Slow Throughput CHR virtual within Proxmox

RouterOS Beginner Basics
1

Hello and Thanks

I have recently installed RouterOS-CHR within a Proxmox VM, for homelab use.
Proxmox v8.1.4
Currently a single NIC

I’m not sure If the Mikrotik VM is intentionally ‘throttled’ or if I have something mis-configured.
I have installed an Ubuntu VM that has been running fine without issue.
Then I moved the VM onto ‘ether2’
Application flow:
Unbuntu → ether2 – Router → ether1 → Proxmox [ vmbr0 → en0 ] – > LAN → FW/Router → 0.0.0.0/0

Its taking forever to do a simply ‘sudo apt-update’ on Ubuntu
Mikrotik ‘webfig’ displaying average Tx/Rx Packet = 80 p/s

I am requesting help for where to look, how to troubleshoot (not necessarily solve)
Screenshot 2024-03-08 at 5.57.39 PM.png
Screenshot 2024-03-08 at 6.02.37 PM.png

[admin@MikroTik] > export compact 
# 2024-03-08 22:45:48 by RouterOS 7.14
# software id = 
#
/disk
set slot1 slot=slot1
/interface ethernet
set [ find default-name=ether1 ] disable-running-check=no
set [ find default-name=ether2 ] disable-running-check=no
set [ find default-name=ether3 ] disable-running-check=no
/ip address
add address=10.0.10.1/24 interface=ether2 network=10.0.10.0
add address=10.0.20.1/24 interface=ether3 network=10.0.20.0
add address=192.168.1.10/24 interface=ether1 network=192.168.1.0
/ip dhcp-client
add disabled=yes interface=ether1
/ip route
add disabled=no dst-address=0.0.0.0/0 gateway=192.168.1.1 routing-table=main suppress-hw-offload=no
/system note
set show-at-login=no
2

You would be sure if you’d taken the time to skim the docs before posting. You’ve plainly got a “free” license installed. 128kByte = 1Mbit.

3

WOW… sarcasm so soon.
Yes, I did ‘skim’ through the documents for help.
I am new to Mikrotik.
I have subscribed to the Youtube channel.
I have watched hours of other contributors.
And I did provide what I thought was a reasonably decent, intro to the situation… including pictures.
Along with a questionable statement, “I’m not sure If the Mikrotik VM is intentionally 'throttled”

You have succeded in making me feel welcome.
Thank you for clarifying the license which I guess I missed.
Sorry to have wasted your time.

4

Read my reply again. Is it correct? Would you not have been sure of the answer had you properly skimmed the single most relevant documentation page to your problem? Yes, you would. Did my answer point you directly to the section you would have found had you done that? Yes, it did.

And this is considered “sarcasm” now? My, how the English language shifts about in its meaning.


Yes, I did ‘skim’ through the documents for help.

What path did you take through the docs before resorting to your first forum post? I’d seriously like to know. If you want me to understand your position, let me into your head. Give me the link-by-link you tried, demonstrating how that bypassed the relevant info.

In fairness, I’ll give you my path in answering the question: put “CHR” into the doc search engine, click on the first result that looked relevant. There the answer was, a few paragraphs down.

It is unreasonable of me to have expected you to try the same thing?


And I did provide what I thought was a reasonably decent, intro to the situation… including pictures.

All of that obviated by a simple documentation search.

Do you not see the lesson?

Anticipating a “no” reply to that, here it is: Try a doc search first next time.


Sorry to have wasted your time.

Given the tone of your reply, you would have been better-pleased if I had not answered at all. A better lesson to take forward, therefore, is this: how much of your time would have been wasted waiting for someone else to reply in a more kindly manner? There was over an hour between your post and my reply, so how much longer would you have been prepared to wait for a better answer? How much time would it have taken you to find the answer on your own instead?

If you become known for making people search the docs for you and feed it to you by the spoonful, the time between replies will increase to the point where even a long slog through the docs will be a shorter path to an answer.

We’re people here, not a free-for-use AI search engine.

5

Yes, I did read the documentation, albeit quickly.
Yes I did ‘miss’ the license section because I was focused on trying to understand the CLI and how to add routes, how to assign interfaces, and how to get a system 'started."
https://help.mikrotik.com/docs/display/ROS/Getting+started

Yes, I now see the information about Licenses and was in the middle of setting up an account to purchase P1.
I did search the document engine, probably not to your satisfaction.
I watched multiple videos on youtube, to include https://www.youtube.com/@mikrotik

I even took the time to document all my steps for building the VM [below…]
And finally, because I have no desire to argue anymore…

I posted initially “I am requesting help for where to look, how to troubleshoot (not necessarily solve)”
Which, if you had taken the time to read, I was only asking for a little help.
I understand ‘RTFM’, just didn’t think it would be this ugly.

