What difference is there between TP-link and mikrotik router

RouterOS General
21



Just to be clear: No router of mikrotik is able to work directly with phone line. If you want to use Mikrotik router with ADSL (or cable TV or satellite internet), you need a modem. If you want to use the line also for phone calls, you need a splitter connected before the modem to connect the phone simultanously with the modem. If the modem has a plug named “phone” it has a built-in splitter so you do not need separate box. If it has only “line in” and no “phone” connector, you need to use a splitter.

Thank you both of you very much indeed for your quite excellent explanations.
If you have seen my screen shot above, you will not see any ‘phone’ port, nor ‘line’ on my TPlink router

There is only ADSL port on my TPlink router.

Then, my TP-Link router which will be acting as a transparent modem in bridge mode should be connected to Mikro tik router via Ethernet(I Plug one end of the twisted-pair Ethernt cable into the LAN port on the rear panel of TP-link router, and I connect the other end to the LAN port of the Mikrotik router. Since Ethernet cable is not too long, then, both rotuers must be near to each other.

First: I cannot connect two routers ‘Mikrotik’ and ‘TP-link’ used as a transparent modem via ‘WDS birdge’?

Second:, To connect other routers via Wi-Fi, I will need a setting called “WDS Bridge”. However, I will consider that first ‘Mikrotik router’ connected to TP_link(acting as a transparent modem) with a wired cable is ‘A’ router. Thus, as long as ‘TP-link’ is just transparent modem. With “WDS Bridget”, “B” router (in the above example) would search the air for “A”, which is ‘Mikrotik router’, in the same way my laptop normally does, and connect to it, while at the same time it emits a signal for others to see. “C” should be able to see the signal from “B”, and connect to it in the same fashion, and so on. “C” doesn’t need to see “A” on the air - just “B”.

Finally: If I want to do such ‘WDS’, all routers must be from the same brand, i.e they are Mikro tik routers, or all they can be a mixture of routers?

22

Seems we are getting closer and closer. What a hard work! :slight_smile:

  1. If the device works in transparent modem mode, it converts from ADSL to ethernet only. All other functions should be off (otherwise it would not be “transparent”). So no, you cannot use embedded router or AP or other functions of the modem if it is in transparent modem mode. But, to be sure how your tp-link works, again: consult your manual or product webpage.

  2. It is correct. When using mikrotik devices with at least level 4 licence you can use WDS on all of them (to connect them together in a star or line topology) and as many as you want (well, there is some restriction, but you can really create many of them) so called "virtual APs) that are represents by SSID and BSSID (mac address) looking like common physical AP enabling client devices around to connect). How all the network works is fully configurable. You can bridge all devices or set separate networks and route between them both dynamically or statically.

  3. Even there is experience that some mixtures can work (some tp-links or ubiquiti devices and maybe others with atheros chipsets could work in wds mode with mikrotik devices), it is highly recommended to use the same brand of devices when using WDS connections. None will be able to provide you help if the mixture does not work. And remember: Use cables instead WDS. WDS is always a big trade-off that you should avoid.

Be sure to select appropriate devices - check http://routerboard.com/ for the models and also read some threads on this forum about the similiar use cases you want to deploy and their problems and solutions.

23

Thanks a lot,
First of all, in the buildings built of clay, the signals of a wireless router placed in a distance of 20 meters from other wireless devices will be invisible for other devices. However, in other buildings built of stone or concrete I really didn’t find any signals problems at all.

But if I had used cables to bridge several routers via their LAN ports, then I would have had to look for long LAN cables, which will allow us to place all routers from, B, C, D, and so on, used in the bridge mode in the location we want them to be placed.
For instance,
A-------10meters-----------B-----------10Meters---------------C----------------10Meters and so on, until I cover all Areas needed.

**Note:**I really have a wireless TP-Link router. However, when my wireless HP laptop is about 20 meters away from the router, then no signals are received by my wireless HP laptop at all.Then, I brought movement antennas with a cable of about 5 meters long, and placed them instead of those come with my TP-Link router. However, those antennas closed(made) the distance between my laptop and router to become about 15 meters instead of about 20 meters. But, no signals received by my wireless laptop at all.
As a result, I would like to make bridge several routers via WDS bridge, and let each of them is about 10 meters from the other one. Thus, all areas I want to be covered wirlessly, they would be OK.

