Cloud Hosted Router License
| Industry | Information Technology |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1996 |
| Headquarters | Latvia: Riga |
| John Tully (CEO) Arnis Riekstiņš (CTO) | |
| Products | routers, firewalls, software (RouterOS) |
Number of employees | 280 (2019)[1] |
| Website | mikrotik.com |
MikroTik Cloud Hosted Router (CHR) and License MikroTik CHR is a RouterOS version aimed for running as a virtual machine. It supports both x86 and 64-bit architecture and can be used on most of the popular hypervisors such as VMWare, Hyper-V, VirtualBox, KVM and others. MikroTik Cloud Hosted Router P10 Perpetual-10 License, 10Gbit Upload per interface MikroTik Cloud Hosted Router P-Unlimited Perpetual-Unlimited License, No limitation MikroTik RouterOS Level 6 License Key – RouterBOARD Systems Only. Mikrotik Cloud Hosted Router CHR p1 (perpetual-1) license p1 (perpetual-1) license level allows to run CHR indefinitely. It is limited to 1Gbps upload per interface. All the rest of the features provided by CHR are available without restrictions.
- To acquire a higher level trial, set up a new CHR instance, renew the license and select the desired level. To upgrade from a Trial license to Paid go to MikroTik account server (and choose 'all keys' in Cloud Hosted Router (CHR) section: You will be presented with a list of your CHR machines and licenses.
- Here you can buy Mikrotik Cloud Hosted Router Licenses for Cloud Host Router level P1, P10, P-Unlimited RouterOS Products Buy RouterOS license Buy CHR license Downloads Install Faq Support Buy RouterOS Cloud Host Router Licences!
MikroTik (officially SIA 'Mikrotīkls') is a Latvian network equipment manufacturer. The company develops and sells wired and wireless network routers, network switches, access points, as well as operating systems and auxiliary software. The company was founded in 1996 with the focus of selling equipment in emerging markets. As of August 2019, the company website reported more than 280 employees. In 2015, with a revenue of EUR 202M, Mikrotik was the 20th largest company in Latvia.[2]
Products[edit]
MikroTik's product line comprises end-user networking devices, such as routers, switches, and access points, as well as boards without enclosures, and router software.
The features of MikroTik hardware are not restricted by software licensing; every device is capable of using every compatible feature. Customers may select hardware based solely on physical requirements, such as port density, processing power, number of wireless antennae, etc. Like other customized operating systems, driver software must be custom developed and Mikrotik products sometimes lag behind other manufacturers in this aspect.
RouterBOARD[edit]
RouterBOARD is a hardware platform from MikroTik, which is a line of routers running the RouterOS operating system. The various RouterBOARD options provide for a variety of application scenarios, from running wireless access points and managed network switches to firewall appliances with quality of service (QoS) features.
Almost all models of RouterBOARD devices can be powered by passive power over Ethernet (PoE), and have a connector for an external power source; a handful support standard 802.3af/at PoE.
Device models designed to work with wireless technologies have a miniPCI / miniPCIe slot for radio modules. Most models also have a connector for serial port access.
Consumer models[edit]
- hEX and hAP, entry level SOHO routers.
- Audience, access-point featuring mesh topology.
- Chateau LTE12, multipurpose SOHO router with LTE.
- mAP, small-factor access points.
- cAP, access points for ceiling mounting.
- wAP, access points for wall mounting.
- PWR-LINE, devices with Power-line communication capabilities.
Telecommunications models[edit]
- RB, CCR, CRS and CSS, mid to high-end rack-mounted routers and switches, with Ethernet, SFP and wireless connectivity.
- PowerBox and FiberBox, outdoor wired routers for Ethernet and SFP with PoE out.
- netPower, high density outdoor wired switches with PoE-out.
- OmniTIK, outdoor access points with built-in omni antenna.
- SXT, SEXTANT and DISC, wireless CPE devices for backbone with built-in directional antenna.
- mANTBox, oudoor base station with built-in directional antenna.
