Prerequisites

Before deploying ISPBills, ensure you have the knowledge, hardware, and infrastructure described on this page. Meeting these prerequisites will ensure a smooth setup and stable ongoing operation.

1. MikroTik Router Knowledge

ISPBills automates MikroTik router provisioning, but operators still need enough MikroTik knowledge to configure hardware correctly and troubleshoot problems when they occur.

Required Knowledge

Topic Why It Matters
RouterOS navigation (Winbox / WebFig / CLI) You must be able to log in and verify configurations pushed by ISPBills.
PPPoE Server setup ISPBills manages PPPoE users via RADIUS, but the PPPoE server must be correctly configured on the router first.
Hotspot Server setup The MikroTik Hotspot Server must be active before ISPBills can manage hotspot customers.
Firewall & NAT rules Basic knowledge is needed to open the API port and manage network address translation.
IP Pool management Understand how MikroTik IP pools work, as ISPBills maps these to customer address assignments.
API access The MikroTik RouterOS API (port 8728) must be enabled and reachable by the ISPBills server.
  • MikroTik Documentation
  • MikroTik MTCNA certification course
  • Your team's internal network deployment checklist, if one is available

2. Internet Connectivity Requirements

For the MikroTik Router (NAS Device)

ISPBills must be able to reach your routers to provision and monitor them. This requires one of the following:

  • Static public IP address on the router's WAN interface, with the API port (8728) accessible from the ISPBills server.
  • VPN tunnel — If the router is behind NAT or on a private network, create a VPN account in ISPBills and establish a tunnel so the server can reach the router API securely.

For the ISPBills Server

  • The ISPBills server needs outbound internet access to send SMS, process payment gateway callbacks, and deliver email notifications.
  • A domain name or subdomain pointing to the server IP is required for the customer portal and payment gateway callbacks.

3. Server Requirements

ISPBills is available in two deployment modes:

ISPBills provides fully managed cloud hosting. No server setup is required. Your instance is provisioned, maintained, and updated by the ISPBills team.

Self-Hosted

If you choose to host ISPBills on your own server, the following stack is required:

Component Requirement
PHP 8.3 or later
Web Server Nginx (recommended)
Database MySQL 8.0 or PostgreSQL 15
Cache / Queue Redis
Operating System Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or later (recommended)
RAM Minimum 2 GB (4 GB+ recommended for production)
Storage Minimum 20 GB SSD

Self-hosted deployments require server administration skills. ISPBills support is optimised for cloud-hosted instances.

If you are launching for the first time and do not already maintain Linux servers, the cloud-hosted option is usually the safer starting point.

4. RADIUS Server

ISPBills uses FreeRADIUS 3.x as the authentication, authorisation, and accounting (AAA) server for PPPoE and hotspot customers.

  • For cloud-hosted deployments, FreeRADIUS is configured and managed by ISPBills.
  • For self-hosted deployments, FreeRADIUS must be installed on the same server or a reachable server, and ISPBills will configure it automatically during setup.

The MikroTik router is configured as a RADIUS client (NAS device), pointing to the ISPBills RADIUS server for authentication requests.

5. Required Hardware

Hardware Requirement
MikroTik Router Any RouterOS-capable device (CCR, RB, CHR) running RouterOS v6.x or v7.x. It must support PPPoE Server or Hotspot Server, depending on your deployment.
Access Points Any WiFi access point compatible with your MikroTik setup, for hotspot deployments.
Server / VPS Required for self-hosted deployments. See Server Requirements above.

6. Staff Training

Before going live, ensure key staff members are familiar with:

  • Navigating the ISPBills admin panel
  • Creating and managing customers
  • Recording payments and verifying online transactions
  • Handling complaints
  • Monitoring the network and responding to router alerts

ISPBills provides this documentation and supports onboarding for new ISP partners.

7. Language

The ISPBills admin panel and this documentation are written in English. Staff who operate the admin panel should have enough English reading proficiency to navigate menus, understand error messages, and follow the documentation.

Bangla (Bengali) versions of selected documentation pages are available for ISPs operating in Bangladesh. See the corresponding .bn.md files where available.