Hi all. I am relatively new to Mikrotik gear, but am very impressed so far. I need a router/firewall device for a new office - which will have internet via fibre which is presented as a PPPoE connection on a 100Mbps switch port (the speed limitation). I am hoping to use a RB751U-2HnD as the router/firewall as long as it will be fast enough. This is for <20 concurrent users, mainly wifi access but some wired, probably using the hotspot facility and maybe a few other things.
Is the RB751U-2HnD going to be quick enough to maximise the use of the 100Mbps connection? I have seen the “RouterBOARD Price-Performance Comparison” but it doesn’t detail much, so I was hoping for some ‘real-world’ experience and advice.
Well, if you think in time you really are going to consume that 100Mb of traffic and you also use some extra services as hotspot and firewalls (QoS? Filters etc) than I’ll think the unit is going to be underpowered. I would go for at least a rb800 or a rb1100AH plus a rb433AH or similar for the wireless.
It all depends how hard you make the unit to work…
Thanks for the advice. In terms of being underpowered- will that manifest itself as lower throughput (devices can still get online), or will it crash the mikrotik and no devices can access the internet?
Both.
Like any cpu running 100% is overheats and in the end crashes.
If not (yet) throughput will be less. Special latency will go up… (slow responce to page requests and poor to no Voip)
are you sure about crushing under load due to overheating or just exaggerating? For example, maximal throughput is tested at 100% load for 24 hours at that load.
No, I didn’t test it. And maybe I was exaggerating. But it might be considered to be common knowledge that cpu’s running on 100% of their capacity are getting hot. Much hotter than their designed working temp. The hotter the faster the cpu capacity degrades and the more errors are produced. Over time the cpu or the processes it has to work with start crashing more and more. They become unstable at the least.
I don’t think any cpu builder guarantees its product to be able to run under such continuous high loads overheating is a result (>70-80C). Hence over clocking is usually not covered under guarantee because cpu tend to heat up even faster then.
Peak loads of 100% is not strange and if a test consists of 24hr 100% with proper cooling it might survive but I wouldn’t recommend to run it day and night under such or equal high loads. The life span just degrades.
and i can assure you RB751U-2HnD does not have cpu related problems and CPU is not the main source of the heat of the router. Board is considered to be SOHO router and as such, it is tested in room temperatures without any additional ventilation provided.
janisk, thanks for the information.
Given I already have a RB751, I will test with that whilst doing some SNMP monitoring of the CPU load and see how I get on.