- Cube Lite60, outdoor point-to-multipoint CPE for high-density environments in small factor and 60 GHz frequency.
- LHG, DynaDish and Wireless Wire, outdoor point-to-point CPE for long distances with built-in parabolic antenna.
- LDF, outdoor point-to-point CPE for long distances, for use within standard parabolic TV antennas.
- BaseBox, NetBox and NetMetal, multipurpose outdoor wireless devices with RP-SMA connectors, to be used with mANT or third-party antennas.
- Groove and Metal, multipurpose outdoor wireless devices in bullet format, to be used within omni or yagi antennas without pigtails.
- LtAP, all-in-one access point, LTE and GPS devices for moving vehicles.
RouterOS[edit]
RouterOS is a network operating system based on Linux. Most RouterBOARD devices comes with RouterOS preinstalled. It is also available for installation on X86 and ARM devices (like a PC). In addition, Mikrotik offers cloud-orientedimages called 'Cloud Hosted Router' (CHR), to be used in virtual machines.
RouterOS may be configured through a command line interface accessible by serial port, telnet, and Secure Shell (SSH), and through a graphical user interface available as a web-based interface (WebFig), a Microsoft Windows-based software application (Winbox), and iOS and Android apps. An application programming interface (API) permits the development of specialized applications for monitoring and management.
Major versions[edit]
- RouterOS v7: October 2019 (based on Linux kernel 5.6.3). Current as of May 2020
- RouterOS v6: May 2013 (based on Linux kernel 3.3.5).
- RouterOS v5: March 2011 - September 2013 (based on Linux 2.6.35 kernel)
- RouterOS v4: October 2009 - March 2011 (based on Linux 2.6.26 kernel)
- RouterOS v3: January 2008 - October 2009 (based on Linux 2.4.31 kernel)
Licensing model[edit]
RouterOS is distributed free for charge. However, features are implemented in a paid, level licensing model.[3] Each RouterBOARD device comes with RouterOS preinstalled within a specific license according to the offered features.
- 0 (24 hour trial): all features enabled, to be tested within a period of 24 hours. Before expiring the trial, the user must install a valid license.
- 1 (free demo): most features enabled (except routing and wireless), limited to one instance of each. A license key is required (free for charge).
- 3 (WISP CPE): present in RouterBOARD CPE wireless client (point-to-point/multipoint) models, but lacks of access point features. It is not comercially available as a separated product.
- 4 and 5 (WISP): all the features enabled, limited to 200 and 500 instances of each, respectively. Present in low to mid-end RouterBOARD devices. Its sale price is US$45 and US$95 respectively.
- 6 (controller): all the features, unlimited. Present in high-end RouterBOARD devices. Its sale price us US$250.
The licensing model for Cloud Hosted Router is the following:
- free: limited to 1 Mb/s per interface. No license key required.
- 60 day trial without limitations, but requires a license key (free for charge).
- p1: perpetual license, limited to 1 Gb/s. Its sell price is US$45.
- p10: perpetual license, limited to 10 Gb/s per interface. Its sale price is US$90.
- p-unlimited: perpetual license, without bandwidth limits. Its sell price is US$250.
The CHR licensing model offers all the features without further restrictions, and is limited to one VM instance per license.
SwOS[edit]
SwOS is an operating systems for RouterBOARD switches. It is based on a subset of features of RouterOS.
