RouterOS Monitoring with Grafana

RouterOS Monitoring with Grafana

Overview

Grafana is an open-source dashboarding platform that can visualize RouterOS metrics collected via SNMP. Two common collection pipelines are available:

Pipeline	Best For
Prometheus + SNMP Exporter	Existing Prometheus infrastructure; metric scraping model
Telegraf + InfluxDB	Time-series push model; simpler SNMP configuration

Both approaches require SNMP enabled on RouterOS and a Linux host to run the collection stack. The same Grafana instance can consume data from either backend.

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RouterOS Prerequisites

Enable SNMP before configuring any Grafana pipeline. SNMPv2c is used in the examples below; SNMPv3 is strongly recommended for production — see SNMPv3 Configuration and Monitoring Integration for the full SNMPv3 setup.

SNMPv2c (Lab / Quick Start)

# Enable SNMP
/snmp set enabled=yes contact="[email protected]" location="DC1-R1"

# Restrict community to the Grafana collector host
/snmp community set [find name=public] \
    addresses=10.10.10.0/24 \
    read-access=yes \
    write-access=no

SNMPv3 (Production)

/snmp set enabled=yes contact="[email protected]" location="DC1-R1"
/snmp community add \
    name=grafana \
    security=private \
    authentication-protocol=SHA1 \
    authentication-password="AuthPass123!" \
    encryption-protocol=AES \
    encryption-password="PrivPass123!" \
    addresses=10.10.10.10/32 \
    read-access=yes \
    write-access=no

Firewall Rule

Allow SNMP polling from the collector host only:

/ip firewall filter add \
    chain=input protocol=udp dst-port=161 \
    src-address=10.10.10.10/32 \
    action=accept comment="SNMP polling from Grafana collector"

/ip firewall filter add \
    chain=input protocol=udp dst-port=161 \
    action=drop comment="Drop all other SNMP"

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Approach 1: Prometheus + SNMP Exporter + Grafana

Architecture

RouterOS ──(SNMP UDP 161)──► SNMP Exporter ──(HTTP :9116)──► Prometheus ──► Grafana

Prometheus scrapes the SNMP Exporter at a configured interval. The exporter translates SNMP OID values into Prometheus metrics. Grafana queries Prometheus to render dashboards.

1. Install SNMP Exporter

Download the latest release from the Prometheus GitHub releases page and extract to a system directory:

# Create a dedicated user
sudo useradd --no-create-home --shell /bin/false snmp_exporter

# Download and extract (check https://github.com/prometheus/snmp_exporter/releases for latest)
wget https://github.com/prometheus/snmp_exporter/releases/download/v0.26.0/snmp_exporter-0.26.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz
tar xzf snmp_exporter-0.26.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo mv snmp_exporter-0.26.0.linux-amd64/snmp_exporter /usr/local/bin/
sudo chown snmp_exporter:snmp_exporter /usr/local/bin/snmp_exporter

2. Configure snmp.yml

Create /etc/snmp_exporter/snmp.yml with a MikroTik module. The following covers the most useful metrics:

/etc/snmp_exporter/snmp.yml

auths:
  public_v2:
    community: public
    security_level: noAuthNoPriv
    auth_protocol: MD5
    priv_protocol: DES
    version: 2

  grafana_v3:
    security_level: authPriv
    username: grafana
    password: AuthPass123!
    auth_protocol: SHA
    priv_protocol: AES
    priv_password: PrivPass123!
    version: 3

