On 8/16/23 00:28, Nick Hilliard wrote:
Whatever about the web / winbox UI, there are some fairly serious
weaknesses in the cli and api:
1. there's no atomic configuration commit + auto rollback.
2. the CLI is non-idempotent, for example if you're in a list context
and issue the command "remove 1", it will do different things each
time you execute it.
3. there is no way to delete the configuration tree or sub-trees (e.g.
"config replace"), which outright blocks the possibility of
clean-slate reconfiguration.
4. as a consequence of #1 and #3, it's not possible to blindly change
the config on a routeros device without parsing the existing
configuration.
The net outcome is that orchestration is basically impossible on this
platform, and it's not possible to fix. It would need a complete
CLI/API redesign.
The detriment of the Mikrotik commercial model is also its success. I
often tell people that it's a "take it or leave it" kind of model.
They offer no roadmaps. They offer no bug-fix guarantees. They offer no
release date guarantees. They make promises not to provide any
guarantees. They just work at their own pace, and focus on what their
heart desires at the time.
But because of this model, they keep their software and appliances
extremely cheap, focus on what receives most attention from the wider
community in lieu of "big customers", and in the end, deliver a product
that packs a lot of features in a 12MB-sized OS that most of its
followers are able to use to run a service provider network.
The inconveniences of the CLI and/or Winbox are just that to their
followers... inconveniences. They hurt, but not enough to force them to
consider more traditional vendors. Kind of like the dog that sits on the
nail continuously whining about the pain, but can't seem to get up from
under the nail to free itself of the anguish.
Mikrotik aren't going anywhere, because their followers are content with
the model. If operators that run traditional vendor gear continue to
allow BGP sessions to form with Mikrotik routers, this problem will not
go away. I am not stating that non-Mikrotik equipment block Mikrotik BGP
sessions; I'm just saying Mikrotik currently have no incentive to put
better code out on to the Internet.
Mark.
