MikroTik Routers and Switches Reviews

So the company I work for sells a guest Wi-Fi platform for restaurants, bars, cafes, hotels, etc. 

Predominantly, we configure MikroTik Routers and Switches with our platform and then integrate them into the existing network of the businesses.

The stability of the market and the ability to remotely control them are the most valuable features for me.

It would be nice if the interface was easier to use. It's probably one of the most complicated user interfaces to use, but then again, MikroTik routers are also the most flexible routers to use. So I guess it's a price you pay for using a product that's capable of doing pretty much anything.

I have been using this solution for three years.

I would rate the stability a ten out of ten.

I would rate the scalability a ten out of ten, it's very scalable.

We're continually adding new locations to our client base all the time. We manage more than 4500 locations globally.

The initial setup is easy now. But when I first started out, it was difficult. The initial deployment of the platform that we use and set up the network was done before I started with the company.

In comparison, especially once you start getting into commercial applications, MikroTik is very affordable. So on the cheaper side of the scale, definitely.

Probably do one of the MikroTik authorized training courses before you start. Overall, I would rate this solution a ten out of ten.

We had been using MikroTik as a firewall to implement firewall policies and to implement queues along with DNS and DStv services. Additionally, we were using MikroTik to control our end users by limiting their website browsing and the limiting their upload and download speed. The aim was also to prevent them from indulging in any unauthorized access to the internet.

MikroTik is a good product.

If the reporting functionality of the solution is considered, I think it is not good.

I think MikroTik should include features like antivirus into their prevention and detection system to prevent any kind of attacks.

I want them to improve their reporting functionality and include antivirus in the solution.

In our company, we have been using MikroTik Routers and Switches for the last three to three and a half years. Personally, I have experience working on the solution for the last three years. Though I am not aware whether we are using the latest version, I can say that we were using MikroTik Router RB2011.

It is a stable solution. I have been using the solution for a while, and I don't face any outages or trouble while using the solution.

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a six out of ten. Considering the client for whom we had deployed the solution, the number of uses using the solution was less than a hundred.

I don't remember if we took any technical support from MikroTik since it runs smoothly and we don't face any difficulties in our organization.

Before MikroTik, in our company, we were using Microsoft TMG Gateway.

I switched to MikroTik after I came to know that TMG Gateway had become obsolete and that Microsoft was planning to end the support offered to TMG Gateway. Hence, we decided to move to MikroTik.

The setup is quite user-friendly, easy to configure, and easy to troubleshoot.

The deployment process is very easy since you just need to buy the box from the market and deploy the solution in your network. Also, the user interface is very friendly. The solution's configuration, troubleshooting, and establishment of services are all easy. Though I can do the deployment of the solution myself, it is better to consult a senior team member.

For the deployment and maintenance of the solution at the company where I am working, there are four people on the technical team. Our senior manager is a person handling four teams.

In our company, we are using MikroTik without a license. Also, we haven't paid or subscribed for their services. However, we are planning to buy their services and subscriptions.

I would recommend the solution to other people who plan to use it. Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

Even a MikroTik switch can be made to be a router. And even a router, you can convert it into a switch. It depends on your configuration and the way you set it. If you want it to be a switch, it'll be a switch. If you want it to work as a router, it will work as a router. This is not like Cisco, for example, where a router cannot be a switch.

The solution is very flexible. On the MikroTik router, you may have it as your many ports, so you can make one port or two ports routers, and the rest you can have as a switch.

Technical support is good.

It's pretty stable.

The product is growing in popularity.

The solution does suffer from freezing and corruption issues. 

I cannot recall coming across any missing features. It offers us what we need. 

I've been using the solution for more than five years. I've used it since 2013. 

The solution does freeze and is prone to corruption. That said, for the most part, it is stable enough to run. 

The solution is growing in popularity n my country. People want to use this product more and more and in that sense, it is growing. We have about 100 people using it and a lot of designs. 

Technical support is pretty good. They gave me a lot of tips. I cannot give them a perfect score, however, as they're human beings. There are some minor errors and minor mistakes. Overall, they are helpful.

Positive

I've used Cisco in the past, however, it is not as flexible and changeable. 

The initial setup is very fast if you know what you are doing. If you are new to MicroTik you may run into issues. 

I'm a customer and end-user.

