# Add certificates (example) /certificate add name=ca-crt common-name=CA /certificate add name=server-crt common-name=server ... /ip pool add name=openvpn-pool ranges=10.10.10.2-10.10.10.100 Configure OpenVPN server /interface ovpn-server server set enabled=yes port=443 mode=tcp auth=sha1 cipher=aes256-cbc certificate=server-crt require-client-certificate=no default-profile=openvpn-profile Set up profile /interface ovpn-server server profile set openvpn-profile local-address=10.10.10.1 remote-address=openvpn-pool Add firewall allow rule /ip firewall filter add chain=input protocol=tcp dst-port=443 action=accept
Introduction MikroTik RouterOS is a powerhouse for network professionals. Its flexibility, robustness, and cost-effectiveness make it a favorite for enterprise edge routing, small office internet gateways, and even complex home labs. However, with great power comes great complexity. One of the most notoriously fiddly configurations on a MikroTik device is setting up an OpenVPN server. mikrotik openvpn config generator
Copy and paste this into your MikroTik terminal (SSH or WinBox). The generator also gives you a client .ovpn file. It looks like: However, with great power comes great complexity
client dev tun proto tcp remote 203.0.113.10 443 resolv-retry infinite nobind persist-key persist-tun auth SHA1 cipher AES-256-CBC verb 3 <ca> [---BEGIN CERTIFICATE---...] </ca> Save this as office.ovpn and distribute it to users. They can import it into OpenVPN Connect or any standard client. Even with a generator, things can go wrong. Here’s how a good tool preempts these issues: The MTU Problem OpenVPN over TCP can suffer from fragmentation. Generators often add mssfix 1400 and tun-mtu 1500 to the client config—settings many manual tutorials forget. Certificate Mismatch RouterOS expects the CA certificate to be available before the server certificate. A generator sequences the /certificate import commands correctly. Doing this manually often leads to "certificate not found" errors. The "comp-lzo" Trap Older OpenVPN tutorials include comp-lzo . MikroTik does not support compression. A proper generator omits this line entirely. If you write a manual config and leave it in, the client will throw a fatal error and disconnect. Firewall AND NAT Many admins forget the NAT traversal rule. A solid generator adds: /ip firewall nat add chain=srcnat src-address=10.10.10.0/24 action=masquerade Without this, remote clients can ping the router but not the LAN behind it. Advanced: Scripting Your Own Config Generator For administrators who want to build their own internal MikroTik OpenVPN config generator (using Python, Bash, or PHP), here is a template logic: The generator also gives you a client
return "\n".join(script)
def generate_mikrotik_openvpn(config): script = [] # 1. Certificate Section script.append(f"/certificate add name=ca-config['name'] certificate=\"config['ca_cert']\"") script.append(f"/certificate add name=server-config['name'] certificate=\"config['server_cert']\" key=\"config['server_key']\"") # 2. Pool and Profile script.append(f"/ip pool add name=pool-config['name'] ranges=config['pool_range']") script.append(f"/interface ovpn-server server set enabled=yes port=config['port'] mode=config['protocol'] cipher=config['cipher'] auth=config['auth'] default-profile=profile-config['name']")