Learning RouterOS

robmaltsystems · Sun Aug 18, 2019 9:21 pm

I've bought the tiny but very functional hAP mini because I was intrigued about the product and esp. the power of RouterOS. My knowledge of switchers, routers and firewalls is limited to the basic kind of set-up although I was pretty adept at Juniper Netscreen firewalls in my time. I recognise all the words and understand what the individual components are but what I lack is that all important overview of how it all fits together.

The manual, fine as it is, is a reference that's more useful when you know what you want to do.

This forum is great when you have a specific question and the tutorials on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_vCR9 ... exICys6z4w are great.

But sometimes when following the posts on here and/or the tutorials, I get through them but come out the other end going "So exactly what have I just done?" One might even consider training but I don't think there is anything in the UK.

So I'm looking next for recommendations of a good book that would give you a middle-level understanding of RouterOS.

Jotne · Sun Aug 18, 2019 9:24 pm

I do recomed TKSJa's video. Hi has posted nearly 100 tutorial videos.
Gives you step by step instruction.

https://www.youtube.com/user/rodrick4u/videos

robmaltsystems · Sun Aug 18, 2019 9:27 pm

Re-discovered how to search Amazon for books (so long since i bought a book) and I ended up at this book:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/RouterOS-Examp ... oks&sr=1-1

The synopsis very much fits in what I've just written:

From the author - Years ago when I downloaded my first copy of the RouterOS software, it didn t take long to realize the power I had at my fingertips and quickly learned to appreciate the numerous features this routing system performs to wow my clients. Unfortunately, the gap between the documentation and actually solving problems with this powerful tool was wide, and I saw a need for a complete, example oriented, textbook type guide. I have always been a hands on type of guy. I learn by doing and I teach through examples and have attempted to do that in this book. If you too want answers and are ready to enhance your solutions tool box , then you have picked a winner with MikroTik and RouterOS. This book is a second edition, but not just an update. It became necessary because a few things have changed in RouterOS since the first edition and so the book has been edited to include those changes. In addition, more tips and tricks are shared in this second edition.

Anyone read it?

robmaltsystems · Sun Aug 18, 2019 9:35 pm

Yes, those were the videos I linked to and they are very, very good. But I don't like just following blind instructions - or rather in this case I'd like to invest the time understanding exactly what I'm doing. RouterOS is incredibly powerful but it's also a darn complicated beast if you're not familiar with the concepts. The tutorials do touch on what you're doing but they are more of a do this, that and then this kind of thing.

So for example, I have a client where I want to limit which devices can connect to the Ethernet network. Sure there are lots of articles on this but they assume (say) you know what ARP is, even what a MAC address is etc.

Some diagrams wouldn't go amiss

Jotne · Sun Aug 18, 2019 10:12 pm

I guess the book is good to understand whats beneath many of the functions. But take care on some function that has changed rather dramatically lately. Like how to interfaces works with bridge configuration.

robmaltsystems · Mon Aug 19, 2019 11:57 am

Yes, that is of course the problem with the printed form and why having the reference manual online is the right choice. I'm in same place as the author of the book - need a better grounding in the concepts behind a router. We have a phrase in the UK "All the gear and no idea" which means you've bought the thing but really have no clue how to really use it

I'm going to finish the rest of TKSJa's tutorials on YouTube first as it might be that the overall exposure to lots of RouterOS might be enough to understand how it all fits together.

A block diagram with data flow diagram would be incredibly useful - like this one from Juniper:

robmaltsystems · Mon Aug 19, 2019 12:04 pm

For anyone else hitting this topic later, there is a playlist of all the tutorial videos here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... zL3VrYtsKS

Sob · Mon Aug 19, 2019 1:38 pm

If you want some useful diagrams, check these: https://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/Manual:Packet_Flow_v6 (they may be a little scary at first, but it's not that bad)

petertosh · Mon Aug 19, 2019 7:09 pm

Re-discovered how to search Amazon for books (so long since i bought a book) and I ended up at this book:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/RouterOS-Examp ... oks&sr=1-1

I am not a network technician, just a small business admin and I was introduced to Mikrotik by a company that installed a hotspot system at our business. Then I needed some modifications in the hotspot-router and decided to do them on my own. And then I started learning Mikrotik. This book helped a lot. I can definitely recommend it. Some parts might be out of date as per 6.42 and the newer ROS. But it still helps a lot and buying it surely supports the creation of further revisions. Then this forum and the wiki and youtube should help with anything that is more specific...

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