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Overview

Standards: 
Package: wireless

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Wireless can operate in several modes: client (station), access point, wireless bridge etc. Client/station also can operate in different modes, a complete list of supported modes can be found here.

General interface properties

Sub-menu: /interface wireless

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PropertyDescription
adaptive-noise-immunity (ap-and-client-mode | client-mode | none; Default: none)This property is only effective for cards based on Atheros chipset.
allow-sharedkey (yes | no; Default: no)Allow WEP Shared Key clients to connect. Note that no authentication is done for these clients (WEP Shared keys are not compared to anything) - they are just accepted at once (if access list allows that)
ampdu-priorities (list of integer [0..7]; Default: 0)Frame priorities for which AMPDU sending (aggregating frames and sending using block acknowledgment) should get negotiated and used. Using AMPDUs will increase throughput, but may increase latency, therefore, may not be desirable for real-time traffic (voice, video). Due to this, by default AMPDUs are enabled only for best-effort traffic.
amsdu-limit (integer [0..8192]; Default: 8192)Max AMSDU that device is allowed to prepare when negotiated. AMSDU aggregation may significantly increase throughput especially for small frames, but may increase latency in case of packet loss due to retransmission of aggregated frame. Sending and receiving AMSDUs will also increase CPU usage.
amsdu-threshold (integer [0..8192]; Default: 8192)Max frame size to allow including in AMSDU.
antenna-gain (integer [0..4294967295]; Default: 0)Antenna gain in dBi, used to calculate maximum transmit power according to country regulations.
antenna-mode (ant-a | ant-b | rxa-txb | txa-rxb; Default: )Select antenna to use for transmitting and for receiving
  • ant-a - use only 'a' antenna
  • ant-b - use only 'b' antenna
  • txa-rxb - use antenna 'a' for transmitting, antenna 'b' for receiving
  • rxa-txb - use antenna 'b' for transmitting, antenna 'a' for receiving
area (string; Default: )Identifies group of wireless networks. This value is announced by AP, and can be matched in connect-list by area-prefix. This is a proprietary extension.
arp (disabled | enabled | proxy-arp | reply-only; Default: enabled)Read more >>
arp-timeout (auto | integer; Default: auto)ARP timeout is time how long ARP record is kept in ARP table after no packets are received from IP. Value auto equals to the value of arp-timeout in /ip settings, default is 30s
band (2ghz-b | 2ghz-b/g | 2ghz-b/g/n | 2ghz-onlyg | 2ghz-onlyn | 5ghz-a | 5ghz-a/n | 5ghz-onlyn | 5ghz-a/n/ac | 5ghz-only-ac; Default: )Defines set of used data rates, channel frequencies and widths.
basic-rates-a/g (12Mbps | 18Mbps | 24Mbps | 36Mbps | 48Mbps | 54Mbps | 6Mbps | 9Mbps; Default: 6Mbps)Similar to the basic-rates-b property, but used for 5ghz, 5ghz-10mhz, 5ghz-5mhz, 5ghz-turbo, 2.4ghz-b/g, 2.4ghz-onlyg, 2ghz-10mhz, 2ghz-5mhz and 2.4ghz-g-turbo bands.
basic-rates-b (11Mbps | 1Mbps | 2Mbps | 5.5Mbps; Default: 1Mbps)List of basic rates, used for 2.4ghz-b, 2.4ghz-b/g and 2.4ghz-onlyg bands.

Client will connect to AP only if it supports all basic rates announced by the AP. AP will establish WDS link only if it supports all basic rates of the other AP.

This property has effect only in AP modes, and when value of rate-set is configured.
bridge-mode (disabled | enabled; Default: enabled)Allows to use station-bridge mode. Read more >>
burst-time (integer | disabled; Default: disabled)Time in microseconds which will be used to send data without stopping. Note that no other wireless cards in that network will be able to transmit data during burst-time microseconds. This setting is available only for AR5000, AR5001X, and AR5001X+ chipset based cards.
channel-width (20/40/80/160mhz-Ceeeeeee | 20/40/80/160mhz-XXXXXXXX | 20/40/80/160mhz-eCeeeeee | 20/40/80/160mhz-eeCeeeee | 20/40/80/160mhz-eeeCeeee | 20/40/80/160mhz-eeeeCeee | 20/40/80/160mhz-eeeeeCee | 20/40/80/160mhz-eeeeeeCe | 20/40/80/160mhz-eeeeeeeC | 20/40/80mhz-Ceee | 20/40/80mhz-eCee | 20/40/80mhz-eeCe | 20/40/80mhz-eeeC | 20/40/80mhz-XXXX | 20/40mhz-Ce | 20/40mhz-eC | 20/40mhz-XX | 40mhz-turbo | 20mhz | 10mhz | 5mhz; Default: 20mhz)Use of extension channels (e.g. Ce, eC etc) allows additional 20MHz extension channels and if it should be located below or above the control (main) channel. Extension channel allows 802.11n devices to use up to 40MHz (802.11ac up to 160MHz) of spectrum in total thus increasing max throughput. Channel widths with XX and XXXX extensions automatically scan for a less crowded control channel frequency based on the number of concurrent devices running in every frequency and chooses the “C” - Control channel frequency automatically.
comment (string; Default: )Short description of the interface
compression (yes | no; Default: no)Setting this property to yes will allow the use of the hardware compression. Wireless interface must have support for hardware compression. Connections with devices that do not use compression will still work.
country (name of the country | no_country_set; Default: no_country_set)Limits available bands, frequencies and maximum transmit power for each frequency. Also specifies default value of scan-list. Value no_country_set is an FCC compliant set of channels.
default-ap-tx-limit (integer [0..4294967295]; Default: 0)This is the value of ap-tx-limit for clients that do not match any entry in the access-list. 0 means no limit.
default-authentication (yes | no; Default: yes)For AP mode, this is the value of authentication for clients that do not match any entry in the access-list. For station mode, this is the value of connect for APs that do not match any entry in the connect-list
default-client-tx-limit (integer [0..4294967295]; Default: 0)This is the value of client-tx-limit for clients that do not match any entry in the access-list. 0 means no limit
default-forwarding (yes | no; Default: yes)This is the value of forwarding for clients that do not match any entry in the access-list
disable-running-check (yes | no; Default: no)When set to yes interface will always have running flag. If value is set to no', the router determines whether the card is up and running - for AP one or more clients have to be registered to it, for station, it should be connected to an AP.
disabled (yes | no; Default: yes)Whether interface is disabled
disconnect-timeout (time [0s..15s]; Default: 3s)This interval is measured from third sending failure on the lowest data rate. At this point 3 * (hw-retries + 1) frame transmits on the lowest data rate had failed. During disconnect-timeout packet transmission will be retried with on-fail-retry-time interval. If no frame can be transmitted successfully during diconnect-timeout, connection is closed, and this event is logged as "extensive data loss". Successful frame transmission resets this timer.
distance (integer | dynamic | indoors; Default: dynamic)How long to wait for confirmation of unicast frames before considering transmission unsuccessful. Value 'dynamic' causes AP to detect and use smallest timeout that works with all connected clients. Acknowledgments are not used in Nstreme protocol.
frame-lifetime (integer [0..4294967295]; Default: 0)Discard frames that have been queued for sending longer than frame-lifetime. By default, when value of this property is 0, frames are discarded only after connection is closed.
frequency (integer [0..4294967295]; Default: )Channel frequency value in MHz on which AP will operate.

