Wi‑Fi 7 / 802.11be

killersoft · Wed Nov 16, 2022 8:50 am

Just a nice to have...

With WiFi 6 / ax having barely been introduced into Mikrotik harware lineup as of this general message. I read Wi-Fi 7 is not far off.
Further reading I see Mikrotik's favorite supplier Qualcomm is now producing chips with Wi-Fi 7 onboard. ( IPQ9574 / PQ9554 / etc etc)
Would it not be great to see MT get on the front foot and start implementing some of these chips into upcoming products( even if RoS is not ready just yet ). And I would think ideally into MT's ceiling mounted gear 1st up(CaP AC/ Cap XL etc)..

wifi 7.png

CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A73 @ 2.2 GHz
System Memory – DDR3L, DDR4 16/32-bit
Storage – eMMC, NAND, Serial NOR, SD/eMMC
Networking
Wired – 6 Port Integrated Ethernet Switch 4 x 2.5 GbE + 5 GbE + 10 GbE
Wireless
Wi-Fi Standards
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax),
Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n), 802.11a/b/g
Wi-Fi Spectral Bands – 6GHz, 5GHz, 2.4GHz
Spatial Streams – 16 streams
Channel Support – 320MHz, 249MHz, 160MHz, 80MHz, 40MHz, 20MHz
Peak Speed – 33 Gbps PHY rate, up to 10+ Gbps PHY rate per channel
Wi-Fi Features
Simultaneous & Alternating Multi Link Puncturing for wideband operation in presence of 5G/DFS & 6G/AFC interferers
4K QAM
UL/DL OFDMA up to 37 users per channel
UL/DL MU-MIMO, up to 8 users per channel
Sustained throughput for up to 2000 users
TxBF, 802.11be QoS
Wi-Fi Security Suite
WPA3 Personal, WPA3 Enterprise, WPA3 Enhanced Open, WPA3 Easy Connect, WPA2, WPS, 802.11i security
AES-CCMP, AES-GCMP, PRNG, TKIP, WAPI2, WAPI1, WEP
Platform Extensions – Bluetooth, 802.15.4 (Zigbee/Thread), 4G/5G FWA
Packet Processing – WAN tunnel offload engine, integrated Ethernet switch, enhanced security processor, high-performance QoS/TM
Peripherals
Audio – I2S
USB – USB 3.0
I2C, SDIO, SPI, UART
4x PCIe 3.0 controllers
2x USXGMII (Universal Serial 10GE Media Independent Interface), 1x USXGMII-M
Process Technology – 14nm

https://www.qualcomm.com/products/appli ... oduct-list

"Qualcomm says the new WiFi 7 Networking Pro SoCs can run Openwrt with Linux Kernel 5.4. With up to 2000 clients, the Networking Pro 1620 is designed for highly-congested venues (e.g. stadiums), enterprise, small-to-medium business, and prosumer home environments. The Networking Pro 1220 and 820 both target enterprise, SMB, prosumer, and premium home mesh systems, while the Networking Pro 620 is better suited for enterprise, SMB, gaming, and home mesh systems."

bpwl · Wed Nov 16, 2022 2:17 pm

For me in that tabel the 6GHz is the most interesting improvement, as there is more interfering 5GHz around us already. Wifi 6E , but probably need Wifi 7 to implement 6GHz properly.
The other things are more incremental gains, that will need undisturbed signal for those high MCS encoding, IMHO.

Fri Nov 18, 2022 12:42 am

I seriously doubt that Mikrotik will come out with a "WiFi 7" product in less than 2 or 3 years from now.
It also looks like Mikrotik totally missed the "Wi-Fi 6e" market.

Some ( non-Mikrotik ) WiFi 7 , Wi-Fi 7 products are shipping right now.

IMO , Mikrotik has great reliable wireless products for Wi-Fi 5 products but hardly anything for Wi-Fi 6. I've been waiting for years for Mikrotik to make a product that operates in the 6 GHz to low 7-GHz bands.

anav · Fri Nov 18, 2022 12:51 am

Well to be fair TPLINK just live streamed its wifi7 product release this past week or so, and none of the business class APs are showing up on their websites yet.

Fri Nov 18, 2022 1:02 am

Well to be fair TPLINK just live streamed its wifi7 product release this past week or so, and none of the business class APs are showing up on their websites yet.

Dont forget TP-LINK mention 2024 as the year expected for wi-fi 7

DeDMorozzzz · Fri Nov 18, 2022 5:36 am

Will we ever get a decent MU-MIMO and OFDMA?
New standards are just broader channels and more chains to show more numbers on the paper. 4-8-16 chains give a lot of throughput but have anyone seen a wireless client with more than 2*2 MIMO?
I hardly believe that one can't find a free 5GHz channel indoors. Is it so important to have 6-7GHz?
MU-MIMO is not working so what is the different?
Just a broader channel and higher potential MCS (u hardly get)

mkx · Fri Nov 18, 2022 7:58 am

Of all the new bells and whistles coming with WiF7, I'm most optimistic about MU-MIMO because it mostly relies on AP's capabilities and it isn't impossible to build AP with large array of antennae (which will make AP huge or ugly or both). But that doesn't increase speed for clients when there's only very few active at a time (i.e. in typical SOHO case). So the benefit of it will only be there for large commercial installations.

The rest of features are, as already written, harder to achieve and it's quite likely that we'll see even larger discrepancy between theoretical capacity and reality.

killersoft · Sat Nov 19, 2022 2:20 am

Noting the expected 2024 timeframe for most manufacturers to have product(s) ready.
It would be now where the R&D teams should be getting there sample/test boards ready for a ~1year turn-around to market.

Of all the new bells and whistles coming with WiF7, I'm most optimistic about MU-MIMO because it mostly relies on AP's capabilities and it isn't impossible to build AP with large array of antennae (which will make AP huge or ugly or both). But that doesn't increase speed for clients when there's only very few active at a time (i.e. in typical SOHO case). So the benefit of it will only be there for large commercial installations.

As I stated earlier, probably a good initial product would be the Cap XL(RBcAPGi-5acD2nD-XL) type of product to get this gear into.
I currently run a campus with about 60 roof mounted MT AP's at the moment, and could easily see the new WiFi-7 boards being utilized in 2 years time..

guipoletto · Sat Nov 19, 2022 6:35 am

yeah... 320mhz @ 4096qam with an 16x16 array....

the baseband/DSP alone will burn a lot of power...

the only "good" thing about "wifi7" is the "MU" part, and maybe some improvements to how OFDMA works.

the laws of physics will keep us closer to 40mhz@2x2 streams for most applications.

i would rather have working wave2+capsman for the existing AX line and CapAC.
That will have some real impact in real scenarios, with real phones that real people have from the last 5+ years
would make a lot more people happy that way (let the half a dozen wifi{next} enthusiasts suffer with tplink for a while)

CyB3RMX · Sun Jan 15, 2023 5:46 am

Why no one is talking about MLO.... That for me is the biggest improvement on Wifi7, at least on performance even without a huge Channel width..

