how to set up routeros for a lame adsl user in windows

RouterOS Beginner Basics
1

Hello Latvia!

I must admit I thought this was an american company, like Cisco but smaller :wink:, but I am impressed by what I have read so far and will, if possible, user your products and software from now on. Stumbled upon this via The Dude.

I have set up a pretty simple test scenario in my home with a simple goal: control bandwidth and ports.
In order to achieve this I have for now the following components and setups.

  • router d-link (will be replaced)
  • switch d-link
  • one server with WHS installed
  • one administrative workstation with WXP64
  • a few clents with WXP

I connect with ADSL and the connection is set up as DHCP since the provider uses the phone number for auth.

What I want to accomplish:
Server connctes directly to router and all other computers connect to server (one of Mikrotiks NIC cards will be installed in server). Router will be bought, Mikrotik, probably a 100MB router, since I will hardly have use for a faster router, switch will remain D-link GB.

I have a few very basic initial questions, strangely enough I can not see them answered, even though ver basic:

  • Is RouterOS installable in Windows Server environment?
  • Are there any particular issues that should be resolved within my Windows environment before I can expect this to work?

Lets see if I/we can fill up this thread making it a guide for my self and for others on how to use RouterOS. If at all possible. If RouterOS is not usable from withing Windows, I am considering to use a Virtual machine for this. If that would not be possible, RouterOS will not be my choice of application.

2

Virtual Machine is your only option, apart from a dedicated machine. the setup should be pretty simple, but already I must warn you - RouterOS doesn’t support any internal ADSL modems, so you will have to use an external device from your ISP. Let us know how we can help as soon as you are set up and connected.

3

Hmm, no there are no internal ADSL modems. The one used is D-Link DSL-320T which is a completely external box.

Only Virtual machine? Well, that would be a challenge… :slight_smile:

The box layout would be (roughly)

ADSLMODEM
↔
ROUTER (Mikrotik)
↔
SERVER (Mikrotik NIC plus RouterOS)
↔
Computers (switch (D-Link GB) and workstation included)

4

what’s the purpose of the SERVER, if it’s powered by RouterOS? Can’t server and router be the same device? Apart from that, it looks fine

5

Server serves two purposes: fileserver and connection manager server (as intended).
It is protected by Eset antivirus and firewall and it runs a newly purchased WindowsHomeServer, but I could rig it with Windows Server 2003.

I was under the impression that having a “hardware” router was a better and safer solution than running a server as router, especially if one is going to be using it as I intend, backup, storage, media. Not primarily web, I do not think I will have IIS or anything like that installed. VNC or VPN will do for remote access.

6

usually you would put the server in a DMZ separate network.


[ADSL modem] ---> [Router] ---> Client network
                     |
                     |-------> Server
7

In this scenario I would not put the server in DMZ, and if using it as router, as you suggest, that would hardly be possible (?).

8

why? :slight_smile: I don’t understand why you need to do it your way, because it makes things more complicated, without any real gain (from what I understand). Tell us more why you need the server to also work as a router.

9

Hello Homdax and welcome to the forums!

I don’t quite understand your intentions for the mikrotik device at the moment. Image mikrotik as a cisco router if you will, it can sit between your switch and your ADSL modem (if the modem is in bridge mode the mikrotik could even handle the PPPoE authentication for you).

As for running connections through the windows server this becomes redundant with the use of the mikrotik hardware router. My home network is very similar to the diagram normis posted only I have my media server etc on the same lan as my regular computer.

It doesn’t really make sense to me that you would try to run the mikrotik as a virtual machine on the same server box, then pipe the connections from your home computers into the server then to the mikrotik?

Please explain a little more what features you need/like/want to implement in you network and what you need to remain the same.

10

The only thing I was really after, to begin with, was bandwidth control. Then I am adding a FileBackup-Server to the network, which I did not have before. I purchased Windows Home Server for this, believing it would be able to cope with the server specific tasks. I thought I might be able to control BW via the Server, but it seems I can not do that, so I was looking for a router with inherent BW controls.

I am prepared to purchase whatever I need in order to get this done, hence I looked at Mikrotik.

My original approach is as stated, I want the server, or a BW control capable router, to stand between computers and Internet.

11

Ok, in this case your best bet would be to either a) find an old PC that you can run mikrotik on and buy a licence, or b) grab a routerboard which is a lot smaller, no moving parts to fail and works like a charm! :slight_smile:

this could then sit next to your adsl router and do the bandwidth limitation as needed.

Note that routerboards come preinstalled with mikrotik and a licence.
See: http://www.routerboard.com for a listing of all the boards so you can figure out which one you want. (http://www.routerboard.com/pdf/RouterBOARD_Selection_Guide.pdf might help)

Regards,
Omega-00

12

Sorry, I am not building another pc, there is very little room as it is. I thought I would be able to do this buying a MikroTik Router or using a comp with RouterOS installed, either as application or as Virtual machine.

Does a Mikrotik Router not allow for what I ask for?

13

RouterOS was designed to work on a separate machine, as a dedicated router. It’s an operating system, not a software you install somewhere.

It can be possible to run it in a Virtual Machine, but there will certainly be limitations

14

Then it would seem I should use Wingate. http://www.wingate.com/products/wingate/index.php

15

it’s a completely different type of product, it’s a proxy server.

16

I know. And I would much prefer a hardware solution, like an extremely configurable router or alike, but it seems Mikrotik can not do this. I will buy a 4 port net card though, since I will need it.

17

http://www.routerboard.se/shop4/product_info.php?cPath=21_22_30&products_id=35

5 st WAN/LAN prts

Auto MDI/X 10/100 Ethernet

Routing protokoll RIP, BGP, OSPF

VLAN

VPN (PPTP, L2TP, PPPoE och IPSEC)

Radius client

Graphical remote admin software

SNMP

# Trafic priority

Firewall

This solves a few of my problems. I can control traffic. There is also a specific example in the text describing one of the issues I want to resolve, kids dowloading a lot and I needing access to other stuff. Why I have not found it before I can not tell, maybe due to the informational structure on the product descriptions? Took me a while to find.

18

Did you miss this part of my reply? A Routerboard system is custom made mikrotik-supporting hardware (yes the router is MADE by the mikrotik people, just under the name routerboard) … which is exactly what you’ve just said you want.

Go to http://www.routerboard.com and have a look around for a local supplier.

Edit: hooray you’ve found it :slight_smile:
Edit: kinda spooky that I replied to this post just as you did.. 7 days gap in between :astonished:

19

I just did not understand that with buying a Mikrotik Router I also bought a Routerboard. :open_mouth:
I thought the Routerboards were for high-end stuff and never intended for the low-end market, despite them being, obviously, high-end products. And then, I looked at the products, all with no casing, and thought to my self, this is waaay to advance for me. Which it really is not, looking at the usage I have for it.
So when I found my local dealer I asked and looked and read up for a few days, making sure my eyes were not deceiving me. A good router, encased, at a decent price, with Mikrotik inside. :smiley:

I just hope it will work with the rest of my D-Link equipment (switch, adsl-modem, nics).