Advice on new network.

RouterOS Forwarding Protocols
1

I have an existing network that I want to rebuild.

Currently the network consists of Wireless PtP links using Ubquiti M5’s. The end device is a Layer 2 switch.

Occasionally, something causes the network topology to change and loops show up on the network and cause issues. The purpose of the Layer 2 switches was to transport multiple vlans for different customer’s data.

Although there is really only one customer using this, I want to keep the ability to segment different traffic based on needs of this customer and perhaps future customers.

I am looking at implementing MikroTik routers at each tower site to terminate the traffic from the Ubquiti PtP links. I would be replacing the layer 2 switch with a Mikrotik Router. I am thinking one of the CRS lines. I figure this way I can use Layer 3 routing protocols such as BGP/OSPF and let it worry about taking care of loops, etc.

I was looking at this as an example:

http://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/Manual:MPLSVPLS

I have included a simple network drawing.

Any advice?

2

CRS would be a bad choice.
It is intended to be a switch, so the CPU is pretty weak as a full-fledged router. If you start to use the IP layer for much more than just managing it, the performance falls off quickly. There are lots of threads here of people complaining about packet loss when they flood ping their CRS…

Get a CCR instead. - ESPECIALLY if you’re thinking of using VPLS. (which is a great choice, by the way)

You need to make sure that your p2p links are absolutely rock solid - ospf will tend to bounce sometimes on p2p links.