modules:
  mikrotik:
    walk:
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.1        # System info (sysDescr, sysUpTime, sysName)
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.2.2      # Interface table (ifDescr, ifOperStatus, ifSpeed)
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.31.1.1   # IF-MIB extended (64-bit counters, ifAlias)
      - 1.3.6.1.4.1.14988.1.1.1   # MikroTik wireless (signal, noise, CCQ)
      - 1.3.6.1.4.1.14988.1.1.3   # MikroTik health (voltage, temperature)
      - 1.3.6.1.4.1.14988.1.1.7   # MikroTik CPU usage
      - 1.3.6.1.4.1.14988.1.1.8   # MikroTik memory usage
    metrics:
      - name: sysUpTime
        oid: 1.3.6.1.2.1.1.3.0
        type: gauge
        help: System uptime in hundredths of a second
      - name: ifHCInOctets
        oid: 1.3.6.1.2.1.31.1.1.1.6
        type: counter
        help: Inbound octets (64-bit)
        indexes:
          - labelname: ifIndex
            type: gauge
        lookups:
          - labels: [ifIndex]
            labelname: ifName
            oid: 1.3.6.1.2.1.31.1.1.1.1
            type: DisplayString
      - name: ifHCOutOctets
        oid: 1.3.6.1.2.1.31.1.1.1.10
        type: counter
        help: Outbound octets (64-bit)
        indexes:
          - labelname: ifIndex
            type: gauge
        lookups:
          - labels: [ifIndex]
            labelname: ifName
            oid: 1.3.6.1.2.1.31.1.1.1.1
            type: DisplayString
      - name: ifOperStatus
        oid: 1.3.6.1.2.1.2.2.1.8
        type: gauge
        help: Interface operational status (1=up, 2=down)
        indexes:
          - labelname: ifIndex
            type: gauge
        lookups:
          - labels: [ifIndex]
            labelname: ifName
            oid: 1.3.6.1.2.1.31.1.1.1.1
            type: DisplayString

Note

The SNMP Exporter generator tool can produce a more complete snmp.yml from MikroTik MIB files. MIB files are available from the MikroTik download page. The minimal configuration above covers the most commonly needed metrics.

3. Run SNMP Exporter as a Service

Create /etc/systemd/system/snmp_exporter.service:

[Unit]
Description=Prometheus SNMP Exporter
After=network.target

[Service]
User=snmp_exporter
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/snmp_exporter --config.file=/etc/snmp_exporter/snmp.yml
Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now snmp_exporter
# Verify
curl http://localhost:9116/metrics | head -20

4. Configure Prometheus Scrape Job

Add a scrape job to /etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml:

scrape_configs:
  - job_name: mikrotik_snmp
    static_configs:
      - targets:
          - 192.168.1.1   # Router IP
          - 192.168.1.2   # Additional routers
    metrics_path: /snmp
    params:
      module: [mikrotik]
      auth: [public_v2]     # or grafana_v3 for SNMPv3
    relabel_configs:
      - source_labels: [__address__]
        target_label: __param_target
      - source_labels: [__param_target]
        target_label: instance
      - target_label: __address__
        replacement: localhost:9116  # SNMP Exporter address

Reload Prometheus:

sudo systemctl reload prometheus

Verify targets are up in the Prometheus UI at http://prometheus-host:9090/targets.

5. Add Prometheus Datasource in Grafana

1. In Grafana, navigate to Connections → Data Sources → Add data source.
2. Select Prometheus.
3. Set the URL to your Prometheus server (e.g., http://localhost:9090).
4. Click Save & Test.

6. Import a MikroTik Dashboard

Several community dashboards work well with RouterOS metrics via SNMP Exporter:

Dashboard ID	Description
10950	MikroTik: traffic, uptime, CPU, memory (wide interface coverage)
14857	MikroTik SNMP: interface bandwidth with 64-bit counters

To import: Dashboards → New → Import, enter the dashboard ID, select the Prometheus datasource, and click Import.

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Approach 2: Telegraf + InfluxDB + Grafana

Architecture

RouterOS ──(SNMP UDP 161)──► Telegraf ──(HTTP API)──► InfluxDB ──► Grafana

Telegraf polls RouterOS directly via SNMP and writes results to InfluxDB. Grafana queries InfluxDB using Flux or InfluxQL.

