CloudLabBox
Try the free demo

MikroTik MTCNA lab 12 of 19

QoS: simple queues, burst and PCQ

Measure real throughput with iperf, cap one user with a simple queue, find out why FastTrack makes the queue do nothing, add burst, and then share the line fairly between every user with one PCQ queue.

Run this lab

It needs Lite: its 4 nodes are set to 4 vCPU and 1,792 MB in total. That fits the free demo too.

In your workspace: Shared, then MikroTik MTCNA RouterOS v7 guided labs, then 12 - QoS - simple queues burst and PCQ

Try it free for 30 minutesRun it on Lite from £3 a day

The free demo needs no card and no email. Every lab plan includes every guided lab.

Level
Intermediate
Time
About 55 minutes
Nodes need
4 vCPU, 1,792 MB
Smallest plan
Lite

The scenario

A co-working space shares one Internet line. One member's cloud backups run all day and everyone else's video calls stutter. The manager wants a hard cap on that member and, for everyone else, a fair share that adjusts itself as people come and go.

In this lab the "Internet line" is the router itself: a CHR on the free licence can send at most 1 Mbit/s out of each interface. That is your line speed, so every limit below is in kilobits.

DeviceInterfaceAddressRole
GWether1 · ether2198.51.100.1/24 · 192.168.88.1/24Co-working router
Servereth0198.51.100.10/24iperf server "on the Internet"
Client1eth0192.168.88.21/24The member with the backups
Client2eth0192.168.88.22/24Everyone else

What you’ll practise

  • Measure throughput through the router with iperf
  • Create a simple queue with target, max-limit and limit-at, and read its statistics
  • Explain why FastTracked traffic bypasses simple queues
  • Configure burst-limit, burst-threshold and burst-time and predict the result
  • Share bandwidth equally between users with PCQ queue types
  • Explain how the CHR free licence limits a virtual router

The tasks

  1. Prepare the hosts and start the iperf server
  2. Measure the line
  3. Cap Client1 with a simple queue, and meet FastTrack
  4. Make the queue count
  5. Allow short bursts
  6. Share the line fairly with PCQ

The Lab Tasks pane has the scenario, these tasks, the checks to run, hints and the full solution.

Topology and devices

The network as it opens in EVE-NG, drawn from the lab’s own canvas, and the image each node runs.

Topology of QoS - simple queues burst and PCQ4 nodes and 1 network, 4 links. Every link is listed as text below the diagram.GWServerClient1Client2Office-LANether2eth0eth0ether1eth0
4 nodes and 1 network, with the interface names each link uses. On a narrow screen, scroll the diagram sideways.
Every link, as text
  • GW ether1 to Server eth0
  • GW ether2 to Office-LAN (network)
  • Client1 eth0 to Office-LAN (network)
  • Client2 eth0 to Office-LAN (network)
Nodes in QoS: simple queues, burst and PCQ, with the image each runs and the vCPU and RAM it’s set to
NodeDeviceImage in Add NodeSet to
GWMikroTik RouterOSmikrotik-7.14.21 vCPU, 256 MB
ServerAlpine Linuxclbalpinebase-alpine-base-3-20-31 vCPU, 512 MB
Client1Alpine Linuxclbalpinebase-alpine-base-3-20-31 vCPU, 512 MB
Client2Alpine Linuxclbalpinebase-alpine-base-3-20-31 vCPU, 512 MB

How to open this lab

  1. Sign in to your workspace at lab.cloudlabbox.com.

  2. In File Manager, open Shared, then the folder MikroTik MTCNA RouterOS v7 guided labs.

  3. Open 12 - QoS - simple queues burst and PCQ and start its nodes, then open Lab Tasks for the scenario and the steps.

The lab is read-only. You can start the nodes and configure the devices, but changes to the topology can’t be saved. To change it, rebuild it in your own folder.

More MikroTik MTCNA labs

All MikroTik MTCNA labs

Related labs in other courses

CloudLabBox is independent of MikroTik. The lab follows exam topics and isn’t vendor training material; vendor names identify the exams and the images in the workspace.