Routers

Overview

In ISPBills, a Router is a MikroTik RouterOS device that functions as a Network Access Server (NAS). The router is the network gateway through which your customers connect to the internet. ISPBills communicates with each router via the MikroTik RouterOS API to push configurations, manage PPPoE/Hotspot sessions, apply speed profiles, and handle customer disconnections.

Only the admin (group admin) user can add routers. ISPBills supports an unlimited number of routers, making it straightforward to scale across multiple zones, sites, or resellers.

Prerequisites

Before adding a router to ISPBills, ensure the following conditions are met on the MikroTik device:

  1. RouterOS API is enabled — In Winbox go to IP > Services and ensure the api service is enabled (default port 8728) or api-ssl (port 8729).
  2. API port is accessible — The ISPBills server must be able to reach the router's API port. If the router is behind NAT or does not have a public IP, you need a VPN account first.
  3. Admin credentials available — You need a MikroTik username and password with full permissions (or at minimum read/write access to PPPoE, IP Pools, RADIUS, Queues, and Hotspot).
  4. RADIUS client configured (or use auto-configure) — ISPBills can push the required RADIUS client configuration automatically through Actions > Configure after the router is added.

Adding a New Router

  1. Navigate to Routers & Packages > Routers.
  2. Click the "New Router" button.
  3. Fill in the following fields:
Field Description
Router Name / Label A friendly name to identify the router (e.g., "Zone-A Main Router", "Dhaka Office")
IP Address The router's IP address reachable from the ISPBills server. If using VPN, enter the VPN IP address.
API Port MikroTik API port — default is 8728 (or 8729 for API-SSL)
Username MikroTik admin username
Password MikroTik admin password
  1. Click Save. ISPBills will attempt to verify the connection.

If the connection test fails, check the router IP address, API port, credentials, and VPN status before trying again.

Tip: If your router does not have a public IP, create a VPN Account first and use the VPN-assigned IP address in the IP Address field.

Router List Page

The router list shows all registered routers with the following columns:

Column Description
Name Router label / friendly name
IP Address IP used by ISPBills to communicate with the router
Status Online (API reachable) or Offline (API unreachable)
Actions Ping Test, Configure, Walled Garden, Edit, Delete

Ping Test

The Ping Test tool verifies that the ISPBills server can reach the router's API port. Use this to:

  • Confirm network connectivity after adding a new router.
  • Diagnose connectivity issues when a router shows as Offline.
  • Verify VPN tunnel connectivity for routers without a public IP.

To run a ping test: click Actions > Ping Test on the router row.

Router Configuration (Auto-Configure)

After adding a router, you must configure it so it can communicate with the ISPBills RADIUS server. ISPBills can push this configuration automatically.

Click Actions > Configure on the router row. ISPBills will:

  1. Add the ISPBills RADIUS server as a RADIUS client on the router (for PPPoE authentication).
  2. Configure the PPPoE server settings.
  3. Set up the NAS (Network Access Server) entry in the RADIUS database so accounting works correctly.
  4. Push any associated IP pools and PPPoE profiles.

Note: The auto-configure function requires that the router is online and that the admin credentials have sufficient permissions.

If auto-configure does not complete successfully, configure the required MikroTik services manually first, then rerun Configure after confirming that API access is stable.

Walled Garden (Hotspot Routers Only)

The Walled Garden feature applies only to routers running a Hotspot server. It allows unauthenticated users to access specific URLs (such as the customer payment portal) without logging in first.

Use cases:

  • Allow customers to top up their balance via the customer portal before they are authenticated.
  • Whitelist payment gateway domains so customers can pay even when their session is expired.

This feature is useful only for hotspot deployments. PPPoE-only environments do not need a walled garden because customers are not redirected through a hotspot login page.

To configure: click Actions > Walled Garden on the router row.

If your router does not run a Hotspot server (PPPoE-only setups), this option is not applicable.

Router Status Monitoring

Each router row displays a real-time Online / Offline status indicator:

  • Online — ISPBills successfully connected to the router's API during the last health check.
  • Offline — The router's API is unreachable. Customer authentications via this router may be affected.

Common reasons a router shows Offline:

  • Router is powered off or rebooting.
  • API service is disabled on the router.
  • Firewall is blocking the API port.
  • VPN tunnel is down (for routers using VPN).

Routers Without a Public IP (VPN Required)

Many ISPs connect their MikroTik routers through dynamic IPs or behind double-NAT setups. In these cases, the ISPBills server cannot directly reach the router. The solution is a VPN Account:

  1. Create a VPN account in Routers & Packages > VPN Accounts.
  2. Configure the VPN tunnel on the MikroTik router using the provided credentials (Actions > Config Info in VPN Accounts).
  3. Once the tunnel is established, use the VPN-assigned IP address when registering the router in ISPBills.

See VPN Accounts for full details.

Multiple Routers

ISPBills supports an unlimited number of routers. Common use cases:

  • Multiple zones — each geographic area has its own router.
  • Reseller-owned routers — resellers may manage their own MikroTik devices under the same ISPBills instance.
  • Redundancy — secondary routers for failover in critical areas.

Each router maintains its own PPPoE profiles, IP pools, and NAS configuration independently.