Allowed values depend on selected band, and are restricted by country setting and wireless card capabilities. This setting has no effect if interface is in any of station modes, or in wds-slave mode, or if DFS is active.

Note: If using mode "superchannel", any frequency supported by the card will be accepted, but on the RouterOS client, any non-standard frequency must be configured in the scan-list, otherwise it will not be scanning in non-standard range. In Winbox, scanlist frequencies are in bold, any other frequency means the clients will need scan-list configured.
frequency-mode (manual-txpower | regulatory-domain | superchannel; Default: manual-txpower)Three frequency modes are available:
  • regulatory-domain - Limit available channels and maximum transmit power for each channel according to the value of country
  • manual-txpower - Same as above, but do not limit maximum transmit power.
  • superchannel - Conformance Testing Mode. Allow all channels supported by the card.
List of available channels for each band can be seen in /interface wireless info allowed-channels. This mode allows you to test wireless channels outside the default scan-list and/or regulatory domain. This mode should only be used in controlled environments, or if you have a special permission to use it in your region. Before v4.3 this was called Custom Frequency Upgrade, or Superchannel. Since RouterOS v4.3 this mode is available without special key upgrades to all installations.
frequency-offset (integer [-2147483648..2147483647]; Default: 0)Allows to specify offset if the used wireless card operates at a different frequency than is shown in RouterOS, in case a frequency converter is used in the card. So if your card works at 4000MHz but RouterOS shows 5000MHz, set offset to 1000MHz and it will be displayed correctly. The value is in MHz and can be positive or negative.
guard-interval (any | long; Default: any)Whether to allow use of short guard interval (refer to 802.11n MCS specification to see how this may affect throughput). "any" will use either short or long, depending on data rate, "long" will use long.
hide-ssid (yes | no; Default: no)
  • yes - AP does not include SSID in the beacon frames, and does not reply to probe requests that have broadcast SSID.
  • no - AP includes SSID in the beacon frames, and replies to probe requests that have broadcast SSID.
This property has effect only in AP mode. Setting it to yes can remove this network from the list of wireless networks that are shown by some client software. Changing this setting does not improve security of the wireless network, because SSID is included in other frames sent by the AP.
ht-basic-mcs (list of (mcs-0 | mcs-1 | mcs-2 | mcs-3 | mcs-4 | mcs-5 | mcs-6 | mcs-7 | mcs-8 | mcs-9 | mcs-10 | mcs-11 | mcs-12 | mcs-13 | mcs-14 | mcs-15 | mcs-16 | mcs-17 | mcs-18 | mcs-19 | mcs-20 | mcs-21 | mcs-22 | mcs-23); Default: mcs-0; mcs-1; mcs-2; mcs-3; mcs-4; mcs-5; mcs-6; mcs-7)Modulation and Coding Schemes that every connecting client must support. Refer to 802.11n for MCS specification.
ht-supported-mcs (list of (mcs-0 | mcs-1 | mcs-2 | mcs-3 | mcs-4 | mcs-5 | mcs-6 | mcs-7 | mcs-8 | mcs-9 | mcs-10 | mcs-11 | mcs-12 | mcs-13 | mcs-14 | mcs-15 | mcs-16 | mcs-17 | mcs-18 | mcs-19 | mcs-20 | mcs-21 | mcs-22 | mcs-23); Default: mcs-0; mcs-1; mcs-2; mcs-3; mcs-4; mcs-5; mcs-6; mcs-7; mcs-8; mcs-9; mcs-10; mcs-11; mcs-12; mcs-13; mcs-14; mcs-15; mcs-16; mcs-17; mcs-18; mcs-19; mcs-20; mcs-21; mcs-22; mcs-23)Modulation and Coding Schemes that this device advertises as supported. Refer to 802.11n for MCS specification.
hw-fragmentation-threshold (integer[256..3000] | disabled; Default: 0)Specifies maximum fragment size in bytes when transmitted over wireless medium. 802.11 standard packet (MSDU in 802.11 terminology) fragmentation allows packets to be fragmented before transmitting over wireless medium to increase probability of successful transmission (only fragments that did not transmit correctly are retransmitted). Note that transmission of fragmented packet is less efficient than transmitting unfragmented packet because of protocol overhead and increased resource usage at both - transmitting and receiving party.
hw-protection-mode (cts-to-self | none | rts-cts; Default: none)Frame protection support property read more >>
hw-protection-threshold (integer [0..65535]; Default: 0)Frame protection support property read more >>
hw-retries (integer [0..15]; Default: 7)Number of times sending frame is retried without considering it a transmission failure. Data rate is decreased upon failure and frame is sent again. Three sequential failures on lowest supported rate suspend transmission to this destination for the duration of on-fail-retry-time. After that, frame is sent again. The frame is being retransmitted until transmission success, or until client is disconnected after disconnect-timeout. Frame can be discarded during this time if frame-lifetime is exceeded.
installation (any | indoor | outdoor; Default: any)Adjusts scan-list to use indoor, outdoor or all frequencies for the country that is set.
interworking-profile (enabled | disabled; Default: disabled)
keepalive-frames (enabled | disabled; Default: enabled)
l2mtu (integer [0..65536]; Default: 1600)
mac-address (MAC; Default: )
master-interface (string; Default: )Name of wireless interface that has virtual-ap capability. Virtual AP interface will only work if master interface is in ap-bridge, bridge, station or wds-slave mode. This property is only for virtual AP interfaces.
max-station-count (integer [1..2007]; Default: 2007)Maximum number of associated clients. WDS links also count toward this limit.
mode (station | station-wds | ap-bridge | bridge | alignment-only | nstreme-dual-slave | wds-slave | station-pseudobridge | station-pseudobridge-clone | station-bridge; Default: station)Selection between different station and access point (AP) modes.

Station modes:

  • station - Basic station mode. Find and connect to acceptable AP.
  • station-wds - Same as station, but create WDS link with AP, using proprietary extension. AP configuration has to allow WDS links with this device. Note that this mode does not use entries in wds.
  • station-pseudobridge - Same as station, but additionally perform MAC address translation of all traffic. Allows interface to be bridged.
  • station-pseudobridge-clone - Same as station-pseudobridge, but use station-bridge-clone-mac address to connect to AP.

AP modes:

  • ap-bridge - Basic access point mode.
  • bridge - Same as ap-bridge, but limited to one associated client.
  • wds-slave - Same as ap-bridge, but scan for AP with the same ssid and establishes WDS link. If this link is lost or cannot be established, then continue scanning. If dfs-mode is radar-detect, then APs with enabled hide-ssid will not be found during scanning.

Special modes:

  • alignment-only - Put interface in a continuous transmit mode that is used for aiming remote antenna.
  • nstreme-dual-slave - allow this interface to be used in nstreme-dual setup.