Product vulnerabilities[edit]
On 23 May, 2018, Cisco Talos Intelligence Group reported that some MikroTik devices were found vulnerable to the VPNFilter malware.[4][5][6] MikroTik routers have been compromised by Coinhive cryptocurrency malware.[7]
Product acceptance[edit]
For market support, the company has established a network of resellers and training associates who issue varies certifications to industry professionals.[8][9]
MikroTik products have found acceptance in various market niches. They are popular in do-it-yourself (DIY) projects for computer networking and in low budget applications.[10]
Patron of the University of Latvia[edit]
MikroTik is a platinum patron of the University of Latvia Foundation. Has been supporting the University of Latvia since 2011, when the company donated two sets of MikroTik routers with a wide range of functionality to the Faculty of Computer Science of the University of Latvia. At the end of 2015, SIA MikroTik donated EUR 500,000 for the implementation of projects of the University of Latvia, Faculty of Computer Science (DF), Faculty of Physics, Mathematics and Optometry (FMOF), as well as the Faculty of Medicine (MF). In 2016, SIA MikroTik donated 1,000,000 EUR, continuing cooperation with the LU Foundation in the development of higher education, science and culture. At the end of 2017, SIA 'Mikrotīkls' donated 250,000 EUR to further develop the field of exact, life and medical sciences at the University of Latvia. In 2018, the University of Latvia continue to support the development of natural sciences, life and medical sciences by donating 250,000 euros. In 2019, 400,000 EUR was donated for the implementation of various projects.[11]
References[edit]
- ^MikroTik - About us, MikroTik
- ^'Tirgoties izdevīgāk nekā ražot'. LA.lv.
- ^Burgess, Dennis (2011). Learn RouterOS (2 ed.). p. 26. ISBN978-1-105-06959-8.
- ^'New VPNFilter malware targets at least 500K networking devices worldwide'. Talos Threat Source Newsletter. 2018-05-23.
- ^Lucero II, Louis (2018-05-27). 'F.B.I.'s Urgent Request: Reboot Your Router to Stop Russia-Linked Malware'. The New York Times.
- ^Godin, Dan (2018-05-23). 'Hackers infect 500,000 consumer routers all over the world with malware'. Ars Technica. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
- ^Nichols, Shaun (2018-08-03). 'MikroTik routers grab their pickaxes, descend into the crypto mines'. The Register. The Register. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
- ^Discher, Stephen (2016). RouterOS by Example (2 ed.). ISP Services, Inc.
- ^Hart, Tyler (2017-11-04). Networking with MikroTik: MTCNA Study Guide. Independently published. ISBN978-1973206354.
- ^Flickenger, Rob; Weeks, Roger (2006). Wireless Hacks (2 ed.). O'Reilly Media, Inc. p. 201.
- ^https://www.fonds.lv/lepojamies/mecenati/platina-mecenati/mikrotikls/
External links[edit]
- Company website(in English)
MikroTik is found both RouterBoard where RouterOS and License are prebuilt and RouterOS Application that can be installed on a Physical Machine or Virtual Machine. RouterOS installation on Physical or Virtual Machine has license limitations. Full RouterOS packages cannot be used more than 24 hours without license. So, RouterOS application is not suitable for the Trainee or not suitable to RND purpose. From RouterOS v6.34, MikroTik introduces Cloud Hosted Router (CHR, a new RouterOS version) which has different licensing scheme. MikroTik CHR has full RouterOS packages and can be used free with bandwidth limitation. So, MikroTik CHR is so helpful to trainee and RND user. In this article, I will discuss how to install MikroTik Cloud Hosted Router on VMware Workstation properly with step by step guide.
MikroTik Cloud Hosted Router (CHR) and License
MikroTik CHR is a RouterOS version aimed for running as a virtual machine. It supports both x86 and 64-bit architecture and can be used on most of the popular hypervisors such as VMWare, Hyper-V, VirtualBox, KVM and others. MikroTik CHR has full RouterOS features enabled by default but has a different licensing model based on upload bandwidth than other RouterOS versions.
MikroTik CHR has currently the following 4 levels licensing scheme.
| License | Upload Speed Limit/interface | Price |
| Free | 1Mbit | FREE |
| P1 | 1Gbit | $45 |
| P10 | 10Gbit | $95 |
| P100 | Unlimited | $250 |
Creating a MikroTik account, any paid license level can be used for 60 days (60 days trial license). Within 60 days period, you must purchase any license level otherwise MikroTik CHR cannot be used more. You have to do a complete fresh CHR installation.