1. Install Telegraf

# Debian/Ubuntu
wget -q https://repos.influxdata.com/influxdb.key -O- | sudo apt-key add -
echo "deb https://repos.influxdata.com/ubuntu focal stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/influxdb.list
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y telegraf

2. Configure Telegraf SNMP Input

Add to /etc/telegraf/telegraf.d/mikrotik.conf:

/etc/telegraf/telegraf.d/mikrotik.conf

[[inputs.snmp]]
  ## Target routers
  agents = ["udp://192.168.1.1:161", "udp://192.168.1.2:161"]

  ## SNMPv2c
  version = 2
  community = "public"

  ## SNMPv3 (uncomment to use instead)
  # version = 3
  # sec_name = "grafana"
  # auth_protocol = "SHA"
  # auth_password = "AuthPass123!"
  # priv_protocol = "AES"
  # priv_password = "PrivPass123!"
  # sec_level = "authPriv"

  ## Polling interval
  interval = "60s"
  timeout = "10s"
  retries = 3

  ## System info
  [[inputs.snmp.field]]
    name = "hostname"
    oid = "RFC1213-MIB::sysName.0"
    is_tag = true

  [[inputs.snmp.field]]
    name = "uptime"
    oid = "DISMAN-EXPRESSION-MIB::sysUpTimeInstance"

  ## CPU usage (MikroTik enterprise OID)
  [[inputs.snmp.field]]
    name = "cpu_usage"
    oid = "1.3.6.1.4.1.14988.1.1.7.1.0"

  ## Memory (MikroTik enterprise OID)
  [[inputs.snmp.field]]
    name = "mem_total"
    oid = "1.3.6.1.4.1.14988.1.1.8.1.0"

  [[inputs.snmp.field]]
    name = "mem_used"
    oid = "1.3.6.1.4.1.14988.1.1.8.2.0"

  ## Interface traffic (64-bit counters, one row per interface)
  [[inputs.snmp.table]]
    name = "interface_traffic"
    inherit_tags = ["hostname"]
    oid = "IF-MIB::ifXTable"

    [[inputs.snmp.table.field]]
      name = "name"
      oid = "IF-MIB::ifName"
      is_tag = true

    [[inputs.snmp.table.field]]
      name = "in_octets"
      oid = "IF-MIB::ifHCInOctets"

    [[inputs.snmp.table.field]]
      name = "out_octets"
      oid = "IF-MIB::ifHCOutOctets"

    [[inputs.snmp.table.field]]
      name = "in_errors"
      oid = "IF-MIB::ifInErrors"

    [[inputs.snmp.table.field]]
      name = "out_errors"
      oid = "IF-MIB::ifOutErrors"

    [[inputs.snmp.table.field]]
      name = "oper_status"
      oid = "IF-MIB::ifOperStatus"

Configure Telegraf output to InfluxDB:

/etc/telegraf/telegraf.d/output.conf

[[outputs.influxdb_v2]]
  urls = ["http://localhost:8086"]
  token = "$INFLUX_TOKEN"
  organization = "my-org"
  bucket = "routeros"

Start Telegraf:

sudo systemctl enable --now telegraf
sudo journalctl -u telegraf -f  # watch for errors

3. Add InfluxDB Datasource in Grafana

1. Navigate to Connections → Data Sources → Add data source.
2. Select InfluxDB.
3. Set Query Language to Flux.
4. Set URL to http://localhost:8086.
5. Under InfluxDB Details: enter your Organization, Token, and default Bucket (routeros).
6. Click Save & Test.

