0x280
[admin@MikroTik] driver> print
Flags: I - invalid, D - dynamic
  #   DRIVER                                IRQ IO       MEMORY   ISDN-PROTOCOL
  0 D RealTek 8139
  1 D Intel EtherExpressPro
  2 D PCI NE2000
  3   ISA NE2000                            280
  4   Moxa C101 Synchronous                              C8000
[admin@MikroTik] driver>

There are some other drivers that should be added manually. Please refer to the respective manual sections for the detailed information on how drivers are to be loaded.

Adding Addresses

Assume you need to configure the MikroTik router for the following network setup:

Network setup

In the current example we use two networks:

The addresses can be added and viewed using the following commands:

[admin@MikroTik] ip address> add address 10.0.0.217/24 interface Public
[admin@MikroTik] ip address> add address 192.168.0.254/24 interface Local
[admin@MikroTik] ip address> print
Flags: X - disabled, I - invalid, D - dynamic
  #   ADDRESS            NETWORK         BROADCAST       INTERFACE
  0   10.0.0.217/24      10.0.0.217      10.0.0.255      Public
  1   192.168.0.254/24   192.168.0.0     192.168.0.255   Local
[admin@MikroTik] ip address>

Here, the network mask has been specified in the value of the address argument. Alternatively, the argument 'netmask' could have been used with the value '255.255.255.0'. The network and broadcast addresses were not specified in the input since they could be calculated automatically.

Notes

Please note that the addresses assigned to different interfaces of the router should belong to different networks.

Configuring the Default Route

You can see two dynamic (D) and connected (C) routes, which have been added automatically when the addresses were added in the example above: 

[admin@MikroTik] ip route> print
Flags: X - disabled, I - invalid, D - dynamic, J - rejected,
C - connect, S - static, R - rip, O - ospf, B - bgp
    #    DST-ADDRESS        G GATEWAY         DISTANCE INTERFACE
    0 DC 192.168.0.0/24     r 0.0.0.0         0        Local
    1 DC 10.0.0.0/24        r 0.0.0.0         0        Public
[admin@MikroTik] ip route> print detail
Flags: X - disabled, I - invalid, D - dynamic, J - rejected,
C - connect, S - static, R - rip, O - ospf, B - bgp
    0 DC dst-address=192.168.0.0/24 preferred-source=192.168.0.254
         gateway=0.0.0.0 gateway-state=reachable distance=0 interface=Local

    1 DC dst-address=10.0.0.0/24 preferred-source=10.0.0.217 gateway=0.0.0.0
         gateway-state=reachable distance=0 interface=Public

[admin@MikroTik] ip route>

These routes show, that IP packets with destination to 10.0.0.0/24 would be sent through the interface Public, whereas IP packets with destination to 192.168.0.0/24 would be sent through the interface Local. However, you need to specify where the router should forward packets, which have destination other than networks connected directly to the router.

Example

In the following example the default route (destination 0.0.0.0, netmask 0.0.0.0) will be added. In this case it is the ISP's gateway 10.0.0.1, which can be reached through the interface Public: 

[admin@MikroTik] ip route> add gateway=10.0.0.1
[admin@MikroTik] ip route> print
Flags: X - disabled, I - invalid, D - dynamic, J - rejected,
C - connect, S - static, R - rip, O - ospf, B - bgp
    #    DST-ADDRESS        G GATEWAY         DISTANCE INTERFACE
    0  S 0.0.0.0/0          r 10.0.0.1        1        Public
    1 DC 192.168.0.0/24     r 0.0.0.0         0        Local
    2 DC 10.0.0.0/24        r 0.0.0.0         0        Public
[admin@MikroTik] ip route>

Here, the default route is listed under #0. As we see, the gateway 10.0.0.1 can be reached through the interface 'Public'. If the gateway was specified incorrectly, the value for the argument 'interface' would be unknown.

Notes

You cannot add two routes to the same destination, i.e., destination-address/netmask! It applies to the default routes as well. Instead, you can enter multiple gateways for one destination. For more information on IP routes, please read the relevant topic in the Manual.

If you have added an unwanted static route accidentally, use the remove command to delete the unneeded one. You will not be able to delete dynamic (DC) routes. They are added automatically and represent routes to the networks the router connected directly.

Testing the Network Connectivity

From now on, the /ping command can be used to test the network connectivity on both interfaces. You can reach any host on both connected networks from the router.

Example

In the example below it's seen, hows does ping command work:

[admin@MikroTik] ip route> /ping 10.0.0.4
10.0.0.4 64 byte ping: ttl=255 time=7 ms
10.0.0.4 64 byte ping: ttl=255 time=5 ms
10.0.0.4 64 byte ping: ttl=255 time=5 ms
3 packets transmitted, 3 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 5/5.6/7 ms
[admin@MikroTik] ip route>
[admin@MikroTik] ip route> /ping 192.168.0.1
192.168.0.1 64 byte ping: ttl=255 time=1 ms
192.168.0.1 64 byte ping: ttl=255 time=1 ms
192.168.0.1 64 byte ping: ttl=255 time=1 ms
3 packets transmitted, 3 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 1/1.0/1 ms
[admin@MikroTik] ip route>