I just upgrade the licensing. I never buy it. Therefore, I can't speak to the exact pricing. It is easy to upgrade and downgrade, however, according to your needs. 

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. It's a pretty good product.

I'd recommend the solution to others. 

The solution is primarily for routing and switching.

They work nice, and they're easy to set up, and everything.

The routing is nice and straightforward. I run all the MikroTiks and we connect to our office. Therefore, the routing is so easy and the firewall's easy to set up. The queues obviously throttle certain users if they're abusing it. 

Everything just works easy and fine. To block websites is easy. It just works fine for me.

The stability is great.

The product makes scaling very simple.

In terms of the initial setup, it's very straightforward. 

If they can improve the OpenVPN, to make that a bit more straightforward, that would be ideal. Obviously, it's got a built-in OpenVPN server that you can do. I've played around with it a bit, however, normally, if people want OpenVPN, they just use a virtual machine with Ubuntu, as it's just easier to set up. 

When you block a website, so what I normally have to do is create a script with the domain name in it. And then it auto-updates the IP list. If they can maybe implement something where you can block websites using this domain name rather than the IP address, that'll be great. You can also obviously block it via the certificate, however, the problem is, a lot of the websites use a generic certificate from, Certbot or something like that. And then you block that, and it blocks a whole other list of websites. If they can do something like that, it will be great as well. I know it's not so easy as everything's encrypted, however, that'll be a great thing to improve.

If they can implement something for the hotspot, where you can actually filter out, that would be ideal. With the hotspot, you've got your counters. If they can implement something that if you use local data, it doesn't go towards your hotspot. I've got a client and they've set up the hotspot. They use it so they don't use the internet. If they copy something from the server, it goes towards their quota. Now, if you copy a big file from the server, and it uses your quota, then you have to obviously first call them and say, "Listen here, I've copied this thing. Please increase my quota, or reset it," or whatever. That's the only struggle that I found. Other than that, I can't really think of anything else.

I've been using the solution for the last three years.

It's super stable. I've never had any issues. There were obviously a couple of years back, maybe a year or two back, where there was a vulnerability version 6.3 or 5.8 or something, where the people were able to just run a script, and then it would give them the MikroTik username and password. They could obviously just log in and deploy whatever viruses or grab whatever they needed. That's long since fixed. Other than that, I've never had any issues.

The solution is super-easy to scale. 

I've never had to deal with technical support.

If I do need information or whatever, I'm on the Reddit forums everywhere. The community is super helpful. For that reason, I've never had to contact support.

I've got a client that had a Palo Alto, however, the licensing fees were too expensive for them. Eventually, we just got them over on a MikroTik. 

Before I started using MikroTik, I was using open source firewalls such as pfSense and OPNsense, which also obviously worked 100%. The problem is it works out to be expensive due to the fact that if you're running that, you basically have to buy a whole computer. Whereas with the MikroTik, you buy the router and you've got everything, and that's it. I've never really looked at anything else other than that. For example, RB2011, you buy it for R3,000 or R4,000, and that's it. There are no licensing fees, there's nothing. That's what I like. I don't like products where there's obviously recurring cost. Obviously there are required antiviruses and stuff like that. However, that's not that expensive. The bigger firewalls, however, such as Palo Alto or FortiGate have all these licensing fees. The services are very nice, however, for my clients, it's not needed.

The initial setup is easy. That said, for our junior techs, it's not that easy. I normally have to come in, do the firewall, stuff like that. For me, as a seasoned tech, it's pretty straightforward. 

I've got quite a lot of experience with firewalls. However, I'm more likely to look at the open-source stuff like pfSense, OPNsense, and MikroTik. That type of stuff. I try and get protection for my clients as cheap as possible, rather than letting them pay R200,000 a year licensing fee they obviously can't afford. That's why I normally just use the MikroTik.

We normally just buy the solution from the vendors, and then obviously we're just a reseller of IT companies.

I only use the routers. I've never used the switches or the APs. Usually, the switches we use, they're Ubiquiti. Same for the APs. And then obviously for the firewall, router, we use the MikroTik.

With most of my clients, including home users and companies, everything MikroTik. Obviously, the home users will use the RG750. For businesses, they'll use 2011, the bigger switches that have a bit more beef.

In terms of which version we're using, they auto-update. We're always on the latest stable version.

I'd rate the solution an eight out of ten.

