I've never heard of Mikrotik before.

Que the womp, womp, womp.

You may be familiar with names like Cisco, Netgear, Linksys, TP-Link, Ubiquiti and have or been on a network that uses one or more of these devices, but perhaps you're not so familiar with the name Mikrotik, so lets take a deep dive and find out more about who they are, what they do, and why you should consider them for your next project.

Who are they?
Mikrotik is a Latvian equipment manufacturer that was founded in 1996 (so they've been around for a very long time now) with the focus of selling network hardware and software in emerging markets. They are best known for their network routers, switches and wireless equipment, as well as their custom designed RouterOS network software.  The company now produces hardware and software for Internet connectivity in most countries throughout the world.

Mikrotik is a disruptive technology.
They make hardware and software that empowers users and businesses to deploy networks consisting of features you'd typically only find on enterprise-grade equipment costing 10x more. Mikrotik RouterOS and SwitchOS software which powers their devices packs in a large feature set including basic and advanced out-of-box configuration templates, firewall, routing, MPLS, VPN, DHCP, hotspot, QOS, proxy, VLAN, GUI and CLI configuration as well as scripting and API accessibility just to name a few. Mikrotik devices range from simple 5 port ethernet/gigabit ethernet devices like the hex S all the way to enterprise/prosumer devices such as the 48 1G, 4x10GB, 2x40G QSFP+ CRS354 48 port switch.  One of the most interesting things IMHO is that the same software is used across their range of devices so not only do they provide a consistent interface across their device range, but you get the same features on a $39 device that would on a $1000 device. Compare this to companies like Cisco, for example, that you have to pay licenses to in order to get the more business-like, high-end features available to the equipment, and sometimes those features can be quite expensive. Mikrotik decided to take a different approach with this and say that you buy our hardware or our software and we'll provide those features to you at no extra cost. You're not getting a demo or time activated feature set either when you purchase – you're getting the fully unlocked feature set as a provision of the hardware or software.

Are they reliable?
Yes.  Read some of the independent reviews on Mikrotik hardware and you will see across the internet people consistently rave about the reliability and the performance of the devices. For us they have been remarkably stable and provide the backbone of our network and is one of the reasons why we exist as a community.  Mikrotik regularly provides release updates for their devices, adding new features and enhancing security, and should you experience any issues with a particular upgrade, provide an easy path to downgrade those devices back to a different version.

Are they secure?
Yes. Mikrotik devices are just about as secure, if not more than any other network device out on the market. There have been incidents related to Mikrotik security in the past, and Mikrotik is usually very good about identifying and addressing security related issues as they occur. One of the key components here is making sure to keep the devices up-to-date to help mitigate issues that have been previously corrected and to ensure that your device is best protected should an incident occur. Mikrotik routers have an insanely powerful firewall and is extremely configurable.

Are they expensive?
Mikrotik devices are very inexpensive for the features afforded to them. You might end up paying hundreds to thousands more dollars for features that come standard on the devices. A basic router with 5 port switch for example, can be had for less than $40. You can find switches with features like SFP/SFP+/QSFP, VLANs, VPN, that cost a fraction of what you might pay with other network device suppliers.

Are they very difficult to use?
They can be. For your basic plug and play usage, these devices are typically okay to use. However, with all the power and accessibility available to the devices, it can be tricky to configure them and get everything set up correctly. Mikrotik provides an excellent GUI configuration tool to assist with the configuration of the device, but knowing which settings to apply and the vast array of configuration settings can be overwhelming and daunting for even the seasoned network administrator.

Will they work with my equipment (laptops, PCs, cable/ISP modem, etc.)
Yes, this should not be an issue and given the high level of customization and configuration you shouldn't have any issue with introducing these devices into a pre-existing network or starting a network from scratch.

If these are as great as you say, and they've been around for so long, why aren't more people using them?
IMHO a lot of that has to do with the marketing strategies and the availability of the devices to the consumer/prosumer markets. Here in the US you typically cannot go into a big box store and pick up one of these devices off the shelf as  you can with the likes of say Netgear and Linksys and TP-Link. On the business level, at the enterprise the gold standard for network solutions typically ends up being Cisco and occasionally Aruba/HP or some other enterprise vendor. Mikrotik devices here usually fall into a smaller niche, usually upon a recommendation of someone that has worked with one or more of the devices in the past and is comfortable with deploying these devices to a network. There are significantly less vendors available here as with some of the other devices, and they typically show dominance with internet orders or with a local vendor if one is available in your area. Mikrotik isn't a household name here in the US and doesn't afford the same accessibility as some of the other vendors. We hope that through education and promotion that we can foster the adoption of these devices and hopefully get the market share closer to, if not surpass some of the other network device vendors. Dassl, our parent company, uses these devices in their smart home and connected business builds, and has had excellent results with these devices and hopes the continued use of these device in the future.

I'm curious to learn more about these devices.
Great! This site aims to be an excellent resource for all things Mikrotik. You can also head over to the official Mikrotik website to learn more about the devices, which devices are available, and purchase hardware and software.   We hope to be able to offer hardware and software purchases as well through the site as they become available but in the meantime the official website, as well as local distributors are likely the best options at the current moment to acquire Mikrotik hardware. You can also find these devices through Amazon and Walmart.