Sun Jan 15, 2023 9:31 am

320Mb channel width? ... say goodbye to 16 channels at once ... a few devices will "kill" whole block of flats especially if default configuratin set the max power "just to be safe not to be weekest one".
BTW ... what channel combintaion in 5GHz spectrum will let using 320MHz mode?

gotsprings · Sun Jan 15, 2023 3:02 pm

The cAP AC XL that was released in 2022 is Wifi ACv1 with no upgrade path.

So 2014 radio standard... 8 years later.

The audience wifi wave2 driver would bring it to ACv2. A 2016 standard. Which they are just getting into caps-man in 2023... 7 years late.

Outside of the 60Ghz PtP line... It's pretty hard to take Mikrotik WiFi seriously anymore.

Lala · Tue Jan 09, 2024 8:36 am

So wifi7 is now here. What does it look like?
Is there already hardware with 6 GHz?
I've had your hardware with 60 GHz in the house for many years and would love to have everything from a single source.

Rox169 · Tue Jan 09, 2024 10:05 am

wifi 6 started in 2019 and MT has new products now. Wifi 7 started now so wait 4-5 yers....

Tue Jan 09, 2024 12:02 pm

Not that long. AX took longer, since we had to move from our own drivers to chipset manufacturer drivers. From now on with wifi.npk package, it will be much easier.

anav · Tue Jan 09, 2024 1:05 pm

Ahh so you are at work Normands, still waiting for the detailed response to this post ( you can use email if you prefer ) viewtopic.php?p=1046445#p1046445

voip · Tue Jan 09, 2024 3:24 pm

Looking at some of the MT YT videos, and the consumer products line up
I come to conclusion that MT is targeting products that "wider public/consumers"
will buy, rather then creating "latest" products .......

Or, as it's evident from the YT videos, operators or large ISP's in bulk
at least for "consumer grade products (SOHO)".

I could be wrong ....

gotsprings · Tue Jan 09, 2024 4:26 pm

Ahh so you are at work Normands, still waiting for the detailed response to this post ( you can use email if you prefer ) viewtopic.php?p=1046445#p1046445

I am waiting for some sort of "blanket refund" for the CRS354.

anav · Tue Jan 09, 2024 5:52 pm

Just put it down as a business loss, sending you postage to send to my location.

gotsprings · Tue Jan 09, 2024 6:09 pm

Just put it down as a business loss, sending you postage to send to my location.

Its not something I would consider funny.

viewtopic.php?t=160561&start=300

anav · Tue Jan 09, 2024 6:21 pm

Just put it down as a business loss, sending you postage to send to my location.
Its not something I would consider funny.

viewtopic.php?t=160561&start=300

I read the thread, couldnt find one single mention of supout report let alone the 100s I expected to see.
Also some folks not reporting issues is weird and sounds like production quality more than anything else.

gigabyte091 · Tue Jan 09, 2024 8:19 pm

Maybe it's time for cAP be...

https://eu.store.ui.com/eu/en/products/u7-pro

anav · Tue Jan 09, 2024 8:38 pm

Only when I get my wifi7 smartphone which is what vendors should be aiming for in the home market.

un9edsda · Fri Jan 12, 2024 4:10 am

Maybe it's time for cAP be...

https://eu.store.ui.com/eu/en/products/u7-pro

The U7 Pro will have even more issues than its predecessor since on the 6 GHz band client devices' maximum allowed EIRP will be lower than access points' therefore APs need higher gain antenna for the 6 GHz band than for the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz in order to maintain their RCPI advantage over mobile client devices.

mkx · Fri Jan 12, 2024 7:11 am

... client devices' maximum allowed EIRP will be lower than access points' therefore APs need higher gain antenna for the 6 GHz band ...

Tx power asymmetry can not be "rectified" by antenna gain (because it works for both Tx and Rx), this kind of asymmetry can only be "rectified" by asymmetry of Rx sensitivity ... which means that APs will need Rx higher sensitivity than stations. And the difference in Tx power between AP and station is only 6dB. This is way less than difference in Tx power between base station and terminal in mobile networks, in LTE difference is usually somewhere around 20dB (terminals are limited to 23dBm and base stations usually operate at around 40dBm to 46dBm, at least on low and medium frequency bands, i.e. lower than 2.5GHz).

Alas, higher Rx sensitivity means that prices of AP chipsets will go up considerably ... perhaps by around 6dB as well.

gotsprings · Sat Jan 13, 2024 6:16 pm

The cAP AC XL that was released in 2022 is Wifi ACv1 with no upgrade path.

So 2014 radio standard... 8 years later.

The audience wifi wave2 driver would bring it to ACv2. A 2016 standard. Which they are just getting into caps-man in 2023... 7 years late.

Outside of the 60Ghz PtP line... It's pretty hard to take Mikrotik WiFi seriously anymore.

Credit where it's due.

Out of nowhere... The AC units did get an upgrade path to ACv2 at the end of 2023. No longer requiring legacy customers to trash the units to move on.

I rescind my earlier statement about "2014 wireless in 2023."

We now have 2016 wireless in 2024!

russman · Thu Mar 07, 2024 8:59 pm

Not that long. AX took longer, since we had to move from our own drivers to chipset manufacturer drivers. From now on with wifi.npk package, it will be much easier.

Can you give us a hint here, we've been waiting for over 3 years at this point for 6ghz capable wifi gear from Mikrotik. Skip 6e at this point, missed the boat on that, lets get 7 so we can start buying your WiFi gear again. Ready to purchase man!

By any chance do you have a router with an M.2 slot inside that I can put a WiFi 7 Intel BE200 card in and update the wifi.npk on yet until you start packaging one with it built in?

sadjoe · Thu Mar 07, 2024 9:36 pm

I seriously doubt that Mikrotik will come out with a "WiFi 7" product in less than 2 or 3 years from now.
It also looks like Mikrotik totally missed the "Wi-Fi 6e" market.

Some ( non-Mikrotik ) WiFi 7 , Wi-Fi 7 products are shipping right now.

IMO , Mikrotik has great reliable wireless products for Wi-Fi 5 products but hardly anything for Wi-Fi 6. I've been waiting for years for Mikrotik to make a product that operates in the 6 GHz to low 7-GHz bands.

Mikrotik never been good with wi-fi/wireless.
If you want something good and reliable you get Ubiquiti U6-LR for example as me
Example: Friend of mine got hAP ax³ and he's not happy with it at least with Wi-Fi range and speeds.

m4rk3J · Thu Mar 07, 2024 9:54 pm

Snímek obrazovky 2024-03-05 123734.png

I was also not satisfied with Wi-Fi on cAP ac and hAP ac2, however, since the migration to wifi-qcom-ac drivers, the throughput and stability of the network have improved many times (even with 25-30 clients on one interface).

