Hex S upgrade from v6.48 to v7.2

RouterOS General
1

Hi,
I’m thinking about upgrade MikroTik Hex S from v6.48.6 to v7.2.3.
Is that a good idea?

2

Depending on use case and expectations from ROS v7 this can either be a good idea, a terrible idea or anything in between.

If you are going the v7 way, I recommend you the following minimum list of actions:

  1. create backup and export of current config (backup is complete state export to binary file while export is almost complete config export to text file) and save those two files to a safe place
  2. upgrade your unit to latest stable v6 (6.49.6 at this time). Don’t forget to upgrade routerboot after upgrading ROS.
  3. optionally create another backup and configuration export
  4. install ROS 7.2.3.
    Various complications might occur at this point, some of them requiring to netinstall your unit to same or earlier version. Also you might need winbox to connect to device. So make sure you have these tools ready at hand before upgrading your device from v6 to v7
    1. if v7 is running, it’s still recomended to thoroughly inspect resulting configuration. There were cases where parts of config were lost with upgrade. In this case the exported text config should help you to fix the problems.
  6. if v7 is giving you too much trouble, downgrade (netinstall if needed) to 6.49.6 and restore it from backup you created in step #3 or #1 above
3

Are there any advantages at the RouterOS v7.2.3?

4

No need to over-think. Follow the steps mentioned before: create and download backup, upgrade to latest 6.xx, upgrade firmware also (System->Routerboard), create and download backup again, move to “upgrade” channel, ENJOY!

Outcome very much depends on complexity of your setup. If you have average router with setup similar to default configuration, then 99.9% probability you are fine.

Mikrotik gurus tend to have very specific needs and very complex setups (because Mikrotik is a swiss knife and makes it possible), so don’t be afraid of most of the bugs stuff.

5

Are there any advantages at the RouterOS v7.2.3?

It depends. For the average IPV4 NAT home/smb router, ROS 7 works fine. Plus you get Wireguard and fq_codel/cake queues.

For the more advanced stuff (IPv6, “real” routing with BGP/OSPF, advanced queue trees, VXLAN, MLPS, …) ROS 7 is not yet ready.

6

If you are using vlans on hEX S, and want the hEX to tag/untag for the same vlan on different ethernet ports, the v7.2+ is better than any v6 version as long as your v6 configuration wasn’t using any feature that was broken by v7 that hasn’t yet been fixed. (The Dude???)

The short answer is “it depends”.

7

Dont listen to the experts, they dont have a clue. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
YOu need to speak to real ordinary people.

No. If the router is working fine for you, there is no security issue or other issue forcing you to upgrade.
6.49.6 Long term or whatever it is, is a perfectly good version.

If you want to learn about vers 7, then version 7.2.3 stable is your best bet.
This would be mostly to learn how to use wireguard for example or if you want to learn about routing in Vers7.
Eventually you will have to make the change!

Thus its not It depends.
Its a matter of WHEN, you are ready to make the effort! :slight_smile:

8

Here’s the list for new main features in RouterOS v7: http://forum.mikrotik.com/t/v7-1-is-released/153754/1