layer 2 – Mikrotik Tips

Nov82019 by Achmad Mardiansyah2 Comments

Combining 8 ISPs with a single mikrotik device

GPON, layer 2, Layer 3, load balancing, PCC

Hello all, this time, we would like to share our project of combining 8 ISPs with a single Mikrotik device. So, our client already subscribes to internet connections from 8 different ISPs, and want to use them to provide internet connections to his customers. The reasons are simple: For availability purposes. If one connection is down, the customer is still able to connect via other links (there are eight connections in total, you know that, right? :-p) To increase capacity and also sharing traffic load among the connections. These mean let say if each link has a 100 Mbps datarate, having 8 of them will result in 800 Mbps in total. Sounds good, right? so this is what we did: configure ONU modems to be in the bridge-mode. The upstream…

Jun112018 by Liem AgungNo Comments

Intranet vs Extranet

firewall, internet, IP address, Layer 3, logical topology

Intranet vs Extranet. Untuk beberapa orang mungkin istilah ini sudah tidak asing lagi, tapi bagaimana dengan yang lain? apa sih intranet itu? atau apa itu extranet? seperti apa penerapan intranet itu? apa perbedaan intranet dan extranet? dan lainnya lagi. Pada artikel kali ini saya akan membahas tentang Intranet vs Extranet. Apa itu Intranet? Anda pernah membuat atau menggunakan koneksi jaringan yang dimana hanya bisa diakses ditempat anda terhubung? Atau mungkin anda pernah bertindak sebagai FTP client disuatu organisasi, dimana service FTP tersebut hanya bisa digunakan ketika kita terhubung dengan jaringan di organisasi tersebut? Nah, hal itu termasuk kedalam Intranet. Jadi Intranet itu adalah sebuah jaringan LAN (local area network) yang menggunakan standar komunikasi LAN dan hanya dapat diakses oleh internal saja. (more…)

Jun222017 by Achmad MardiansyahNo Comments

Do you really need a layer 3 switch? don’t have to be tricked by sales guy…

layer 2, Layer 3, Router, switch

So one day, after attending a Mikrotik User Meeting in Indonesia, i had a chance to have a talk with an employee of a retail company in Bandung. H told story about a network implementation project on his company, where they put Mikrotik as main router to forward traffic between internal networks, and the networks were created with the help of VLAN technology. ok sound cool so far... he then continued confidently "we use a cool layer-3-switch that makes our network stable". "ok" i nodded, "so what did you configure on your fancy layer-3 switch", i replied. and he said, "well, we configure VLANs there, and route the traffic using our mikrotik router" (that means he just configured the layer-3-switch for VLAN only. all traffic between network or inter-VLAN traffic…

Jun212017 by Achmad MardiansyahNo Comments

What is managed switch?

layer 2, Routerboard, RouterOS, switch, SWOS

Previously we already know that there a network devices called switch. which could improve a network performance especially in ethernet technology. You already know that network segmentation can be done based on port using VLAN technology with the use of router for inter-vlan routing. Normally, to configure VLAN on a switch is by connect to it physically. However, this practices is annoying because we have to come on site for configuration. switch vendors then make switches that can be controlled from remote place and later on its called managed switch. (more…)

Jun202017 by Achmad Mardiansyah8 Comments

Mikrotik roles on VLAN

layer 2, Routerboard, VLAN

So we already know what the VLAN is from this article, and also aware VLAN is just a layer-2 technology that enables flexibility of partitioning your network. With VLAN, you can partition your switch logically using a web or command-line interface. The next question arises, so what Mikrotik Routerboard does to support VLAN? Mikrotik roles on VLAN? (more…)

Jun192017 by Achmad MardiansyahNo Comments

Routerboard selection guide: switch

layer 2, Layer 3, Router, Routerboard, switch, SWOS

So, many years ago (before 2014), Mikrotik just produced switches for small network. Therefore, when we build a network that requires high-port density (requires many ethernet ports), we use products from other vendors. Mikrotik at that time was used as a routing device. This article will talk about Routerboard selection guide: switch But now in 2017, mikrotik product portfolio has improved, and you already see some switches products on the list. Why ethernet switch? Not token ring or other? Because Ethernet is the technology that people use most. Its cheaper, easy to get and install, and still evolving to support higher and higher data rate. That is why Mikrotik produces ethernet switches. (more…)

Jun182017 by Achmad MardiansyahNo Comments

What is VLAN?

layer 2, VLAN

Ok before we talk about "what is VLAN", we already know the cool layer 2 devices, which really help us reducing collision domain. Network performance is improved and users are happy :-). most of the picture in this articles are taken from this GLC webinar. [caption id="attachment_566" align="alignnone" width="300"] Physical LAN[/caption] Up to this point (using a dumb switches), we are segmenting network based on the physical switches aka. Physical LAN - PLAN. The more segments you need, the more switches you buy, the router is used to forward traffic between LAN. Just like the picture above. (more…)

Jun162017 by Achmad Mardiansyah1 Comment

Differences between RouterOS, SwitchOS and Routerboard

layer 1, layer 2, Routerboard

As a new mikrotik user, sometimes people get confused with Mikrotik products. Even though all mikrotik products can be found in http://routerboard.com, with lots of variations of products, people are wondering what are the differences between RouterOS, SwitchOS and Routerboard, and this article will discuss about that with historical background. What is RouterOS (ROS)? This was the first product from mikrotik. Mikrotik was established in 1996 as a company that was focused on networking. One of their task was managing networks which require them to setup hardware and software to make network running well. At that time, for cost saving, they use PC as router and build their own linux distribution that is specialised for networking. So people just download the ISO, burn it to a CD-ROM, and then install…

Jun142017 by Achmad MardiansyahNo Comments

Central office, switch, trunks, local loop

layer 1, layer 2, telecommunication

In the early of telephone communication, a central office (aka. telephone exchange, switch) provides a coverage area where all telephones should connect to it. these physical connections from customer premise to central office is called access network / local loop / subscriber line. (Central office, switch, trunks, local loop) Why is it called switch? Because it switches (connects) connection between subscribers. With switching capability, 2 subscribers can communicate because their physical lines are connected by the switch. in the beginning, this switching process was done by human. later on, its automated by mechanical switches and then fully digital. max distance of cable? when the signal travels over cable, it gets attenuated. therefore, there is a maximum limit of local loop distance (around 3-4 km), which defines a coverage area of…

Jun132017 by Achmad MardiansyahNo Comments

Differences between physical and logical topology

layer 1, layer 2, logical topology, physical topology

When you read this and this articles, there is a term called topology. For those who are not familiar with the term, this article will discuss about the Differences between physical and logical topology? What is physical topology? Physical topology means how the network is shaped physically. Some examples of physical topology? bus star, extended star ring dual ring topology (for redundancy, in case if one ring is broken) cellular (more…)