I have hAP ax2 at home for testing and I am getting this over Wi-Fi (one room): (it was download from Steam over WISPs 60 GHz connection on village).

The coverage is slightly better than with the Turris Omnia.

lilianmoraru · Tue Mar 12, 2024 1:31 pm

I seriously doubt that Mikrotik will come out with a "WiFi 7" product in less than 2 or 3 years from now.
It also looks like Mikrotik totally missed the "Wi-Fi 6e" market.

Some ( non-Mikrotik ) WiFi 7 , Wi-Fi 7 products are shipping right now.

IMO , Mikrotik has great reliable wireless products for Wi-Fi 5 products but hardly anything for Wi-Fi 6. I've been waiting for years for Mikrotik to make a product that operates in the 6 GHz to low 7-GHz bands.
Mikrotik never been good with wi-fi/wireless.
If you want something good and reliable you get Ubiquiti U6-LR for example as me
Example: Friend of mine got hAP ax³ and he's not happy with it at least with Wi-Fi range and speeds.

I bought hAP ax3 for my parents and for the past 10 months, no issues(there was one Wifi interface freezing issue at the beginning, which Mikrotik fixed). I also installed PiHole on it which my parents seem happy about(blocking ads).
The range is also quite good(~90-100m) but I tested it in a very low interference environment.

infabo · Tue Mar 12, 2024 5:37 pm

I was also not satisfied with Wi-Fi on cAP ac and hAP ac2, however, since the migration to wifi-qcom-ac drivers, the throughput and stability of the network have improved many times (even with 25-30 clients on one interface).

since the migration to wifi-qcom-ac drivers, the throughput and stability of the network have improved many times

russman · Thu Mar 28, 2024 4:56 pm

Any updates coming?

gigabyte091 · Thu Mar 28, 2024 5:47 pm

I will be surprised if Mikrotik releases their be devices this year...

infabo · Thu Mar 28, 2024 5:51 pm

The bet is on.

gigabyte091 · Thu Mar 28, 2024 6:03 pm

Yea... It took them quite long to release WiFi6 devices. (Not saying that this was bad thing.)

gotsprings · Fri Mar 29, 2024 2:40 am

Sat through Qualcomm led training today.

MLO is awesome in concept!!!

loloski · Fri Mar 29, 2024 3:06 am

I've seen in Normis post since they are not using their in-house Wi-Fi driver anymore they can jump on the wifi7 band wagon with ease, I guess the demand will only be the limiting factor here time will tell of course

avacha · Tue Jul 09, 2024 3:26 pm

I think it would be nice to have some kind of roadmap, including Wi-Fi 7. With the proliferation of low-cost Intel BE cards for end-user devices on the market and equipment already available from major competitors - the EAP770 line, UniFi U7 Pro, with the U7 Pro retailing for $189 - it might make it more transparent for many people whether to wait for Mikrotik or buy what is already on the market.

Also, https://www.androidpolice.com/wifi-7-phones-list/

sterod · Fri Jul 12, 2024 2:58 pm

Agreed, some kind of announcement is long overdue.

gotsprings · Sat Jul 13, 2024 3:40 pm

I think it would be nice to have some kind of roadmap, including Wi-Fi 7. With the proliferation of low-cost Intel BE cards for end-user devices on the market and equipment already available from major competitors - the EAP770 line, UniFi U7 Pro, with the U7 Pro retailing for $189 - it might make it more transparent for many people whether to wait for Mikrotik or buy what is already on the market.

Also, https://www.androidpolice.com/wifi-7-phones-list/

You do realize Mikrotik was 8 years late getting wifi ACv2 out the door???

Sat Jul 13, 2024 3:52 pm

WiFi 7 from Mikrotik will happen, and it will probably happen soon.

There are already packages with WiFi 7 drivers in them...

Florian · Sat Jul 13, 2024 3:54 pm

If they don't have to wrie their owns drivers now, I guess everything will be smoother ?

gotsprings · Sat Jul 13, 2024 10:01 pm

If they don't have to wrie their owns drivers now, I guess everything will be smoother ?

Remind me how the wifi 6 release went.

infabo · Sun Jul 14, 2024 12:18 am

1/4 of all new topics seem to topic "bad wifi on ... AX". As a user visiting frequently this forum I would get the impression that AX devices suffer of some problems.

killersoft · Sun Jul 14, 2024 7:39 am

Well a bit of time has passed since I put up this thread....

Wi-Fi 8 ..802.11bn

The goal of 802.11bn is to reach 100 Gbps speeds. This is faster than copper Ethernet which tops out at 40 Gbps. This will require retrofitting ceiling mounted access points with single mode fiber.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11bn

infabo · Sun Jul 14, 2024 2:18 pm

wifi 8 is old news. I want wifi 10 aka "wifi X"

gigabyte091 · Sun Jul 14, 2024 2:26 pm

Wifi 8 will be released the same year Mikrotik release their WiFi 7 AP

infabo · Sun Jul 14, 2024 4:01 pm

Wifi 7 was officially released 01/24. Mikrotik will have their wifi7 devices this year.

gigabyte091 · Sun Jul 14, 2024 8:58 pm

Would like to see something like hap ax2, but wifi 7 and with USB port.

Mon Jul 15, 2024 1:11 pm

Would like to see something like hap ax2, but wifi 7 and with USB port.

This would be awesome.

Valerio5000 · Mon Jul 15, 2024 2:47 pm

Would like to see something like hap ax2, but wifi 7 and with USB port.

+1 !!

sterod · Wed Jul 17, 2024 9:54 pm

I want a WiFi 7 Chateau with a 5G Modem, 1 SFP+ Port and the rest 10Gbps Ethernet ports

gigabyte091 · Wed Jul 17, 2024 10:12 pm

And 350-500$ price tag I presume ?

And no USB3 port ??

Also don't forget more than 16MB of flash for ROS

infabo · Wed Jul 17, 2024 10:55 pm

you must choose: 16mb or SFP+. Can't have both

But joke aside: Chateau line is ISP equipment. Why would one need SFP+ on a consumer device.

sirbryan · Thu Jul 18, 2024 1:24 am

you must choose: 16mb or SFP+. Can't have both
But joke aside: Chateau line is ISP equipment. Why would one need SFP+ on a consumer device.

Because companies like Google are offering 2.5Gbps and 5Gbps service. Even if nobody needs it, an SFP+ port allows the customer (or ISP providing customer equipment) to put in a 1G, 2.5G, 5G, or 10G optic for connection to the WAN.

sterod · Thu Jul 18, 2024 2:58 am

you must choose: 16mb or SFP+. Can't have both
But joke aside: Chateau line is ISP equipment. Why would one need SFP+ on a consumer device.
Because companies like Google are offering 2.5Gbps and 5Gbps service. Even if nobody needs it, an SFP+ port allows the customer (or ISP providing customer equipment) to put in a 1G, 2.5G, 5G, or 10G optic for connection to the WAN.

