Accessibility and dependability are very crucial when it comes to networking. In simple words, an active internet connection is still required for any organization’s network. From the above-discussed techniques, one of the working approaches that a person can use is failover.
Failover is a process in which one set of network connections is primarily used while the principal one is unavailable. So, a MikroTik router can offer various kinds of failover solutions, and more importantly, all of these potential failover options are different. Also, they are configured differently. However, failure can be of various types based on what has been explained in this blog. Thus, you will learn about all these types of failover and how they are implemented in MikroTik routers.
Types of failover in mikrotik router
1. Basic Failover
What is Basic Failover?
Primary and backup link failover is the simplest type of failover technique out there. Moreover, it uses an original internet connection, and when the original one becomes unresponsive, then it hooks onto the second connection.
How It Works
In general, in a failover configuration, the MikroTik router constantly checks the primary link. If the design has a primary link and a backup one, the router transfers to the backup link when the primary link is down. Therefore, it is usually done through Netwatch or through scripting to monitor the failure and switch the routing.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
– Easy to introduce.
– Require Minimal configuration.
Cons:
– Being a very simple virtualisation hypervisor, it lacked load balancing.
– Some complex setups may require manual intervention.
Recursive Routing Failover
What is Recursive Routing Failover?
Recursive routing failover may be a complex failover method because routing decides the following path of the connection. Thus, this technique makes it clear that the route is always pointing to a reachable gateway.
How It Works?
Recursive routing failover is the routing approach in which the use of recursive next hops changes failure dynamically based on the gateway reachability. In case the first gateway becomes unavailable, the route then directs the task to the next reachable gateway.
Configuration Steps
• Set Up Interfaces: Set the primary and fallback Wide Area Network (WAN) links.
• Recursive Routes: Static routes with recursion commissioned with different values of the administrative distance.
• Monitoring: Configure to check for the actual reach ability of gateways that the routes are pointing to.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
– High availability and performance with dynamic and automatic failover.
– Manually more accurate because one guarantees that the next hop is always available.
Cons:
– On the other hand, it is slightly more complicated to set up.
– It must be based on general knowledge of routing principles.
3. PCC
What is PCC?
The load balancing and the failover mechanisms in the MikroTik router apply the failover known as the Per Connection Classifier. However, in this type of failover, traffic can go through many links, and it can support backup.
How It Works?
Thus, in the matter of connections, PCC categorises them and, therefore, uses the various WAN links in the process. In other words, if some of the links connected to PCC fail, more traffic can be rerouted to pass through the different existing links to PCC.
Configuration Steps
• Set Up Interfaces: When you have access to more than one WAN link, you should thus ensure that it is properly configured.
• Mark Connections: Mangle rules to mark connections and packets to prevent alteration ultimately.
• Load Balancing Rules: Configure NAT and routing to assign the traffic distribution.
• Failover Setup: Monitor the links and also set up scripts to look for link failures and perform path changes.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
– Resource utilization is related to the availability of bandwidth, mainly in the communication of data.
– additionally, it does both load sharing and load recovery
Cons:
– Therefore, the above reasons are why it is challenging to set up.
– Difficult to maintain.
4. VRRP
What is VRRP?
VRRP is one of the other types of failover that automatically assigns the available IP routers to the host that is participating in the procedure. Additionally, it is highly available when giving a task to one of the VRRP routers in the group.
How Does It Work?
The creation of a VRRP comes with an approach towards the formation of a virtual router that many actual routers can acquire. The master Mikrotik Router Suppliers specializes in the traffic, while the backup routers exist to take the traffic in case the master one is non-functional.
Configuration Steps
• Set Up VRRP Interfaces: To use VRRP, configure the WAN interfaces of the routers involved for VRRP.
• VRRP Group Configuration: Form a VRRP group and assign priorities.
• IP Address Assignment: Give the virtual IP address for the said VRRP group here.
• Monitoring and Failover: Arrange monitoring to detect failures and, thus, perform the transition to the failover state.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
– Recognizes high availability and redundancy.
– It is also possible to have failovers that do not interrupt at all.
Cons:
– Conversely, it requires multiple routers.
– Complex technicalities of the setup.
4. BGP Failover
What is BGP Failover?
BGP is among the types of failover. BGP can be useful for the failover and load balancing of multiple ISPs due to its feature set. Also, it is commonly used in extensive networks where several links to the Internet are needed.
How Does It Work?
Defining failover with BGP involves using BGP to manage several internet connections. Additionally, the mikrotik router advertises several ISPs via BGP sessions. Furthermore, in the case of a lost link, BGP reroutes on its own.
Configuration Steps
• Set Up BGP Sessions: Configurations for multiple ISPs can be adopted through BGP sessions.
• Route Management: About the BGP, ensure that it is set to announce and accept routes.
• Failover Configuration: Set up route preferences and monitoring. As a result, you can execute a failover without a problem.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
– The attractive thing about it is that it is suitable for large networks with multiple ISPs.
– It also gives you failover capability and load balance.
Cons:
– On the other hand, the system is quite complex to configure and manage.
-Moreover, this solution has to coordinate with ISPs.
Some Practices for Failover Configuration
- Monitoring and Alerts
In addition, the only possible manner to establish an overlap with an acceptable solution is to focus on a practical arrangement for failover in combination with a good monitoring and alarm management system. You should, as a result, have to rely on available OS or third-party programs like MikroTik’s Netwatch or even The Dude to determine the link status and its performance.
- Regular Testing
The worst thing one can do is start a failover scenario and discover that those failover settings do not work. Therefore, it is advisable to perform the necessary checks periodically. Moreover, test failovers on a regular basis and debug on failures to detect them and solve them.
- Documentation
As failover can involve many commands and scripts, it is strongly advised that you document all the configurations and the scripts related to your failover solution, as well as the methods you will use to audit them. Hence, it will always be convenient for you or your team to spot the errors and as well make alterations when the need arises.
- Security Considerations
In order to avoid security issues, antivirus and antispyware programs, together with correct firewall settings, access restrictions and VPN, should be used to secure your network.
Conclusion
The configuration of backup settings in the MikroTik routers is a significant factor that will enhance the availability of the network. With this insight into various types of failover techniques in computer networks, you can always stay connected. Thus, monitoring the failover system and documenting the process of testing it, in fact, is extremely vital. Also, MikroTik has failover capabilities for highly reliable network operation for both small and large offices.
Therefore, if you are specifically looking for a MikroTik router distributor in Pakistan, then you will find many resources. Hence, through the observation of the MikroTik router price in Pakistan, you will be able to select the most suitable one that fits your needs.
