Graphing - Built-in Resource and Traffic Monitoring

TL;DR (Quick Start)

Enable resource and interface graphing, then view in your browser.

# Enable resource graphing (CPU, memory, disk)
/tool/graphing/resource add allow-address=0.0.0.0/0

# Enable interface graphing (traffic)
/tool/graphing/interface add interface=all allow-address=0.0.0.0/0

View graphs at: http://[Router_IP]/graphs/

Overview

What this does: Graphing collects system data over time and displays it as visual graphs accessible via web browser or WinBox. It monitors:

Resource graphs: CPU usage, memory usage, disk usage
Interface graphs: Traffic throughput per interface (bytes in/out)
Queue graphs: Simple queue bandwidth consumption

When to use this:

Quick visual overview of router performance trends
Identifying traffic patterns over time (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly)
Troubleshooting intermittent performance issues
Basic bandwidth monitoring without external tools
Showing customers their bandwidth usage (queue graphs)

When NOT to use this:

Extensive monitoring of hundreds of queues (use SNMP + external tools)
Devices with very limited flash storage (causes wear)
Need for data export, alerting, or historical archives
Multi-device aggregated monitoring

Prerequisites:

Web service enabled (/ip/service www on port 80)
Network access to router’s web interface
For queue graphs: simple queues must exist

Menu	Purpose
`/tool/graphing`	Global settings (store interval, page refresh)
`/tool/graphing/resource`	CPU, memory, disk monitoring
`/tool/graphing/interface`	Interface traffic monitoring
`/tool/graphing/queue`	Simple queue bandwidth monitoring

Configuration Steps

Step 1: Enable Resource Graphing

Monitor CPU, memory, and disk usage.

/tool/graphing/resource add allow-address=192.168.88.0/24 store-on-disk=yes

Parameters:

allow-address=192.168.88.0/24 - Only allow viewing from this network
store-on-disk=yes - Persist data across reboots

Verify:

/tool/graphing/resource print

Step 2: Enable Interface Graphing

Monitor traffic on all interfaces or specific ones.

All interfaces:

/tool/graphing/interface add interface=all allow-address=192.168.88.0/24

Specific interface only:

/tool/graphing/interface add interface=ether1 allow-address=192.168.88.0/24

Verify:

/tool/graphing/interface print

Step 3: Enable Queue Graphing (Optional)

Monitor simple queue bandwidth usage.

All simple queues:

/tool/graphing/queue add simple-queue=all allow-address=192.168.88.0/24 allow-target=yes

Specific queue:

/tool/graphing/queue add simple-queue=customer1 allow-address=192.168.88.0/24

Verify:

/tool/graphing/queue print

Step 4: Access Graphs

Web Browser:

Open http://[Router_IP]/graphs/ in your browser
Select the graph type (Resource, Interface, Queue)
Click on the specific item to view

Direct URLs:

Resource: http://[Router_IP]/graphs/
Specific interface: http://[Router_IP]/graphs/iface/ether1
Specific queue: http://[Router_IP]/graphs/queue/QueueName

WebFig:

Log into http://[Router_IP]/webfig
Click menu icon (≡) in top-right
Select “graphs”

WinBox:

Navigate to Tools → Graphing
Double-click an entry to view its graph

Configuration Examples

Example 1: Basic Setup for Home/Office

Enable all graphing with access from any IP:

# Resource monitoring
/tool/graphing/resource add allow-address=0.0.0.0/0

# All interfaces
/tool/graphing/interface add interface=all allow-address=0.0.0.0/0

# All queues (if using simple queues)
/tool/graphing/queue add simple-queue=all allow-address=0.0.0.0/0

Example 2: Restrict Access to Management Network

Only allow viewing from 10.0.0.0/24:

/tool/graphing/resource add allow-address=10.0.0.0/24
/tool/graphing/interface add interface=all allow-address=10.0.0.0/24
/tool/graphing/queue add simple-queue=all allow-address=10.0.0.0/24

