 |
Having been hanging out to try one of the first RB1100's to arrive in Australia, I can sum all my thoughts on it in 6 words: "cheap as chips, better than cisco".
However seeing as that's just my opinion, I'll elaborate a little further on why exactly the RB1100 rates so high for me.
For starters, we've been using Mikrotik products for over 4 years now and have watched the featureset of the RouterOS grow and grow, while the cost per licence remains almost the same today as it was back then.
For the price, I can't think of a router that will give me anywhere near the same functionality or flexability as the RB1100 offers right now; similar to it's predecessor the RB1000.
In the data center, this would make an excellent core router or firewall, with 2 x 5 ports switch groups each with a dedicated 1Gbps line to the core router (for sitting servers behind perhaps) plus 3 dedicated 1Gbps ports
The Ethernet bypass feature (on GigE ports 11 and 12) is an excellent decision for those wanting a higher level of redundancy as if an error occurs (software lock up, boot error or power outage) the 2 ports will automatically become bridged thanks to an electronic relay system.
As CPE (Customer-premises equipment) the RB1100 again has some great strengths, the 2 switchport groups combined with RouterOS's virtual "MetaRouter" function gives you the ability to create an X port router that you can give the client full control over, while still maintaining administrative access to the device along with the ability to run all your own firewall and/or QoS functions onsite.
All in all the RB1100 is incredible value for money and if you haven't tried a Mikrotik router before, the RB1100 comes with a fully functional licence (no upgrades required to unlock IPv6 or other routing functions, unlike others.. *cough*juniper*cough*) with all the features of a router 10 times the cost.
--
Andrew Cox,
AccessPlus Head Network Administrator
Rating:  [5 of 5 Stars!] |
|
|