Installing MikroTik CHR on VMware Workstation
MikroTik CHR can easily be installed on VMware Workstation but you must know the proper installation procedure. MikroTik CHR installation on VMware Workstation can be divided into the following steps.
- Downloading MikroTik CHR disk image (vmdk)
- Downloading and Installing VMware Workstation
- Customizing VMware Networking
- Creating new virtual machine for MikroTik CHR
- Accessing Virtual MikroTik Router from Winbox
Step 1: Downloading MikroTik CHR Disk Image
MikroTik introduces Cloud Hosted Router from RouterOS v6.34. So, visiting MikroTik download page, you can easily download MikroTik CHR. We need VMDK image file for VMware Workstation. So, visit MikroTik Download Page and download VMDK image file from current stable RouterOS release. The current stable RouterOS version is 6.45.5 (At the time of publishing this article). So, I am using VMDK image chr-6.45.5.vmdk for this article.
Cloud Hosted Router License Software
Step 2: Downloading and Installing VMware Workstation
VMware Workstation is a type 2 hypervisor. So, it should be run on a Host Operating System. VMware Workstation can be installed on both Windows and Linux Operating System and can be downloaded from VMware download page but you must have a VMware account. If you don’t have a VMware account, create an account in VMware and login your account and then download VMware Workstation for your Operating System from VMware download page. Alternatively, you can download VMware Workstation from any software sharing site. In this article, I am using VMware Workstation 15.0.0 on Windows Operating System.
Cloud Hosted Router License Holder
VMware Workstation installation on Windows Operating System is so easy. Like other software application it will just ask to follow some graphical instructions. Complete VMware installation and run it. VMware Workstation may ask for license at first running. You can find license by searching on Google or can use workstation for 30 days trial. The home page of VMware Workstation 15.0.0 looks like the following image.
VMWare Workstation 15 Home Page
Step 3: Customizing VMware Networking
Why? Because if you have multiple network cards/adapters, you can create multiple virtual switches whose uplink will be physical network adapter. In VMware Workstation 15.0.0, you can create maximum 20 virtual switches.
I have installed VMware Workstation in my laptop which has two network cards (WLAN and LAN). If I create two virtual switches whose uplink will be two physical network interfaces, I will be able to create two virtual network adapters for MikroTik CHR virtual machine where one network adapter will be connected to one virtual switch and another network adapter will be connected to another virtual switch. So, my virtual router will have two network interfaces and one can be used as WAN connection and another can be used as LAN connection.
The following steps will show how to create two virtual switches those will be connected with two physical network adapters.
- Go to Edit menu and click on Virtual Network Editor… option. Virtual Network Editor window will appear where current virtual switches/networks are listed. You may find all options are dimmed if you don’t have admin privilege. If so, click on Change Settings button at the bottom and then you will find all options are active.
- For simplicity, delete all virtual switches without VMnet0 and VMnet1 (Select any virtual switch and click Remove Network button). If you don’t have VMnet0 or VMnet1, click on Add Network… Add a Virtual Network window will appear. Choose VMnet0 or VMnet1 which one you want to create from Select a network to add dropdown menu and click OK button. You will find that your created virtual switch/network will be listed now.
- Click on VMnet0 virtual switch and click on Bridged radio button from VMnet Information panel and then choose your physical network adapter (I am choosing WLAN adapter for this article) that you want to make uplink for this virtual switch, form Bridged to dropdown menu.
- Similarly, click on VMnet1 virtual switch and click on Bridged radio button and then choose your physical network adapter (I am choosing LAN adapter for this article) that you want to make uplink for this virtual switch, from Bridged to dropdown menu.
- Now click Apply and OK button.
VMware Virtual Network Editor
Virtual switch creation for physical network adapters has been completed where one switch will be used as WAN connection and another will be used as LAN connection. If you have more physical network adapter, you can create more virtual switch in VMware Workstation.
