On Mon, 12 Apr 2010 14:54:59 -0400, James Jones wrote:
I am currently looking at using RouterOS as a way to build a Metro Ethernet solution. Does anyone have experience with the device and the OS? How is the performance? Are there any "Gotchas"?
-James
I've been working with RouterOS for a while, especially with it's more service provider oriented features such as MPLS and BGP. Here are some points that might help you: 1) Consider what device you want to run it on, especially regarding expected throughput. If you want to run it on x86 hardware, consider either buying one of the available x86 solutions, such as PoweRouter or OGMA connect, or spend some time evaluating that your hardware configuration is indeed supported. RouterOS is based on a 32-bit linux kernel, and it's not the newest one... The upcoming version 5 will feature a recent kernel, but is still 32bit, so don't expect things like multiqueue to work on your intel NICs. 2) Understand that bugs happen, and new software is released frequently. Acknowledge that there might be issues with quality assurance for new software versions. Expect to test new versions rigorously before rolling out. That said, MikroTik support is very friendly and will help you with most issues. 3) Their RouterBoard products are cheap, and are often made from the cheapest components. I have seen issues with faulty components. Recently, they EOL'd their only rack-mount router, the RB1000U, while the replacement - a cheaper router with more ports, and little less power - has not yet gone into sale. And now for all the good things: 4) Their MPLS support, as well as their implementations of routing protocols are quite good. They support both MPLS and VPLS and can even work with Cisco's BGP-signalled VPLS, as well as the rfc version of it. 5) The CLI is easy to work with, and has an excellent API that allows you to easily integrate provisioning into your existing systems. There is also a graphic tool called WinBox. This tool gives you a very easy overview of your router's configuration, so put away any CLI-only bias you might have inherited from working with other vendors. I consider their routers great for Metro Ethernet solutions on a lower scale. Their low cost makes it very easy to roll out an MPLS network, as the price for a PoP will be low, however keep an eye on the performance of the routers. You are welcome to contact me if you have any additional questions. Regards, Allan Eising