MikroTik

How to remove Mikrotik router ports from slave mode.

Part of the things Mikrotik has done to aid the deployment of their technology is the infusion of switching functions into routers. If you are used to Cisco technologies, you will know why this is such a big deal. Cisco layer 3 switches are quite expensive because they have routing and switching capabilities built into them. With Mikrotik, the need to purchase a switch is not always there as many ports have been bundled together in a master-slave setup, giving both routing and switching features altogether.

In a setup like that, the router has only two logical ports even though there are up to five physical ports. This has created a problem for some administrators in situations where more than two networks have to be created. In this piece, I will share with us on how to remove a router port from slave mode, allowing it to function as a dedicated port.

Mikrotik RB750

Default setup

The Ports on most Mikrotik small office/home office routers are configured as listed below, by default:

Ether1: dedicated (WAN)

Ether2: master (LAN)

Ether3: slave (LAN)

Ether4: slave(LAN)

Ether5: slave(LAN)

With this kind of setup, there are logically, two ports and can only be deployed to support to networks. If the network administrator desires to have the router deployed to support more than two networks, Ether3, Ether4, and Ether5 will have to be removed from slave mode and made dedicated.

How to remove a Mikrotik router port from slave mode

Removing a port from slave mode is quite simple. To do that, click on the port you want to remove from slave mode and set the master port to none. See images below:

Image showing interfaces on the Mikrotik RB750

Image showing port modes on the Mikrotik RB750

Repeat these steps for all ports you intend to make dedicated ports.

You can view the video below

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Timigate

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View Comments

Kashif Ali says:

July 7, 2019 at 12:00 pm

Dear sir,

I didn't see master port option. Kindly guide me. I have rb2011 microtik router.

I will thankful to you if you guide me.
- Timigate says:
  
  July 8, 2019 at 8:34 am
  
  If there is no master port, check if there is a bridge interface, then click on port and remove those you want to separate.
Grant says:

March 26, 2021 at 4:06 pm

Thanks for this. I was confused by the slave port and then ran into the same issue regarding the bridge taking all the ports. Once I opened the bridge and clicked on the ports tab, I was able to remove the port and then configure it as a DHCP client.

Great blog.