RDS2216 (ROSE Data server)

The RDS2216 (product code RDS2216-2XG-4S+4XS-2XQ) is the heaviest device our catalogue knows. Twelve ports, rising from 10 Gbit copper to two 100 Gbit QSFP28 cages, and 32 GB of memory. The catalogue files it under routers, with the default configuration router and ether1 as the WAN port.

The port layout of this model is not verified in our catalogue. The tool therefore shows the "port layout not verified" note, and the script opens with a line saying the same. Run /interface print on the device and compare the names with the list below before you paste anything.

What this device does beyond networking is deliberately left out here: our catalogue records only the network side. It holds nothing about storage, disks or services running on the device itself, and the configurator writes nothing for them. This is a networking script, no more.

The ports

• ether1 and ether2: two 10 Gbit copper ports. According to the catalogue ether1 is your WAN port.
• sfp-sfpplus1 through sfp-sfpplus4: four 10 Gbit SFP+ cages.
• sfp28-1 through sfp28-4: four 25 Gbit SFP28 cages.
• qsfp28-1-1 and qsfp28-2-1: two 100 Gbit QSFP28 cages. Note the two-number form: that is how RouterOS names the first lane of a QSFP port.

There is no PoE-out: the catalogue records no feeding port on this model, so the PoE-out per port field never appears.

Twelve wired ports is well above the three the VLAN roles demand. See Bridge and ports and MTU, because at these speeds the question of jumbo frames comes up by itself.

What is inside

From the catalogue: ARM 64bit, 32 GB of memory, licence level 6 and the 98DX4310 switch chip. With 32 GB memory is never the limit and the small-board warning never appears. Level 6 places no restrictions on the parts the tool writes; see RouterOS licences.

hw_vlan is empty, so the warning that bridge VLAN filtering turns hardware offload off does not apply to this model. No radios and no modem, so no Wi-Fi package and no Wi-Fi generation in the catalogue entry.

What it is good at, and where it runs out

Good at: a lot of fast ports in one place. As an aggregation point between racks, or as the router where 100 Gbit links come together, this is the heaviest thing our catalogue offers. See Fibre across a campus and LACP uplinks.

Where it runs out, in this tool:

• The port layout is not verified. Check the names before you paste. This is the biggest caveat on this page.
• The network side only. Whatever this device does besides routing falls outside our catalogue and outside the scripts.
• No Wi-Fi, no modem, no PoE. All Wi-Fi roles are greyed out with "No wifi radio", LTE / 5G router with "No LTE modem".
• Throughput figures. Our catalogue does not record them. What a routed setup achieves depends on your rules and on what you switch on, not on the cages.

Which roles fit

• Core router (CCR / RB5009): the role that fits. Routed interfaces without a bridge, a loopback, OSPF and BGP, a strict management ACL, no NAT and no fasttrack.
• Office router with VLANs, Router + CAPsMAN and Hotspot: available on port count. Whether they belong on this device is another question.
• Home router and VPN gateway: offered, because this is not a switch.
• Switch: offered, if you want the device purely at layer 2.
• Harden only (baseline): the safest choice while you have not verified the port names, because it leaves the network alone.

The quickest route to a working configuration

1. Run /interface print on the device first and write the names down.
2. Pick One device and search for RDS or ROSE.
3. Pick Core router if the device routes, or Switch if it stays at layer 2.
4. In the Routing step, enter the address per interface, plus a loopback if you use OSPF or BGP.
5. Compare the interface names in the script with your notes and correct them where they differ.
6. Set an admin password, reset the device and paste the script. See Using the script and work in safe mode.

What trips people up

• Ignoring the port layout note. A script with the wrong interface names does nothing, or the wrong thing. See The script returns an error.
• The QSFP naming. qsfp28-1-1 is the first lane of the first QSFP port. Break a port out into four lanes and the names change.
• Setting jumbo frames on one side only. A higher MTU has to match on both ends of every cable; see MTU.
• Mixing up modules. SFP+, SFP28 and QSFP28 are three kinds of cage; a module does not fit in every one of them. See SFP port does not link.
• Looking for storage features in the tool. They are not there; the configurator writes network configuration.