^- This.

gigabyte091 · Thu Jul 18, 2024 6:55 am

While idea is good, all 10G ports and SFP+ in that form factor ? I don't think it's possible. Maybe if they put SFP+ on the side. Also with all 10G ports there is a issue with cooling. I don't think it's possible without active cooling.

infabo · Thu Jul 18, 2024 9:06 am

you must choose: 16mb or SFP+. Can't have both
But joke aside: Chateau line is ISP equipment. Why would one need SFP+ on a consumer device.
Because companies like Google are offering 2.5Gbps and 5Gbps service. Even if nobody needs it, an SFP+ port allows the customer (or ISP providing customer equipment) to put in a 1G, 2.5G, 5G, or 10G optic for connection to the WAN.

Chateau is deployed for LTE or 5G areas. This is what these Chateaus makes expensive: their modems. You can expect which speeds on LTE/5G in real world? And with these tremendous speeds 5G/LTE offer it makes no sense to have an SFP port. It makes even no sense to have more than 2.5g ports. And again: Mikrotik develops these Chateau for ISP like the Latvian LMT as I recall. Consumers put it on a desk beside a power socket and it works. It is about needs and costs. They sell the hardware individually as well.

When there is need for fiber, then ISP gives you another device. Or you just don't buy Chateau.

sirbryan · Tue Jul 30, 2024 6:17 pm

Chateau is deployed for LTE or 5G areas. This is what these Chateaus makes expensive: their modems. You can expect which speeds on LTE/5G in real world? And with these tremendous speeds 5G/LTE offer it makes no sense to have an SFP port. It makes even no sense to have more than 2.5g ports. And again: Mikrotik develops these Chateau for ISP like the Latvian LMT as I recall. Consumers put it on a desk beside a power socket and it works. It is about needs and costs. They sell the hardware individually as well.

When there is need for fiber, then ISP gives you another device. Or you just don't buy Chateau.

I jumped in with a "me too," more about any CPE having one or more SFP+, not so much specifically about Chateau. But even then, Chateau with a 2.5G or SFP+ port would be great for businesses who get multigig (>1Gbps) from fiber or wireless (Wave, Tachyon, future vendor) but also need/want an LTE/5G backup.

russman · Mon Aug 26, 2024 3:21 pm

Why is Mikrotik being so dead silent on this?

infabo · Mon Aug 26, 2024 4:06 pm

Because they want to surprise us!

anav · Mon Aug 26, 2024 4:48 pm

They dont have a road map, they make it up as they go............... NOT.
Its really none of your business, aka what their business plans are. They provide cheaper products with great flexiblity, buy it or not.........

russman · Mon Aug 26, 2024 6:02 pm

They dont have a road map, they make it up as they go............... NOT.
Its really none of your business, aka what their business plans are. They provide cheaper products with great flexiblity, buy it or not.........

LoL, Yes and no. Depends on how much sales you want to generate/market share you want to tap into etc. Manufacturer and Partner integrator relationships are important but the value maybe oblivious to some.

mkx · Mon Aug 26, 2024 6:38 pm

The problem with roadmaps is that after you publish dates, you damn well stick to them. My impression is that MT has hard time when negotiating with manufacturers of MT's designs (because, let's face it, MT is a small vendor compared to some other well known low-end brands). And it might be that MT's development teams can't stick to some deadlines as well. So MT as a company have to act in a flexible way when it comes to production and product launches. Hence their habit of surprising us.

Sometimes a close look at beta packages gives some hints about what they are working on (or perhaps they are more wary not to reveal such things to us lately), but the information is mostly vague (e.g. we might see new SoC type mentioned, but it doesn't tell us what kind of device that will be ... or we see some commercial device names but we can only guess their functionality and/or performance levels).

So ... relax, seat back and let them surprise you

And don't hold your breathe while waiting for a new product to appear, it may take longer than you can live without breathing

jaclaz · Mon Aug 26, 2024 7:21 pm

And don't hold your breathe while waiting for a new product to appear, it may take longer than you can live without breathing

Corollary:
Do you think that's air you're breathing now? /size]

avacha · Sat Sep 14, 2024 11:46 pm

The problem with roadmaps is that after you publish dates, you damn well stick to them. My impression is that MT has hard time when negotiating with manufacturers of MT's designs (because, let's face it, MT is a small vendor compared to some other well known low-end brands). And it might be that MT's development teams can't stick to some deadlines as well.

Well, we can always look at the big corporations. For example, in the software (as well as gaming) industry, you can simply announce something with a estimated year of release. If Mikrotik agreed to at least that... Customers would be able to plan the lifecycle of their LAN or WAN equipment.
The way it is happening now - looks like complete crap and disrespect for their customers.

To give you an example, we're thinking about migrating from 802.11ac to new access points right now. Last year was a good year, we were given a good budget, and most of our work equipment, including employee laptops at the branch offices, have already been upgraded to support at least Wi-Fi 6. In our country (where the head office is located) 6Ghz spectrum is allowed, so we are considering migration either to 6E or straight to Wi-Fi 7, which is still under discussion. Accordingly, I have to solve the issue of planning - either we move the entire corporation to mikrotik access points, or we change the infrastructure and migrate to another vendor with a more adequate attitude to the customer. We are not big as Coca-Cola or Google, but we have about 12.000 employees in 11 countries...

And yes, we use a Mikrotik. No, we don't use Mikrotik as core routers (I want to sleep well at night

and we still use DMVPN...)

P.S. If they hadn't fixed the wireless drivers, migration wouldn't have been an issue - we would have definitely migrated to another vendor's hardware.

killersoft · Sun Sep 15, 2024 3:24 am

I agree that there should be a bit of a road-map from Mikrotik, at least in terms of "a product that will.... and has a form factor of ....", because honestly they need to start concentrating on larger customers who as stated by avacha do have large budgets and do lifecycle planning. I also fall a bit into that category of getting a budget to work against, and honestly its getting real hard to justify Mikrotik in core/edge switch gear & wireless to some extent( especially busted drivers in new qcom-ac not working in capsman doing vlans), MT routers thou are generally ok(CCR). I do get a lot of pushback to just put in Cisco gear and be done with it. Its a tough life !
It probably wont hurt the bottom line of MT to increase ram/flash storage of future products too so they can jam in a larger OS's( RoS v8+ ), so they don't have to compromise on deliverable features.

Anyhow its a wait and see thing as per usual with MT's wireless side of the house. I only hope they have 1 capsman to rule them all in future products, not this broken wifi/wireless 'crap' that has been thrust onto us poor souls who have to manage a large mix of AX + legacy ac2 gear.

infabo · Sun Sep 15, 2024 11:27 am

Poor souls is the right wording.

It is quite sure that Mikrotik is working on some Mediathek based devices. We don't know what kind these devices will be. I would guess wifi7 APs. But who knows.