MAC address translation in pseudobridge modes works by inspecting packets and building table of corresponding IP and MAC addresses. All packets are sent to AP with the MAC address used by pseudobridge, and MAC addresses of received packets are restored from the address translation table. There is single entry in address translation table for all non-IP packets, hence more than one host in the bridged network cannot reliably use non-IP protocols. Note: Currently IPv6 doesn't work over Pseudobridge

mtu (integer [0..65536]; Default: 1500)
multicast-buffering (disabled | enabled; Default: enabled)For a client that has power saving, buffer multicast packets until next beacon time. A client should wake up to receive a beacon, by receiving beacon it sees that there are multicast packets pending, and it should wait for multicast packets to be sent.
multicast-helper (default | disabled | full; Default: default)When set to full multicast packets will be sent with unicast destination MAC address, resolving multicast problem on wireless link. This option should be enabled only on access point, clients should be configured in station-bridge mode. Available starting from v5.15.
  • disabled - disables the helper and sends multicast packets with multicast destination MAC addresses
  • full - all multicast packet mac address are changed to unicast mac addresses prior sending them out
  • default - default choice that currently is set to disabled. Value can be changed in future releases.
name (string; Default: )name of the interface
noise-floor-threshold (default | integer [-128..127]; Default: default)For advanced use only, as it can badly affect the performance of the interface. It is possible to manually set noise floor threshold value. By default, it is dynamically calculated. This property also affects received signal strength. This property is only effective on non-AC chips.
nv2-cell-radius (integer [10..200]; Default: 30)Setting affects the size of contention time slot that AP allocates for clients to initiate connection and also size of time slots used for estimating distance to client. When setting is too small, clients that are farther away may have trouble connecting and/or disconnect with "ranging timeout" error. Although during normal operation the effect of this setting should be negligible, in order to maintain maximum performance, it is advised to not increase this setting if not necessary, so AP is not reserving time that is actually never used, but instead allocates it for actual data transfer.
  • on AP: distance to farthest client in km
  • on station: no effect
nv2-noise-floor-offset (default | integer [0..20]; Default: default)
nv2-preshared-key (string; Default: )
nv2-qos (default | frame-priority; Default: default)Sets the packet priority mechanism, firstly data from high priority queue is sent, then lower queue priority data until 0 queue priority is reached. When link is full with high priority queue data, lower priority data is not sent. Use it very carefully, setting works on AP
  • frame-priority - manual setting that can be tuned with Mangle rules.
  • default - default setting where small packets receive priority for best latency
nv2-queue-count (integer [2..8]; Default: 2)
nv2-security (disabled | enabled; Default: disabled)
on-fail-retry-time (time [100ms..1s]; Default: 100ms)After third sending failure on the lowest data rate, wait for specified time interval before retrying.
periodic-calibration (default | disabled | enabled; Default: default)Setting default enables periodic calibration if info default-periodic-calibration property is enabled. Value of that property depends on the type of wireless card. This property is only effective for cards based on Atheros chipset.
periodic-calibration-interval (integer [1..10000]; Default: 60)This property is only effective for cards based on Atheros chipset.
preamble-mode (both | long | short; Default: both)Short preamble mode is an option of 802.11b standard that reduces per-frame overhead.
  • On AP:
    • long - Do not use short preamble.
    • short - Announce short preamble capability. Do not accept connections from clients that do not have this capability.
    • both - Announce short preamble capability.
  • On station:
    • long - do not use short preamble.
    • short - do not connect to AP if it does not support short preamble.
    • both - Use short preamble if AP supports it.
prism-cardtype (100mW | 200mW | 30mW; Default: )Specify type of the installed Prism wireless card.
proprietary-extensions (post-2.9.25 | pre-2.9.25; Default: post-2.9.25)RouterOS includes proprietary information in an information element of management frames. This parameter controls how this information is included.
  • pre-2.9.25 - This is older method. It can interoperate with newer versions of RouterOS. This method is incompatible with some clients, for example, Centrino based ones.
  • post-2.9.25 - This uses standardized way of including vendor specific information, that is compatible with newer wireless clients.
radio-name (string; Default: MAC address of an interface)Descriptive name of the device, that is shown in registration table entries on the remote devices. This is a proprietary extension.
rate-selection (advanced | legacy; Default: advanced)Starting from v5.9 default value is advanced since legacy mode was inefficient.
rate-set (configured | default; Default: default)Two options are available:
  • default - default basic and supported rate sets are used. Values from basic-rates and supported-rates parameters have no effect.
  • configured - use values from basic-rates, supported-rates, basic-mcs, mcs. Read more >>.
rx-chains (list of integer [0..3]; Default: 0)Which antennas to use for receive. In current MikroTik routers, both RX and TX chain must be enabled, for the chain to be enabled.

scan-list

(Comma separated list of frequencies and frequency ranges | default. Since v6.35 (wireless-rep) type also support range:step option; Default: default)
The default value is all channels from selected band that are supported by card and allowed by the country and frequency-mode settings (this list can be seen in info). For default scan list in 5ghz band channels are taken with 20MHz step, in 5ghz-turbo band - with 40MHz step, for all other bands - with 5MHz step. If scan-list is specified manually, then all matching channels are taken. (Example: scan-list=default,5200-5245,2412-2427 - This will use the default value of scan list for current band, and add to it supported frequencies from 5200-5245 or 2412-2427 range.) 

Since RouterOS v6.0 with Winbox or Webfig, for inputting of multiple frequencies, add each frequency or range of frequencies into separate multiple scan-lists. Using a comma to separate frequencies is no longer supported in Winbox/Webfig since v6.0.

Since RouterOS v6.35 (wireless-rep) scan-list support step feature where it is possible to manually specify the scan step. Example: scan-list=5500-5600:20will generate such scan-list values 5500,5520,5540,5560,5580,5600
security-profile (string; Default: default)Name of profile from security-profiles
ssid (string (0..32 chars); Default: value of system/identity)SSID (service set identifier) is a name that identifies wireless network.
station-bridge-clone-mac (MAC; Default: )This property has effect only in the station-pseudobridge-clone mode.

Use this MAC address when connection to AP. If this value is 00:00:00:00:00:00, station will initially use MAC address of the wireless interface.