IF I want to use bridge routers via their LAN cables, I will not find a LAN cable with length of about 10 meters?
But I only have one choice which is to bridge them wirelessely.

I hope you understand me.

24

Hi,

Ethernet cables: Buy cable in a box (usualy 1000ft or 305m) and connectors. Buy crimpling tool and make cables as long you need on your own. It is easy and cheaper then buying finished cables. There is a 100m limit of one segment lenght by ethernet definition. Depending on quality of devices and cables, it can be even more (or slightly less). But it seems enough for you.

Coax cables: tp link home devices have weak amplifiers. If using non quality coax cables for extending antennas, you cannot expect big effect, especially if you use the same small antennas that are normally bundled with the routers. it can be even worse as the cable could have bigger attenuation then the antenna gain.

10m WDS is really silly idea. How many devices you want to deploy? How many clients will be connected to each of them? What throughput in total you want to pass thru this network?

25

so called "> virtual APs> ) that are represents by > SSID > and > BSSID > (> mac address> ) looking like common > physical AP

@jarda
Stop throwing in new terms at the poor guy, will ya? :laughing:

26

Oh. Seems we are more forward now. You have slept a bit… Anyway you might be right, I admit. I wonder where this discussion can lead. It’s interesting, isn’t it?

27

Thanks a lot both of you,

Everything seems relatively difficult in the beginning, then we will be accustomed to it. :smiley:

28

Sure, it’s very hard to start with mikrotik if you know almost nothing about networks. There are so many settings that you need to understand. But sooner or later you will learn.

29

Thank you very much,

Just to be clear: No router of mikrotik is able to work directly with phone line. If you want to use Mikrotik router with ADSL (or cable TV or satellite internet), you need a modem. If you want to use the line also for phone calls, you need a splitter connected before the modem to connect the phone simultanously with the modem. If the modem has a plug named “phone” it has a built-in splitter so you do not need separate box. If it has only “line in” and no “phone” connector, you need to use a splitter.

If you have seen my screen shoot posted previously, you will not see any plug named “phone”, nor “line in” on my TPlink router

There is only ‘ADSL port’, to which I plug ADSL cable, on my TPlink router.

Generally, it is good to buy some cheap mikrotik device for trying it. If you can afford it, buy something like RB951Ui-2HnD, RB951G-2HnD or even RB2011UiAS-2HnD-IN that you can use at your home and play a bit with it.

How much do you think cheap mikrotik devices cost?
For instance, RB951Ui-2HnD, RB951G-2HnD or even RB2011UiAS-2HnD-IN?
Are they available anywhere?

30

ADSL is the same as “phone line”.
ADSL works over phone lines :wink:

Devices start at 45$ (RB951-2n): http://routerboard.com
Here is a list of official sellers: http://routerboard.com/distributors

31

Thanks a lot,

Yes, but I still need ‘a splitter’ to avoid echo in ‘the phone calls’.
I was told: “If the modem has a plug named “phone” it has a built-in splitter so you do not need separate box. If it has only “line in” and no “phone” connector, you need to use a splitter.”

Thus, my TP-Link Router has a plug ‘phone line’, which means it has a built-in splitter, but it still needs to be connected to ‘a splitter’.

Devices start at 45$ (RB951-2n): > http://routerboard.com
Here is a list of official sellers: > http://routerboard.com/distributors

Are they available everywhere? If no, they could be shipping them to my own country ‘Yemen’? :confused:

32

My link includes Yemen, there is a shop in your country

33

You can see in the list of resellers above that there’s this Yemenese reseller. You could get a MikroTik router either personally from their office, or delivered to you by ordering one from their site. I’d assume the shipping price for you will be cheaper than any other distributer since it’s a local (i.e. “in country”) delivery.

If for whatever reason you don’t want to use that reseller, there are other ones in that list from other countries. You’d have to compare their prices including shipping, and ask them individually if they’d even ship to Yemen.

34

Thank you so much indeed,

I am really quite happy with this Mikrotik service since they considered my own country ‘Yemen’ as a local distributor. I almost always don’t see there are local distributors in my own country for all other devices, if we even need a hard disk, we should be requesting from closer distributors, which always are either the Saudi Arabia, or UAE? This seems as though Yemen is a province controlled by SA or UAE, although Yemen has many sources of wealth not exploited. :frowning:

35

Thank a lot all of you

I would like anyone to kindly address these questions for me.

as conclusion,

First: As I can be connected to the internet either via Ethernet or via Wi-Fi, I would understand that I can bridge several wireless routers either via WDS bridge, or via connecting them with their LAN ports wih a LAN cables.