Example 3: Reduce Flash Wear on Low-End Devices

For devices with limited flash, minimize writes:

# Store data once per day instead of every 5 minutes
/tool/graphing set store-every=24hours

# Or disable disk storage entirely (data lost on reboot)
/tool/graphing/resource set [find] store-on-disk=no
/tool/graphing/interface set [find] store-on-disk=no
/tool/graphing/queue set [find] store-on-disk=no

Example 4: Monitor Only WAN Interface

Only graph the internet-facing interface:

/tool/graphing/interface add interface=ether1-wan allow-address=192.168.88.0/24

Example 5: Allow Customers to View Their Queue Graphs

Let customers see their own bandwidth usage:

# Create queue with customer's IP as target
/queue/simple add name=customer1 target=192.168.88.100 max-limit=10M/10M

# Enable queue graphing with allow-target
/tool/graphing/queue add simple-queue=customer1 allow-address=192.168.88.0/24 allow-target=yes

Customer at 192.168.88.100 can now view their queue graph at http://[Router_IP]/graphs/queue/customer1

Example 6: Configure Page Auto-Refresh

Set how often the graphs page refreshes:

# Refresh every 60 seconds
/tool/graphing set page-refresh=60

# Disable auto-refresh
/tool/graphing set page-refresh=never

Global Settings Reference

Property	Type	Default	Description
`store-every`	5min / hour / 24hours	5min	How often data is saved to disk
`page-refresh`	integer / never	300	Web page auto-refresh interval (seconds)

store-every Trade-offs

Value	Writes/Day	Max Data Loss on Reboot
5min	288	5 minutes
hour	24	1 hour
24hours	1	24 hours

Properties Reference

Interface Graphing

Property	Type	Default	Description
`interface`	all / name	all	Interface(s) to monitor
`allow-address`	IP/IPv6 prefix	0.0.0.0/0	IPs allowed to view graphs
`store-on-disk`	yes / no	yes	Persist data across reboots
`disabled`	yes / no	no	Disable this entry
`comment`	string	-	Descriptive comment

Resource Graphing

Property	Type	Default	Description
`allow-address`	IP/IPv6 prefix	0.0.0.0/0	IPs allowed to view graphs
`store-on-disk`	yes / no	yes	Persist data across reboots
`disabled`	yes / no	no	Disable this entry
`comment`	string	-	Descriptive comment

Queue Graphing

Property	Type	Default	Description
`simple-queue`	all / name	all	Queue(s) to monitor
`allow-address`	IP/IPv6 prefix	0.0.0.0/0	IPs allowed to view graphs
`allow-target`	yes / no	yes	Allow queue’s target-address to view
`store-on-disk`	yes / no	yes	Persist data across reboots
`disabled`	yes / no	no	Disable this entry
`comment`	string	-	Descriptive comment

Graph Time Periods

Graphs display data across multiple time scales:

Period	Data Shown	Use Case
Daily	Last 24 hours (detailed)	Recent activity, troubleshooting
Weekly	Last 7 days	Weekly patterns
Monthly	Last 30 days	Monthly trends
Yearly	Last 365 days	Long-term capacity planning

Verification

Check 1: Verify Graphing is Configured

/tool/graphing print

Expected: Shows store-every and page-refresh settings.

Check 2: Verify Interface Graphing

/tool/graphing/interface print

Expected: List of monitored interfaces with allow-address ranges.

Check 3: Verify Resource Graphing

/tool/graphing/resource print

Expected: Entry showing allow-address for resource monitoring.

Check 4: Verify Web Service is Enabled

/ip/service print where name=www

Expected: www service enabled (port 80).

Check 5: Test Web Access

Open http://[Router_IP]/graphs/ in browser.

