Hi all,

I only found out about MikroTik recently via a friend - good timing as I'm looking to set up a new home network to cater for my fibre internet connection that is happening soon.

Below is the network diagram I'm looking to set up :



The only thing I forgot to include in the diagram is the ONT that terminates the fibre connection - so the Router/Switch connects to the ONT via Cat6 gigabit ethernet, there's no initial need to use an SFP cage etc.

What I'm after is some advice from wiser heads, on what MikroTik devices to purchase for the Router/Switch and Wireless AP components of the network. Ideally I'd like something wall mountable, and I really want a Router/Switch with at least 1x SFP cage in case I want to expand the system in future.

Other than adding more wireless devices, the network is not likely to expand much in the near future, so I'm not after devices with massive throughput or connective ability - the reason I'm looking at MikroTik is for rock solid reliability, not absolute ability. The other alternative was the likes of a NetGear R7000 for the router, but I'd rather spend the money I spend on a router buying a router, not on a wannabe NAS/FTP/etc controller that looks like a space ship.

Appreciate any feedback or suggestions.

Depending on wireless needs, I would recommend a RB2011UiAS-2HnD-IN as the router and possibly 2 x cAP 2n as access points in Lounge and Office.

The cAP's can be managed from the RB2011 so the wireless SSID and security settings can all be changed in one place, on the RB2011.

If you are looking for 2.4ghz and 5ghz wireless, I would recommend a mixed deployment. Still a RB2011 (RB2011UiAS-IN) as router and 2 x Ubiquiti UAP-Pro as access points.

Thanks for the advice! Couple of followup questions :

- Given the fairly minimal cost differential between the RB2011 and the CRS109 unit, any particular reason not to get the CRS109?

- I notice the CAP2n appears to have a 50mW wireless transmitter, whereas the likes of a RB951Ui-2HnD has a 1000mW wireless transmitter for only a fraction more. Is the difference in transmit power significant in a home environment?

I don't personally have experience with the CCR line and I have never worked with the CAP either.

I really prefer the Ubiquiti line of devices for WiFi distribution and the Tik devices for backhaul/point to point outdoors. I am currently running a RB2011 with a single UAP-Pro at home now.

You will notice a difference between the coverage of the 50mw and 1000mw but one thing to keep I'm mind in a home environment, there are usually more obstructions so it is typically better to deploy several lower powered aps than to deploy one really powerful one. You can transmit as strong as you want to the client but if the lower power device (cell phone, etc) can't comminicate back, the performance will really suffer.

This is all based on my personal experience so hopefully somebody else can help with the CCR selection.

Just took a look at the CRS109...

That will be on my list to upgrade my router when it's time. Get that over the RB2011. Looks to be an upgraded model. As long as the hardware has the bugs worked out of it, that sounds like the way to go.

I await the day I have a decent dual band AP from Mikrotik. You can Coble things together... but I would prefer a solution and not another hobby.

If your enviornment is anything like mine... adding more APS doesn't always help. Sure they get to run at lower power... but you still need to be able shieldone AP from another AP on the same channel. Too many waps on the same channel in too close a proximity produces it's own issues. Moving right along...

The UAP Pro from ubnt is a fairly solid performer. But the server software can make it a bit of a pain. Especially if you are only ever dealing with one install.

Watch out. CRS is not router. You might be disappointed by its routing speed when you use it as router. It is a switch. Maybe that with 100Mbps there will be no impact but you have to think of future also. Are you going to rise your connectivity?

I am lucky in the sense that I have some space between me and my neighbors. I can only see one other network in the far corner of my house so not much interference. I just run my 2 APs on channel 1 and 6 with the same SSID on both and let clients roam on their own. Works well for me.

Also, just as a side note, the Unifi software doesn't have to be running 24x7 if you're not using a guest portal page. You can launch the software, config the units, and kill the software.

