Router advice for VLAN with DHCP

Turn · 2 Dec 2022 at 21:20

SupraWez said:
Edgerouter would have been a better choice, Mikrotik are cheap and great value but the software is terrible as you’ve discovered.

The software isn't terrible, it just takes some time to work out how to use it, once you know how to use it it's easy and it just works.

Tony359 said:
With the Microtik I do 70Mbit, same 802.11ac 5Ghz

I use Mikrotik just as a router/firewall, for WiFi stuff I have seperate AP's.
I went with several Archer C6 V3.2's as they're great value for money and get around 500Mbps+ w/ them.

Tony359 · 2 Dec 2022 at 22:16

The speed turned out to be the byproduct of testing a NAS transfer via what the Mikrotik thought it was WAN - so lots of Firewall checks on the data I guess. On LAN, WiFi speeds are as good or even better than my home router.

Re. the software... it's clearly designed by an IT engineer. It's functional and super-flexible. Flexibility and simplicity are usually inversely proportional. After fiddling with the Mikrotik for a day or two I feel much more comfortable. So far I am happy with it. We shall see how it behaves for the use I need - keeping a stable WiFi (speed is not required) in a large room for 2-3 hours in a row without dropping. Basic stuff!

I guess I might go with 2.4Ghz, I think it reaches farther away, am I mistaken?

Turn · 4 Dec 2022 at 01:44

Tony359 said:
I guess I might go with 2.4Ghz, I think it reaches farther away, am I mistaken?

Yes it does, 5Ghz you generally want to be a lot closer, but you get better speeds & latency.
If you're playing videos/browsing and that sort thing, slightly higher latency/jitter probably won't be your primary concern.

Can't you just run both 2.4Ghz & 5Ghz on the same SSID, then your device can pick whatever it thinks is best.

Tony359 · 4 Dec 2022 at 10:09

I could - that is what I do at home. But for this project I need absolute reliability. I am controlling some equipment and I’m trying to avoid my VNC connection to drop because my adapter thinks it can do with 5Ghz and then change its mind and switch to 2.4

I’ll do some tests but I’ll probably disable 5Ghz altogether (or keep it on a separate SSID or hidden)

Thank you!

bledd · 4 Dec 2022 at 13:46

Trouble with Mikrotik for me was it's very unintuitive.. Every other manufacturer, I can just upgrade to latest firmware and crack on with setting it up, no googling required

WJA96 · 4 Dec 2022 at 13:55

It’s not for everyone. That’s true. They are making big strides with the initial WebFig configuration pages and there will always be the compromise between making it “easy” to configure and making ALL the options available. I would say it’s similar to Cisco in that you need to be qualified to get the best out of the gear. I’ve been MikroTik certified for 3 years now and for 1-2 days initial training it really opened up the world of networking to me. Just really understanding the theory and practice of subnetting was truly a revelation and then getting to grips with the firewall options was another huge breakthrough. It’s not expensive training and it’s really worthwhile.

Tony359 · 4 Dec 2022 at 14:22

To be fair, I am not too disappointed about the unintuitive software. Maybe they could improve it a bit and make an "easy" section for those who don't need all the options (but I think the QuickSet is exactly that, even though it's not so intuitive either!) but in the end I am ok with having to invest some time in familiarising with the router software before I can use it, given that I get ALL the options I need and at a reasonable price.

That said, some options could really be made more intuitive!

WJA96 · 4 Dec 2022 at 14:32

The devs call it Latvian Logik. They have these incredible conventions called Mikrotik User Meetings (MUMs) with open question sessions and people ask why something is laid out like it is and they’ll say “Latvian Logik”.

One of the guys who does the MikroTik training at LinITX is formerly Home Office Communications (spy) and he reckons that MikroTik‘s own WiFi drivers are just the job if you don‘t want to be hacked because they’re so different to how it’s supposed to work none of the normal WiFi exploits work on them.

Tony359 · 4 Dec 2022 at 14:44

ahah Yeah, I was imagining something like that!

Tony359 · 6 Dec 2022 at 10:59

Tested the Hap AC3 yesterday on a real world situation. All went well - besides that the WiFi decided to sit on channel 8 (when set to Auto, I know, I know) when ALL other WiFi were elegantly sitting on 1-6-11.

My continuous ping did not report any drops.
I shall test in a much more challenging venue (=much larger room) very soon.