With its headquarters in Riga, Latvia, MikroTik serves a diverse array of customers around the world. The company's products and services are utilized in various sectors, such as telecommunications, government agencies, educational institutions, and enterprises of all sizes.[3]
In 2022, with a value of €1.30 billion, Mikrotik was the 4th largest company in Latvia and the first private company to surpass €1 billion value in Latvia.[4][5]
History
MikroTik was established in 1996 by founders John Tully and Arnis Riekstiņš in Riga, Latvia, developing networking software for x86 PC hardware that would develop into a product called RouterOS. The earliest versions of RouterOS were based on Linux 2.2.
In 2002, MikroTik expanded its product line by producing their own networking-focused low-powersingle-board computers (SBC), branded RouterBoard, that ran RouterOS. These early SBCs could be expanded and/or integrated as components of other systems, but as time passed, this RouterBoard/RouterOS platform would develop into a full line of network equipment.[6]
Timeline
1997
Release of software for x86 PC platform, called simply MikroTik Router Software, based on Linux 2.0, that would eventually develop into RouterOS.[7]. Original requirement is at least 8 MiB RAM.
1999
First stable RouterOS release based on Linux 2.2, adding support for PCI wireless cards (802.11b).
Release of RouterBoard series PCI add-in boards to be used with MikroTik x86-based PCs running RouterOS.
2003
First stable Netinstall release.
All MikroTik RouterOS appliances have at least 8 MiB flash and 8 MiB RAM.
Release of RouterBoard 200, a single-board router platform with miniPCI and memory card slots, and RouterBOARD 220 with the SBC integrated into an enclosure with a 2.4GHz wireless array antenna (SISO) powered by power over Ethernet (PoE). Original RouterBoard was based on the Geode CPU.
Release of the RB230 RouterBoard, MikroTik's first DDR SDRAM, PCMCIA, PoE-out, and cellular-ready appliance and upgradeable to 512 MiB RAM.
Release of the RB532 RouterBoard, MikroTik's first ruggedized and MIPS hardware (in little endian mode) and supporting Nstreme, with 48V power input and expandable to 6 miniPCI slots.
Release of the R52, MikroTik's first miniPCI card and dual band (selectable), Wi-Fi 2, and Wi-Fi 3 device.[9]
2005
Release of MikroTik's first high power and MMCX cards.
Release of the R52Hn wireless card, MikroTik's first high power MIMO and Wi-Fi 4 device.[28]
2010
RB493G top view
Release of the RB250GS switch, first SwOS and MCU-based appliance and without discrete RAM and only 16 KiB RAM and 128 KiB flash, and device with an Intel MCS-51-compatible MCU (with a RISC backend).[29][30][31]
Release of the RB1100 router, MikroTik's first SATA and dedicated rackmount appliance.[32]
Release of the RB493G RouterBoard, world's firstSOHO router with more than 8 gigabit ports.[33]
2011
Release of the SXT 5HnD router, MikroTik's first integrated 2x2 directional outdoor appliance and with a MIMO array antenna.[34]
Release of the RB711-5Hn access point, MikroTik's first integrated 5GHz 802.11n bare board.[35]
Release of The Groove 5Hn, MikroTik's first zero-loss device and world's smallest fully featured outdoor router.[36]
Release of the RB711-2Hn access point, MikroTik's first integrated 2.4GHz 802.11n bare board.[37]
Release of MikroTik's first SFP+ Direct Attach Cables.
Release of the CCR1036-12G-4S Cloud Core Router, world's first 36-core router and with 24 million pps throughput under $1000 and first MikroTik appliance with DDR3, SFP+, 10GbE, a Tilera64-bitTILE-Gx many-core CPU, 1 GiB flash and at least 4 GiB RAM upgradeable to 16 GiB.[46]
Release of the RB2011UiAS-RM, MikroTik's first dedicated rackmount device with a software-toggleable PoE-out port.[47]
2013
RouterBoard RB260GS - 5x gigabit Ethernet smart switch - SFP at the backRB951Ui-2HnD 2.4 GHz wireless routerRB14e front view
All newly manufactured MikroTik products RoHS 2 compliant.
Release of the SXT Lite5 router, world's most affordable and widely deployed professional 5GHz outdoor CPE.[48]
Release of the original RB260GS switch, MikroTiK's first SwOS appliance with SFP. The switch chip was the AR8327, the MCU remained the TF470.[49]
Production of MikroTik switches with data ports slower than gigabit ended.