Watch out. CRS is not router. You might be disappointed by its routing speed when you use it as router. It is a switch. Maybe that with 100Mbps there will be no impact but you have to think of future also. Are you going to rise your connectivity?

If that's the case, why does the Routerboard site say "Our CRS series combines the best features of a fully functional router and a Layer 3 switch" and "ports can be removed from the switch configuration, and used for routing purposes" for the CRS109?

I was under the impression that the router/switch functionality was purely based in software, and that the more advanced multi-core routers were only necessary if you're trying to set up a large network or an ISP or somesuch?

More specifically - the CRS109 seems spec-for-spec almost identicial with the RB2011, except for having full gigabit ethernet ports.

EDIT : If it's really as borderline as you say, can you elaborate for a beginner how something like a CCR1009 adds benefit for a prosumer type network?

The CRS series actually includes a high end switch and a low end router, and is created with a focus on switching capabilities.
Practically, that means that you get a 900/2011 series router (limited to some 150Mbps NAT performance), and a wire speed capable L3 switch. And, out of the routing performance, some 10-15% of its computing power is used to ensure switch interfacing/functionality.

A CCR device is a 9+ core high performance router, with optional switching capabilities. This allows for full gigabit NAT, encryption and routing performances.

It is up to you to decide if you need gigabit capabilities on that fiber in the future or not.
It is of course feasible to start with a CRS and insert a more capable router later, if needed, while keeping the switch in place.
Anyway, a RB1100AHx2 (maybe a RB850x2 - haven't tried it - maybe someone could confirm) is the minimal level needed for full Gb routing.

But my question is: Do you need a L3 switch in your case? A small form router (the mentioned RB850x2) with a 'dumb' gigabit switch would actually do the same job, unless you need vlan switching, mirroring, bonding and other advanced switching features, at a much better performance/cost ratio.

Watch out. CRS is not router. You might be disappointed by its routing speed when you use it as router. It is a switch. Maybe that with 100Mbps there will be no impact but you have to think of future also. Are you going to rise your connectivity?

If that's the case, why does the Routerboard site say "Our CRS series combines the best features of a fully functional router and a Layer 3 switch" and "ports can be removed from the switch configuration, and used for routing purposes" for the CRS109?

I was under the impression that the router/switch functionality was purely based in software, and that the more advanced multi-core routers were only necessary if you're trying to set up a large network or an ISP or somesuch?

More specifically - the CRS109 seems spec-for-spec almost identicial with the RB2011, except for having full gigabit ethernet ports.

EDIT : If it's really as borderline as you say, can you elaborate for a beginner how something like a CCR1009 adds benefit for a prosumer type network?

that is known as marketing speak .

CRS is a rb950 class router with a switch not unlike the one in those, but more ports.
Could be the right fit for you, or just buy a rb951g or something and a cheap switch.

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Watch out. CRS is not router. You might be disappointed by its routing speed when you use it as router. It is a switch. Maybe that with 100Mbps there will be no impact but you have to think of future also. Are you going to rise your connectivity?

If that's the case, why does the Routerboard site say "Our CRS series combines the best features of a fully functional router and a Layer 3 switch" and "ports can be removed from the switch configuration, and used for routing purposes" for the CRS109?

I was under the impression that the router/switch functionality was purely based in software, and that the more advanced multi-core routers were only necessary if you're trying to set up a large network or an ISP or somesuch?

More specifically - the CRS109 seems spec-for-spec almost identicial with the RB2011, except for having full gigabit ethernet ports.

EDIT : If it's really as borderline as you say, can you elaborate for a beginner how something like a CCR1009 adds benefit for a prosumer type network?

that is known as marketing speak .

CRS is a rb950 class router with a switch not unlike the one in those, but more ports.
Could be the right fit for you, or just buy a rb951g or something and a cheap switch.

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I like that "Marketing Speak"


But there should be difference between CRS and CCR...

Thanks for the responses. I'm still a bit confused though.

