Interfaces

Overview of all interface types available in RouterOS for network connectivity and virtualization.

RouterOS supports a wide variety of interface types for different networking scenarios, from basic Ethernet connections to advanced virtualization and wireless technologies.

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Physical interfaces

Ethernet interfaces

• Standard Ethernet - Basic wired network connectivity

• SFP/SFP+ - Fiber optic connections for high-speed links

• Switch chip - Hardware-accelerated switching on supported devices

Wireless interfaces

• WiFi - 802.11 wireless networking (a/b/g/n/ac/ax)

• LTE - Cellular connectivity for internet access and backup

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Virtual interfaces

Layer 2 virtualization

• Bridge - Connect multiple interfaces at Layer 2

  • VLAN filtering and RSTP/MSTP support

  • Hardware offloading capabilities

  • IGMP snooping and multicast control

• VLAN - 802.1Q VLAN tagging for network segmentation

  • Inter-VLAN routing and switching

  • VLAN trunk and access port configuration

  • QinQ double tagging support

• VXLAN - Layer 2 overlay networks over Layer 3 infrastructure

  • 24-bit VNI namespace for massive scale

  • Multicast and unicast replication modes

  • EVPN integration for advanced deployments

Layer 3 tunneling

• PPPoE - Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet for ISP connections

• GRE - Generic Routing Encapsulation tunnels

  • Point-to-point IP tunneling over IP networks

  • Routing protocol transport and site connectivity

• EoIP - Ethernet over IP tunneling (MikroTik proprietary)

  • Layer-2 transparent bridging over IP

  • Remote site integration at Ethernet level

• IPSec - Secure tunnels with encryption

VPN interfaces

• OpenVPN - SSL/TLS-based VPN connections

• WireGuard - Modern, fast VPN protocol

• L2TP - Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol

• SSTP - Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol

• PPTP - Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (deprecated)

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Advanced interfaces

Bonding and aggregation

• Bonding - Link aggregation for increased bandwidth and redundancy

• LACP - Link Aggregation Control Protocol for dynamic bonding

Specialized interfaces

• Loopback - Virtual interfaces for router identification

• ZeroTier - Software-defined networking

• VPLS - Virtual Private LAN Service

• MPLS - Multiprotocol Label Switching

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Interface configuration principles

Common parameters

All interfaces share some common configuration options:

# Basic interface configuration
/interface set [interface] \
    name="descriptive-name" \
    mtu=1500 \
    disabled=no \
    comment="Interface description"

# Monitor interface status
/interface print stats
/interface monitor-traffic [interface]

Interface naming conventions

• Use descriptive names that indicate purpose

• Include VLAN ID in VLAN interface names

• Use consistent prefixes for similar interface types

• Example: ether1-wan, vlan10-mgmt, bridge1-lan

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Interface selection guide

Choose the right interface type

For basic connectivity:

• Ethernet - Wired LAN connections

• WiFi - Wireless LAN connections

• PPPoE - DSL/cable internet connections

For network segmentation:

• VLAN - Segment traffic within same physical network

• Bridge - Connect multiple network segments

• VXLAN - Extend Layer 2 networks across Layer 3 boundaries

For remote connectivity:

• VPN interfaces - Secure remote access

• GRE/EoIP - Site-to-site tunnels

• LTE - Cellular backup connections

For redundancy and performance:

• Bonding - Combine multiple links

• Bridge with STP - Loop prevention in redundant topologies

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Best practices

Interface design

1. Plan addressing - Use consistent IP addressing schemes

2. Document everything - Comment all interfaces with their purpose

3. Use VLANs - Segment traffic appropriately

4. Consider redundancy - Plan for link failures

5. Monitor performance - Track utilization and errors

Security considerations

1. Disable unused interfaces - Reduce attack surface

2. Use proper VLANs - Isolate different network segments

3. Implement access control - Control who can access what

4. Monitor traffic - Watch for unusual patterns

5. Regular maintenance - Keep configurations up to date

Performance optimization

1. Choose appropriate MTU - Match network requirements

2. Enable hardware offloading - When available and beneficial

3. Monitor utilization - Identify bottlenecks

4. Use bonding - For increased bandwidth where needed

5. Optimize switch settings - For bridge configurations