We are a public sector medium-sized company. We use MikroTik's router part for managing internet circuits, particularly in cases where cost is paramount, ensuring cost-effective access for internet circuits.

The most valuable feature is the price because it's highly cost-effective concerning the functionalities provided within the box.

Improvements could be made in terms of SD-WAN capabilities and zero-touch provisioning.

We’ve been using the solution for the past nine months.

The solution is stable.

The solution is scalable. We have two customers using the solution.

We opt for Fortinet in complex scenarios due to its SD-WAN and additional features, but for simpler cases, MikroTik Routers and Switches are preferred due to their significantly lower cost.

The initial setup is straightforward. It can be executed within a couple of hours. Only one technical person was required to carry out the task.

The pricing of the solution is significantly lower than other solutions. There are no additional costs involved.

I would recommend the solution because it provides value for money.

We use the solution as a main router for the company. MikroTik is very cheap in our country compared to other products.

The product is simple to use. We chose the solution due to its price.

The initial setup could be easier. It would be great if the tool would be open source.

I have been using the solution for four years.

The tool is stable.

The tool is scalable. Around 300 people are using the solution in our company.

The initial setup was moderately difficult. The deployment doesn’t take long for most devices. Sometimes, there’s a random error or an unpredicted problem that takes two to three hours to resolve.

The tool has a low price.

I would recommend Cisco to people living in the USA and UK. It's more dependable and trustworthy. I would enjoy using MikroTik if it is an open-source product. Overall, I rate the product a six or a seven out of ten.

We use MikroTik's fiber router for Internet access.

I don't like the product's performance. Sometimes, it disconnects my network. Sometimes, when browsing or downloading something, the download rate comes down to zero. I have to use a VPN to check my right to use the Internet. The telecommunication company using MikroTik to control this does not give me satisfaction. I would like to see the product improve its buffering time.

I've used their products for three to four years.

MikroTik should improve the stability of their products.

With scalability, from time to time, I need to replace routers. Thirty to 50 users are using the product.

We used Cisco previously. We switched to MikroTik because it was made compulsory by our telecommunication company. I, however, do not recommend it to be used by internet service providers.

The initial setup is not easy. It took one hour to set up. You cannot set up the product remotely. You have to go to the location. Some ports might be closed. You have to set up the product at the location first and then make some rules to get the connection. After that, you must set up the security, which takes time.

We need two or three technical staff members to deploy and maintain the product. Sometimes more. One administrator, one engineer, and one or two developers.

I have seen a return on investment since we didn't have to pay a licensing fee.

MikroTik makes some policies so we can get it for free. And if you disconnect the service from the telecommunication company, MikroTik asks you to pay a higher price. It's free at the start, but you will pay more and more if you don't like it.

I rate MikroTik routers and switches a seven out of ten. We can't use all the product features due to telecommunications laws in my country.

We use them for running services, especially big PoE services and VLAN routing. We also use them at remote premises to provide quick Wi-Fi. For switching, we use them for regular switching and in places where we need a lot of fiber interfaces.

MikroTik Routers and Switches are very competitively priced, which is important. Also, they perform well and get the job done.

Additionally, I appreciate that they offer both a CLI and a user-friendly GUI for management.

A central management platform would be great.

I have been using this solution for a couple of years. For routers, we use the 1036s and 1016s. For small businesses, we use the 1100s. For very small businesses, we use the Mikrotik 5-port switch, which is the 951. We use the whole range, basically.

MikroTik routers and switches are quite stable. The older OS versions are very stable, but the newer ones like RouterOS 7 are still a work in progress and have had some challenges.

MikroTik routers and switches are quite scalable, but with a centralized management solution, they could potentially be even more scalable.

We have around 5,000 switches in use. We deploy them in small offices with 10 to 20 people and even in enterprise offices with over a hundred people.

We have plans to increase the usage. We use MikroTik a lot due to its price and performance, and it's usually the top choice for our clients for routing and switching.

We usually find answers in online forums, so we haven't dealt directly with their support.

The initial setup is very straightforward. You can typically set them up in about 30 minutes, and we do it in-house.

We do it in-house. We set out a plan, and our technicians take care of setting up the units and putting them online. We often have a senior technician do the final tuning. We have three senior technicians and a couple of junior technicians who help out.

It's definitely worth the investment.

There are no licenses required; you simply purchase the units.

I would definitely recommend using this solution. I would rate it a nine out of ten.