As soon as packet with MAC address of another device needs to be transmitted, station will reconnect to AP using that address.
station-roaming (disabled | enabled; Default: enabled)Station Roaming feature is available only for 802.11 wireless protocol and only for station modes. Read more >>
supported-rates-a/g (list of rates [12Mbps | 18Mbps | 24Mbps | 36Mbps | 48Mbps | 54Mbps | 6Mbps | 9Mbps]; Default: 6Mbps; 9Mbps; 12Mbps; 18Mbps; 24Mbps; 36Mbps; 48Mbps; 54Mbps)List of supported rates, used for all bands except 2ghz-b.
supported-rates-b (list of rates [11Mbps | 1Mbps | 2Mbps | 5.5Mbps]; Default: 1Mbps; 2Mbps; 5.5Mbps; 11Mbps)List of supported rates, used for 2ghz-b, 2ghz-b/g and 2ghz-b/g/n bands. Two devices will communicate only using rates that are supported by both devices. This property has effect only when value of rate-set is configured.
tdma-period-size (integer [1..10]; Default: 2)Specifies TDMA period in milliseconds. It could help on the longer distance links, it could slightly increase bandwidth, while latency is increased too.
tx-chains (list of integer [0..3]; Default: 0)Which antennas to use for transmitting. In current MikroTik routers, both RX and TX chain must be enabled, for the chain to be enabled.
tx-power (integer [-30..30]; Default: )For 802.11ac wireless interface it's total power but for 802.11a/b/g/n it's power per chain.
tx-power-mode (default, card-rates, all-rated-fixed, manual-table; Default: default)sets up tx-power mode for wireless card
  • default - use values stored in the card
  • card-rates - use transmit power as defined by tx-power setting
  • all-rated-fixed - use same transmit power for all data rates. Can damage the card if transmit power is set above rated value of the card for used rate
  • manual-table - define transmit power for each rate separately. Can damage the card if transmit power is set above rated value of the card for used rate.
update-stats-interval (; Default: )How often to request update of signals strength and ccq values from clients.

Access to registration-table also triggers update of these values.

This is proprietary extension.
vht-basic-mcs (none | MCS 0-7 | MCS 0-8 | MCS 0-9; Default: MCS 0-7)Modulation and Coding Schemes that every connecting client must support. Refer to 802.11ac for MCS specification.

You can set MCS interval for each of Spatial Stream

  • none - will not use selected Spatial Stream
  • MCS 0-7 - client must support MCS-0 to MCS-7
  • MCS 0-8 - client must support MCS-0 to MCS-8
  • MCS 0-9 - client must support MCS-0 to MCS-9
vht-supported-mcs (none | MCS 0-7 | MCS 0-8 | MCS 0-9; Default: MCS 0-9)Modulation and Coding Schemes that this device advertises as supported. Refer to 802.11ac for MCS specification.

You can set MCS interval for each of Spatial Stream

  • none - will not use selected Spatial Stream
  • MCS 0-7 - devices will advertise as supported MCS-0 to MCS-7
  • MCS 0-8 - devices will advertise as supported MCS-0 to MCS-8
  • MCS 0-9 - devices will advertise as supported MCS-0 to MCS-9
wds-cost-range (start [-end] integer[0..4294967295]; Default: 50-150)Bridge port cost of WDS links are automatically adjusted, depending on measured link throughput. Port cost is recalculated and adjusted every 5 seconds if it has changed by more than 10%, or if more than 20 seconds have passed since the last adjustment.

Setting this property to 0 disables automatic cost adjustment.

Automatic adjustment does not work for WDS links that are manually configured as a bridge port.
wds-default-bridge (string | none; Default: none)When WDS link is established and status of the wds interface becomes running, it will be added as a bridge port to the bridge interface specified by this property. When WDS link is lost, wds interface is removed from the bridge. If wds interface is already included in a bridge setup when WDS link becomes active, it will not be added to bridge specified by , and will (needs editing)
wds-default-cost (integer [0..4294967295]; Default: 100)Initial bridge port cost of the WDS links.
wds-ignore-ssid (yes | no; Default: no)By default, WDS link between two APs can be created only when they work on the same frequency and have the same SSID value. If this property is set to yes, then SSID of the remote AP will not be checked. This property has no effect on connections from clients in station-wds mode. It also does not work if wds-mode is static-mesh or dynamic-mesh.
wds-mode (disabled | dynamic | dynamic-mesh | static | static-mesh; Default: disabled)Controls how WDS links with other devices (APs and clients in station-wds mode) are established.
  • disabled does not allow WDS links.
  • static only allows WDS links that are manually configured in wds
  • dynamic also allows WDS links with devices that are not configured in wds, by creating required entries dynamically. Such dynamic WDS entries are removed automatically after the connection with the other AP is lost.

-mesh modes use different (better) method for establishing link between AP, that is not compatible with APs in non-mesh mode. This method avoids one-sided WDS links that are created only by one of the two APs. Such links cannot pass any data.When AP or station is establishing WDS connection with another AP, it uses connect-list to check whether this connection is allowed. If station in station-wds mode is establishing connection with AP, AP uses access-list to check whether this connection is allowed.If mode is station-wds, then this property has no effect.

wireless-protocol (802.11 | any | nstreme | nv2 | nv2-nstreme | nv2-nstreme-802.11 | unspecified; Default: unspecified)Specifies protocol used on wireless interface;
  • unspecified - protocol mode used on previous RouterOS versions (v3.x, v4.x). Nstreme is enabled by old enable-nstreme setting, Nv2 configuration is not possible.
  • any : on AP - regular 802.11 Access Point or Nstreme Access Point; on station - selects Access Point without specific sequence, it could be changed by connect-list rules.
  • nstreme - enables Nstreme protocol (the same as old enable-nstreme setting).
  • nv2 - enables Nv2 protocol.
  • nv2 nstreme : on AP - uses first wireless-protocol setting, always Nv2; on station - searches for Nv2 Access Point, then for Nstreme Access Point.
  • nv2 nstreme 802.11 - on AP - uses first wireless-protocol setting, always Nv2; on station - searches for Nv2 Access Point, then for Nstreme Access Point, then for regular 802.11 Access Point.
Warning! Nv2 doesn't have support for Virtual AP
wmm-support (disabled | enabled | required; Default: disabled)Specifies whether to enable WMM.
wps-mode (disabled | push-button | push-button-virtual-only; Default: depending on the device model)Read more >>

Transmit Power representation on 802.11n and 802.11ac

802.11n wireless chipsets represent power per chain and the 802.11ac wireless chipsets represent the total power, for reference see the table below:

Wireless chipset signal level representation
Wireless chipsetEnabled ChainsPower per ChainTotal Power
802.11n1Equal to the selected Tx PowerEqual to the selected Tx Power
802.11n2Equal to the selected Tx Power+3dBm
802.11n3Equal to the selected Tx Power+5dBm
802.11ac1Equal to the selected Tx PowerEqual to the selected Tx Power
802.11ac2-3dBmEqual to the selected Tx Power
802.11ac3-5dBmEqual to the selected Tx Power
802.11ac4-6dBmEqual to the selected Tx Power

Basic and MCS Rate table

Default basic and supported rates, depending on selected band
bandbasic ratesbasic-HT-mcsbasic-VHT-mcsVHT-mcsHT-mcssupported rates
2.4ghz-b1----1-11
2.4ghz-onlyg6----1-11,6-54
2.4ghz-onlyn60-7--0-231-11,6-54
2.4ghz-b/g1-11----1-11,6-54
2.4ghz-b/g/n1-11none--0-231-11,6-54
2.4ghz-g/n6none--0-236-54
2.4ghz-g-turbo6----6-54
5ghz-a6----6-54
5ghz-a/n6none--0-236-54
5ghz-onlyn60-7--0-236-54
5ghz-a/n/ac6nonenone0-90-236-54
5ghz-onlyac6none0-70-90-236-54

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  1. allowed mcs depending on number of chains:
    • 1 chain: 0-7
    • 2 chains: 0-15
    • 3 chains: 0-23
  2. if standard channel width (20Mhz) is not used, then 2ghz modes (except 2.4ghz-b) are not using b rates (1-11)

Frame protection support (RTS/CTS)

802.11 standard provides means to protect transmission against other device transmission by using RTS/CTS protocol. Frame protection helps to fight "hidden node" problem. There are several types of protection:

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[admin@MikroTik] /interface wireless> set 0 hw-protection-mode=rts-cts hw-protection-threshold=0

Nv2

MikroTik has developed a new wireless protocol based on TDMA technology (Time Division Multiple Access) - (Nstreme version 2). See the Nv2 documentation: NV2

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Warning: Nv2 doesn't have support for Virtual AP


Nv2 Troubleshooting

Increase throughput on long distance with tdma-period-size. In Every "period", the Access Point leaves part of the time unused for data transmission (which is equal to round trip time - the time in which the frame can be sent and received from the client), it is used to ensure that client could receive the last frame from Access Point, before sending its own packets to it. The longer the distance, the longer the period is unused.

