I’d like to make a few applications to show bandwidth, logs, etc by creating our own small winbox app. Is there any possibility to get a document that shows what the communication protocol is between winbox and the routeros?
I can see that 3987 is using tls, which we can write with using a component we own from dart.com. We also see that the non-security package communication uses 3986 in clear text, but it is very hard to understand the structure of the communications. Is MT open to sharing this information with us so we can create applications that the community would benefit from?
We used Telnet, not the proprietary protocol, to do this type of function.
Our “RadioManager” is a windows GUI to manage basic features of MT routers. It can be OEM’d or customised as people need. We’ve had a very large number of requests for trial.
We did also wonder what the proprietary protocol is, as it has the benefit of being more secure than telnet.
Winbox is using a 2 way communication protocol ( I think ) that is being pushed to, whereas with ssh / terminal you must query objects, and only 1 at a time.
I have big plans to make a WinBox for PocketPC so you can control your router from your cell phone. . . or at least from mine! This new Windows 2003 Mobile Pocket PC Se is so slick. Having a winbox console from a pda would kick ass in my opinion.
Mikrotik team, would it be possible to get the specs on the WinBox protocol so we can write an application to benefit the users of your software? I would even sign an NDA to keep this info confidential. MT is the best router software out there and I want a way to manage it from anywhere : )
PDA-access to MT would be excellent - now we could do it using Telnet, but the Winbox protocol might be more efficient.
My software colleagues were asking this question about Winbox protocol too.
IMHO best to have a version for wireless installers that only has a few features visible, not the whole winbox, to avoid people breaking things …
we have something like that on the wishlist, but you have to remember that we now have the web based config.
you know PDAs are different - PalmOS and Windows Mobile are totaly different things, applications for both of them could take a lot of time and resources, taking in mind that PalmOS is far more popular.
Most likely we will make a special version of the web config so that it fits into the PDA’s screen (320x320 or 320x480)
I am interested in writing something for PocketPC since it has the .net framework already built in. Anything written in vb.net or C# can be scaled down very easy to run on these units. Anyhow, I’m not expecting MT to write anything for this, just to give us direction on the protocol used for WinBox so we can write our own. We would even sign NDA if needed.
A web page is nice, but doesn’t give you real time info like WinBox does.
Well that’s an enterprising offer and I hope MT give you access - I’ll watch with interest -
I think a software app would be best, like our RadioManager - the next beta will have audio tones for alignment - but that needs a laptop to run on - a pocketPC version would be nicer for the poor installer on a tower.
Alternatively if it’s done as a webpage then it’d better “refresh” signal levels every 1/2 second or so and stay nice and stable on the screen - perhaps JAVAscript.
the webpage is going to be rebuilt so that it works on PDAs and doesn’t require frames. we’re trying to figure out what’s the best way to refresh info without refreshing the page.
about the winbox communication protocol - we are thinking about this, maybe we will release something later.
