Recently, we recorded a webinar to explain a design concept frequently used by iparchitechs.com to build and migrate WISP, FISP and Telco networks – separation of network functions. It centers around simplification of roles within an ISP network. It also explores the use of lower-cost commodity network equipment to maximize the service area for a given ISP footprint while meeting key requirements like scale, redundancy and capacity.
The pace of development for MikroTik RouterOS version 7 has definitely sped up in 2022 and we are seeing the results in improved stability and features added.
As of August 31st, 2022, MikroTik moved ROS v7.5rc2 into v7.5 stable
dhcpv6-relay – not being able to relay a PD request from a delegating router for IPv6 has been a limitation of MikroTik routers for a while so getting this fixed has a big impact on scaling MikroTik IPv6 deployments
RTSP helper – The addition of a Real Time Streaming Protocol helper is a great addition to ROSv7 to make NAT traversal for realtime applications (IPTV, SIP and IP cameras) easier.
A good overview of the discussion leading up to the addition of RTSP is here: RTSP Helper – MikroTik
l3hw – fixed hw offloaded NAT – This feature still has some issues as IP ArchiTechs recently filed a bug (SUP-91389) where src-nat traffic that carries an H flag in the connection table will die after 1 hour with a 10G load on the router. Once this feature receives further bug fixes and testing, it’s going to be very useful for high capacity but low cost NAT44 gateways.
lte – this category got a significant amount of development work as there are numerous fixes with many relating to the Chateau devices.
wifiwave2 – There was also a significant amount of development in wifi wave 2 which included notable additions like 802.11k for roaming.
vrrp – added “sync-connection-tracking” compatibility with preemption-mode – this is a long awaited feature that showed up early in ROSv7 but did not have pre-emption mode capabilities. The addition of connection synching between routers positions MikroTik routers much closer to traditional enterprise firewall vendors so that failover between devices can include connections.
One of the common questions asked by MikroTik users is how to go about upgrading from ROSv6 to ROSv7.
Before upgrading, always make sure:
– The config is backed up using ‘export’ and ‘backup’ and the files have been moved off the router – Console access is working (if applicable) – A method to netinstall is available in case the upgrade fails for any reason
Understanding config migration
MikroTik added a helpful chart to the support docs that shows what config is automatically upgraded and what needs to be manually adjusted.
BGP config migration has gotten better in the last few versions of v7. For the most part, it works without intervention but occasionally config will need to be removed and readded or edited.
Note the changes below to the structure of BGP menus and peerings as it has changed.
OSPF has come a long way in RouterOS v7 and is stable as well as interoperable with RouterOSv6. Interface templates have replaced network statements to advertise prefixes and form neighbor adjacencies, so be sure to look in that menu after upgrade to work with network statements in v7. Upgrading to v7 for OSPF normally works without issue or intervention.
MPLS is still a work in progress. Like the other protocols it has gotten better but still may need adjustments since it now includes the AFIs for IPv4 and IPv6 with LDP. Be sure to review the syntax pre and post upgrade as well as the operation state and be prepared to delete and re-add the configuration as needed if MPLS is not functional post upgrade. In general, MPLS and VPLS works between ROSv6 and ROSv7
Routing filters are also a work in progress. Most of the functionality and config upgrade works now when moving to v7 but the context sensitive help and tab complete is still being developed and filled in.
Understanding how the MikroTik support process works and how to ask for help can save a lot of time and frustration when you need assistance with features, configurations, hardware or potential bugs.
MikroTik Support…where do I start?
There are a number of ways to get assistance with MikroTik devices and software including: Jira ticket support, documentation, forums, Reddit, Facebook, distributors and professional consulting. One thing to keep in mind for all correspondence with MikroTik is they are based in Riga, Latvia which is GMT+3 in the spring/summer and GMT +2 in the fall/winter.
Current time in Riga, Latvia
MikroTik Documentation
As RouterOS Version 7 was released in Beta, MikroTik began moving to Confluence for documentation instead of the Wiki.
This is probably the best place to start if you need assistance figuring out an issue or what support avenue to use.
The MikroTik forums are a great resource as long as you do a little homework.