The workstation and the laptop can reach (ping) the router at its local address 192.168.0.254, If the router's address 192.168.0.254 is specified as the default gateway in the TCP/IP configuration of both the workstation and the laptop, then you should be able to ping the router: 

C:\>ping 192.168.0.254
Reply from 192.168.0.254: bytes=32 time=10ms TTL=253
Reply from 192.168.0.254: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=253
Reply from 192.168.0.254: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=253

C:\>ping 10.0.0.217
Reply from 10.0.0.217: bytes=32 time=10ms TTL=253
Reply from 10.0.0.217: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=253
Reply from 10.0.0.217: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=253

C:\>ping 10.0.0.4
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

C:\>

Notes

You cannot access anything beyond the router (network 10.0.0.0/24 and the Internet), unless you do the one of the following:

To set up routing, it is required that you have some knowledge of configuring TCP/IP networks. There is a comprehensive list of IP resources compiled by Uri Raz at http://www.private.org.il/tcpip_rl.html We strongly recommend that you obtain more knowledge, if you have difficulties configuring your network setups.

Application Examples

Next will be discussed situation with 'hiding' the private LAN 192.168.0.0/24 'behind' one address 10.0.0.217 given to you by the ISP.

Application Example with Masquerading

If you want to 'hide' the private LAN 192.168.0.0/24 'behind' one address 10.0.0.217 given to you by the ISP, you should use the source network address translation (masquerading) feature of the MikroTik router. Masquerading is useful, if you want to access the ISP's network and the Internet appearing as all requests coming from the host 10.0.0.217 of the ISP's network. The masquerading will change the source IP address and port of the packets originated from the network 192.168.0.0/24 to the address 10.0.0.217 of the router when the packet is routed through it.

Masquerading conserves the number of global IP addresses required and it lets the whole network use a single IP address in its communication with the world.

To use masquerading, a source NAT rule with action 'masquerade' should be added to the firewall configuration: 

[admin@MikroTik] ip firewall src-nat> add action=masquerade out-interface=Public
[admin@MikroTik] ip firewall src-nat> print
Flags: X - disabled, I - invalid, D - dynamic
  0   src-address=0.0.0.0/0:0-65535 dst-address=0.0.0.0/0:0-65535
      out-interface=Public protocol=all icmp-options=any:any flow=""
      connection="" content="" limit-count=0 limit-burst=0 limit-time=0s
      action=masquerade to-src-address=0.0.0.0 to-src-port=0-65535

[admin@MikroTik] ip firewall src-nat>

Notes

Please consult the Firewall Manual for more information on masquerading.

Application Example with Bandwidth Management

Mikrotik RouterOS™ V2.7 offers extensive queue management.

Assume you want to limit the bandwidth to 128kbps on downloads and 64kbps on uploads for all hosts on the LAN. Bandwidth limitation is done by applying queues for outgoing interfaces regarding the traffic flow. It is enough to add two queues at the MikroTik router: 

[admin@MikroTik] queue simple> add interface=Local max-limit=128000
[admin@MikroTik] queue simple> add interface=Public max-limit=64000
[admin@MikroTik] queue simple> print
Flags: X - disabled, I - invalid, D - dynamic
  0   name="queue1" src-address=0.0.0.0/0 dst-address=0.0.0.0/0
      interface=Local limit-at=0 queue=default priority=8 max-limit=128000

  1   name="queue2" src-address=0.0.0.0/0 dst-address=0.0.0.0/0
      interface=Public limit-at=0 queue=default priority=8 max-limit=64000

[admin@MikroTik] queue simple>

Leave all other parameters as set by default. The limit is approximately 128kbps going to the LAN (download) and 64kbps leaving the client's LAN (upload).

Notes

The queues have been added for the outgoing interfaces regarding the traffic flow.

Please consult the Queues Manual for more information on bandwidth management and queuing.

Application Example with NAT

Assume we have moved the server in our previous examples from the public network to our local one:

Example

The server'would have been s address now is 192.168.0.4, and we are running web server on it that listens to the TCP port 80. We want to make it accessible from the Internet at address:port 10.0.0.217:80. This can be done by means of Static Network Address translation (NAT) at the MikroTik Router. The Public address:port 10.0.0.217:80 will be translated to the Local address:port 192.168.0.4:80. One destination NAT rule is required for translating the destination address and port: 

[admin@MikroTik] ip firewall dst-nat> add action=nat protocol=tcp \
dst-address=10.0.0.217/32:80 to-dst-address=192.168.0.4
[admin@MikroTik] ip firewall dst-nat> print
Flags: X - disabled, I - invalid, D - dynamic
  0   src-address=0.0.0.0/0:0-65535 in-interface=all
      dst-address=10.1.0.217/32:80 protocol=tcp icmp-options=any:any flow=""
      src-mac-address=00:00:00:00:00:00 limit-count=0 limit-burst=0
      limit-time=0s action=nat to-dst-address=192.168.0.4 to-dst-port=0-65535

[admin@MikroTik] ip firewall dst-nat>

Notes

Please consult the Firewall Manual for more information on NAT.
© Copyright 1999-2003, MikroTik