First stable RouterOS v6 release, based on Linux 3.3.5, includes 64-bit support, partitions, FastTrack, and FastPath.[50]
Release of the NetMetal 5 bridge, MikroTik's first ruggedized device with a miniPCIe slot.[57]
Release of the RB953GS-5HnT-RP RouterBoard, MikroTik's first dual miniPCIe and 3x3 MIMO device and non-rackmount appliance that was never offered with less than 128 MiB flash.[58]
Release of the S-RJ01, MikroTik's first copper SFP module.[59]
Release of the PowerBox, MikroTik's first dedicated outdoor power distribution router.[60]
Release of the mAP, the world's first professional pocket router, and with microUSB to PoE power passthrough.[61]
Release of the SXT LTE bridge, MikroTik's first 4G/LTE and integrated cellular appliance.[62]
Release of MikroTik's first SFP+ Active Optical Cables.
Release of the cAP 2n, MikroTik's first dedicated ceiling access point.
2015
hAP lite dual chain wireless routerhAP wireless router side USB portmAP lite dual chain access point
Release of the hAP lite, world's first $22 professional dual chain wireless router and MikroTik's first SMIPS appliance, and with a multi-function reset button and microUSB for power input (only and dumb) and MikroTik's best selling hardware ever.[63]
Release of the hAP lite TC, world's most affordable professional router and most affordable and widely deployed 2.4 GHz home router and managed access point.[64]
Release of the hAP wireless router, MikroTik's first appliance providing up to 1A power output on a USB port.[65]
Release of the hEX lite, world's most affordableMPLS/VPLS router.[66]
Release of the wAP, MikroTik's first appliance with bottom+rear entry and offered in 2 color choices and universal access point.[67]
Release of the cAP, MikroTik's first dual chain ceiling access point.[68]
Release of the CCR1072-1G-8S+, world's first 72-core router and MikroTik's first M.2 appliance and with more than two 10GbE ports, with ECC RAM as standard, dual removable hot-swap power supply system and aggregate throughput reaching 80 Gbps, more than 120 million packets per second.[69]
Release of the CCR1009-7G-1C-PC, world's first fanless router capable of 8Gbps throughput and appliance with a logical 2-medium general networking combo port and MikroTik's first fully assembled desktop model never offered with less than 128 MiB flash.[70]
Release of the RB3011UiAS-RM, MikroTik's first ARM and USB 3.0 appliance.[72][73]
2016
Release of the hAP ac wireless router, world's first triple chain SOHO router with built-in SFP and MikroTik's first fully assembled 6 internal antennas appliance.[74]
Release of the LHG 5 wireless router, world’s first integrated grid antenna with built-in router feed and MikroTik's first grid design appliance.[75]
Release of the hAP ac lite, world's most affordable dual-band 802.11ac professional router.[76]
Release of the hEX PoE, world's most affordable 5-port router with SFP and 4x PoE-out and MikroTik's first MMIPS and PoE+ appliance.[77]
Release of the LDF 5, world's smallest radio to turn any satellite dish into a 10km link.[78]
Release of the wAP ac, world's most affordable dual-band gigabit weatherproof access point and MikroTik's first slide-out appliance and universal router.[79]
Release of the hEX, world's most widely deployed professional router and former affordableMPLS/VPLS gigabit and AES-NI router amd that would eventually support VXLAN and MikroTik's first AES-NISOHO appliance.[80]
Release of the PowerBox Pro, world's first outdoor gigabit router with built-in 4-port PoE-out and MikroTik's first gigabit and SFP dedicated outdoor power distribution router.[81]
Release of the FiberBox, world’s first dedicated outdoor 5-port SFP switch and MikroTik's first dedicated outdoor switch, and with SFP and ONLY truly "copper-free" appliance.[82]
Release of the wAP LTE kit, world’s most affordable professional weatherproof access point with built-in 4G and MikroTik's first device with ignition sensing and integrated cellular access point.[83]
2017
cAP lite boardRB260GS (r2): new MCU and switchInside wAP 60G wireless bridge (flipped)wAP 60Gx3 AP with 3 antenna arrays
All new RouterOS appliances introduced after the hAP mini have at least 64 MiB RAM.
Release of the cAP lite, world's first $29 controlled ceiling access point and MikroTik's first appliance to ship with 2 casings and 3D-print design files.[84]
Release of the CRS326-24G-2S+RM, MikroTik's first switch with a dual-core CPU and 512 MiB RAM and best selling ever and their first appliance capable of booting either SwOS or RouterOS.[85]
Release of the RB1100AHx4 Dude Edition router, MikroTik's first SATA 3.0, and triple independent storage appliance and quad-core ARM device.[86]
Release of the wAP 60G wireless bridge, MikroTik's first integrated 60GHz, Active Phased Array Beamforming and 36 antenna elements appliance.[87]
Release of the CRS317-1G-16S+RM, MikroTik's first switch with GiB RAM and more than two 10GbE ports, over 50 Mbps of real software routing, and dual built-in power supply, and L3 hardware offloading appliance.[88]
Release of the wAP 60Gx3 AP access point, MikroTik's first 96 antenna elements appliance and integrated 180-degree sector.[90]
Release of the S+RJ10, MikroTik's first copper SFP+ module.[91]
Release of the R11e-LTE, MikroTik's first cellular card.[92]
2018
hAP ac² dual-concurrent wireless router
Release of the LtAP mini access point, MikroTik's first device with a built-in GNSS receiver and IoT product.[93]
Release of the hAP ac² wireless router, former world's most affordableARM and still quad core/thread professional router and MikroTik's first fully assembled quad-core ARMSOHO appliance.[94]
Release of the CRS305-1G-4S+IN, world's most affordable "all"-10GbE managed switch.[95]
Release of the LHG 60G wireless router, MikroTik's first 60GHz grid design appliance.[96]
Release of the LHG LTE wireless router kit, MikroTik's first 4G/LTE grid design appliance.[97]
Long-term RouterOS release channel introduced. First long-term RouterOS v6 release.