I don't even know why is so top secret.

there are only 2 options: wifi7 devices come or not come.

a) "we are in development and may release 2025"
b) "we focus on AX gear and currently no wifi7 in the making"

For b) this would make things clear. People could spend their wifi7 budgets on other vendors and done.

On the other hand: every new Mikrotik product or development even when public, needs at least some time for stabilization. Look how it went with ROS7, wifi wave2, Winbox 4. Even when it landed, it will most probably be far from production ready. my 2 cents

killersoft · Sun Sep 15, 2024 12:32 pm

Maybe its time MT splits their product lines, and does a 'budget' version of their gear( which I understand reasons for ), and a PRO line of gear ( happy to pay more to have all the bells and whistles.)

infabo · Sun Sep 15, 2024 1:32 pm

Would make sense. Especially for the European market. Labour is very expensive. An European company can make a simple equation: "pay some more $$$ for hardware but get all the bells and whistles or save some bucks on hardware but spend $$$$$ IT admins for hours of hours for troubleshooting capsman"

killersoft · Wed Sep 18, 2024 2:58 pm

I wonder if RoS v8, or a Kernel update( e.g v6.4+ ) will help assist with Wi-Fi 7.
E.g : https://www.phoronix.com/search/WiFi+7

infabo · Wed Sep 18, 2024 3:20 pm

I don't think so. Support in kernel is IMHO mostly relevant for consumer PCs. Embedded devices and even Android smartphones often use very "old" Kernel versions with many patches applied. And SOC vendors like Qualcomm provide their own driver SDK as well.

russman · Wed Sep 25, 2024 6:31 pm

Its been another month, still eager to see some news here.

I see they announced a refresh of the model I'd love to have WiFi 7 (6ghz support) in for shop floor industrial machines with ethernet ports that get moved around when the floor is reconfigured for new product runs. They refreshed the wAP ac LTE kit, yes, rounding out the end of 2024 and they released a hardware refresh with an 802.11AC WiFi chipset

gigabyte091 · Wed Sep 25, 2024 7:51 pm

Yea... @infabo... Year is almost over and still no be devices from mikrotik

infabo · Wed Sep 25, 2024 8:31 pm

It's over when it's over

Rockyboa · Thu Oct 03, 2024 12:09 am

Would like to see something like hap ax2, but wifi 7 and with USB port.

Yes, I would also like an SFP+ cage for my PON ONT, 2.5G Ethernet interfaces and get this Homeplug AV2 1300 standard back for CPL meshing over powerline option in a USB-C power supply option!

Rock.

JavierTF · Fri Oct 11, 2024 12:56 pm

Mikrotik has a serious problem with its product development timelines. This has been happening since the WiFi 5 lines, but especially since WiFi 6. For years, all manufacturers released complete WiFi 6 product lines while Mikrotik had nothing. When they finally started to release something, they didn’t introduce a complete line (indoor and outdoor APs, desktop devices, etc.). Instead, they started releasing products little by little: first desktop devices, then a month later an indoor AP... years later, an outdoor one. By the time they completed their WiFi 6 line, practically all manufacturers were already releasing their WiFi 7 product lines. Knowing Mikrotik, I don’t expect to see the first WiFi 7 products until at least late 2025 or 2026... not to mention when they will complete the line. This makes it impossible to think of Mikrotik as a serious provider of WiFi solutions. As of today, you cannot offer a reasonably serious client a solution that is not at least WiFi 6-based. Until recently, there were no outdoor WiFi 6 antenna options from Mikrotik, which forced us to look for solutions from other manufacturers... inevitably leading to a loss of customers to other platforms out of sheer necessity. It's clear that Mikrotik has very solid solutions when it comes to routing, but we cannot deny that other platforms have them too, and they offer the possibility of implementing an integrated network with all their equipment from the same manufacturer, something that with Mikrotik becomes, at the very least, complicated, especially during periods of technological change.

infabo · Fri Oct 11, 2024 1:08 pm

MikroTik has definitely fallen behind, that much is clear. The real question is whether they can catch up. But without a solid roadmap, not even a letter to Santa is going to help them here.

Larsa · Fri Oct 11, 2024 1:25 pm

I'll bring it up to him, but this wish might be hard to fulfill.

infabo · Fri Oct 11, 2024 2:36 pm

The world is moving fast, and companies are making significant investments. It's not just about a handful of devices; we're talking about hundreds of APs being purchased and deployed, sometimes some more to have spare parts. These are investments planned for years ahead. If another vendor is chosen, MikroTik could be waiting years before they even become a theoretical option in the next purchasing cycle. But by then, Wi-Fi 9 could be the standard, and MikroTik might only have a Wi-Fi 7 lineup. Falling behind like this is not a sustainable business strategy for them in the long run.

sterod · Sun Oct 27, 2024 3:40 am

We ask for WiFi 7, and in the October newsletter we get another Wi-Fi 6 product in the wAP ax. Insert facepalm emoji here.

Sun Oct 27, 2024 3:50 am

the same hype of every year around wi-fi latest and greatest...

gianry · Sat Dec 07, 2024 7:25 pm

Before to see a Wifi 7 AP on the market I could accept a Wifi6 with 4x4 MIMO and 2.5gb ethernet uplink .

JohnTRIVOLTA · Sat Dec 07, 2024 7:35 pm

Before to see a Wifi 7 AP on the market I could accept a Wifi6 with 4x4 MIMO and 2.5gb ethernet uplink .

Already has - Chateau PRO ax + 2.5G ethernet usb adapter

, or two or more ethernet ports in bonding

anav · Sat Dec 07, 2024 7:38 pm

Although with wan throughput effectively capped at about 1.1 gigs, the 2.5 has limited utility.

gianry · Sat Dec 07, 2024 7:41 pm

Before to see a Wifi 7 AP on the market I could accept a Wifi6 with 4x4 MIMO and 2.5gb ethernet uplink .
Already has - Chateau PRO ax + 2.5G ethernet usb adapter

it is not exactly an AP . I mean a device like cAp Ax

gianry · Sat Dec 07, 2024 7:41 pm

Although with wan throughput effectively capped at about 1.1 gigs, the 2.5 has limited utility.

I don't understand your thought

anav · Sat Dec 07, 2024 7:51 pm

Not applicable to the AP scenario, was speaking to its router suitability.

JohnTRIVOLTA · Sat Dec 07, 2024 8:01 pm

For 802.1be a.k.a wifi7 we need ROS v.8 with linux kernel 6+

gianry · Sat Dec 07, 2024 8:09 pm

Not applicable to the AP scenario, was speaking to its router suitability.

ok, sure. in any way I don't see it as AP

gianry · Sat Dec 07, 2024 8:15 pm

For 802.1be a.k.a wifi7 we need ROS v.8 with linux kernel 6+

does it there a release date forecast ?

JohnTRIVOLTA · Sat Dec 07, 2024 8:24 pm

For 802.1be a.k.a wifi7 we need ROS v.8 with linux kernel 6+
does it there a release date forecast ?

