Turn an Old PC into a LAN Server with

RouterOS, Part 1

By Eric Geier.

Article is provided courtesy of Cisco Press.

Date: Sep 21, 2009.

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Article Information
Contents
1. Getting Started with RouterOS
2. Installing it on the Drive
3. Configuring the Internet and Router IP Settings
4. Moving to the WinBox Configuration Utility

Article Description
Want an enterprise router for your network at a fraction of the cost of a Cisco router? Connect
your offices together, remotely access files, run enterprise Wi-Fi encryption, and more. Eric
Geier, author of Wi-Fi Hotspots: Setting Up Public Wireless Internet Access, shows you how to
get started with the MikroTik RouterOS software that you can load onto an old PC.

From the author of

Wi-Fi Hotspots: Setting Up Public Wireless Internet Access

$45.00

Do you need advanced routing and networking features[md]and do you have an old PC lying
around? If so, you can build your own enterprise-class router. One option is to use the MikroTik
RouterOS software. It's comparable to that of Cisco routers, but at a fraction of the cost.
The RouterOS software has all the usual features: routing, firewall, bandwidth management,
wireless access point, backhaul link, hotspot gateway, VPN server, and more. The free 24-hour
trial provides all the features with no limitations. Then you must purchase a license for one of the
software levels.
Other than gaining more control over your router, you can use the internal RADIUS server for
the authentication requirement of enterprise Wi-Fi encryption. You could use the VPN server to
access files remotely or use it to secure your connections at Wi-Fi hotspots. Another idea is to
create virtual SSIDs or VLANs to segregate visitor access. Whether you're working on a business
LAN or you're spicing up your home network, the possibilities are endless.
In this two-part tutorial, we'll set up the basic router features, and then you can experiment with
the other features. In this part, we'll gather the required hardware and software and then install
RouterOS onto a drive. Then we'll configure the RouterOS with our Internet connection and give
the router an IP. You'll see how to use a GUI application on a remote PC to do the rest of the
configuration.

Getting Started with RouterOS

First, you should make sure you have all the required hardware. Although RouterOS can be
installed on other platforms, we're installing it on a regular (Intel/AMD 32-bit) PC. Though you
can run RouterOS headless/remotely, you'll need a keyboard, mouse, and monitor at least during
the installation. After that you can use WinBox or the other remote admin utilities.
You'll need to have some sort of storage device (IDE, SATA, USB, SD, etc.) dedicated to this
setup. Before installing RouterOS it will automatically partition and format the disk, and it will
make itself the default OS. RouterOS requires at least 64MB of space.
Of course, RouterOS supports many network adapters, including the new 10G Ethernet cards,
802.11a/b/g/n wireless cards, and 3G modems. You likely need at least two Ethernet cards: one to
connect to the Internet and the other to connect to a switch to provide more ports for your
computers.
Before you get started, download the remote GUI configuration tool, WinBox, to a different
computer that can connect up to the RouterOS machine during the initial configuration. Of
course, you also need to download the RouterOS ISO CD image and burn to a disc.
2. Installing it on the Drive | Next Section

Installing it on the Drive

When you're ready to get started, pop in the CD and reboot. RouterOS should automatically load
and go to the installation screen. Select the packages you want to install and then hit the I key.
You might be interested in the following packages: system, lcd, dhcp, advanced-tools, routing,
security, and hotspot.
Once the install is complete, you can log on to the command line interface using the username
admin and a blank password.
The first thing you should do is change the password by typing password and hitting Enter.
Next, you need to figure out how the interfaces (network adapters) are labeled: which one is
ether1 and which one is ether2. On the main menu, type interface, hit Enter, type monitortraffic and first try the ether1 interface. Then you can usually sort it all out by plugging in a
computer to each network adapter (to create traffic) and see which one shows activity.
3. Configuring the Internet and Router IP Settings | Next Section Previous Section

Configuring the Internet and Router IP Settings

Just like when setting up an off-the-shelf router, you must configure the Internet connection. The
following paragraphs cover a few different connection types.
If you have cable Internet or a connection that doesn't require specific configuration (a dynamic
IP), you're probably used to just plugging in a router[md]and the Internet just works. RouterOS
works similarly, but you must enable DHCP first. This is already turned on for off-the-shelf
routers. Here's how to enable it in RouterOS:
1. From the command line, type setup and hit Enter.
2. Type d to bring up the DHCP client settings.
3. Make sure that the correct name is given for the network interface/adapter that's
connected to your Internet modem and hit Enter. You should have noted the interface
names when monitoring the traffic earlier.
If you have a static Internet IP address (advanced service) from your ISP, and you are using a
type that doesn't require login details, follow these steps to configure your connection:
1. From the main menu, type setup and hit Enter.
2. Type a to bring up the IP and gateway settings.
3. Type a to create a new IP address.

4. Make sure that the correct name is given for the network interface/adapter that's
connected to your Internet modem and hit Enter. You should have noted the interface
names when monitoring the traffic.
5. Type the Internet IP address given to you by the ISP, followed by a forward slash (/) and
netmask number, and then hit Enter (for example, 209.165.155.124/20).
6. Type g to set the Default Gateway.
7. Type the IP of the Default Gateway, given to you by the ISP, and hit Enter.
8. Type x to exit the IP settings menu.
9. Type x to save the changes you've made and to return to the main menu.
If you have a PPPoE or PPTP type of Internet connection, such as DSL, type setup from the
main menu and hit Enter. Then depending upon which connection you have, type p or t and
follow the prompts to input the details.
Next we'll create the IP address for your router. This enables the router to communicate on the
network. It also gives you an address to use when connecting from the configuration utility.
Follow these steps to add the IP information:
1. From the main menu, type setup and hit Enter.
2. Type a to bring up the IP and gateway settings.
3. Type a to create a new IP address.
4. Make sure the correct interface is defined and hit Enter. You should have noted the
interface names when monitoring the traffic earlier (ether1).
5. Type the desired IP and the netmask divided by the forward slash (/) and hit Enter (for
example, 192.168.1.1/24).
6. Type "g" to set the Default Gateway.
7. Type the desired IP, which is probably the one you just created, and hit Enter.
8. Type x to exit the IP settings menu.
9. Type x to save the changes you've made and to return to the main menu.
4. Moving to the WinBox Configuration Utility |

Moving to the WinBox Configuration Utility

Now that you have an IP for the RouterOS machine, you can use the WinBox program to
configure the settings rather than using the command line. Though it's a very simple program, it
provides much quicker access to settings. The menus and settings are organized very similarly to
the console interface.
Plug a computer into the Ethernet adapter you've designated for the local network. Then before
you can make a remote connection to RouterOS, you must configure the computer's network
card with a static IP that's within range of the IP address you created for RouterOS. For example,
you can use 192.168.1.115 if the router IP is 192.168.1.1.
Now to connect, open WinBox, type in the IP you created for RouterOS, input the login
credentials, and hit Connect.