@acooperator
So yeah, you’d certainly need a separate physical device - an ADSL modem - to first “get the internet”, and then give it to the MikroTik router via an Ethernet cable.

Firstly: Do you think that it is worth a try to buy another MikroTik router, and connect it to my TP-Link router(I will find man other features much more than I have now with my TP-Link)?

Secondly: I can understand from ‘you would certainly need a separate physical device - an ADSL modem - to first “get the internet”, and then give it to the MikroTik router via an Ethernet cable’ I only must connect TP-Link router (a transparent modem) to MikroTik router via their LAN ports.

Thirdly: If I can connect TP-Link router(acting as a transparent modem) to Mikro Tik router via Wi-Fi bridge, then how can I access to internet to setup Wi-Fi bridge as long as TP-Link will be acting as a transparent modem(bridge mode), and Mikro Tik is not plugged to a ADSL line.

Fourthly: To make the Wi-Fi signal reach further, I really see that bridging several routers via their LAN ports would be much better if I could find LAN cables with a length of about 300Md. I really see that bridging several wireless routers via WiFi bridge would need many physical devices I cannot afford.

Fifthly: I really found LAN cables included with all TP-Link routers are too short(about 2m), thus I would need many physical routers if I want to bridge them via LAN ports with LAN cables.

sixthly: I really found other cables rolled a roll which can be used as LAN cables after sticking a RJ45 in its two ends. Thus I can get any length I need. Then, I will stick a LAN receptacle RJ45 in its two ends. Do you think it is good?

seventhly: I need to span all areas under the sunray, thus are there any cables anti sunray? Theses cables to be used to connect routers are not anti sunray.

eighthly: important: As long as I have only a DSL with a speed of 512Kbps, then do you think when I make the Wi-Fi signal reach further with connecting several routers together, my speed connection will be too low, especially if they are many clients connected to my wireless routers?

Finally: We all may know that whoever is connected to a wireless router via LAN cable would have a much speeder internet connection than whoever is connected wirelessly. Thus, When several routers are bridged via Ethernet cables (via their LAN ports, and with LAN cables), then I think the client devices connected to the first wireless router(for instance, A) wirelessly would have a slow internet connection since the second router, for instance(B) is plugged to the first one(A) via LAN port with an Ethernet Cable.



Hotspot - That’s the term for when you’re connected to the internet either via Ethernet or via Wi-Fi, but are required to enter a username and password from a web page before you can actually use the internet. In other words, exactly the thing you want to do in the end - that’s hotspot. You can do it with any MikroTik router, as this is just a setting in RouterOS, which as we’ve already said is the software that all MikroTik routers use.

Then, ‘Hotspot’ which lets clients enter a username and password from a web page before they can actually use the internet. In fact, I didn’t find this feature in TP-Link routers at all.

36
  1. Yes.
  2. Yes.
  3. No way.
  4. Count with 100m as maximum per one segment between devices.
  5. I already told you that you should buy cable in box, connectors and crippling tool to make own longer cables.
  6. Yes.
  7. Use quality outdoor cables. Ubiquity toughcable for example.
  8. No. Your wan will be the bottleneck.
  9. No. The link capacity will be spread by connection counts. Who makes more connections gets more throughput. But you can manage the qos by queues and decide yourself who will get how much throughput.
37

Thanks a lot,

Then, ‘Hotspot’ which lets clients enter a username and password from a web page before they can actually use the internet. In fact, I didn’t find this feature in TP-Link routers at all.

If you will be deploying other devices, it is always better to connect them by cable instead using wifi. Of course, you can build WDS connection between to connect additional APs in a star or line topology but it will always reduce effective usable throughput..

I know that I can connect several routers either via Ethernet ports with cables, or WDS connection. However, I am still surprised when you said 'connect additional APs(access points) in a star or line topology?? Especially, in WDS connection, how can I connect routers in a star or line topology as long as there are not concrete devices? I know that I can connect routers via cables instead of using WiFi in a star or line topology?
A star topology:






In my country, some ADSl subscriptions are limited by either a 30-day period or a maximum file download size.
For instance, my subscription with a speed of 512Kbps is limited by a month, and a maximum file download size of 12gab. If I have exhausted this amount, then my account would be out of credit even if the period of the month has not expired.
If there are still Valid Credit, and I have not charged my account before Credit Expiry Date, then all Valid Credit remains will not be retained, and the next 12Gb will only be for the current month.
If there are still Valid Credit, and I have charged my account before Credit Expiry Date, then the next 12Gb will be added to the Valid Credit remains.