Release of the CRS112-8P-4S-IN switch, MikroTik's first true auto-sensing active PoE+ appliance.[98]
Release of MikroTik's first QSFP+ Direct Attach Cables.
Release of the Q+BC0003-S+, MikroTik's first Breakout Cable.[108]
Release of the LtAP access point, MikroTik's first triple SIM card and IK-rated product and first ruggedized device with ignition sensing and more than one miniPCIe slot.[109]
Release of the Audience mesh router, MikroTik's first 4x4 MIMO and dedicated 3-band mesh appliance.[110]
Release of the PWR-LINE PRO, MikroTik's first 600 Mbps PLC power brick with PoE-out.[111]
Release of the Chateau 5G wireless router, MikroTik's first 5G appliance.[112]
2020
Release of the CRS354-48G-4S+2Q+RM switch, first device with more than 28 network ports.[113]
Release of the CCR2004-1G-12S+2XS, MikroTik's first control plane optimized router with L3 hardware offloading and ARM64, DDR4, SFP28, and 25GbE appliance.[114]
Release of the netPower 16P, MikroTik's first dedicated outdoor PoE distribution switch, and with 10GbE and SFP+.[115]
Release of the Chateau LTE12 wireless router, MikroTik's first 4x4 MIMOLTE Category 12, and 3-band carrier aggregation (full) appliance.[116]
Release of the GPEN21, MikroTik's first managed reverse power terminal, and with an SFP port.[117]
Release of the CSS610-8G-2S+IN switch, first SwOS Lite appliance.[118]
Release of the netPower Lite 7R, MikroTik's first reverse PoE switch.[119]
Release of MikroTik's first QSFP28 Direct Attach Cables.
Release of the XQ+BC0003-AS+, MikroTik's first QSFP28 Breakout Cable.[128]
Release of the CRS504-4XQ-IN, world's first $799 and MikroTik's first QSFP28 and 100GbE switch.[129]
Release of the CRS518-16XS-2XQ-RM, MikroTik's first switch with 1.2 Tbps capacity, and dual hot-swap modular redundant power supply system and hot-swappable cooling fans.[130]
Release of the hAP ax² wireless router, MikroTik's first Wi-Fi 6 appliance and the first one to use Bluetooth for mobile app management..[131]
Release of the Chateau LTE18 ax wireless router, MikroTik's first LTE Category 18, and 4/5-band carrier aggregation (full) appliance.[132]
Release of the FiberBox Plus, MikroTik's first dedicated outdoor switch with L3 hardware offloading and triple redundant powering.[133]
Release of the ATL LTE18 wireless router kit, MikroTik's first outdoor 4x4 MIMOLTE Category 18, and 4/5-band carrier aggregation (full) appliance.[134]
2023
Release of the hAP ax lite, world's most affordable professional Wi-Fi 6 (plus mesh-capable) and MPLS/VPLS/VXLAN/AES-NI gigabit router and MikroTik's first USB-C (dumb power input only) appliance.[135]
MikroTik SMIPScellular and expandable appliance production ended. They never made SMIPS switches or outdoor appliances.
Release of the hAP ax lite LTE6 wireless router, MikroTik's first cellular appliance with USB-C (dumb power input only).[136]
Release of the CRS310-8G+2S+IN switch, MikroTik's first appliance with more than one 2.5GBASE-T port.[137]
All new RouterOS appliances introduced after the CRS310 have at least 128 MiB flash and 256 MiB RAM.
Release of the APA-1 power adapter, MikroTik's first dedicated automotive product and surge protector, and with a gas discharge tube and multi-mode voltage jumper system.[138]
First stable L3 hardware offloading release (for RouterOS v7.14+).
Release of the mANTBox ax 15s, world's most affordableWi-Fi 6 sector access point and MikroTik's first Wi-Fi 6 integrated sector router.[139]
Release of the CRS520-4XS-16XQ-RM, MikroTik's first switch with real 100+ Mbps software routing capability (725).[140]
Release of LTM professional sensors, MikroTik's first devices with USB-C for console, management, and dumb emergency power input.