For example, the distance between Access Point and client is 30km. Frame is sent in 100us one direction, respectively round-trip-time is ~200us. tdma-period-size default value is 2ms, it means 10% of the time is unused. When tdma-period-size is increased to 4ms, only 5% of time is unused. For 60km wireless link, round-trip-time is 400ms, unused time is 20% for default tdma-period-size 2ms, and 10% for 4ms. Bigger tdma-period-size value increases latency on the link.

Access List

Sub-menu: /interface wireless access-list

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Then if signal drops to -56, client will be disconnected.


Properties

PropertyDescription
ap-tx-limit (integer [0..4294967295]; Default: 0)Limit rate of data transmission to this client. Value 0 means no limit. Value is in bits per second.
authentication (yes | no; Default: yes)
  • no - Client association will always fail.
  • yes - Use authentication procedure that is specified in the security-profile of the interface.
client-tx-limit (integer [0..4294967295]; Default: 0)Ask client to limit rate of data transmission. Value 0 means no limit.

This is a proprietary extension that is supported by RouterOS clients.

Value is in bits per second.
comment (string; Default: )Short description of an entry
disabled (yes | no; Default: no)
forwarding (yes | no; Default: yes)
  • no - Client cannot send frames to other station that are connected to same access point.
  • yes - Client can send frames to other stations on the same access point.
interface (string | any | all; Default: any)Rules with interface=any are used for any wireless interface and the interface=all defines interface-list “all” name. To make rule that applies only to one wireless interface, specify that interface as a value of this property.
mac-address (MAC; Default: 00:00:00:00:00:00)Rule matches client with the specified MAC address. Value 00:00:00:00:00:00 matches always.
management-protection-key (string; Default: "")
private-algo (104bit-wep | 40bit-wep | aes-ccm | none | tkip; Default: none)Only for WEP modes.
private-key (string; Default: "")Only for WEP modes.
private-pre-shared-key (string; Default: "")Used in WPA PSK mode.
signal-range (NUM..NUM - both NUM are numbers in the range -120..120; Default: -120..120)Rule matches if signal strength of the station is within the range.

If signal strength of the station will go out of the range that is specified in the rule, access point will disconnect that station.

time (TIME-TIME,sun,mon,tue,wed,thu,fri,sat - TIME is time interval 0..86400 seconds; all day names are optional; value can be unset; Default: )Rule will match only during specified time.

Station will be disconnected after specified time ends. Both start and end time is expressed as time since midnight, 00:00.

Rule will match only during specified days of the week.

Align

Sub-menu: /interface wireless align

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PropertyDescription
active-mode (yes | no; Default: yes)If in active mode, will send out frames for align.
audio-max (integer [-2147483648..2147483647]; Default: -20)Maxumum signal strength for beeper
audio-min (integer [-2147483648..2147483647]; Default: -100)Minimum signal strength for beeper
audio-monitor (MAC; Default: 00:00:00:00:00:00)Which MAC address to use for audio monitoring
filter-mac (MAC; Default: 00:00:00:00:00:00)Filtered out MAC address that will be shown in monitor screen.
frame-size (integer [200..1500]; Default: 300)Size of the frames used by monitor.
frames-per-second (integer [1..100]; Default: 25)Frame transmit interval
receive-all (yes | no; Default: no)If set to "yes", monitor will find all available devices.
ssid-all (yes | no; Default: no)Whether to show all SSIDs in the monitor or only one configured in wireless settings.

Menu Specific Commands

PropertyDescription
monitor (interface name)Start align monitoring
test-audio (integer [-2147483648..2147483647])Test the beeper

Connect List

Sub-menu: /interface wireless connect-list

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  • connect-list rules are always checked sequentially, starting from the first.
  • disabled rules are always ignored.
  • Only the first matching rule is applied.
  • If SSID or exact wireless protocol is provided in the wireless interface configuration Connect List SSIDs or wireless protocols not covered by wireless interface configuration are ignored.
  • If connect-list does not have any rule that matches remote access point, then the default values from the wireless interface configuration are used.
  • If access point is matched by rule that has connect=no value, connection with this access point will not be attempted.
  • If access point is matched by rule that has connect=yes value, connection with this access point will be attempted.
    • In station mode, if several remote access points are matched by connect list rules with connect=yes value, connection will be attempted with access point that is matched by rule higher in the connect-list.
    • If no remote access points are matched by connect-list rules with connect=yes value, then value of default-authentication interface property determines whether station will attempt to connect to any access point. If default-authentication=yes, station will choose access point with best signal and compatible security.
  • In access point mode, connect-list is checked before establishing WDS link with remote device. If access point is not matched by any rule in the connect list, then the value of default-authentication determines whether WDS link will be established.


Properties

PropertyDescription
3gpp (string; Default: )
area-prefix (string; Default: )Rule matches if area value of AP (a proprietary extension) begins with specified value.area value is a proprietary extension.
comment (string; Default: )Short description of an entry
connect (yes | no; Default: yes)Available options:
  • yes - Connect to access point that matches this rule.
  • no - Do not connect to any access point that matches this rule.
disabled (yes | no; Default: no)
mac-address (MAC; Default: 00:00:00:00:00:00)Rule matches only AP with the specified MAC address. Value 00:00:00:00:00:00 matches always.
security-profile (string | none; Default: none)Name of security profile that is used when connecting to matching access points, If value of this property is none, then security profile specified in the interface configuration will be used. In station mode, rule will match only access points that can support specified security profile. Value none will match access point that supports security profile that is specified in the interface configuration. In access point mode value of this property will not be used to match remote devices.
signal-range (NUM..NUM - both NUM are numbers in the range -120..120; Default: -120..120)Rule matches if signal strength of the access point is within the range. If station establishes connection to access point that is matched by this rule, it will disconnect from that access point when signal strength goes out of the specified range.
ssid (string; Default: "")Rule matches access points that have this SSID. Empty value matches any SSID. This property has effect only when station mode interface ssid is empty, or when access point mode interface has wds-ignore-ssid=yes
wireless-protocol (802.11 | any | nstreme | tdma; Default: any)
interface (string; Default: )Each rule in connect list applies only to one wireless interface that is specified by this setting.


