MikroTik Router Configuration Load Balancing VPN Connections For High Availability

If you're running a business with multiple WAN connections, it's important to ensure that your internet traffic is evenly distributed among all of them. This is where load balancing comes into play, and MikroTik routers are among the best options out there for this task. In this post, we'll explain in detail how to set up load balancing using MikroTik routers.

What is Load Balancing?

Load balancing is the practice of distributing incoming network traffic across multiple WAN connections, allowing you to optimize the utilization and reliability of your internet connections. When you have multiple WAN connections, load balancing ensures that internet traffic is evenly distributed amongst them for optimal speed and stability.

Setting Up MikroTik Load Balancing

Here's how to set up MikroTik load balancing with 2 PPPoE and 1 Static WAN using ECMP:

1. Set Up IP Addresses for Each WAN Connection

First, we need to set up IP addresses for each of our WAN connections. Assuming you already have two PPPoE and one static WAN, you'll need to configure each one with a unique IP address. To do so, go to:

IP > Addresses
Click on the Add New button to add the IP addresses for each WAN connection.

2. Configure the ECMP Load Balancing Algorithm

Next, we need to configure the load balancing algorithm on our router. MikroTik routers use the ECMP (Equal Cost Multiple Path) algorithm, which is able to distribute network traffic evenly across multiple WAN connections.

To configure the ECMP load balancing algorithm, go to:

IP > Routes
Click on the Add New button to add a new route.
Enter the following information:

Destination: 0.0.0.0/0 (this is the default route)
Gateway: IP address of your first WAN connection
Gateway: IP address of your second WAN connection
Gateway: IP address of your third WAN connection
Routing Mark: leave blank
Scope: 10 (this sets the route to be used for all network traffic)
Target Scope: 10
Check Gateway: select ping (this ensures that the router checks if each gateway is reachable before forwarding traffic to it)

3. Create Firewall Rules for Load Balancing

Now that we have our IP addresses and load balancing algorithm configured, we need to create some firewall rules in order to facilitate load balancing. These rules will ensure that traffic is distributed equally across all WAN connections.

To create firewall rules for load balancing, go to:

IP > Firewall
Click on the Add New button to add new firewall rules.
Enter the following information:

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Chain: forward
Action: mark routing
New Routing Mark: whatever name you want for your routing mark
Connection State: new

After you've added these firewall rules, all incoming traffic will be divided into equal amounts and sent across all WAN connections. You can verify this by going to:

Tools > Bandwidth Test
Choose src-address=0.0.0.0/0
Select a target IP
Click on the Start Bandwidth Test button to see if all WAN connections are working properly.

4. Configure NTP Client

Finally, we need to configure the NTP (Network Time Protocol) client on the router. This ensures that all WAN connections are synchronized with the correct time, which is crucial for load balancing to work correctly. To configure the NTP client, go to:

System > NTP Client
Enter the following information:

Enabled: select yes
Primary NTP Server: enter the IP address of your primary NTP server
Secondary NTP Server: enter the IP address of your secondary NTP server

Summary

In this post, we've covered how to configure MikroTik load balancing with 2 PPPoE and 1 Static WAN using ECMP. Remember, load balancing is essential if you want optimal speed and stability across multiple WAN connections. By following the steps outlined above, you can ensure that your internet traffic is distributed evenly, maximizing your network's potential.