Router Management

Router Management in NettPortal provides comprehensive tools for managing your MikroTik routers. From adding and configuring routers to monitoring their status, managing captive portals, and applying settings across multiple routers, this guide covers everything you need to know about router management. Even if you're not technical, we'll explain everything in simple terms.

🎯 What is Router Management?

Router Management is a centralized system that allows you to manage all your MikroTik routers from a single interface. You can add routers, configure their settings, monitor their status, manage captive portals, import users, reboot routers, and apply settings to multiple routers simultaneously. All operations are validated before execution, and the system includes automatic error detection and fixing capabilities.

Router Overview & Management

The Router List page is your central hub for managing all routers. Here you can view all routers, their status, and perform common operations.

➕ Adding Routers

To add a new router to NettPortal:

Navigate to Routers from the main menu
Click the Add Router button
Enter the router connection details:
- Name: A friendly name for the router (e.g., "Main Office Router")
- IP Address: The router's IP address (e.g., 192.168.1.1)
- Port: API port (default: 8728 for API, 8729 for API-SSL)
- Username: RouterOS admin username (usually "admin")
- Password: RouterOS admin password
- SSL Enabled: Enable if using API-SSL (port 8729)
Click Test Connection to verify connectivity
Click Add Router to save

💡 Connection Test

The system automatically tests the connection before adding the router. If the connection fails, check your IP address, port, username, and password. Make sure the router's API service is enabled and accessible from your network.

✏️ Editing Routers

To edit a router's connection details:

Click the Edit button on the router card
Update the connection details (name, IP address, port, username, password, SSL)
Click Test Connection to verify the new settings
Click Update Router to save changes

🗑️ Deleting Routers

To remove a router from NettPortal:

Click the Delete button on the router card
Confirm the deletion in the confirmation dialog

⚠️ Warning: Deletion

Deleting a router removes it from NettPortal but does not affect the router itself. All associated vouchers, packages, and customers will remain, but they will no longer be linked to this router in the system.

💚 Router Health Checks

Health checks verify that routers are online and responding:

Automatic Checks: Routers are automatically checked periodically in the background
Manual Checks: Click the health check button on a router card to check immediately
Status Indicators:
- Connected: Router is online and responding
- Disconnected: Router is offline or unreachable
- Error: Connection error or authentication failure
- Pending: Router is being checked

🔄 Rebooting Routers

To reboot a router remotely:

Click the Reboot button on the router card
Confirm the reboot in the confirmation dialog
The router will restart and may be offline for a few minutes

⚠️ Important: Reboot Warning

Rebooting a router will disconnect all active users and may take several minutes. Make sure to reboot during maintenance windows or when it's safe to interrupt service.

👥 Importing Users from Router

You can import existing PPPoE and Hotspot users from a router into NettPortal:

Click the Import Users button on the router card
Select which service types to import (PPPoE, Hotspot, or Both)
Click Import Users to start the import
The system will create customer accounts for imported users

💡 Import Process

The import process creates customer accounts for users that don't already exist. If a user already exists (matched by username or email), it will be skipped. Imported users will be linked to the router and can be managed through the customer management system.

Router Details Page

The Router Details page provides in-depth information and management tools for a specific router. Access it by clicking on a router card or the View Details button.

ℹ️ System Info Tab

The System Info tab displays comprehensive router information:

Router Identity: Router name and identity
RouterOS Version: Installed RouterOS version
Uptime: How long the router has been running
CPU Usage: Current CPU load percentage
Memory Usage: RAM usage (free/total)
Board Name: Router hardware model
Architecture: CPU architecture
Serial Number: Router serial number
WireGuard Configuration: WireGuard IP and public key
Current Downtime: Time since last disconnection (if offline)

📊 Reports Tab

The Reports tab provides analytics and usage statistics for the router (coming soon):

User activity reports
Bandwidth usage statistics
Connection trends
Performance metrics

💳 Transactions Tab

The Transactions tab displays payment and voucher redemption history for the router (coming soon):

Voucher redemptions
Payment transactions
Offline payment records
Transaction history

📝 Logs Tab

The Logs tab displays router system logs and events:

System Logs: RouterOS system log entries
Filtering: Filter logs by level (info, warning, error, debug)
Search: Search logs by keyword
Clear Logs: Clear router logs remotely
Real-time Updates: Logs update automatically

🌐 Captive Portal Tab

The Captive Portal tab allows you to configure and manage the captive portal login page:

Template Selection: Choose from pre-designed templates (Classic Gradient, Minimal Clean, Animated Gradient, etc.)
Customization:
- Organization name
- Theme color
- Logo upload
- Portal URL
- Voucher purchase enabled/disabled
Preview: Preview the captive portal before pushing to router
Save Configuration: Save the configuration to the database
Push to Router: Deploy the captive portal template to the router

💡 Captive Portal Workflow

First, select a template and customize it. Save the configuration, then push it to the router. The captive portal will be deployed to the router's Hotspot HTML directory and will be displayed when users connect to the WiFi network.

Router Settings Page

The Router Settings page provides a comprehensive interface for configuring all MikroTik RouterOS settings. You can configure one router at a time, or select multiple routers to apply the same settings to all of them at once. For detailed information about each settings tab, see the Advanced RouterOS Settings documentation.

🌐 Basic Network Tab

Configure fundamental network connectivity settings:

WAN Interface: Configure WAN interface (DHCP or static IP)
Bridge Configuration: Create and configure bridge interfaces
DHCP Server: Configure DHCP server for client IP assignment
LAN Bridge: Configure separate LAN bridge (optional)
IP Pools: Create and manage IP address pools

🔒 Security Tab

Manage router security and access control:

Service Access Control: Enable/disable RouterOS services (API, SSH, Telnet, FTP, Winbox, WWW)
IP Restrictions: Restrict service access by IP address
Admin User Management: Change admin password or create new admin users
Firewall Rules: Add, edit, or remove firewall filter rules

🕐 DNS & Time Tab

Configure DNS resolution and time synchronization:

DNS Servers: Configure primary and secondary DNS servers
DNS Cache: Configure DNS cache size and TTL
NTP Client: Configure Network Time Protocol synchronization
Timezone: Set router timezone

📶 Wireless Tab

Configure wireless interfaces and WiFi settings:

Wireless Interface: Configure wireless interface (SSID, band, channel, frequency)
Security Profile: Configure WiFi security (WPA2, WPA3, passphrase)
Wireless Protocol: Set 802.11 standard (b/g/n/ac/ax)
Country & Channel: Set regulatory domain and WiFi channel

⚡ Bandwidth & Queue Tab

Configure bandwidth limits and traffic prioritization:

Simple Queue: Create bandwidth limits for IP addresses or interfaces
Download/Upload Limits: Set maximum download and upload speeds
Priority: Set traffic priority (1-8)
Burst Configuration: Configure burst limits for temporary speed boosts

🔌 Hotspot & PPPoE Tab

Configure Hotspot and PPPoE server settings:

Hotspot Server: Configure Hotspot server (interface, address pool, profile)
Hotspot Profile: Configure Hotspot profile (address, DNS name, HTML directory)
PPPoE Server: Configure PPPoE server (interface, service name, default profile)
PPPoE Profile: Configure PPPoE profile (local/remote address, rate limit, idle timeout)

⚙️ Advanced Tab

Advanced RouterOS configuration with sub-tabs:

Firewall Advanced: Advanced firewall filter rules and NAT configuration
Static Routes: Configure static routing rules
System Admin: System resource limits and logging configuration
VPN Servers: Configure VPN server settings (PPTP, L2TP, SSTP, OpenVPN)
Queue Advanced: Advanced queue tree and PCQ configuration

💡 Multiple Router Configuration

You can select multiple routers at once and apply the same settings to all of them simultaneously. This is perfect for bulk configuration changes, network-wide updates, or applying standard settings across your entire router fleet. The system will show you a summary of what will be applied to each router before confirming.

Captive Portal Management

The Captive Portal is the login page that users see when they connect to your WiFi network. NettPortal provides several pre-designed templates and allows full customization.

🎨 Available Templates

Choose from several pre-designed templates:

Classic Gradient: Traditional gradient design with modern styling
Minimal Clean: Clean, minimal design with focus on simplicity
Animated Gradient: Dynamic gradient animations for visual appeal
Card Elevated: Card-based design with elevation effects
Centered Modern: Modern centered layout with clean aesthetics
Split Layout: Split-screen layout with image and form sections

⚙️ Configuration Options

Customize the captive portal with the following options:

Organization Name: Display name on the login page
Theme Color: Primary color for buttons and accents
Logo: Upload your organization logo
Portal URL: URL to redirect users after login
Voucher Purchase: Enable/disable voucher purchase option on login page

🚀 Deploying to Router

To deploy the captive portal to a router:

Select a template from the available options
Customize the configuration (organization name, theme color, logo, etc.)
Preview the captive portal to see how it will look
Click Save Configuration to save to the database
Click Push to Router to deploy to the router
The captive portal will be uploaded to the router's Hotspot HTML directory

💡 Deployment Process

The system generates HTML from the selected template and configuration, then uploads it to the router via the API. The router's Hotspot server will automatically serve this HTML when users connect to the WiFi network.

Best Practices

Follow these best practices for effective router management:

✅ Regular Health Checks

Perform regular health checks on all routers to ensure they are online and responding. Set up automatic health checks or manually check routers periodically to catch issues early.

🔒 Security Configuration

Always change default passwords and restrict service access by IP address. Disable unnecessary services (Telnet, FTP) and enable only what you need. Use strong passwords for admin accounts.

📋 Configuration Backups

Before making significant configuration changes, consider exporting the router configuration or taking a snapshot. This allows you to restore the previous configuration if something goes wrong.

🔄 Batch Operations

Use batch operations to apply the same settings to multiple routers simultaneously. This saves time and ensures consistency across your router fleet. Always review the summary before confirming batch operations.

🌐 Captive Portal Testing

Always preview the captive portal before pushing it to the router. Test the login flow after deployment to ensure everything works correctly. Keep a backup of the previous captive portal configuration.

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions:

Router Connection Failed

Verify the router's IP address is correct and accessible
Check that the API service is enabled on the router
Verify the port number (8728 for API, 8729 for API-SSL)
Check username and password are correct
Ensure firewall rules allow API access

Settings Not Applying

Check router connection status
Review error messages in the summary modal
Use the "Auto-Fix Warnings" button if available
Verify router has sufficient resources (memory, CPU)
Check router logs for errors

Captive Portal Not Displaying

Verify the captive portal was pushed to the router
Check Hotspot server is enabled and configured
Verify the Hotspot profile HTML directory is correct
Check router logs for errors
Test with a different device or browser

Documentation