Usage

Restrict station connections only to specific access points

  • Set value of default-authentication interface property to no.

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/interface wireless connect-list add interface=station-wlan connect=yes mac-address=00:11:22:33:00:01/interface wireless connect-list add interface=station-wlan connect=yes mac-address=00:11:22:33:00:02

Disallow connections to specific access points

  • Set value of default-authentication interface property to yes.

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/interface wireless connect-list add interface=station-wlan connect=no mac-address=00:11:22:33:44:55

Select preferred access points

  • Create rules that match preferred access points. These rules must have connect=yes and interface equal to the name of station wireless interface.
  • Put rules that match preferred access points higher in the connect-list, in the order of preference.

Restrict WDS link establishment

  • Place rules that match allowed access points at the top.
  • Add deny-all rule at the end of connect list.

Info

Sub-menu: /interface wireless info

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PropertyDescription
2ghz-10mhz-power-channels ()
2ghz-11n-channels ()
2ghz-5mhz-power-channels ()
2ghz-b-channels ()
2ghz-g-channels ()
2ghz-g-turbo-channels ()
5ghz-10mhz-power-channels ()
5ghz-11n-channels ()
5ghz-5mhz-power-channels ()
5ghz-channels ()
5ghz-turbo-channels ()
capabilities ()
chip-info ()
default-periodic-calibration ()
firmware ()
ht-chains ()
interface-type ()
name ()
pci-info ()
supported-bands ()

Manual TX Power Table

Sub-menu: /interface wireless manual-tx-power-table

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PropertyDescription
comment (string; Default: )Short description of an entry
manual-tx-powers (list of [Rate:TxPower];

Rate ::= 11Mbps | 12Mbps | 18Mbps | 1Mbps | 24Mbps | ...

TxPower ::= integer [-30..30]; Default: )

name (string)Name of the wireless interface to which tx powers will be applied.

Wireless hardware table

Warning: You must follow to regulatory domain requirements in your country. If you are allowed to use other frequencies, note that Antenna Gain and Transmit Power may decrease depending on board and frequency. Devices are calibrated only for regulatory frequencies, use non standard frequencies at your own risk. The list only specifies frequencies accepted by the wireless chip, these frequencies might not always work due to antenna that is built into the product, device design, filters and other factors. USE STRICTLY AT YOUR OWN RISK

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  1. - Only in 802.11a/n standard

Nstreme

Sub-menu: /interface wireless nstreme

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Note: The settings here (except for enabling nstreme) are relevant only on Access Point, they are ignored for client devices! The client automatically adapts to the AP settings.
WDS for Nstreme protocol requires using station-wds mode on one of the peers. Configurations with WDS between AP modes (bridge and ap-bridge) will not work.


Nstreme Dual

Sub-menu: /interface wireless nstreme-dual

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Note: You can use different bands for rx and tx links. For example, transmit in 2ghz-g and receive data, using 2ghz-b band.


Registration Table

Sub-menu: /interface wireless registration-table

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PropertyDescription
802.1x-port-enabled (yes | no)whether the data exchange is allowed with the peer (i.e., whether 802.1x authentication is completed, if needed)
ack-timeout (integer)current value of ack-timeout
ap (yes | no)Shows whether registered device is configured as access point.
ap-tx-limit (integer)transmit rate limit on the AP, in bits per second
authentication-type ()authentication method used for the peer
bridge (yes | no)
bytes (integer , integer)number of sent and received packet bytes
client-tx-limit (integer)transmit rate limit on the AP, in bits per second
comment (string)Description of an entry. comment is taken from appropriate Access List entry if specified.
compression (yes | no)whether data compresson is used for this peer
distance (integer)
encryption (aes-ccm | tkip)unicast encryption algorithm used
evm-ch0 ()
evm-ch1 ()
evm-ch2 ()
frame-bytes (integer,integer)number of sent and received data bytes excluding header information
frames (integer,integer)Number of frames that need to be sent over wireless link. This value can be compared to hw-frames to check wireless retransmits. Read more >>
framing-current-size (integer)current size of combined frames
framing-limit (integer)maximal size of combined frames
framing-mode ()the method how to combine frames
group-encryption ()group encryption algorithm used
hw-frame-bytes (integer,integer)number of sent and received data bytes including header information
hw-frames (integer,integer)Number of frames sent over wireless link by the driver. This value can be compared to frames to check wireless retransmits. Read more >>
interface (string)Name of the wireless interface to which wireless client is associated
last-activity (time)last interface data tx/rx activity
last-ip (IP Address)IP address found in the last IP packet received from the registered client
mac-address (MAC)MAC address of the registered client
management-protection (yes | no)
nstreme (yes | no)Shows whether Nstreme is enabled
p-throughput (integer)estimated approximate throughput that is expected to the given peer, taking into account the effective transmit rate and hardware retries. Calculated once in 5 seconds
packed-bytes (integer, integer)number of bytes packed into larger frames for transmitting/receiving (framing)
packed-frames (integer, integer)number of frames packed into larger ones for transmitting/receiving (framing)
packets (integer.integer)number of sent and received network layer packets
radio-name (string)radio name of the peer
routeros-version (string)RouterOS version of the registered client
rx-ccq ()Client Connection Quality (CCQ) for receive. Read more >>
rx-rate (integer)receive data rate
signal-strength (integer)average strength of the client signal recevied by the AP
signal-strength-ch0 ()
signal-strength-ch1 ()
signal-strength-ch2 ()
signal-to-noise ()
strength-at-rates ()signal strength level at different rates together with time how long were these rates used
tdma-retx ()
tdma-rx-size ()
tdma-timing-offset ()tdma-timing-offset is proportional to distance and is approximately two times the propagation delay. AP measures this so that it can tell clients what offset to use for their transmissions - clients then subtract this offset from their target transmission time such that propagation delay is accounted for and transmission arrives at AP when expected. You may occasionally see small negative value (like few usecs) there for close range clients because of additional unaccounted delay that may be produced in transmitter or receiver hardware that varies from chipset to chipset.
tdma-tx-size (integer)Value in bytes that specifies the size of data unit whose loss can be detected (data unit over which CRC is calculated) sent by device. In general - the bigger the better, because overhead is less. On the other hand, small value in this setting can not always be considered a signal that connection is poor - if device does not have enough pending data that would enable it to use bigger data units (e.g. if you are just pinging over link), this value will not go up.
tdma-windfull ()
tx-ccq ()Client Connection Quality (CCQ) for transmit. Read more >>
tx-evm-ch0 ()
tx-evm-ch1 ()
tx-evm-ch2 ()
tx-frames-timed-out ()
tx-rate ()
tx-signal-strength ()
tx-signal-strength-ch0 ()
tx-signal-strength-ch1 ()
tx-signal-strength-ch2 ()
uptime (time)time the client is associated with the access point
wds (yes | no)whether the connected client is using wds or not
wmm-enabled (yes | no)Shows whether WMM is enabled.

