VPN Load Balancing With MikroTik RouterOS Ensuring High Availability

Have you ever heard of MikroTik Load Balancing with Failover using Policy Based Routing? It may be a mouthful of technical terms but trust us, it's an exciting topic that you wouldn't want to miss. Here's a sneak peek of what it's about:

What is MikroTik?

MikroTik is a Latvian company that produces hardware and software for computer networking. Their products range from routers to switches to wireless systems, with capabilities that cater to both home and enterprise users.

What is Load Balancing?

Load Balancing is a technique used to distribute incoming network traffic evenly across multiple servers to avoid a single point of failure, optimize resource utilization, and maximize throughput and response time.

What is Failover?

Failover is a backup mechanism that allows a system to automatically switch to a standby or redundant component in the event of a failure or outage in the primary component, without disrupting the overall operation of the system.

What is Policy Based Routing?

Policy Based Routing is a network routing technique that allows the network administrator to define different rules and criteria to direct traffic flows based on specific policies, such as IP address, protocol, port number, etc.

How does MikroTik Load Balancing with Failover using Policy Based Routing work?

The basic idea behind MikroTik Load Balancing with Failover using Policy Based Routing is to use multiple WAN (Wide Area Network) connections from different Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and route the outbound traffic from the LAN (Local Area Network) via different paths based on predefined policies.

When one of the WAN connections fails or becomes unavailable, the policy-based routing mechanism automatically detects the failure and switches to another available WAN link without disrupting the ongoing network operations.

The load balancing function comes into play when multiple WAN links are active, and the outbound traffic is distributed among them based on a predefined algorithm, such as least connections, least traffic, or round-robin.

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What are the benefits of MikroTik Load Balancing with Failover using Policy Based Routing?

MikroTik Load Balancing with Failover using Policy Based Routing provides several benefits, including:

Increased performance and availability: By using multiple WAN links, the network can handle more traffic and ensure uninterrupted access to critical applications and services.
Cost savings: By using multiple ISPs, the network can take advantage of competitive pricing and negotiate better deals, reducing the overall cost of connectivity.
Flexibility and scalability: By defining different policies and rules, the network can adapt to changing business needs and growth, without requiring extensive reconfiguration or hardware upgrades.
Improved security: By distributing the traffic among different paths and ISPs, the network can reduce the risk of single point of failure and mitigate the impact of potential attacks or threats.

How to implement MikroTik Load Balancing with Failover using Policy Based Routing?

Implementing MikroTik Load Balancing with Failover using Policy Based Routing requires some technical skills and knowledge of MikroTik RouterOS configuration. Here are the general steps:

Configure the WAN connections: Connect the two or more WAN links to the MikroTik router and configure them with appropriate settings and IP addresses.
Configure the LAN interface: Configure the LAN interface with the IP address and subnet mask, and enable DHCP server if necessary.
Create the policy-based routes: Define the policies and criteria for the traffic routing, such as source IP, destination IP, protocol, port, etc. These policies should match the specific requirements of the network and business operations.
Configure the load balancing algorithm: Choose the appropriate load balancing algorithm, such as least connections, least traffic, or round-robin, and configure the weighted rules, if necessary.
Configure the failover mechanism: Configure the failover mechanism to switch to an available WAN link if the primary link fails or becomes unavailable.
Test and verify the configuration: Test the network configuration and verify that the traffic flows according to the predefined policies and rules, and that the failover mechanism works as expected.

Conclusion

MikroTik Load Balancing with Failover using Policy Based Routing is a powerful and effective technique that can help businesses and organizations optimize their network performance, availability, and cost-effectiveness. By using multiple WAN links and policy-based routing, the network can distribute the traffic among different paths based on predefined criteria and ensure uninterrupted access to critical applications and services. If you're interested in implementing this technique in your network, be sure to consult with a MikroTik expert or professional.