If I was to do this network with a Ubiquiti solution, it'd be Unifi Secure Gateway router -> ToughSwitch POE -> ethernet wall sockets + 2x Unifi AP-LR.

I want to build the network with Mikrotik gear. The CAP2n units can replace the Unifi AP-LR's in the above setup, but I'm struggling to figure out exactly what would replace the USG or the ToughSwitch.

I still like the CRS109 but based on the above comments I get the impression it's subpar for routing...

Thanks for the responses. I'm still a bit confused though.

If I was to do this network with a Ubiquiti solution, it'd be Unifi Secure Gateway router -> ToughSwitch POE -> ethernet wall sockets + 2x Unifi AP-LR.

I want to build the network with Mikrotik gear. The CAP2n units can replace the Unifi AP-LR's in the above setup, but I'm struggling to figure out exactly what would replace the USG or the ToughSwitch.

I still like the CRS109 but based on the above comments I get the impression it's subpar for routing...

No it's not subpar, it's just standard MT mipsbe. PPC and ccr are the faster options by MT.

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Related-but-unrelated question :

If I purchase a RB951G-2HnD, I assume it's easy enough to disable routing functionality and just use it as an ethernet switch + wireless AP with a common SSID with the main CRS109 wireless router?

And is it better to do so via manual configuration or using CAPSman?

Related-but-unrelated question :

If I purchase a RB951G-2HnD, I assume it's easy enough to disable routing functionality and just use it as an ethernet switch + wireless AP with a common SSID with the main CRS109 wireless router?

And is it better to do so via manual configuration or using CAPSman?

Yeah, doing it that way is no problem at all. You can configure it to be anything you need (Switch, router, firewall, wireless access-point, vpn server, etc.) or any combination of those.

If you use CAPSman or not is up to you, I would say, give it a try. Both manually configuring the same SSID or using CAPSman should work just fine.

Im done installation with one RB750 as Router+CAPsMAN+HotSpot and two cAP-2n as controlled AP.
What discourage me in cAP-2n and mAP-2n is only one antenna, so it lack of MIMO.
RB951Ui-2HnD is good as AP (can be connected to CAPsMAN Controller). For better design it can be installed in Rfelements InSpot case.

RB951G-2HnD, RB2011UiAS-2HnD-IN and CRS109-8G-1S-2HnD-IN have similar CPU 600 MHz, so it very similar in routing performance.

There are new wireless AC integrated ACs that are inexpensive and one also has miniPCIe if you want to increase the wireless AC chain. It has SFP but only a limited set of ports.

What you could do is use it with mikrotik's wireless AC miniPCIe card and 2 RB911x with wireless AC but cheaper than link them using wireless AC on seperate channels. To get more ports just add a switch to it than. Specs wise its fast enough for your connection because the same scorpion MIPS CPU is used by the tp-link archer c7 achieves gigabit speed NAT but im not so sure if mikrotik utilises hardware NAT acceleration. For indoor use those APs do well but you can also place them in outdoor casings. They have 1000mW but you dont necessarily have to use the full transmission power and 2x2 wifi streams.

If you dont need wifi for your main router than any router with a strong CPU and some ram would do. If you plan to run hotspot you should get a stronger CPU because https redirects take up CPU.

a rb750g does pppoe+nat at roughly 200Mbit/s, so CRS 109 can do at least that. That should your bandwidth requirements for now.
Talking about mAP and cAP, you might want to also have a look at RB2011UiAS-2HnD-IN because it has POE out on eth10, and you could actually daisy-chain 2 mAP-s or a mAP and a cAP from that port.
Or if you don't have a problem with POE injectors, CRS109 would be better than the 2011 because you get 3 more gigabit ports.

In the newest newsletter there is a passive CCR1009 that might be interesting for your application, but if you are planning on using the same connection for at least one year then it's not worth waiting for it because the routing performance you can get with the CRS is more than enough.