Security Profiles

Sub-menu: /interface wireless security-profiles


Security profiles are configured under the /interface wireless security-profiles path in the console, or in the "Security Profiles" tab of the "Wireless" window in the WinBox. Security profiles are referenced by the Wireless interface security-profile property and security-profile property of Connect Lists.

Basic properties

PropertyDescription
mode (none | static-keys-optional | static-keys-required | dynamic-keys; Default: none)Encryption mode for the security profile.
  • none - Encryption is not used. Encrypted frames are not accepted.
  • static-keys-required - WEP mode. Do not accept and do not send unencrypted frames. Station in static-keys-required mode will not connect to an Access Point in static-keys-optional mode.
  • static-keys-optional - WEP mode. Support encryption and decryption, but allow also to receive and send unencrypted frames. Device will send unencrypted frames if encryption algorithm is specified as none. Station in static-keys-optional mode will not connect to an Access Point in static-keys-required mode. See also: static-sta-private-algo, static-transmit-key.
  • dynamic-keys - WPA mode.
name (text; Default: )Name of the security profile

WPA properties

These properties have effect only when mode is set to dynamic-keys.

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Note: RouterOS also allows to override pre-shared key value for specific clients, using either the private-pre-shared-key property, or the Mikrotik-Wireless-Psk attribute in the RADIUS MAC authentication response. This is an extension.


WPA EAP properties

These properties have effect only when authentication-types contains wpa-eap or wpa2-eap, and mode is set to dynamic-keys.

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Note: When tls-mode is using either verify-certificate or dont-verify-certificate, then the remote device has to support one of the RC4-MD5, RC4-SHA or DES-CBC3-SHA TLS cipher suites. When using no-certificates mode, then the remote device must support "ADH-DES-CBC3-SHA" cipher suite.


RADIUS properties

PropertyDescription
radius-mac-authentication (yes | no; Default: no)This property affects the way how Access Point processes clients that are not found in the Access List.
  • no - allow or reject client authentication based on the value of default-authentication property of the Wireless interface.
  • yes - Query RADIUS server using MAC address of client as user name. With this setting the value of default-authentication has no effect.
radius-mac-accounting (yes | no; Default: no)
radius-eap-accounting (yes | no; Default: no)
radius-called-format (mac | mac:ssid | ssid; Default: mac:ssid)
interim-update (time; Default: 0)When RADIUS accounting is used, Access Point periodically sends accounting information updates to the RADIUS server. This property specifies default update interval that can be overridden by the RADIUS server using Acct-Interim-Interval attribute.
radius-mac-format (XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX | XXXX:XXXX:XXXX | XXXXXX:XXXXXX | XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX | XXXXXX-XXXXXX | XXXXXXXXXXXX | XX XX XX XX XX XX; Default: XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX)Controls how MAC address of the client is encoded by Access Point in the User-Name attribute of the MAC authentication and MAC accounting RADIUS requests.
radius-mac-mode (as-username | as-username-and-password; Default: as-username)By default Access Point uses an empty password, when sending Access-Request during MAC authentication. When this property is set to as-username-and-password, Access Point will use the same value for User-Password attribute as for the User-Name attribute.
radius-mac-caching (disabled | time; Default: disabled)If this value is set to time interval, the Access Point will cache RADIUS MAC authentication responses for specified time, and will not contact RADIUS server if matching cache entry already exists. Value disabled will disable cache, Access Point will always contact RADIUS server.

WEP properties

These properties have effect only when mode is set to static-keys-required or static-keys-optional.

PropertyDescription
static-key-0 | static-key-1 | static-key-2 | static-key-3 (hex; Default: )Hexadecimal representation of the key. Length of key must be appropriate for selected algorithm. See the Statically configured WEP keys section.
static-algo-0 | static-algo-1 | static-algo-2 | static-algo-3 (none | 40bit-wep | 104bit-wep | tkip | aes-ccm; Default: none)Encryption algorithm to use with the corresponding key.
static-transmit-key (key-0 | key-1 | key-2 | key-3; Default: key-0)Access Point will use the specified key to encrypt frames for clients that do not use private key. Access Point will also use this key to encrypt broadcast and multicast frames. Client will use the specified key to encrypt frames if static-sta-private-algo is set to none. If corresponding static-algo-N property has value set to none, then frame will be sent unencrypted (when mode is set to static-keys-optional) or will not be sent at all (when mode is set to static-keys-required).
static-sta-private-key (hex; Default: )Length of key must be appropriate for selected algorithm, see the Statically configured WEP keys section. This property is used only on Stations. Access Point uses corresponding key either from private-key property, or from Mikrotik-Wireless-Enc-Key attribute.
static-sta-private-algo (none | 40bit-wep | 104bit-wep | tkip | aes-ccm; Default: none)Encryption algorithm to use with station private key. Value none disables use of the private key. This property is only used on Stations. Access Point has to get corresponding value either from private-algo property, or from Mikrotik-Wireless-Enc-Algo attribute. Station private key replaces key 0 for unicast frames. Station will not use private key to decrypt broadcast frames.

Management frame protection

Used for: Deauthentication attack prevention, MAC address cloning issue.

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[admin@mikrotik] /interface wireless security-profiles> set default management-protection=    
                                                        allowed  disabled  required  


2009-02-06 1518.png

Operation details

RADIUS MAC authentication

Note: RAIDUS MAC authentication is used by access point for clients that are not found in the access-list, similarly to the default-authentication property of the wireless interface. It controls whether client is allowed to proceed with authentication, or is rejected immediately.

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  • Ascend-Data-Rate
  • Ascend-Xmit-Rate
  • Mikrotik-Wireless-Forward - Same as access-list forwarding.
  • Mikrotik-Wireless-Enc-Algo - Same as access-list private-algo.
  • Mikrotik-Wireless-Enc-Key - Same as access-list private-key.
  • Mikrotik-Wireless-Psk - Same as access-list private-pre-shared-key.
  • Mikrotik-Wireless-Mpkey - Same as Management-protection-key in Access list
  • Session-Timeout - Time, after which client will be disconnected.
  • Acct-Interim-Interval - Overrides value of interim-update.
  • Class - If present, value of this attribute is saved and included in Accounting-Request messages.
Caching

Caching of RADIUS MAC authentication was added to support RADIUS authentication for clients that require from the access point very quick response to the association request. Such clients time out before response from RADIUS server is received. Access point caches authentication response for some time and can immediately reply to the repeated association request from the same client.

RADIUS EAP pass-through authentication

When using WPA EAP authentication type, clients that have passed MAC authentication are required to perform EAP authentication before being authorized to pass data on wireless network. With pass-through EAP method the access point will relay authentication to RADIUS server, and use following attributes in the Access-Request RADIUS message:

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  • Class - If present, value of this attribute is saved and included in Accounting-Request messages.
  • Session-Timeout - Time, after which client will be disconnected. Additionally, access point will remember authentication result, and if during this time client reconnects, it will be authorized immediately, without repeating EAP authentication.
  • Acct-Interim-Interval - Overrides value of interim-update.

Statically configured WEP keys

Different algorithms require different length of keys:

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Key must contain even number of hexadecimal digits.

WDS security configuration

WDS links can use all available security features. However, they require careful configuration of security parameters.

