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Alternatives to MikroTik RouterOS

Started by tibordp, April 24, 2011, 09:42:20 AM

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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

#1
"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.