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MikroTik App
 
triumph013
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Is MikroTik a good start for a complete noob?

Fri Aug 12, 2022 1:07 am

I am working on building up my home network. I was all set to press "buy" on a $2k Ubiquiti setup (home network and NVR) until the wife shot that down. The MikroTik Hex S is now in my crosshairs. I'm planning to pair this router with the Arris S33 modem, and a Ubiquiti UniFi6 AP. I need to separate the router and AP so that I can place the router and modem into a network closet, which will probably kill wifi coverage with my current all-in-one ISP provided unit.

Needs:
  • Support *most* of my 1.2 GB connection from my ISP (currently receiving 1.4 GB to the existing ISP provided modem)
  • Provide seamless internet to our connected devices so the wife doesn't complain
Nice to haves:
  • Separate VLANs for guest network, and an eventual homelab/web app network
  • POE for access point
  • Some way to access some web apps hosted on my Pi outside my home network
I am not a networking professional. I understand the basics, enough to get by, but not enough to really know what I'm doing. I'm willing to learn how to get what I need, but I won't learn enough to tinker with things outside of what I need if that makes sense.
 
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anav
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Re: Is MikroTik a good start for a complete noob?

Fri Aug 12, 2022 4:27 am

Not quite, the hexS doesnt have the throughput for your WAN side.
What you should get, if the budget can afford it is the RB5009 at $219.
The RB4011 (non wifi) is also good $219, but at the same price and older tech....... of the two it would be silly not to get the RB5009.

If the budget is tight, then consider the hapac2 as the best bang for the buck at $79 and still get the WAN throughput required.
The hapac3 is a bit better with newer processor and a bit more ram but is $109.

Throughputs Roughly
rb5009 - 3500Mbps Arm 64bit 1gig/1gig
rb4011 - 3700Mbps Arm 32bit 1gig/512mb
hapac3 - 1500Mbps Arm 32bit (IPQ-4019) 256mb/128mb
hapac2 - 1700Mbps Arm 32bit (IPQ-4018) 128mb/16mb
hex models - 700Mbps MMIPS 256mb/16mb

Finally, to save money and get as good or better results, ditch the ubiquiti model and get yourself a TPLINK 600 series wifi 6 Access point.
 
holvoetn
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Re: Is MikroTik a good start for a complete noob?

Fri Aug 12, 2022 7:59 am

The part anav did not address: to answer the question in your title:
YMMV (your mileage may vary)

It can (and probably will ) be a STEEP learning curve, be well aware of that !
But if you're willing to learn, you can learn a lot on a rapid pace.
And those things can do a lot more then devices from other vendors which cost multiple times as much.
 
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Re: Is MikroTik a good start for a complete noob?

Fri Aug 12, 2022 9:59 am

Is MikroTik a good start for a complete noob?
To answer this part, is depends!

If you want to dive deep(!!) into networking, then yes - its one of the best starting points.
If you want a very flexible setup, without the constrains of most of the other vendors, then yes!

But if you want a fast + easy setup, without a lot configuration, then NO. There are many other vendors which sell way more easy-to-config stuff. A MT is in other words a blank linux. Example: You want VLANs? No problem, but YOU have to know the difference between switching and bridging, YOU have to know how L3 Interfaces interact with a logical Bridge, YOU have to know how to tag and untag frames internally. YOU have to study how different hardware interacts with different ROS versions, regarding Hardware Offloading. And so on, and so on...

MT sells fantastic devices, but (and thats my personal opinion), they are made for network professionals. If you want to know this stuff, the learning curve is steep.
 
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woland
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Re: Is MikroTik a good start for a complete noob?

Fri Aug 12, 2022 10:43 am

A MT is in other words a blank linux.
Nope, sorry Guscht, but did you ever build a Linux firewall from a general purpose Linux distro? There are worlds in between. An MT ROS is based on Linux, but it is very abstracted, it gives you a GUI a completely different CLI , lots of HW specific and SW patches. It´s a patchwork. It saves you a lot of time: you don´t need to set up each SW package in different ways (for basic router you would need hundreds of packages for which you need probably at least 50 different config files).
MT has a steep learning curve ,but "blank" Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, Centos) has a much steeper one as you may need to learn iptables, Bind, iproute2, ifenslave, bridgectl, dnsmasq, unbound, quagga, bird, mrtg, openswan, strongswan, openssl, syslog, ssh, bash, vim, grep... .
If you go with a specialized Linux distro like OpenWRT, VyOS or IPFire, this is different again, but then ROS gives you similar complexity, depending on your needs.

W
 
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Re: Is MikroTik a good start for a complete noob?

