If you're in need of a cost effective solution to create a Point to Point bridge between two locations its worth considering the Mikrotik product range for this.
These instructions are made to get your PTP connection running as quickly as possible without any advanced configuration, using static IP addresses for the radios.
The SXTaq 5 ac is being used for this blog, this device only ships with a CPE/Level 3 License, however this can still be used for PTP Links, however for PTMP a license upgrade is required for the AP Radio to enable this mode.
https://www.gowifi.co.nz/wireless/rbsxtsqg-5acd.html
There are plenty of other models in the range, including options good for 10km + whilst the units used for this blog would be suitable for under 2km.
The setup process for these longer range models is much the same, so this blog is relevant to most of the product range.
Whilst this product has an advanced operating system, it can also be used in a simple mode to allow a quick setup for a simple Point to Point Bridge.
The Mikrotik devices are managed by a software package called Winbox.
This requires Microsoft Windows.
You can download this here:
Lets get started:
The default IP address of this unit is 192.168.88.1
If you are configuring the device from a stand alone PC you will need to set a static IP address in the correct range, ie.
If you need help with setting a static IP Address, please see https://blog.gowifi.co.nz/2015/08/configuring-static-ip-address.html
Once you run Winbox you should see the following in the neighbors list:
You should see the Mac Address and IP Address of the Mikrotik Radio.
Connect to the radio (Click Connect on the top right).
If you are connecting this radio to a live network on a different subnet to this device you can connect via Mac Address as an alternative option.
Choose Quick set near the top left as shown above.
This first radio is going to be the Access Point, on the top left the default setting is "CPE"
We are going to change this setting to PTP Bridge AP
This will change the options on the screen.
For my example I am changing the Network Name to Bridge (The network name is the SSID)
I am setting the country to New Zealand
The security I am setting to WPA2
WiFi Password to secure the bridge I am putting as Bridge2020 for my example.
For address Acquisition I am choosing Static, but you can choose automatic if you prefer, the unit will obtain a DHCP Address automatically, but you will need to look at your DHCP List to find the management IP for future configuration.
Router Identity: I am calling this MikroTik Access Point
The Password boxes on the right hand side are for management of the device.
Here is a screenshot of all the settings I changed.
This is all the configuration required for the Access Point Radio.
The final thing to do is click Apply on the top right hand side.
The unit will reboot and later on you will be able to find it on the IP address specified or check your DHCP Lease table to find the new IP address.
For now disconnect this radio from the Ethernet connection on your PC but lease the radio connected to power, this way we can set up the Station (CPE) radio using the same method.
You will once again be able to access the 2nd radio on 192.168.88.1
Most of this process is the same as the first radio.
For the 2nd radio we will be using PTP Bridge CPE as the mode on the top left of the quick set page shown below.
You can see on the above screen shot the settings required.
You can also see a scan list where you will see your first radio broadcasting its SSID, in this case it was:
You will then choose connect once you have selected the correct Radio to connect to:
Once connected you will have this screen shown below:
Once you're at this point you have a working PTP Bridge and no more configuration is required.
It is recommended to upgrade the firmware on your radios, see below link for instructions on how to achieve this (Requires that the radios can see the internet connection).
https://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/Manual:Upgrading
Additional to this, here is an export of each Radio, as you can see there is not much configuration compared to a Router configuration.
Access Point:
/interface bridge
add admin-mac=C4:AD:34:AA:06:F7 auto-mac=no comment=defconf name=bridgeLocal
/interface wireless
set [ find default-name=wlan1 ] band=5ghz-a/n/ac country="new zealand" \
disabled=no mode=bridge ssid=Bridge wireless-protocol=802.11
/interface list
add name=WAN
add name=LAN
/interface wireless security-profiles
set [ find default=yes ] authentication-types=wpa2-psk mode=dynamic-keys \
supplicant-identity=MikroTik wpa-pre-shared-key=Bridge2020 \
wpa2-pre-shared-key=Bridge2020
/interface bridge port
add bridge=bridgeLocal comment=defconf interface=ether1
add bridge=bridgeLocal interface=wlan1
/interface list member
add interface=ether1 list=WAN
add interface=wlan1 list=LAN
/ip address
add address=192.168.1.200/24 interface=wlan1 network=192.168.1.0
/ip dhcp-client
add comment=defconf dhcp-options=hostname,clientid interface=bridgeLocal
/ip dns
set servers=192.168.1.1
/ip route
add distance=1 gateway=192.168.1.1
/system identity
set name="MikroTik Access Point"
Station:
/interface bridge
add name=bridge1
/interface wireless
set [ find default-name=wlan1 ] band=5ghz-a/n/ac country="new zealand" \
disabled=no mode=station-bridge ssid=Bridge wireless-protocol=\
nv2-nstreme-802.11
/interface list
add name=WAN
add name=LAN
/interface wireless security-profiles
set [ find default=yes ] authentication-types=wpa-psk,wpa2-psk group-ciphers=\
tkip,aes-ccm mode=dynamic-keys supplicant-identity=MikroTik \
unicast-ciphers=tkip,aes-ccm wpa-pre-shared-key=Bridge2020 \
wpa2-pre-shared-key=Bridge2020
/interface bridge port
add bridge=bridge1 interface=wlan1
add bridge=bridge1 interface=ether1
/interface list member
add interface=wlan1 list=WAN
add interface=ether1 list=LAN
/ip address
add address=192.168.1.201/24 interface=ether1 network=192.168.1.0
/ip dns
set servers=192.168.1.1
/ip route
add distance=1 gateway=192.168.1.1
/system identity
set name="MikroTik Station"