The key to getting answers out of the forums is to provide:
– Information that describes the issue and how to repeat it (if possible)
– Configurations (edited for sensitive information)
– Drawings to help clarify your issue.
– Software versions
– Hardware being used and interop with other vendors (if relevant)
Forum members and official MikroTik support members are more likely to provide support when they can read a post and quickly offer a recommendation without having to ask lots of follow up questions.
Tips for getting the most out of the forums
Basics
Use the search feature in the forums to see if your issue has been discussed before
Use google to help with this by adding site:forum.mikrotik.com in your search.
example:
If possible, try all of the latest code versions from the Long Term, Current, Release Candidate and Beta versions to see if it resolves the issue.
Writing your posts
Read MikroTik’s suggestions for writing a forum post which includes text formatting suggestions:
ASCII drawings’ and network drawings using paint or other drawing programs make it more difficult to understand the topology.
Use a program like Visio or lucidchart.com to illustrate your network topology.
Describing the network topology (even a simple one) makes it much harder for people to help you.
If you want answers, draw it out.
Forum Etiquette
Be polite – don’t ‘demand’ answers if nobody has answered your question in a few hours. Sometimes it takes a while to get the right answers.
The more you contribute to the forum, the more likely you’ll be to get answers when you need them.
Users who only ask questions and never provide feedback or help other users don’t tend to get as much help after a while.
For the reason above, the forum should not be considered a resource to address critical and time-sensitive issues – the forums are best for issues that don’t need to be resolved immediately.
Prior to 2020, MikroTik support used e-mail ticketing to work issues which made complex issues a little harder to work on as the chain of discussion was sometimes difficult to follow.
Move to Jira
MikroTik migrated to Jira in 2020 which improved the support experience.
The key to understanding how to interact with MikroTik support is much like the advice for the forums. The more complete and well documented your ticket is, the better chance you have of getting a resolution.
The most important part of opening a ticket is to test the issue you’re experiencing on all versions of RouterOS 6 or 7 (Long Term, Stable, Release Candidate, Beta) and obtain a supout.rif for each of them.
This is very important as it will minimize a follow up e-mail from MikroTik support asking you to upgrade and then test again.
Tips for opening and managing a ticket
Provide detailed information.
– Description of the issue and the steps to repeat it.
– Network drawings.
– Configurations of other devices (if relevant)
– Packet captures (can be very helpful to identify and correct bugs
Be aware of the time difference between where you are and MikroTik (Riga, Latvia) – If you send and respond to support tickets during hours that MikroTik is awake and working, you’ll sometimes see faster responses but there is no guaranteed response time.
Waiting for bug fixes
Understand the limitations of fixing issues in RouterOS – If something can be fixed quickly, MikroTik is pretty good about getting it fixed and released.
Some issues can be patched easily and MikroTik will put them in the list for a future RouterOS release.
Some issues take longer to patch due to complexity and may be a while before they can be tested and released.
Certain issues cannot be fixed due to limitations in the Linux kernel and MikroTik will usually tell you if this is the case although with RouterOS 7 now released, this may happen less often than it did with RouterOS 6.
MikroTik Distributors
MikroTik Distributors can be a great source of support for assistance with setup and configuration as well as issues with hardware.
If you suspect that you have a hardware issue that might require an RMA, try a netinstall first to see if that corrects the issue and if it doesn’t, work with your distributor to replace the device.
The MikroTik Experts group is a fantastic source of information and news about MikroTik.
Many of the same rules as the forums apply in the Facebook group.
Be sure to search the group to see if your question has already been asked, be polite and be as detailed as possible when asking questions to get better answers.
This is actually one of the fastest ways to get answers as the group is rather large and many MikroTik consultants participate in the group and are willing to help newcomers.
Professional MikroTik Consulting
If all of the other resources don’t seem to get you the answer you’re looking for or you don’t have time to wait, consider hiring a professional MikroTik consultant.
MikroTik consultants must hold at least one engineering level certification to be listed on the consulting list.
Participation in the MikroTik forums, Attendance at MikroTik User Meetings and presentation at MikroTik User Meetings all influence the ranking of a MikroTik consultant.