It's a secret or a surprise for now

gianry · Sat Dec 07, 2024 8:34 pm

bad thing

JohnTRIVOLTA · Sat Dec 07, 2024 8:42 pm

Not applicable to the AP scenario, was speaking to its router suitability.
ok, sure. in any way I don't see it as AP

Maybe soon super cAPaxPRO/wAPaxPRO - cAP2G+5SHPaxQ2SHPaxQ/wAP2G+5SHPaxQ2SHPaxQ

anav · Sun Dec 08, 2024 1:33 am

Spouse is getting iphone 16, it can handle wifi7. Guess who will be buying a tplink the first sale I see on their wifi7 products.......

mkx · Sun Dec 08, 2024 11:10 am

Guess who will be buying a tplink the first sale I see on their wifi7 products.......

No idea. Can you give us a hint?

anav · Sun Dec 08, 2024 2:51 pm

You may not see me anymore on the forums. With my wifi7 I will just be a blur if noticed at all.

russman · Fri Jan 24, 2025 3:28 pm

No news isn't good news... Are we going to have to wait for ROS 8.X with Linux kernel 6.5+ to get good 802.11be support?

itimo01 · Fri Jan 31, 2025 9:08 pm

For 802.1be a.k.a wifi7 we need ROS v.8 with linux kernel 6+

Well according to a previous poster Qualcomm driver supports Kernel 5.4+ and according to the banana pi docs the corresponding MediaTek one does too. (there are rumors about MediaTek Wi-Fi drivers being tested)

https://docs.banana-pi.org/en/BPI-R4/BananaPi_BPI-R4

Since ROS7 is using Kernel 5.6.3 that should work out alright.
https://help.mikrotik.com/docs/spaces/R ... nelversion

victorbayas · Fri Feb 07, 2025 4:18 pm

Any news on WiFi 7 lineup? just upgraded to gigabit fiber and my hAP ax3 can no longer saturate all the bandwidth my ISP provides (laughs)

PD: Had to run the Speedtest inside a container in the ax3 as ether1 (WAN) is the only 2.5GbE port
PD2: I also replaced my ISP's Huawei ONT with VSOL V2802RH as it supports 2.5GbE

itimo01 · Fri Feb 07, 2025 4:21 pm

Any news on WiFi 7 lineup?

Normis response was

MikroTik does not announce release dates before newsletters. Newsletters are already sneak peak info before release. So wait for the next few newsletters

I can just wish that maybe in 20 years I can max the ax3s Wi-Fi with my internet uplink

victorbayas · Fri Feb 07, 2025 4:31 pm

I can just wish that maybe in 20 years I can max the ax3s Wi-Fi with my internet uplink

I still remember when I went from a 2mbps ADSL connection to a whopping 50mbps FTTH connection 10 years ago, time flies haha.

Fri Feb 07, 2025 4:53 pm

Try 9600 baud modem dialup ... roughly 20 years ago.

mkx · Fri Feb 07, 2025 5:43 pm

Try 9600 baud modem dialup ... roughly 20 years ago.

More likely 30 years ago. 20 years ago we were already past ISDN (at 2x64kbps) and 2G (with HSCSD/GPRS at around 64kbps) into ADSL (1Mbps/128kbps or something in that ballpark) and (legacy) 3G/UMTS with 384/64kbps speeds.

Fri Feb 07, 2025 5:44 pm

Try 9600 baud modem dialup ... roughly 20 years ago.
More likely 30 years ago. 20 sears ago we were slready past ISDN (at 2x64kbps) and 2G (with HSCSD/GPRS at around 64kbps) into ADSL (1Mbps/128kbps or something in that ballpark) and (legacy) 3G/UMTS with 384/64kbps speeds.

Yeah, I knew something was wrong there ... it was mid 90s indeed.

(damn, I'm getting old ...)

flynno · Fri Feb 07, 2025 5:56 pm

Guys everyone knows wifi isnt as good as running an ethernet cable, why all the fuss? even new houses are been built with data cables and fibre in the wall. The end user is cheap and wont pay expensive price for these wifi 7 devices, who is buying all these devices? definitely nobody buying them in my country to cheapo, basic internet user is on youtube/tiktop/facebook/X.

mkx · Fri Feb 07, 2025 6:02 pm

You know, when neighbouring guys gather around the BBQ and compare wifi speed between each other? It'll be the same, we'll just have to move to each front porch to hearvthat "Oh, you've got WiFi7. Damn!"

bpwl · Fri Feb 07, 2025 6:17 pm

Try 9600 baud modem dialup ... roughly 20 years ago.

1200,2400,9600,14400,28800,38400,57600 ... survived them all.

MCSINDEX.com now upgraded to https://mcsindex.net/ ... wifi outperforms ethernet interfaces if aggregated transmission packets get large enough (to avoid large impact of the inevitable wait for clear channel checks). But also ethernet will need turbo-packets with higher (10Gbps,40Gbps,100Gbps) interface rates for close to interface rate real throughput.

infabo · Fri Feb 07, 2025 6:21 pm

The bet is on.

I completely forgot! The year 2024 is long over, and it looks like I’ve lost my bet. Congratulations, gigabyte091!

Fri Feb 07, 2025 6:25 pm

Try 9600 baud modem dialup ... roughly 20 years ago.
1200,2400,9600,14400,28800,38400,57600 ... survived them all.

Oh yeah ... all the way down to paper tape and punch card readers.
I've seen it all too.

And that was before The Big Bad Web came alive ... (try to explain that to kids nowadays: there was a time without Internet. What !!?? How did you survive ? How did you find your destination ? How did you communicate ? A phone with a ... WIRE ??

)

itimo01 · Fri Feb 07, 2025 11:57 pm

Not sure if this is true but according to this X "twitter" post Mikrotik just recently joined the Wi-Fi Alliance?

Since I've only been a *Tik User since 2023 i dont know if this is actually the case

https://x.com/WiFiAlliance/status/1887501502668738714

Their website does mention Mikrotik as a Contributor

itimo01 · Thu Mar 20, 2025 5:45 am

So I decided to dig through some files in the npk archives and found the following:

Since 7.18.2 there seems to be (what i guess) a new firmware file.
IPQ9574-7.18.2.fwf

Which is apparently the ordering number for the Qualcom Network Pro 1620 Line.

https://www.qualcomm.com/content/dam/qc ... W325-1.pdf

If they actually rock a full spec 1620 it would elevate Tik Wi-Fi into a new galaxy of competition

(excluding the controller)

A short summary of the datasheet:
Wi-Fi 7 (It says Quad-Band. Personally, no clue what that means)
16 Spatial Streams
MLO
DFS/AFC Puncturing
4x2.5GE + 1x5GE + 1x10GE

EDIT:
9574 also applies for the 1220 and 820 Pro Lines which seem to be the same but with less spatial streams:
https://www.qualcomm.com/content/dam/qc ... W326-1.pdf
https://www.qualcomm.com/content/dam/qc ... W327-1.pdf

gigabyte091 · Thu Mar 20, 2025 8:33 am

The bet is on.
I completely forgot! The year 2024 is long over, and it looks like I’ve lost my bet. Congratulations, gigabyte091!

