Alternatives to MikroTik RouterOS

[tibordp]

I have decided to try MikroTik's RouterOS on a virtual machine to evaluate it before buying a RouterBOARD. I fell in love with it instantly. It is just so immensely powerful and very easy (or at least straightforward) to setup with the GUI provided.

Even though I finally decided to buy a RB750G, I would still like to have something similar for my ad-hoc virtual networks in VMware. Does any of you perhaps know of any similar operating system/software bundle designed for routers/firewalls and featuring a similar interface. RouterOS, while being fairly cheap, is a bit too expensive for such ad-hoc installations that tend to only be used for a brief while.

So, I am looking for a free/open-source distribution. I have already tried m0n0wall [a fixed LAN/WAN model], pfSense [no IPv6 support] and OpenWRT [all but the most basic configuration needs complex CLI configuration], none of them being even remotely close to what I would want.

So, ideally, I would want the OS to support:
- an arbitrary number of network interfaces, each individually configurable
- various VPN/tunneling protocols
- layer 2 bridging
- decent IPv6 support (RA, DHCPv6, static routes, RIPng)
- routing protocols (RIP, BGP, OSPF)
- a decent firewall (connection tracker, NAT&PAT, forwarding of arbitrary IP protocols, ...)

OK, is this too much to ask? :) I would really like to know if there is something like this...

[johnpoz]

"pfSense [no IPv6 support]"

It is supported, not just in the mainline branch yet.

http://iserv.nl/files/pfsense/ipv6/
Hello, welcome to my page detailing the process of getting experimental IPv6 support in pfSense 2.0 BETA working.

Here is the repository for ipv6 line, it works GREAT!!

Im currently running

[tibordp]

Thank you, will definitely try it. I just find it slightly odd that IPv6 is not yet in the mainline at this time and age.

[Scissor]

Take a look at Vyatta.  Vyatta Core 6.2 is free and does everything I want.  Works great in a VM too.  The downloadable documentation is excellent too. 

www.vyatta.org

I had almost the opposite experience from you.  I had my Vyatta home router set up first, and then bought a Mikrotik RB750G with the idea of swapping them around... After playing around with RouterOS for a while I am sticking with Vyatta.