4. Example Grafana Panels (Flux Queries)

Interface bandwidth (bits per second):

from(bucket: "routeros")
  |> range(start: v.timeRangeStart, stop: v.timeRangeStop)
  |> filter(fn: (r) => r._measurement == "interface_traffic")
  |> filter(fn: (r) => r._field == "in_octets" or r._field == "out_octets")
  |> filter(fn: (r) => r.name == "ether1")
  |> derivative(unit: 1s, nonNegative: true)
  |> map(fn: (r) => ({r with _value: r._value * 8.0}))

CPU utilization:

from(bucket: "routeros")
  |> range(start: v.timeRangeStart, stop: v.timeRangeStop)
  |> filter(fn: (r) => r._measurement == "snmp" and r._field == "cpu_usage")

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Key MikroTik OIDs Reference

These OIDs are useful when building custom SNMP Exporter modules or Telegraf field configurations:

OID	Name	Description
1.3.6.1.2.1.1.3.0	sysUpTime	Uptime in hundredths of a second
1.3.6.1.2.1.2.2.1.8	ifOperStatus	Interface up (1) / down (2)
1.3.6.1.2.1.31.1.1.1.6	ifHCInOctets	Inbound bytes, 64-bit
1.3.6.1.2.1.31.1.1.1.10	ifHCOutOctets	Outbound bytes, 64-bit
1.3.6.1.4.1.14988.1.1.1.1	MikroTik wireless signal strength	Per-interface
1.3.6.1.4.1.14988.1.1.3.1.0	MikroTik voltage	Board voltage
1.3.6.1.4.1.14988.1.1.3.10.0	MikroTik temperature	Board temperature (°C)
1.3.6.1.4.1.14988.1.1.7.1.0	MikroTik CPU usage	CPU load percentage
1.3.6.1.4.1.14988.1.1.8.1.0	MikroTik total memory	Bytes
1.3.6.1.4.1.14988.1.1.8.2.0	MikroTik free memory	Bytes

Note

Always use 64-bit counters (ifHCInOctets/ifHCOutOctets) for interfaces faster than 100 Mbit/s. 32-bit counters wrap at ~4 GB, which occurs in under 6 minutes on a 1 Gbit/s interface.

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Choosing Between the Two Approaches

Factor	Prometheus + SNMP Exporter	Telegraf + InfluxDB
Scrape model	Pull (Prometheus scrapes exporter)	Push (Telegraf writes to InfluxDB)
Query language	PromQL	Flux / InfluxQL
Existing stack	Works if Prometheus already present	Works if InfluxDB already present
Configuration complexity	Higher (snmp.yml module + Prometheus job)	Moderate (single Telegraf config)
Alerting	Alertmanager (well-established)	InfluxDB Tasks or Grafana Alerts
Multi-device scaling	Excellent (relabeling rules)	Good (multiple agents entries)

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Troubleshooting

No data in Grafana

1. Confirm SNMP is reachable from the collector host:

   snmpwalk -v2c -c public 192.168.1.1 1.3.6.1.2.1.1

2. For Prometheus: check the SNMP Exporter’s own metrics endpoint:

   curl "http://localhost:9116/snmp?target=192.168.1.1&module=mikrotik" | grep -v "^#"

3. For Telegraf: check logs for connection errors:

   sudo journalctl -u telegraf | grep -i error

4. Verify no firewall rule is dropping UDP 161 on the router:

   /ip firewall filter print where dst-port=161

Counter values are not incrementing

• Confirm the OID returns numeric data:

  snmpget -v2c -c public 192.168.1.1 1.3.6.1.2.1.31.1.1.1.6.1

• Check that read-access=yes is set on the SNMP community.

Interface names missing from metrics

• Verify the IF-MIB walk is returning ifName data:

  snmpwalk -v2c -c public 192.168.1.1 1.3.6.1.2.1.31.1.1.1.1

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Related Resources

• SNMP — SNMP basic configuration reference
• SNMPv3: Configuration and Monitoring Integration — SNMPv3 setup and integration with LibreNMS, Zabbix, PRTG
• Traffic Flow (NetFlow / IPFIX) — Export flows to Grafana via Elasticsearch or nfdump
• System Health and Resource Monitoring — Built-in resource monitoring