I would be happier if I lost the bet because we would have wifi 7 devices...

mkx · Thu Mar 20, 2025 9:27 am

Wi-Fi 7 (It says Quad-Band. Personally, no clue what that means)

If one runs radio in, e.g. 80+80MHz (with frequency and slave-frequency properties properly set), then this counts as two bands. In 3GPP (mobile broadband, such as 4G or 5G, calls this "non-contiguous multi-carrier intra band CA). So basically this means it's possible to run 4 radios: 1 in 2.4GHz band, 1 (or two) in 5GHz band and 1 (or two) in 6GHz band. Related is "16 streams" ... which means that when running 4 bands, all of them can be 4x4 MIMO. If one only runs 2 bands (e.g. 5GHz + 6GHz), then both can be run in 8x8 MIMO.

itimo01 · Thu Mar 20, 2025 11:42 pm

So I digged a little bit deeper (still barely any

)

In the 7.19beta6 ROS Package, there is a mention of
ipq5332 and ipq9574 in the flash.ko

While the IPQ5332 seems to relate to this platform:
https://www.qualcomm.com/content/dam/qc ... -brief.pdf

Which seems similar to the Pro 1220 but without the integrated switch.

EDIT: I noticed those chipsets suport TIP's OpenWifi which does have a centralized controller
But im gonna guess mikrotik wants to create their own solution

Fri Mar 21, 2025 1:51 am

IMO , when it comes to Mikrotik shipping any Wi‑Fi 6E or Wi‑Fi 7 , it's gonna be "Hurry up and wait for years ... and say to yourself - Will it ever come out ?"

And if it does come out , the wireless configuration is 100-percent different and your existing configurations do not work ( including nstream and nv2 ).
When it changed from Wireless to Wi-Fi in winbox , to me it was a WTF moment !

Fri Mar 21, 2025 2:49 am

So I digged a little bit deeper (still barely any )

In the 7.19beta6 ROS Package, there is a mention of
ipq5332 and ipq9574 in the flash.ko

The IPQ9570 platform is used in the forthcoming "Smallcell 5G" that was displayed by Mikrotik at MWC.

So the package support may be for that rather than for a WiFi7 AP. I am hoping it is for both though !

itimo01 · Fri Mar 21, 2025 3:06 am

So I digged a little bit deeper (still barely any )

In the 7.19beta6 ROS Package, there is a mention of
ipq5332 and ipq9574 in the flash.ko
The IPQ9570 platform is used in the forthcoming "Smallcell 5G" that was displayed by Mikrotik at MWC.

So the package support may be for that rather than for a WiFi7 AP. I am hoping it is for both though !

Hmm, could be I forgot to check the datasheets of those devices.

itimo01 · Tue Apr 22, 2025 12:51 am

IMO , when it comes to Mikrotik shipping any Wi‑Fi 6E or Wi‑Fi 7 , it's gonna be "Hurry up and wait for years ... and say to yourself - Will it ever come out ?"

Well comparing Tik to similar specced Ubi the release date here in germany wasn't actually that far behind for AX!

According to Amazon
U6+ June 5, 2023
U6 Pro March 16, 2022
Mikrotik hap ax3 January 4, 2023
Mikrotik hap ax2 September 30, 2022

(I dont count U6 Lite and LR as they dont even have 2.4ghz AX. And LR doesnt work in europe

)

But for completeness, here's those:
U6 Lite March 1, 2021 (btw discontinued since U6+ was released iirc)
U6 LR June 22, 2021

And let's not talk about them having the same issues as MT at launch (frequent disconnects)

Well tbh when i check the ubi subreddit its mainly complains about U7 disconnects now so idk if it got fixed.

russman · Tue May 20, 2025 6:43 pm

IMO , when it comes to Mikrotik shipping any Wi‑Fi 6E or Wi‑Fi 7 , it's gonna be "Hurry up and wait for years ... and say to yourself - Will it ever come out ?"
Well comparing Tik to similar specced Ubi the release date here in germany wasn't actually that far behind for AX!

According to Amazon
U6+ June 5, 2023
U6 Pro March 16, 2022
Mikrotik hap ax3 January 4, 2023
Mikrotik hap ax2 September 30, 2022

(I dont count U6 Lite and LR as they dont even have 2.4ghz AX. And LR doesnt work in europe )

But for completeness, here's those:
U6 Lite March 1, 2021 (btw discontinued since U6+ was released iirc)
U6 LR June 22, 2021

And let's not talk about them having the same issues as MT at launch (frequent disconnects)
Well tbh when i check the ubi subreddit its mainly complains about U7 disconnects now so idk if it got fixed.

Some of my team is really loving the Unifi 7 outdoor units they have been deploying. No issues with them. I still want Mikrotik to catch up and get a GUI for network management like most of their competition. Not sure if that would be a different firmware build or if they could make local and controller sync back and forth. THAT WOULD BE AMAZING!

Vedet · Sat May 24, 2025 3:33 am

Good time! MikroTik hap ax2 was released in January 2022, MikroTik hap ax3 was released in January 2023. In January 2024 and 2025, no new routers of this type appeared. Does anyone have information from the developers about the output of a router with Wi-Fi 7 and 320 mhz and preferably with LAN 10 gb/s?

Florian · Sat May 24, 2025 10:34 am

I would really like a 10gb uplink port, just to avoid ax3 2.5g =>sfp+ rj45 adapter=>10g sfp+ switch thing.

itimo01 · Sat May 24, 2025 10:00 pm

Good time! MikroTik hap ax2 was released in January 2022, MikroTik hap ax3 was released in January 2023. In January 2024 and 2025, no new routers of this type appeared. Does anyone have information from the developers about the output of a router with Wi-Fi 7 and 320 mhz and preferably with LAN 10 gb/s?

No info but the new wifi package seems to supply an "eeprom" file for two suspicious chipsets:

MT7916 - Filogic 630
MT7992 - Filogic 660

While the Filogic 630 is apparently Wifi 6/6E the 660 is Wifi 7 without 6ghz support.
Filogic 630 is probably for the hap ax gpon while for the 660 i have no idea.