Fri Aug 12, 2022 1:15 pm

The winbox GUI is excellent so you dont have to know different CLI commands, although you will learn some through osmosis and curiosity - and the support here is not bad either.
viewtopic.php?t=182373
 
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Re: Is MikroTik a good start for a complete noob?

Fri Aug 12, 2022 1:31 pm

I am working on building up my home network. I was all set to press "buy" on a $2k Ubiquiti setup (home network and NVR) until the wife shot that down.
For a person like you the Ubiquiti UDM-Pro setup etc. is the proper solution ... complete hassle free and will work just GREAT.

If you do want to go with MikroTik then I suggest wait for the MikroTik hAP ax2 and add some TP-Link EAP660HD. The Tik learning curve is steep but definitely worth while especially if you want to have significant flexibility over time. The MikroTik hAP ax2 should become available sometime in September time frame.
 
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Re: Is MikroTik a good start for a complete noob?

Fri Aug 12, 2022 4:36 pm

Nice to haves:
  • POE for access point

The Hex S only supports Passive PoE out so won't be any use with the Ubiquiti AP (or any current Ubiquiti PoE-powered equipment that I know of because they stopped supporting/using passive PoE some years ago).
 
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Re: Is MikroTik a good start for a complete noob?

Fri Aug 12, 2022 5:23 pm

Nice to haves:
  • POE for access point

The Hex S only supports Passive PoE out so won't be any use with the Ubiquiti AP (or any current Ubiquiti PoE-powered equipment that I know of because they stopped supporting/using passive PoE some years ago).
But stand alone POE injectors are cheap and easily available...
 
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Buckeye
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Re: Is MikroTik a good start for a complete noob?

Fri Aug 12, 2022 5:30 pm

What about the hEX S made you choose that model? Are you planning to use the SFP port? As has been stated by @MickeyT the PoE out on the hEX S passive, but I am not sure that it couldn't be used with the UniFi6 Lite AP, which requires 48V. The hEX S can be powered by 48V and I assume pass it through to the output, but the power supply it comes with is 24V. So you should read this thread My heX S can't power up Unifi 6 Lite. I would just use a PoE injector on the between the router and the AP myself. About the only advantage of using passthough is that you can power cycle the attached AP with a command. But you shouldn't need to power cycle the AP, it you do, that's only treating the symptoms, not the problem.

The RB750Gr3 and RB760iGS are quite similar except for the SFP port. RB750gr3 vs RB760IGS?

And they are both similar to the ER-X (all are based on the MT7621A MediaTek chip). Any of the above would "work", but none are really great if getting the last bit of performance out of your high speed internet connection is important to you. (But is it really? Or is it just for bragging rights?)

If you are familiar with Linux, the ER-X (vyatta based) provide access to many of the linux utilities, where ROS gives you a predefined set of tools. ROS has many more knobs to turn, but very few blade guards, so you will be much more likely to make mistakes with ROS.

Because you said this: "I'm willing to learn how to get what I need, but I won't learn enough to tinker with things outside of what I need if that makes sense." it does not seem that leaning networking is your goal, it seems that you want something that is more like an appliance. And for that reason, I don't think that ROS is the best choice for your requirements. Even the ER-X would be easier to configure, because you can find free documentation like this that will guide you step by step. But finding an ER-X in stock at list price now is nearly impossible.

About the closest thing to Mike's book for MikroTik are the links in @anav's New User Pathway To Config Success, although that isn't specifically targeted to a specific situation. But it would be a good place to look before deciding if the level of detail there is sufficient for you to follow. Even Mike Potts' pdf book assumes knowledge of networking fundamentals.

Other things to consider: pfsense on a dedicated network appliance. Even OpenWRT on another router ARM or x86. (even a Raspberry Pi with an external vlan-aware switch running OpenWRT) You can find info about these on youtube.

But if you want to learn networking, using MikroTik will force you to learn.
Last edited by Buckeye on Sat Aug 13, 2022 5:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
reinerotto
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Re: Is MikroTik a good start for a complete noob?

Sat Aug 13, 2022 10:27 am

I think, for your purpose a router, based on openwrt, is the better solution. SImply, because it is much closer to a real LINUX system like ubuntu, than the mikrotik stuff.
In fact, openwrt is a "shrinked down" LINUX, but also having a GUI for the common setups. But you can always change to CLI for fine tuning. I.e. in case you need some special settings for dnsmasq, not available in the GUI, edit dnsmasq.conf . Docs are plenty on the web. openwrt is completely open source; mikrotik is not.
openwrt also has a large community for help and support; you are not locked into one special vendor like mikrotik.
mikrotik is more like a dedicated rouer device; on openwrt you can install and use real DNS server like unbound, proxy like squid or web server like nginx.

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