Step 4: Creating Virtual Machine for MikroTik CHR
We will now create virtual machine that will be used as virtual router in VMware Workstation. The following steps will show how to create new virtual machine for MikroTik CHR.
- Go to File menu and click New Virtual Machine… New Virtual Machine Wizard window will come.
- It will now ask what type of configuration you want. Click on Custom radio button and then click Next
- There is nothing to do on virtual machine hardware compatibility. So, click Next button.
- From Guest Operating System Installation, choose I will install the operating system later radio button and then click Next button.
- From Select a Guest Operating System, click Other radio button and then choose Other 64-bit from version dropdown menu.
- Now put your virtual router name that you want in Virtual machine name (MikroTik CHR) input box. Optionally you can set virtual machine default location to your desired location where virtual machine related files will be kept. Now click Next button.
- From Processor Configuration, choose how many processors you want to assign for your virtual router from Number of processors dropdown menu and choose how many cores you want to assign per processor from Number of cores per processor drop down menu. Click Next button.
- Now assign your virtual router memory (RAM) and click Next button.
- From Network Type, click Use bridged networking radio button from Network connection panel and then click Next button.
- Select I/O controller type LSI Logic SAS and then click Next button.
- Now select virtual disk type IDE and then click Next button.
- From Disk panel, click Use an existing virtual disk radio button and click Next button.
- Now browse your downloaded VMDK image file from existing disk file panel and then click Next button. Now it will ask whether it will convert exiting virtual machine disk to newer format or not. Click Convert button.
- Now click Customize Hardware button. Hardware window will appear.
- Click Add button. Add Hardware Wizard will appear. Click on Network Adapter and click Finish button. Now you will find another network adapter in Hardware list.
- Click on first Network Adapter and click on Custom: Specific virtual network radio button and then choose VMnet0 from dropdown menu. Similarly, click on second Network Adapter and click Custom: Specific virtual network radio button and then choose VMnet1 from dropdown menu and then click Close button.
- Now click Finish button to close New Virtual Machine Wizard window. Your new virtual machine/virtual router will now be created and be listed under My Computer section.
- Click mouse right button on the new virtual machine and go to Power option and then click Start Up Guest.
- Virtual machine/Virtual Router (MikroTik CHR) will start up now and ask to login. The default username is admin and password is blank. So, login with this information. After login you will find your MikroTik CHR like the following image.
MikroTik Virtual Router on VMware
Step 5: Accessing MikroTik Virtual Router (CHR) from Winbox
We have successfully installed MikroTik CHR on VMware Workstation. We will now access MikroTik Virtual Router from Winbox so that we can easily configure our MikroTik Router. To connect MikroTik Virtual Router from Winbox, first download Winbox from MikroTik website. Connect your physical network adapters to physical switch and power on the physical switches. Now open Winbox from any PC connected with these physical switches or from your Desktop or Laptop where VMware Workstation is installed and click on auto detect button. If everything is OK, you will find your CHR router’s MAC address. Click on MAC address and put username admin and keep password blank and then click Connect button. You will now find your Cloud Hosted Router in Winbox.
MikroTik CHR Login from Winbox
Note: Use MikroTik CHR on VMware Workstation only for RND purpose. If you wish to use MikroTik CHR for production, I will suggest using ESXi Hypervisor which is a bar metal hypervisor that sits directly on physical hardware layer and manage virtual machine. On the other hand, VMware Workstation hypervisor sits on a Host Operating System (Windows or Linux) and completely depend on that Host Operating System. For this, VMware Workstation is not suitable always for production use.
If you face any confusion to install MikroTik Cloud Hosted Router on VMware Workstation, watch the following video on MikroTik CHR installation on VMware Workstation. I hope it will reduce your any confusion.
How to install MikroTik CHR on VMware Workstation has been discussed in this article. I hope you will now be able to install MikroTik CHR on VMware Workstation and can do your RND. However, if you face any confusion to install MikroTik Cloud Hosted Router on VMware Workstation, feel free to discuss in comment or contact with me from Contact page. I will try my best to stay with you.