Setting Up a Mikrotik Router as an Acting Switch with WiFi Enabled

In this article, we will discuss how to set up a Mikrotik router to act as a switch while keeping its WiFi capabilities enabled. This configuration is useful when you need to connect multiple Mikrotik routers and want to extend your network coverage.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have the following:

• Two Mikrotik routers
• An Ethernet cable to connect the routers
• Access to the Mikrotik routers’ web interfaces

Connecting the Mikrotik Routers

Follow these steps to connect the Mikrotik routers:

1. Connect the first Mikrotik router to your modem or internet source using an Ethernet cable.
2. Connect the second Mikrotik router to the first router’s LAN port using another Ethernet cable.

Setting up the Mikrotik Router as a Switch

After connecting the Mikrotik routers, you need to configure the second router to act as a switch. Here’s how:

1. Log in to the second Mikrotik router’s web interface.
2. Go to the IP menu and click on Addresses.
3. In the IP Addresses window, add a new address with the same subnet as the first router’s LAN. For example, if the first router’s LAN IP is 192.168.88.1/24, set the second router’s LAN IP to 192.168.88.2/24.
4. Go to the IP menu and click on Firewall.
5. In the Firewall window, click on the NAT tab and add a new NAT rule. Set the Chain to srcnat, the Outgoing Interface to the WAN interface, and the Source Address to the LAN subnet.
6. Go to the IP menu and click on Firewall again. This time, click on the Mangle tab and add a new marking rule. Set the Chain to prerouting, the Protocol to tcp, and the Source Port to 80,443 (for HTTP and HTTPS). Set the New Action to mark and the Packet Mark to a unique value, such as web-traffic.
7. Go to the IP menu and click on Firewall for the third time. Click on the Rules tab and add a new forwarding rule. Set the Chain to forward, the Protocol to tcp, the Source Port to 80,443, and the Destination Address to the first router’s LAN IP. Set the Incoming Interface to the LAN interface and the Outgoing Interface to the WAN interface. Finally, set the Connection Mark to the same value used in step 6 (e.g., web-traffic).

Enabling WiFi on the Mikrotik Router

After setting up the Mikrotik router as a switch, you can enable its WiFi capabilities. Here’s how:

1. Go to the Wireless menu and click on Wireless Interfaces.
2. Enable the wireless interface and configure its settings, such as the SSID, security, and wireless mode.

In this article, we discussed how to set up a Mikrotik router as a switch while keeping its WiFi capabilities enabled. We covered the following:

• Connecting the Mikrotik routers
• Setting up the Mikrotik router as a switch
• Enabling WiFi on the Mikrotik router

References

• Mikrotik Firewall Manual
• Mikrotik Firewall Mangle Manual