Virtual routers

Mikrotik

RouterOS is a network operating system based on Linux. RouterOS is designed for installation on MikroTik RouterBoard routers. The system can also be installed on a PC, in which case it becomes a router with firewall, VPN server/client, QoS, access points and other functionality. The system can also act as a captive portal for systems with wireless access.

The operating system has various licensing levels with corresponding numbers of functions. Additionally there is a piece of software known as Winbox that offers a graphical interface for configuring RouterOS. Access to settings under RouterOS is also available via FTP, Telnet and SSH. There is also an application programming interface (API) that allows the creation of special applications for management and monitoring.

RouterOS supports many services and protocols that may be used by medium-sized and large providers, such as OSPF, BGP and VPLS/MPLS. RouterOS is a reasonably flexible system and is very well supported by Mikrotik, both within the context of the forum and delivering various Wiki materials, and in that of specialised examples of configuration.

RouterOS offers system administrators a graphical interface (WinBox) to allow fast, visual adjustments to the firewall, the routing and QoS management. Among the functionality implemented on the WinBox interface is an almost complete realisation of the Linux utilities iptables and iproute2, plus traffic management and QoS on the basis of the HTB algorithm.

Pfsense

The pfSense image

The pfSense program is a software router/network firewall well known for its reliability. It is based on FreeBSD and is open-source.

Opnsense

OPNsense is a popular distribution for creating network firewalls/routers. Its origins are in pfSense, but since 2014 it has developed as a separate product. Again it is a piece of open-source software. A stable version is installed in the SIM-Cloud image library, downloaded from opnsense.org. Modifications made by our experts: