Community discussions

MikroTik App
 
mike548141
Frequent Visitor
Frequent Visitor
Topic Author
Posts: 51
Joined: Sun Aug 16, 2020 5:14 am

Hardware recommendation for Internet gateway

Mon Jul 26, 2021 6:44 am

Hi

I am looking for your recommendations on a model of Mikrotik ethernet router to use as an Internet gateway at home. I am currently using a hEX PoE but I'm only getting about 400 Mbps through it using https://www.speedtest.net/, that could be a config issue on my part so let me know if you would expect more from it.

My requirements,
1. Throughput: 950 Mbps down, 450 Mbps up.
My Internet connection is fibre to the premises, branded in New Zealand as Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB). The UFB network is capable of up to 8 Gbps per home but I am on a 950/450 Mbps plan, and I've found it reliably delivers the plans speeds. UFB depends on VLAN tagging and PPPOE in case its relevant.

2. Packets
No idea on my pps requirement, but assume typical MTU and home usage (streaming TV, web browsing, torrent etc). Honestly I just want it to run as fast as possible when I need it, not that its a heavily loaded network.

3. Capacity
As an Internet gateway the router will do very little other than NAT connections and firewall based on interface/IP/port (no L7 planned).
However I will layer in a couple of VLAN interfaces, DHCP server, remote syslog, traffic flow so some extra capacity is a good thing.

Happy to share more info if its useful, but didn't want to bloat the post.

Thanks

MC
 
mducharme
Trainer
Trainer
Posts: 1777
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2016 6:45 pm
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada

Re: Hardware recommendation for Internet gateway

Mon Jul 26, 2021 6:54 am

Hi,

In general you should look at the "Test results" tab on a MikroTik product page, specifically looking for the Routing, 25 IP filter rules, 512 byte Mbps result. This will provide a good ballpark as to the routing throughput for the device in an average scenario - I say average scenario because most people who buy MikroTik do not just plug in with the default configuration and not make any changes to it. If you are buying MikroTik devices you usually want to tinker with more advanced things, which can put more of a load on the router than the default configuration does. The default configuration is usually faster than this "Routing, 25 IP filter rules, 512 byte Mbps" result but how much faster depends on many factors.

The product page for the hEX PoE shows that it supports 319.5 Mbps routing throughput based on my ballpark throughput, which is a lot slower than your connection is capable of. Try to find a device that is capable of closer to 1Gbps routing throughput in the test results (Routing, 25 IP filter rules, 512 byte Mbps). The RB3011 or hAP ac3 would probably be the cheapest device to meet this requirement.
 
User avatar
mkx
Forum Guru
Forum Guru
Posts: 11433
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2016 10:23 pm

Re: Hardware recommendation for Internet gateway

Mon Jul 26, 2021 9:21 am

I agree with what @mducharme wrote. Only ... hAP ac2 with performance similar to the one of hAP ac3 is quite cheaper.
RB3011 is a decent device, but based on slightly older CPU etc. Still decent performer, specially with 10 ethernet ports. One just have to be careful, there are two switch chips running 5 ethernet ports each (switch1: eth1-eth5; switch2: eth6-eth10). Any traffic going between ethernet ports run by different switch chips will have to pass CPU and that can be quite a burden.
 
User avatar
Hominidae
Member
Member
Posts: 309
Joined: Thu Oct 19, 2017 12:50 am

Re: Hardware recommendation for Internet gateway

Mon Jul 26, 2021 4:03 pm

...either RB4011 or RB450Gx4, as a more modern solution then.
 
mada3k
Long time Member
Long time Member
Posts: 687
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2015 10:53 am
Location: Sweden

Re: Hardware recommendation for Internet gateway

Mon Jul 26, 2021 5:16 pm

PPPOE is very CPU intense. If you want to reach 950Mbps you probably need a RB4011 or better.
 
mike548141
Frequent Visitor
Frequent Visitor
Topic Author
Posts: 51
Joined: Sun Aug 16, 2020 5:14 am

Re: Hardware recommendation for Internet gateway

Thu Jul 29, 2021 12:29 pm

Thanks for the advice, I think I will go with the RB4011

MC
 
ToTheCLI
Frequent Visitor
Frequent Visitor
Posts: 86
Joined: Mon Jan 04, 2016 3:54 am

Re: Hardware recommendation for Internet gateway  [SOLVED]

Thu Jul 29, 2021 12:38 pm

Thanks for the advice, I think I will go with the RB4011

MC
Or the RB5009 looks more future proof and a better buy
 
User avatar
mkx
Forum Guru
Forum Guru
Posts: 11433
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2016 10:23 pm

Re: Hardware recommendation for Internet gateway

Thu Jul 29, 2021 12:44 pm

Or the RB5009 looks more future proof and a better buy

It does look more future proof, but as with all new models I expect it to experience some teething problems which should be polished in a few months (hopefully). Hence I wouldn't suggest this model for immediate use in production environment.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 28 guests