Hi everyone, I'm currently reviewing MikroTik switching options for a small office deployment, and I'm trying to decide whether a CRS series switch is worth the extra investment compared to a CSS model. The network isn't particularly large—around 40 to 60 users—but reliability, VLAN support, and fu…

My point from the beginning . . . :slight_smile:

[image] tadawson: I access the management VLAN via VPN to router "fronting" the location, and can get to either trivially from anywhere. The biggest part of the ISP routers are not under my control (33 sites) so I can not simply VPN in via the router. Hence my need to have "something" capabl…

I'm an ISP and have run small offices in years past. Unless a CSS/SwOS-only device offers features that a CRS does not, I go CRS every time, particularly the 300 series. I have a couple CSS's; most are sitting on the shelf now. I pull them out when I need something for a lab or other temporary setup…

[image] Buckeye: Is that story based on fact or just your conjecture It was a speculative, but an educated guess coming from a bit of experience. The 16Mb flash chips was taken as an example, so you may as well substitute it with fill-in-the-blank line. Some time ago I had a role in the manu…

I think the CSS product line and SwOS was launched to have a foot in the entry-level space of switches (where you usually have Netgear, D-Link, TP-Link, etc.) with simplified management. And the small footprint makes it possible to run within the Switch ASIC (that sometimes have a small general purp…

[image] mada3k: I would prefer if the could be managed from a adjacent RouterOS device at least. Sounds like a call for "SwitchMan" from here? :slight_smile: And what do you mean by "non backup" RE: SwOs? There have been numerous tools over the years doing full network (IP as well as SAN) m…

It would be really nice if a SwOS-device would be manageable from a RouterOS-device, via a sub-menu of some kind. Sorry, I realised that there is a backup import/export. It's however binary and not editable. We use Ansible for mange and backup devices. No SwitchOS support there unfortunally.

Thanks for the clarification. I guess there is a fine distinction between "config export" and "backup" . . . Thinking back through all the years I can't recall a clear text actual named "backup" on anything, but, but the config export can be nice (I just wish that they would make it portable! Hard t…

Modern enterprise IT-security policies dictates encryption everywhere, signed certificates and multifactor logins for everything. There is no "safe" VLANs or "trusted" IP-ranges. Zero-trust doctrine all the way.

[image] mada3k: Zero-trust doctrine all the way. The same enterprise guys who go "all in" on cloud subscriptions. :person_shrugging:

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Is CRS or CSS the Better Choice for Small Business Networks?

Hardware

BartoszP September 1, 2026, 9:58am 50