First stable native Netinstall release for Linux-based operating systems.
Release of the CRS320-8P-8B-4S+RM switch, world's most affordable L3-offloaded EVPN/VXLAN switch and MikroTik's first PoE++ appliance.[141]
Release of the CRS304-4XG-IN, world's most affordable "all"-10GBASE-T managed switch and MikroTik's first fanless one with integrated 10GBASE-T.[142]
Release of the GPeR x4, world's first 4-unit outdoor repeater case and MikroTik's first gigabit hub, dedicated PoE splitter, PoE++ accessory with an integrated case, and own zero configuration multi-port device.[143]
Release of the hEX refresh, world's first $59 3.6Gbps total routing throughput professional appliance[144]
Release of the R11e-LTE7 wireless card, MikroTik's first LTE Category 7, Band 28/32 , and full carrier aggregation card.[145]
First stable WinBox release (4.0.1) for all 3 major desktop platforms (Windows, macOS, and Linux).
Release of the hAP be³ Media, MikroTik's first control plane optimized router with more than one 2.5GBASE-T port and Wi-Fi 7,Thread, Matter, triple USB (including one fully Featured USB-C with Active Gadget Mode), and tool-less slide-out appliance (not supported by v7 LTS yet).[154]
MikroTik's products mainly comprise two distinct product lines. The first being the Linux-based MikroTik RouterOS, an operating system for routers and switches. The second is MikroTik RouterBOARD, a line of products that includes various types of Ethernet routers and switches and outdoor wireless systems.
MikroTik RouterOS is an operating system based on the Linux kernel, specifically designed for routers. It is installed on the company's produced networking hardware - RouterBOARD, as well as on standard x86 type computers, enabling these devices to fulfill router functions. Developed with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in mind, RouterOS encompasses all the essential features for network management and Internet connectivity, including routing, firewall, bandwidth management, wireless access point functionalities, backhaul link, hotspot gateway, and VPN server capabilities. Communication with this OS is done mainly via WinBox, which provides a graphical user interface with the RouterOS installed on the network router. WinBox facilitates device configuration and monitoring. RouterOS also allows for access via FTP, Telnet, serial console, API, mobile application, SSH, and even direct to MAC address (through WinBox).
RouterOS supports numerous applications utilized by internet service providers, such as OSPF, BGP, and Multiprotocol Label Switching (VPLS/MPLS). It supports both Internet Protocol versions IPv4 and IPv6 and provides support for almost all network interfaces.
RouterBOARD
The company markets its network hardware under the name RouterBOARD (RB), ensuring full compatibility with the RouterOS operating system. The RouterBOARD line, in conjunction with RouterOS, is sold to small to medium wireless internet service providers, typically offering broadband wireless access in rural and remote areas. The product line includes assembled SOHO routers, indoor and outdoor wireless 802.11 MIMO and TDMA devices, as well as caseless PCB routers for the creation of customized solutions.
Wireless antennas
MikroTik develops a variety of wireless antennas designed for different use-cases. These include sector antennas, dish antennas, and omni antennas, each offering unique coverage patterns and distance capabilities for outdoor wireless connectivity.
Access points
MikroTik's access points offer both indoor and outdoor models, with options for different frequency bands and throughput capacities such as 60GHz wireless systems, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 2G, 3G, 4G (LTE) and 5G support.[155]
Ethernet routers
From small office routers to high-performance routers for ISPs, MikroTik develops solutions for various network sizes and complexities.
Network switches
Mikrotik also develops switches, including cloud router switches and cloud smart switches. These devices provide numerous ports for network expansion and come with features like VLAN, QoS, and port mirroring.
Product vulnerabilities
VPNFilter
On 23 May 2018, Cisco Talos Intelligence Group reported that some MikroTik devices were found vulnerable to the VPNFilter malware.[156][157][158]
RouterOS through 6.42 allows unauthenticated remote attackers to read arbitrary files and remote authenticated attackers to write arbitrary files due to a directory traversal vulnerability in the WinBox interface.[159][160][161]
Meris
Beginning in June 2021, a botnet composed of unprotected Mikrotik devices created huge volumes of application-layer traffic using HTTP pipelining, resulting in DDOS. The net was named Mēris (or Meris) by Qrator. Yandex reported attacks beginning August 4, 2021 (over 5 million requests per second), peaking on 5 September 2021 with almost 22 million requests per second. Cloudflare acknowledged an attack at over 17 million requests per second in July 2021.
FOISted
In June 2022, Margin Research disclosed the FOISted vulnerability[162] allowing an administrator on a device to gain "super-admin" access that would permit exploitation of the device for command/control redirection or DDOS attacks. The exploit was patched in the RouterOS version released in October 2022.[163]
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