How to Document MikroTik Branch Routers: From Identity to WAN, VLANs and DHCP

When you take over an existing network, one of the most useful things you can do is build a clean,
repeatable documentation process for every branch router. In a MikroTik environment, you can get
almost everything you need directly from RouterOS CLI and store it in a simple Excel or wiki
template.

In this guide we will walk through a practical way to document each branch router using a small
set of commands. We will cover:

Basic router identity and hardware (Branches_Overview)
WAN / Internet parameters (WAN_Internet)
LAN, VLANs and DHCP configuration (LAN_VLAN_DHCP)

The goal is simple: you can connect to any MikroTik, run a few standard commands, and fill in
your branch documentation in a consistent way.

1. Branches_Overview – Basic Router Information

The first step is to identify what the device is, where it is, and which version of RouterOS it runs. This is the foundation of your documentation.

1.1 Identity – router name

/system identity print

This command shows the router name. Use a clear and consistent naming convention such as:
NY-RTR01, SA-RTR01, NY-RTR01, etc.

In your documentation you can store this in a column like Router_Identity or Hostname. This name will be used later in monitoring, VPNs or backups, so it is worth standardising.

1.2 Router model and serial number

/system routerboard print

This gives you details about the physical device:

Model – for example RB4011iGS+, RB3011UiAS-RM, hEX S.
Serial number – unique ID of the device.

These values are perfect for asset management. In your Excel or CMDB, place them into Router_Model and Serial_Number. When a router fails in the future, you will immediately know which spare model you need and what to tell your hardware supplier.

1.3 Hardware resources – CPU and RAM

/system resource print

This command shows the hardware capabilities of the router:

Number of CPU cores
RAM size
CPU load, uptime and other useful statistics

From a documentation perspective you mainly need:
CPU_Count and RAM_MB. This helps you understand how much load the router can handle and whether it is suitable for additional services like IPSec, QoS or dynamic routing.

1.4 RouterOS version and packages

/system package print

This prints a list of installed RouterOS packages and their versions. For branch documentation,
you typically care about the main RouterOS version, for example:
6.49.10 or 7.17.1.

Store this in a field like RouterOS_Version. When you plan upgrades or troubleshoot features, it is extremely useful to know exactly which major and minor version runs in each branch.

2. WAN_Internet – Internet Connectivity Parameters

Once you know what the device is, the next step is to document how it connects to the internet.
Typical questions you want answered:

Which interface is the WAN?
Is it static IP, DHCP, or PPPoE?
What is the default gateway?
Is there a VLAN on the WAN side?

2.1 IP addresses on interfaces

/ip address print detail

This command lists all IP addresses on the router, including:

The IP address on ether1 (commonly the WAN interface)
The subnet mask (prefix length)
Comments – very useful for indicating purpose, e.g. Orange WAN, LAN bridge

For documentation, record the WAN details in fields like:
WAN_Interface, IP_Address, Prefix and
WAN_Comment.

2.2 Default route – gateway and WAN type

/ip route print where dst-address=0.0.0.0/0

Here you see the default route(s) for the router:

gateway – e.g. 5.178.51.103
interface – e.g. ether1 or pppoe-out1
distance – priority of the route (lower = preferred)

If there are multiple default routes with different distances, you may have a backup internet link
or VPN failover. In your spreadsheet, track at least the main gateway and distance, and optionally
a note about backup routes.

2.3 DHCP client on WAN

/ip dhcp-client print detail

If the WAN interface receives its address via DHCP (for example behind a cable modem), this command
shows:

On which interface the DHCP client is running
The currently assigned IP address and prefix
Gateway and DNS servers learned from the ISP

In your documentation you can mark:
WAN_Type = DHCP, set DHCP_Client_Enabled = Yes, and note that IP and gateway are dynamic.
This helps you understand why a branch’s public IP may change over time.

2.4 PPPoE connection

/interface pppoe-client print detail

If your ISP uses PPPoE, this command provides:

Interface name – e.g. pppoe-out1
Username – PPPoE account used with the ISP
Status – running / disconnected
Remote address – IP of the ISP PPPoE endpoint

Password is not shown in plain text, which is good from a security point of view. In your WAN_Internet sheet, use fields such as:

WAN_Type = PPPoE, PPPoE_Username and
PPPoE_Remote_Address.

2.5 VLAN on WAN (e.g. some ISPs such as Orange)

/interface vlan print detail

Some ISPs require a VLAN tag on the WAN side. In that case you will see entries like:

name – e.g. vlan848-wan
vlan-id – e.g. 848
interface – underlying physical interface, e.g. ether1

For documentation, record the VLAN_ID and logical interface name used for WAN. This is critical if you ever have to replace the router or reconfigure the link with the ISP.