Thus, as long as my subscription surely will last for a month unless I exhaust the maximum valid Credit, then when I see that my Valid Credit comes to end, I would like to reduce the amount of downloads clients copy from my network into their computers(devices). How do I let The server of a MikroTik router, if possible, control in the amount of downloads a user copies from a computer network into a small computer(device)?

38

Your topology will be:

Wall socket - splitter - modem - router.

As we know now, if you do not use the line for phone calls or if the splitter is part of the modem, you do not need a separate splitter. So it will be:

Wall socket - modem - router.

All by cables, from wall socket to modem via RJ11, from modem to router via RJ45. Regardles what type of modem you have, if it is in transparent modem mode, its routing, natting or AP functions are switched off. Therefore you cannot connect anything via wifi to it. Hope this is clear and we will not need to discuss this further.

Your tp-link is not usable as other common router, as it does not have RJ45 WAN connector (only RJ11 for ADSL). So, in case you do what you want to do, you will not be able to use it in other way than as transparent modem, if your model supports this mode. There will be no wds connection between modem and main router.

So you will have your modem and mikrotik main router as the first base station. The rest whatever you will need you have to add to it. If you will need 20 APs at different places, you will have to buy 20 additional AP devices and connect them somehow to your main router. How you will connect them depens on your needs and possibilities. A the additional devices may not necesarilly do routing (can be bridged), I would not call them “routers” but APs because providing access point services will be their job.

You can connect those APs via cable or via WDS link. Even you can use “mesh” network (that is probably something you refer to), I would suggest to use manually set topology based WDS connection between. But only in case you will use WDS, I recommend to use wires instead WDS. It means, you explicitly say to the main router and to the APs which one will connect to what other device. By this you can set whatever topology you want, if the devices are able to connect each other physically. But this is far in the future, because you even do not have the first device…

The ethernet cable (look at outdoor category 5e at least) will be able to connect your devices at distance you will need. But, according to the definition, its maximum is 100m. In case you need far bigger distance, you would need to use wifi point-to-point connection or run optical cable (but you will need also optical port equipped devices on both sides).

Yes, tp-link does not have hotspot feature.

No device will help you with your ISP provider. If your plan is not enough for your needs you have to negotiate with the isp or change the isp to get better speeds/limits. This is we cannot help you with.

You can limit your users in the same way like your ISP limits you. The tool for it is “queue”. Check the mikrotik documentation for details.

39

@acooperator

Here’s detailed instructions (with pictures!) about how to make an Ethernet cable:
http://www.groundcontrol.com/galileo/ch5-ethernet.htm

And I’ve prepared a shopping list for you:

You cut that into however many cables you need, e.g. 3 cables that are 100m each.

You place them at the ends of each cable.

Use that to actually do the cutting of the cable, and “crimp” (think “put in place”) the jacks on the cable.

Use that to check whether you’ve followed the instructions correctly.

(I don’t know if they ship directly to Yemen, but I don’t see any indication that they DON’T ship to Yemen…)


For instance, my subscription with a speed of 512Kbps is limited by a month, and a maximum file download size of 12gab. If I have exhausted this amount, then my account would be out of credit even if the period of the month has not expired.

Damn, that’s slow AND limiting. You definitely MUST renegotiate the offer with your ISP (Internet Service Provider - the person/company who gives you the internet).

Think of the ISP’s limits as if they were water - you share it between all of your users, and you can’t just take it out of thin air.

MikroTik can help you with dividing the speed/data limits between users (possibly with certain users having better speed/data limits than others), but it can’t increase the limits. Nothing you can do can. Only your ISP can increase the limits.

If those limits seem edging on unfair even to just you and your family alone, you can be sure your users are not going to be happy at all, and would probably pay extra just to get your total limits as their individual one.

(In Europe, those limits are not just “edging” on unfair; They’re WAY BEYOND unfair; Even the lowest level worst ISPs give at least 1Mbps as a speed limit, and few have any data limits)

40

Yes, tester is useful. I should not forget it…