# Mikrotik-CHT

Virtual Router in Proxmox with Mikrotik CHR:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPhZypQ1gMY&list=PL5Bfd7V2KiKFiNBtKHInzKgm6cE52n9Ta&index=10

Online Docs: 
https://help.mikrotik.com/docs/

## create VM container

General: VM ID: 1001
OS: Do not use media, next
System: ,next
Disk: delete disk, next
CPU: 1s, 2c, next
Memory: 1024 MiB, ballon=0, next
Network: ,next
Confirm: ,confirm


## RouterOS-CHR 'raw' image

wget download.mikrotik.com/routeros/7.14/chr-7.14.img.zip
apt update
apt install unzip
apt autoremove

### Prepare VM image

unzip chr-7.14.img.zip
qemu-img resize -f raw chr-7.14.img 512M
qm disk import 1001 chr-7.14.img local-lvm

## Attach image as Hard drive

Select VM 1001 > Hardware >
Select Unused Disk 0 > Add
Options > Boot Order > select SCSI > move to #1

## Add Networks

promox > network > create Linux Bridge
vmbr1 cidr=10.0.10.0/24 gw= comment: WAN v100
vmbr2 cidr=10.0.20.0/24 gw= comment: LAN v200
#mbr3 cidr=10.0.30.0/24 gw= comment: LAN v300
Apply configuration

## Start VM

console login
change password

confirm ip
[admin@MikroTik] > ip addr
[admin@MikroTik] /ip/address> print
Flags: D - DYNAMIC
Columns: ADDRESS, NETWORK, INTERFACE

ADDRESS NETWORK INTERFACE

0 D 192.168.1.157/24 192.168.1.0 ether1

[admin@MikroTik] /ip/address> /interface print
Flags: R - RUNNING
Columns: NAME, TYPE, ACTUAL-MTU, MAC-ADDRESS

NAME TYPE ACTUAL-MTU MAC-ADDRESS

0 R ether1 ether 1500 BC:24:11:CB:5C:3C
1 R ether2 ether 1500 BC:24:11:8C:D8:85
2 R ether3 ether 1500 BC:24:11:80:FF:21
3 R lo loopback 65536 00:00:00:00:00:00

## Configure network segments

/ip address
add address=192.168.1.10/24 interface=ether1 #vmbr0
add address=10.0.10.1/24 interface=ether2 #vmbr1
add address=10.0.20.1/24 interface=ether3 #vmbr2

[admin@MikroTik] /ip/address> print
Flags: D - DYNAMIC
Columns: ADDRESS, NETWORK, INTERFACE

ADDRESS NETWORK INTERFACE

0 192.168.1.10/24 192.168.1.0 ether1
1 10.0.10.1/24 10.0.10.0 ether2
2 10.0.20.1/24 10.0.20.0 ether3

## WEB UI config
WebFig

login into http://192.168.1.10/
admin:super_secret_password

6

The first search result for “CHR” from that page brings up this video, where Normunds speaks of the same limitation 30 seconds in.

7

In fairness, most posters don’t start with as much detail. Now CHR licensing is one area that is well documented. But OP came to forum for help & half the problems here are someone didn’t read something :wink:.

While not suggesting Mikrotik go this route… most other vendor highlight an unlicensed product in bright red colors everywhere or nag you. In RouterOS, you can remember if you licensed it, or check /system/license. Anyway… I can see how licensing limits might NOT be the first thought on networking issue in a virtualized environment.

Perhaps the lesson here is RouterOS does not do a lot of hand-holding you though things. So if you didn’t install a license, it does what docs says happens.

8

I’ve made the same mistake plenty of times. My first thought that always pops up is there might be an issue with the NIC before I finally realize I forgot to activate the license, i.e. CHR is running in ‘free license mode’.

I think MikroTik should introduce some kind of warning when running in ‘free license mode’. It could be stated when opening the terminal or perhaps in the logs, something like ‘you are running in free license mode which limits throughput to 1 mbps’.

9

I think that the point has been risen a few times already.

If I may, the not licensed CHR should have a “show at login” forced to yes and a message in system note there that can be something like:

hey, you, I know you haven’t read documentation thoroughly, this instance of CHR is not licensed, so it will be slow as molasses.
DO NOT go to the forum crying for help if the system is slow, buy a licence instead.

or:

WARNING: Not licensed install!
As a friendly reminder, this instance of CHR is not licensed, don’t be surprised that it is slow, unlicensed installs are capped to 1 Mbit.

10

Hi, I second that,

Some kind of warning/reminder would be appropriate.

I wanted to try some routing in my homelab to get something running /webcams in subnet) and remembered to give Mikrotik a try. I watched a video and got everything up and running in Proxmox. Now I have sluggish behaviour and have to sort out if that is a limit/license thing. If I had seen some warning I would have considered trying something else.

Nighty

11

Yup.

Even if the default config on CHR just had some config to add a “note” would help:

/system/note/set note="Using free license, speed limited to 1Mb/s"