2.6 DNS servers and MTU on WAN

/ip dns print
/interface print detail where name~"ether1"
/interface print detail where name~"pppoe"

These commands help you document:

DNS servers configured on the router (if it acts as DNS client/cache)
MTU on the WAN interfaces (especially important for PPPoE or tunnels)

In your template, use fields like DNS_Servers and MTU. Knowing the exact MTU on WAN makes troubleshooting fragmentation and VPN issues much easier.

3. LAN_VLAN_DHCP – Internal Network, VLANs and Addressing

The third pillar of branch documentation is the internal network layout: bridges, VLANs, subnets and DHCP configuration. This is what tells you who is connected inside the branch and how.

3.1 Bridge and LAN ports

/interface bridge print detail
/interface bridge port print detail

The first command shows all bridge interfaces and their properties. In a typical small office you will see something like bridge-lan.

The second command lists which physical ports are members of which bridge. This tells you, for example, that ether2-ether5 belong to bridge-lan.

In documentation, record the main LAN bridge name and which ports are associated with it. This helps when you map wall sockets to switch ports or when you debug user connectivity problems.

3.2 VLANs on the bridge

/interface bridge vlan print detail
/interface vlan print detail

These commands show how VLANs are configured on the router:

VLAN ID – e.g. 10 for LAN, 20 for servers, 30 for guest Wi-Fi
On which bridge or physical interfaces they are tagged or untagged

For each VLAN, create documentation fields like:
VLAN_ID, VLAN_Name and Bridge_or_Interface. This gives you a clear map of segmentation inside the branch.

3.3 IP addresses for LAN and VLANs

/ip address print detail where interface~"bridge"
/ip address print detail where interface~"vlan"

These filters focus on addresses assigned to LAN bridges and VLAN interfaces. These are typically your default gateways for each subnet, for example:

10.2.10.1/24 – gateway for LAN
10.2.20.1/24 – gateway for servers

In your documentation template, map these to fields like Subnet and Gateway_IP. This is the information you will look up when adding new devices or when troubleshooting routing.

3.4 DHCP servers

/ip dhcp-server print detail

This command lists all DHCP servers running on the router and tells you:

On which interface they run (e.g. bridge-lan, vlan10)
Lease time – how long an IP address is reserved for a client
Which IP pools they use

In the LAN_VLAN_DHCP sheet, record:
DHCP_Server_Enabled, DHCP_Server_Name,
DHCP_Pool_Name and DHCP_Lease_Time.

You can also mention on which VLAN or bridge the server is active.

3.5 DHCP pools – address ranges

/ip pool print detail

DHCP pools define the actual address ranges that can be assigned to clients, for example:
10.2.10.50-10.2.10.150.

For documentation, use fields like DHCP_Pool_Range and give pools meaningful names such as pool-SA-LAN or pool-NY-Guest. This makes it obvious which addresses are dynamically assigned and which are reserved for static devices.

3.6 DHCP network – gateway and DNS for each subnet

/ip dhcp-server network print detail

This command shows per-subnet settings used by DHCP:

address – e.g. 10.2.10.0/24
gateway – e.g. 10.2.10.1
dns-server – e.g. 10.1.1.10,8.8.8.8

These values should be documented for each subnet. They are extremely important when you update DNS
in the future or when you migrate services from one server to another.

3.7 DHCP leases – reserved IPs for special devices

/ip dhcp-server lease print detail

Finally, you can use this command to document special devices with reserved IP addresses:

Client IP
MAC address
Hostname
Comment – for example SA-PRINT01 or NY-AP-01

You do not need to store every lease in your documentation, but it is a good idea to record key
devices such as printers, access points, servers and infrastructure nodes.

Putting It All Together – A Simple Documentation Template

By using these commands in a standard way for every branch, you can build a simple but powerful
documentation template. A typical Excel file might contain three sheets:

Branches_Overview – identity, model, serial, CPU, RAM, RouterOS version.
WAN_Internet – WAN interface, type (Static / DHCP / PPPoE), IP, gateway, DNS, MTU, VLAN ID.
LAN_VLAN_DHCP – VLAN IDs, subnets, gateways, DHCP pools and lease times.

Whenever you take over a new MikroTik router, you can:

Run the standard set of commands from this guide.
Copy the relevant values into your documentation file.
Add human-readable comments for ISPs, VLAN purposes and critical devices.

The result is a living, structured overview of all your branch routers. It makes troubleshooting
faster, upgrades safer and onboarding new administrators much easier.

Here is the Excel file with sample data based on these commands and concepts. You can use it as a starting point for your own documentation and adjust columns as needed