Vedet · Sun May 25, 2025 2:32 am

Wi-Fi 7 without 6 Ghz support makes no sense to me, so the 630, 660 models don't matter at all. I currently have a Hap AX3, but for my purposes I need a router with on-board Wi-Fi 7 be 6GHz with a 320 Mhz band, as well as, preferably, an incoming WAN port of 10 GB/S and a distributing LAN port of 10 GB/S for a possible alternative wired connection, if necessary. I have a question about the SFP+ port. My provider uses GPON technology to connect a fiber optic cable with a SC/APC (green) connector, hence on the router for direct connection to avoid intermediate equipment (media converter) there must be a corresponding port, also marked green with SC/APC. What is the correct name for such a port? And is it true that the SFP+ port for connecting SC/APC is not suitable? Which port is better to connect a fiber-optic network directly to and how is it better to do this without additional equipment?

mkx · Sun May 25, 2025 1:20 pm

I have a question about the SFP+ port. My provider uses GPON technology to connect a fiber optic cable with a SC/APC (green) connector, hence on the router for direct connection to avoid intermediate equipment (media converter) there must be a corresponding port, also marked green with SC/APC. What is the correct name for such a port?

Unless device is made up to provider's specs, it's more likely you'll find a SFP+ module supporting whatever GPON provider requires. But it's likely that such SFP+ module won't be usable in Mikrotik, ROS devicesvare pretty picky about supported SFP+ modules.

BTW, single mode fiber connectors come with core cut orthogonally (most often; connectors are blue) or at angle (9° IIRC), connectors are green. But there are patch cords with green connector on one end and blue connector on other end.
The only function of green connector (when comparing with blue one) is less reflection back towards transmitter (reflected light will hit fiber's core wall at larger angle and thus won't get reflected back into fiber core) ... which in case of GPON is quite important (not so much in usual FTTH installations, even more so if a pair of fiber strands are used to form a bi-directional link).

itimo01 · Sun May 25, 2025 1:58 pm

Wi-Fi 7 without 6 Ghz support makes no sense to me

Well it depends on requirements.

6ghz here in the EU is quite limited.
According to Wikipedia, there is just 1(!) non-overlapping 320mhz channel. Technically there's 2.
And no outdoor support for 6ghz.

Mikrotik being from the EU i guess they see the situation and think the same as me: it's not really important.
Yes I would love to play around with 6ghz equipment but what actual use am I gonna get?

Or think of my customers who would have to pay a premium for 6 GHz devices just to not see any difference.

m4rk3J · Sun May 25, 2025 2:12 pm

WiFi 7 is important especially for 2.4 and 5 GHz - they are very "busy" today and there's a lot of "trash" in the air.. “Preamble puncturing” is already in 802.11ax, but only as an option. I also like MLO.

itimo01 · Sun May 25, 2025 2:22 pm

WiFi 7 is important especially for 2.4 and 5 GHz

Didnt they say the same about WiFi 6?

Vedet · Mon May 26, 2025 1:30 pm

But there are patch cords with green connector on one end and blue connector on other end.
The only function of green connector (when comparing with blue one) is less reflection back towards transmitter (reflected light will hit fiber's core wall at larger angle and thus won't get reflected back into fiber core) ... which in case of GPON is quite important (not so much in usual FTTH installations, even more so if a pair of fiber strands are used to form a bi-directional link).
[/quote]

Thank you for the information)) As far as I understand, if the MikroTik router model is equipped with a WAN port, whether 2.5 Gb/s or 10 GB/s, and I need to connect a fiber-optic line, directly to the router, then I must connect a patch cord with a UPC connector (blue) to the WAN port, and the fiber-optic cable must be connected to the opposite connector of the APC patch cord (green). And this is enough to avoid clinging to additional equipment. At the same time, I do not need to have an SFP+ port on the router and communicate with modules with which the router may not work correctly. The distribution of the Internet will go the usual way of connecting an Ethernet cable via the LAN port to the destination computer. Did I understand correctly?

mkx · Mon May 26, 2025 10:46 pm

AFAIK none of current Mikrotik devices come with fiber ports built-in ... the plethora of devices, which eventually support FO, require installation of appropriate SFP/SFP+ module. Vast majority of single-mode SFP modules are intended to be used with blue optical connectors. And as I mentioned, finding an appropriate SFP/SFP+ module, which will both work in your provider's optical network and with Mikrotik devices, is far from an easy task.

Optical network providers often use their own "optical to UTP" converter as official optical network terminal (ONT). Those are not simple physical layer converters, they also allow some monitoring/management functionality to the optical network owner, etc. Replacing that with 3rd party hardware calls for trouble ... and you dhould do it onky if you know well what are you doing (and what for) ... IMO it's most often not a wise decision.

Vedet · Tue May 27, 2025 1:30 am

What would be more reasonable in your opinion is to connect a fiber-optic cable to the router via a media converter (ONT) provided by the provider, as you initially recommended, or from the switch to which the fiber-optic cable is connected by the provider, connect my router with an eight-core CAT 7 cable supporting speeds up to 10 GB/s or CAT8 - up to 40 GB/s traditionally to the WAN port? In which case will there be fewer losses and more stable communication for me?

mkx · Tue May 27, 2025 10:46 am

My personal opinion is that whatever ONT is provided by FO infrastructure owner should be good enough for the service you're subscribed to. And having provider's ONT in place you can argue with provider if the service is not adequate (by temporarily connecting an unrelated equipment for troubleshooting process). If you replace provider's ONT with your own hardware, then you're on your own when problems arise and you can't really prove that problems are due to FO infrastructure.

You can then connect your own router to ONT using a short CAT7 patch cord and be pretty sure it doesn't interfere with traffic. The only downside is that you have to use a 10Gbps RJ45 port which likely means using a SFP+ module with such port and that can cause random problems (most often it's overheating) which are common to many different vendors (those are not MT specific). If you manage to source a device with reliable 10Gbps RJ45 port, then there should be no problems. (Compared to using a random GPON SFP+ module which will very likely cause random problems when used in Mikrotik router).

Vedet · Wed May 28, 2025 6:53 pm

Many thanks for the information that is very valuable to me. The only point that I would like to clarify -
1. If the RJ45 connector is a pure 10 GB/s WAN port, then the CAT7 cable connector from the provider is connected directly without using the SFP+ module, which eliminates the problem of overheating?
2. If the RJ45 connector, designated as a WAN port, is combined with SFP+, but not SFP+ in its pure form, then in this case, is it possible to connect directly to the port or is it necessary to use an SFP+ module and then an overheating problem may occur?
As far as I understand, do I need to look for a router with a clean RJ45 WAN port with a bandwidth of 10GB/s to eliminate the use of additional modules and the problem of overheating?

mkx · Wed May 28, 2025 7:23 pm

If you use FO network provider's ONT which offers a 10Gbps RJ45 port, then you need one on your edge device (router, switch) as well. Whether it's provided as built-in ethernet port or by using RJ45 SFP+ module doesn't really matter from functionality point of view.

But, as you wrote yourself, SFP+ modules (except for latest generation) tend to run very hot. The problem is slightly smaller when UTP cable is short (a patch cable shorter than a few meters). Those modules also run less hot if connection speed is lower (5Gbps or 2.5Gbps ... if both ends support these speeds and throughput requirements allow it).
And the problem is, again, smaller when using device with 10Gbps RJ45 port built in as proper cooling of involved components can be achieved easier by placing appropriate heat sinks / heat pipes.