IPv4 Pools

Overview

An IPv4 Pool is a defined range of IP addresses that ISPBills allocates to PPPoE, Hotspot, or Static IP customers when they connect. ISPBills acts as an IPAM (IP Address Management) system — it tracks which addresses are currently assigned, which are available, and which are reserved, preventing duplicate IP assignments and conflicts across your network.

Important: All IP pool creation, modification, and deletion must be performed through ISPBills. Do not create or modify IP pools directly in MikroTik RouterOS. Manual changes on the router will not be tracked by ISPBills and can cause IP conflicts.

Creating an IPv4 Pool

  1. Navigate to Routers & Packages > IPv4 Pools.
  2. Click "New Pool".
  3. Fill in the following fields:
Field Description
Pool Name A descriptive identifier (e.g., pool-zone-a, suspended-pool, static-pool)
Router The MikroTik router this pool belongs to
Network / Subnet The network address and subnet mask (e.g., 192.168.1.0/24)
Range Start First usable IP address in the pool (e.g., 192.168.1.10)
Range End Last usable IP address in the pool (e.g., 192.168.1.254)
  1. Click Save. ISPBills will push the pool definition to the linked MikroTik router via the RouterOS API.

Pool Types

ISPBills uses two categories of IP pools to manage customer access states:

Active Pool

The pool assigned to active (paid and connected) customers. Customers on this pool have full internet access as permitted by their package.

Suspended Pool

The pool assigned to suspended customers (e.g., due to non-payment or manual suspension). Customers on the suspended pool receive a limited or restricted connection — typically redirected to a payment page or blocked entirely.

When a customer is suspended in ISPBills, the system automatically switches their session from the active pool to the suspended pool (via RADIUS CoA or session disconnect/reconnect). When reinstated, they are moved back to the active pool.

Static IP Assignment

For customers who require a fixed IP address (e.g., for hosting servers, VPN endpoints, or business use):

  1. Go to the customer's profile.
  2. In the IP Address field, enter the specific IP to assign.
  3. ISPBills adds a Framed-IP-Address attribute to the customer's RADIUS record, ensuring they always receive the same IP on connection.

Static IPs must still fall within a defined IPv4 pool range. Ensure the static IP is not included in the dynamic range of the pool to avoid conflicts.

Pool Utilisation

The IPv4 Pools list page displays utilisation information for each pool:

Metric Description
Total IPs Total number of addresses in the pool range
In Use Number of IPs currently assigned to active customers
Available Number of IPs still unassigned

Monitor utilisation regularly to avoid exhausting a pool. When a pool is near capacity, add a new pool or expand the subnet range.

Replacing / Migrating an IP Pool

To migrate customers from one pool to another:

  1. Create the new pool in ISPBills.
  2. Update the relevant PPP Profile to reference the new pool.
  3. Update the relevant Master Package if needed.
  4. Active sessions will receive the new pool assignment upon their next reconnection.
  5. To migrate immediately, disconnect active sessions so they reconnect and receive an address from the new pool.

Importing Customers with IP Pools

When importing customers from a CSV or existing router configuration, IP pool assignments are imported along with the customer data. ISPBills maps the imported pool names to existing pool records — ensure the pool names in the import file match the pool names configured in ISPBills.

Subnet Overlap Warning

IPv4 pool subnets must not overlap between different routers or zones. Overlapping subnets cause routing conflicts and IP address collisions. Always use unique, non-overlapping address ranges for each site, zone, or router.