It is possible to use one security profile for all clients, and different security profiles for WDS links. Security profile for WDS link is specified in connect-list. Access point always checks connect list before establishing WDS link with another access point, and used security settings from matching connect list entry. WDS link will work when each access point will have connect list entry that matches the other device, has connect=yes and specifies compatible security-profile.

WDS and WPA/WPA2

If access point uses security profile with mode=dynamic-keys, then encryption will be used for all WDS links. Since WPA authentication and key exchange is not symmetrical, one of the access points will act as a client for the purpose of establishing secure connection. This is similar to how static-mesh and dynamic-mesh WDS modes work. Some problems, like single sided WDS link between two incorrectly configured access points that use non-mesh mode, is not possible if WPA encryption is enabled. However, non-mesh modes with WPA still have other issues (like constant reconnection attempts in case of configuration mismatch) that are solved by use of the -mesh WDS modes.

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Implementation of eap-tls EAP method in RouterOS is particularly well suited for WDS link encryption. tls-mode=no-certificates requires no additional configuration, and provides very strong encryption.

WDS and WEP

mode, static-sta-private-key and static-sta-private-algo parameters in the security profile assigned to the WDS link need to have the same values on both access points that establish WDS link with WPA encryption.

Security profile and access point matching in the connect list

Client uses value of connect-list security-profile property to match only those access points that support necessary security.

  • mode=static-keys-required and mode=static-keys-optional matches only access points with the same mode in interface security-profile.
  • If mode=dynamic-keys, then connect list entry matches if all of the authentication-types, unicast-ciphers and group-ciphers contain at least one value that is advertised by access point.

Virtual interfaces

VirtualAP

It is possible to create virtual access points using the add command in the wireless menu. You must specify the master-interface which the virtual interface will belong to. If "master-interface" mode is "station", Virtual AP will work only when "master-interface" will be active. The Virtual AP can have it's own SSID and Security Profile.

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Note: you can create up to 127 virtual interfaces per physical interface. It is not recommended to create more 30, since the performance will start to degrade.

Virtual Clients

Note: Starting from 6.35 only in wireless-rep or wireless-cm2 package

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Note: Virtual interfaces will always use the Master interface wireless frequency. If the Master interface has 'auto' frequency enabled it will use the wireless frequency that the Master interface selected.


Sniffer

Sub-menu: /interface wireless sniffer

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PropertyDescription
channel-time (; Default: 200ms)
file-limit (integer [10..4294967295]; Default: 10)Allocated file size in bytes which will be used to store captured data. Applicable if file-name is specified.
file-name (string; Default: )Name of the file where to store captured data.
memory-limit (integer [10..4294967295]; Default: 10)Allocated memory buffer in bytes used to store captured data.
multiple-channels (yes | no; Default: no)
only-headers (yes | no; Default: no)If set to yes, then sniffer will capture only information stored in frame headers.
receive-errors (yes | no; Default: no)
streaming-enabled (yes | no; Default: no)Whether to stream captured data to specified streaming server
streaming-max-rate (integer [0..4294967295]; Default: 0)
streaming-server (IPv4; Default: 0.0.0.0)IP address of the streaming server.


Packets

Sub-menu: /interface wireless sniffer packet

Sub-menu shows captured packets.

Scan

Scan command allows to see available AP in the frequency range defined in the scan-list. Using scan command the interface operation is disabled (wireless link is disconnected during the scan operation) Since RouterOS v6.35 (wireless-rep) background scan is supported which can be used during the wireless interface operation without disconnecting the wireless link. Background scan is supported only using 802.11 wireless protocol.

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  • It is possible when virtual interface and its master is fixed on channel (master AP is running or master station is connected to AP).
  • Scan is only performed in channel master interface is on.
  • It does not matter if background=yes|no - on virtual interface scan does not disconnect clients/AP, so it is always "background".

Snooper

This tool monitors surrounding frequency usage, and displays which devices occupy each frequency. It's available both in console, and also in Winbox.

Sub-menu: /interface wireless snooper

Snoop1.png

Snoop2.png

Settings

Snoop3.PNG

Spectral scan

WDS

Sub-menu: /interface wireless wds

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PropertyDescription
dynamic (yes | no)
mac-address (MAC)
running (yes | no)

WPS

Wireless interface supports WPS Server and also WPS Client (supported by wireless-rep package starting from RouterOS v6.35).

WPS Server

WPS Server allows to connect wireless clients that support WPS to AP protected with the Pre-Shared Key without specifying that key in the clients configuration.

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WPS Server is active only when wireless AP interface has Pre-Shared Key Authentication (PSK) enabled. It is possible to configure this mode for the Virtual AP interfaces as well.

WPS Client

WPS Client function allows the wireless client to get the Pre-Shared Key configuration of the AP that has WPS Server enabled. WPS Client can be enabled by such command:

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  • create-profile - creates wireless security profile with the specified name, configures it with security details received from the WPS AP, specifies the wireless interface to use the new created security profile
  • ssid - get WPS information only from AP with specified SSID
  • mac-address - get WPS information only from AP with specified mac-address

Repeater

Wireless repeater will allow to receive the signal from the AP and repeat the signal using the same physical interface locally for connecting other clients. This will allow to extend the wireless service for the wireless clients. Wireless repeater function will configure the wireless interface to connect to the AP with station-bridge or station-pseudobridge option, create a virtual AP interface, create a bridge interface and add both (main and the virtual) interfaces to the bridge ports.

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The same options are available in the GUI:

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Roaming

Station Roaming

Station Roaming feature is available only for 802.11 wireless protocol and only for station modes. When RouterOS wireless client is connected to the AP using 802.11 wireless protocol it will periodically perform the background scan with specific time intervals. When the background scan will find an AP with better signal it will try to roam to that AP. The time intervals between the background scans will become shorter when the wireless signal becomes worse and the background scan interval will become longer when the wireless client signal will get better.

VLAN tagging

Sub-menu: /interface wireless

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PropertyDescription
vlan-mode (no tag | user service tag | use tag; Default: no tag)Three VLAN modes are available:
  • no-tag - AP don't use VLAN tagging
  • use-service-tag - VLAN ID use 802.1ad tag type
  • use-tag - VLAN ID use 802.1q tag type
vlan-id (integer [1..4095]; Default: 1)VLAN identification number

Vlan tag override

Per-interface VLAN tag can be overridden on per-client basis by means of access-list and RADIUS attributes (for both - regular wireless and wireless controller).

This way traffic can be separated between wireless clients even on the same interface, but must be used with care - only "interface VLAN" broadcast/multicast traffic will be sent out. If working broadcast/multicast is necessary for other (overridden) VLANs as well, multicast-helper can be used for now (this changes every multicast packet to unicast and then it is only sent to clients with matching VLAN ids).


Winbox

Winbox is a small utility that allows administration of Mikrotik RouterOS using a fast and simple GUI.

Note: Current Tx Power gives you information about transmit power currently used at specific data rate. Currently not supported for Atheros 802.11ac chips (e.g. QCA98xx).


Interworking Realms setting

Starting from RouterOS v6.42rc27 we have added such feature:

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