How to Open Ports in a MikroTik Router
Configure the MikroTik Linux-based router to protect your private network while also allowing access to services you wish to provide over the computer network. The MikroTik router features an application-based configuration module that can be accessed directly through a Web browser. Use the "Winbox" application to add port forwarding to the MikroTik router configuration.
Things You'll Need
- Microsoft Windows computer with Internet Explorer enabled
- Private IP address of the MikroTik router
- Public or Internet IP address of the MikroTik router
- IP address of the computer to which you want the port traffic to be forwarded
- Administrator account credentials for the MikroTik router
Open the Internet Explorer Web browser on the Windows computer and click the address bar near the top of the "Windows Internet Explorer" window that appears.
Type "http://router_ip_address" into the address bar except replace "router_ip_address" with the IP address of the MikroTik router and press the "Enter" key.
Click the "Winbox" link in the Web page that appears. Click "Open" in the window that displays and confirm that you wish to run the "Winbox" program if prompted.
Type the IP address of the MikroTik router into the "Connect to" text box of the "Winbox Loader" window that appears. Enter "admin" into the "Login" text box and write the Administrator password into the "Password" field. Click the "Connect" button.
Click "IP" item in the left pane and then click "Firewall" and then click the "NAT" tab in the window that appears. Right-click empty space and click "Add." Click the "General" tab and type the public or Internet IP address of the MikroTik router into the "Dst Address" field. Type the port number that you wish to open into the "Dst Port" box.
Click the "Action" tab. Click the "Action" drop down box and click the "dst-nat" option. Enter the private network IP address to which you want the port traffic forwarded into the "To Addresses" box. Write the port number to be forwarded into the "To Ports" box. Click the "Apply" button and then click the "OK" button to save the setting.