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WinBox

Winbox is a free Windows program created by MikroTik to help...

7.0

2 Votes

  • Category Software utilities
  • Program license Free
  • Version 3.38
  • Works under: Windows 10
  • Program available in English

Winbox is a free Windows program created by MikroTik to help people manage their MikroTik routers. That might seem a little strange to people who've never worked with the platform before. But MikroTik routers can run an entire Linux-based operating system called RouterOS. That's a complex environment within a router's small form factor.

However, RouterOS has some big differences when compared to desktop-oriented Linux variants. The main one is that RouterOS needs to have a small memory footprint due to the nature of a router's hardware. That means you're not going to be able to simply plug a monitor into your router to bring up graphical configuration utilities. But what you can do is connect to the router through Winbox. The program essentially provides you with the configuration tools you'd use to work with a standard Linux system. But it's all specially tailored for ease of use and router-focused capabilities.

It's important to keep that focus in mind when using Winbox. RouterOS is a fairly advanced system that has a lot of different configuration options and built-in functionality. But Winbox aims to keep things centered around a user-friendly presentation. It does have an advanced mode where you can delve a little deeper into more advanced functions. But, for the most part, Winbox puts an emphasis on the most commonly used parameters and configuration options. These options include configuring wired and wireless interfaces, monitoring data on those connections, website blacklisting, and saving or loading previous sessions.

The Winbox advanced configuration options include more complex functionality. For example, you can go into the advanced configuration to work with a router's firewall rules, configure access points, add hotspot authentication, and even allocate bandwidth according to specified traffic categories. The advanced options also include many of the tasks associated with Unix administration like user management and system updates.

But if you want to really get into the most advanced elements of RouterOS management then you can launch Winbox's console. The Winbox console is more similar to a telnet terminal than a full ssh client. But it still lets you execute standard Linux commands just as you would if you were logged in via ssh. This element of Winbox is best avoided if you're not familiar with Linux. But if you're used to Linux or any Unix variant then you will almost certainly be able to get a lot out of Winbox's console.

It's also important to note that Winbox is an entirely separate entity from RouterOS. Winbox is essentially just a graphical user interface that acts as a frontend to RouterOS over a network connection. For example, you can't use Winbox to install RouterOS on a non-MikroTik router. Likewise, you can't use Winbox to administer routers that aren't running RouterOS. Even non-RouterOS devices from MikroTik are incompatible with Winbox. Winbox is designed around one function - administering MikroTik routers that run RouterOS. But it does a great job of it.

While the program is fairly easy to use it should be noted that there is still going to be a learning curve for most people. For example, even logging into the system requires you to know or find your router's IP address and administrative port number. However, with that in mind, WinBox does an excellent job of making it relatively easy to manage MikroTik RouterOS-based devices.

Pros

  • User friendly interface
  • Provides options for both advanced GUI-based configuration and console access
  • Puts the most commonly used router options front and center

Cons

  • Only works with MikroTik routers running RouterOS
  • While generally user-friendly it still has some inherently complex areas
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