Expected: Graph selection page loads, graphs display data.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Solution
Graphs page shows title but no graphs	Client IP not in `allow-address`	Add your IP to allow-address or use 0.0.0.0/0
”Connection refused” accessing graphs	Web service disabled	Enable: `/ip/service enable www`
HTTPS works but graphs don’t load	RouterOS 7 HTTPS issue	Use HTTP instead of HTTPS for graphs
Graph data empty after reboot	`store-on-disk=no` or long `store-every`	Set `store-on-disk=yes` and reduce `store-every`
Only resource graphs visible	Interface/queue graphing not enabled	Add entries to `/tool/graphing/interface` and `/queue`
Queue graphs visible to wrong users	`allow-target=yes` with wide target-address	Set `allow-target=no` or restrict queue target
Cannot access graphs through proxy	Transparent proxy intercepts requests	Add router IP to proxy exceptions
Concerned about flash wear	Frequent writes with many graphs	Set `store-every=24hours` or `store-on-disk=no`

Common Mistakes

Forgetting to add graphing entries - By default, graphing is disabled; you must add entries to enable it
Wrong allow-address - Your client IP must be within the allow-address range to view graphs
Queue graphs security - If queue target-address is 0.0.0.0/0, anyone can view it regardless of allow-address
Expecting SNMP-level features - Graphing is basic; no alerting, export, or multi-device aggregation

Limitations

Limitation	Description	Workaround
No external storage	Cannot store on USB/SD card	Use SNMP + external monitoring
No data export	Cannot export to CSV/file	Use SNMP for data collection
Simple queues only	Queue trees not supported	Monitor parent queues or use SNMP
No alerting	Display only, no thresholds	Use scripts with scheduler for alerts
Fixed time scales	Cannot customize periods	Accept daily/weekly/monthly/yearly
Single router only	No multi-device aggregation	Use The Dude or other NMS

SNMP Configuration - External monitoring with more features
Traffic Flow - Detailed traffic analysis and NetFlow export
Simple Queues - Create queues for queue graphing
Health Monitoring - Monitor CPU temperature, voltage, fans
Torch - Real-time traffic inspection (not historical)
Traffic Monitor - Real-time bandwidth display

Reference

Command Reference

Command	Description
`/tool/graphing print`	Show global graphing settings
`/tool/graphing set`	Configure store-every and page-refresh
`/tool/graphing/resource add`	Enable resource monitoring
`/tool/graphing/resource print`	List resource graphing entries
`/tool/graphing/interface add`	Enable interface monitoring
`/tool/graphing/interface print`	List interface graphing entries
`/tool/graphing/queue add`	Enable queue monitoring
`/tool/graphing/queue print`	List queue graphing entries

Summary

Graphing provides built-in visual monitoring for RouterOS:

Enable monitoring with /tool/graphing/resource, /interface, /queue
Configure access with allow-address parameter
View graphs at http://[Router_IP]/graphs/
Manage flash wear with store-every and store-on-disk settings

Key points:

Graphing is disabled by default - add entries to enable
Restrict access with allow-address for security
Use store-every=24hours or store-on-disk=no on flash-limited devices
For extensive monitoring, use SNMP with external tools instead
Queue graphing only works with simple queues, not queue trees

Graphing - Built-in Resource and Traffic Monitoring

Graphing - Built-in Resource and Traffic Monitoring

TL;DR (Quick Start)

Overview

Menu Reference

Configuration Steps

Step 1: Enable Resource Graphing

Step 2: Enable Interface Graphing

Step 3: Enable Queue Graphing (Optional)

Step 4: Access Graphs

Configuration Examples

Example 1: Basic Setup for Home/Office

Example 2: Restrict Access to Management Network

Example 3: Reduce Flash Wear on Low-End Devices

Example 4: Monitor Only WAN Interface

Example 5: Allow Customers to View Their Queue Graphs

Example 6: Configure Page Auto-Refresh

Global Settings Reference

store-every Trade-offs

Properties Reference

Interface Graphing

Resource Graphing

Queue Graphing

Graph Time Periods

Verification

Check 1: Verify Graphing is Configured

Check 2: Verify Interface Graphing

Check 3: Verify Resource Graphing

Check 4: Verify Web Service is Enabled

Check 5: Test Web Access

Troubleshooting

Limitations

Related Topics

Reference

Command Reference

Summary