Buying a MikroTik router is a good choice for Internet Service Providers (ISPs), as these routers support home networks. If you are familiar with these routers,

you may know that they are built from the MikroTik RouterBOARD hardware platform powered by the MikroTik RouterOS operating system.

But what about how to configure the Microtek router? In this article, we want to describe in general how to configure these routers!

There are several ways to configure the Microtek router as described on the Microtek site itself:

Connect using the command line interface ( CLI ): CLI is a terminal-based method that can be performed via Telnet, SSH or serial cable.

Connect using Webfig : Webfig  a Web-based GUI is the tool configuration, monitoring and troubleshooting MikroTik RouterOS acts.

And Connect using WinBox : WinBox is a configuration tool designed for Windows, but can also be used on Linux and MacOS systems.

You can access any of these tools in a web browser by entering the IP address of the MikroTik router.

 

Default configuration of MikroTik router :

The default configuration mode for your MikroTik router depends on the RouterBOARD platform. In this case, you can run the default system configuration to see which default settings apply to your MikroTik device.

 

Microtek router configuration:

All Microtek routers are configured with the following IP address as well as the default username and password:

IP address:  192.168.88.1/24 (ether1 port)

Username:  admin

Password:  (none)

 As you can see, the first step you want to do when configuring the Microtek router is to upgrade the router from the default settings. As a reminder, this should be done for each router you connect to your home. Whether the password is pre-set or has not been set yet!

 

User settings in Microtek routers:

The user settings option allows you to configure people who have access to the MikroTik router on your network. By default, there is only one user named Admin who has full access. It is recommended to create your users depending on how the network is set up and assigned to appropriate groups.

 

Internet access settings:

MikroTik routers provide various configuration options for connecting to the Internet:

Client DHCP : router MikroTik, in the WAN IP address from a DHCP server received. This is the default configuration of the MikroTik router and should be removed if not supported by the ISP. You can do this by accessing your router’s DHCP client settings found in the IP.

Static IP: The MikroTik router receives a static IP address on the WAN side. By default, the router only lists your local area network (LAN) address, but you can add a new static IP address to your router’s Addresses configuration settings.

Another Internet access configuration that you want to check and change if necessary is your router’s Network Address Translation (NAT Address) settings. You are covered.

 

What is Network Address Translation (NAT)  ?

Network Address Translation is an Internet standard that allows local area hosts to use one set of IP addresses for internal communications and another set of IP addresses for external communications. A LAN that uses NAT is known as a natted network. For NAT to function, there must be one NAT port on each natted network. NAT gateway overwrites the IP address in the packet path from / to the LAN.

There are two types of NAT:

NAT Source or Srcnat : This type of NAT is performed on packets that originate from an inherent network. A NAT router replaces the private source address of an IP packet with a new public IP address when passing through the router.

Destination NAT or Dstnat: This type of NAT is performed on packets that are routed to the natted network. It is simply used to build a host on a private network to be accessible via the Internet. A NAT router running dstnat replaces the destination IP address when it is routed through a router to a private network.

Some Internet protocols may not work with NAT in some situations. Services that require TCP connection to start from outside the private network or protocols such as UDP can be disrupted. In addition, some protocols are not inherently compatible with NAT, a striking example being the AH protocol from the IPsec suite.

To overcome these limitations, RouterOS includes a number of so-called NAT helpers that allow NAT overrides for various protocols.