Backhaul recommendations

Hardware MikroTik hardware general
1

I am new to exploring Mikrotik RouterBoard, but we have several brands of Backhauls in place, ranging from cheap to very expensive. We have had mixed results with everything but the super expensive, and frankly, cannot afford those units. Mikrotik looks great in that it is cheap yet highly configurable. Of course, configuration will take time: we get that. But, we want to start with the right hardware.

We want high power – so we can turn the power down as needed, but have headroom if it will not cause us interference elsewhere. I have come up with a few options and would appreciate some feedback from users, ESPECIALLY about Option 3.

Option 1:

493G board (680 Mhz processor, 256MB RAM, 9 Gigabit ports) - $199
R52Hn wireless card (AR9220 chipset, two chain wireless, “high power,” MMCX wireless connectors, miniPCI format) 25 dBm- $59
Third party, aluminum enclosure (might be a challenge to find one where the mounting holes line up – costs approx $60)
Total: $320 each + antennas

Option 2 - an integrated unit:

RB711G-5HnD (400 Mhz processor, 32 MB RAM, one Gigabit port) ($59)
Wireless card built into RB711 with two chain MMCX connectors 23 dBm power ($0) - note, this is less power than desired.
Enclosure (third party to get cast aluminum) - RocNox has one for $45 + shipping at http://www.roc-noc.com/case/diecast/outdoor/EN-TW2N.html
Total: $110 each (roughly) + antennas

Option 3: (not sure if this is possible). This would require some kind of load management. Any tips here would be great.

493G board (680 Mhz processor, 256MB RAM, 9 Gigabit ports) - $199
Use two R5SHPn 800mW cards for dual polarization with 800 mW each channel - $59 + $59
Third party, aluminum enclosure (might be a challenge to find one where the mounting holes line up – costs approx $60)
Total: $380 each + antennas

Lastly, as a backhaul, with as much disabled on the RouterOS as possible to maximize performance, what kind of REAL throughput could we expect on say a 5 mile link?

THANK you.

2

For 5 mile link you don’t need very powerful equipment. Of course it depends on other factors also, like LoS, but if it’s all clear you should probably be enough with a couple of RB711GA’s, some high gain directional MIMO antennas and adequate aluminium enclosures.. Not long ago i’ve established a 3km link out of mentioned components and I ceil up at 100mbps ethernet limit tcp. I’m going to order some gigabit poe injectors to see how much higher it would go.
The most important component to my opinion is the high quality antennas. I, for example, use 24dB drums, since they tend to cancel out most of the interference happening on the tower.

3

First, thanks for the reply.

True, but we have been having some issues on some of our towers. That is why we are looking into these radios: so we can have more control, and punch more power when needed. All our towers have LOS. The Redlines are dying prematurely, and randomly quit working on one link with no apparent cause; then recovered days later, and did the same thing several times. There is no sign of condensation or problems with the transmission lines. We even replaced them. A backup link (different brand equipment) is installed between the towers. It worked great for 6-9 months. Then, it suddenly seems to freeze for a hundred milliseconds. The manufacturer has looked at it for hours and has no solution. Of course, that thing won’t even do a spectrum analysis, so we are at a loss trying to diagnose. Redline’s licensing is whacky now, so we give up on them. We are tired of dinking around.

We want a radio that can do 5.2 or 5.8 and have enough power for any solution. That can be our standard. We just turn down the power and adjust frequencies as needed.

The phrase “probably be enough” is what concerns me. I understand, this is WISP stuff and there are no guarantees. But we are tired of dinking around. If you could choose the best possible setup using Mikrotik (for a backhaul pupose), what would you do? MIMO is assumed. Windload is a significant factor on a couple towers we have. Suggestions here? Do you use radomes? What are their wind ratings?

Thanks again.

4

I have used SXT’S successfully for 3-5 km links. When LOS is clear they connect good at 270/270 and bandwidth test gives solid 100/100 +.

SXT’S are susceptible to interference. Plastic enclosure & sometimes the ethernet going down in lightning or heavy downpour.

So I have got 711-5Hnd. It is a charm. With almunium enclosure. I get it designed for myself. Not the diecast thing but a cheapo type but efficient :laughing: .With dual pole panel antennas. 10+ km, has been easy and bandwidth test above 150/150+. Even 30km+ links have given me 20+ mbps on bandwidth test.

Using r52Hn with 433ah and PtmP. very satisfied with the performance. I am sure they will work great with dual pol. dishes for backhauls. 9 ports of the 493 won’t be of much use then putting them up on the tower.

5

What brand/model? We have had a hard time finding some decent dual pole, high gain panels with low wind load.

6

1.- A backhaul must be solid. No place to joke with.
2.- A backhaul must do it job: transport from one side to another side. No routing, qos, dnat, conntrack, firewall, … All the cpu must be used for radio & ethernet.
3.- In a tower, the backhaul must be specially shielded, deaf to interference. With corrosion risk at all.
4.- In a tower, cables lengh must be minimally exposed to high rf pressure.

Answers:
1.- RB433 with R5H or R5Hn.
2.- Bridge mode. Consider the MPLS option due the low overhead. See wiki sample.
3.- Aluminium box.
4.- Good and short rf cable. Antenna will be as shielded as possible.

Antennas:
Single pol: Any 21 … 23dbi alu-box antenna. MTI, ARC, …
Dual pol : Ubiquiti dishes with radome, ARC, Jirous, …
For short distance (up to 8 km/5 miles), a good option can be a horn antenna:

Hope that helps.

7

That horn antenna looks quite interesting. Not many manufacturers make them I believe and it makes me wonder why. They are considerably small in size, relatively high gain, can be dualpol. Are there some kind of limitations related to this design that it’s not popular or what?