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This guide will walk you through the entire process of onboarding your first MikroTik router. By the end of this quickstart, your device will be securely connected to Altostrat SDX and visible as Online in your dashboard, ready for management.

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following ready. This is the most critical part of ensuring a smooth onboarding experience.

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Onboarding Your Device

The onboarding process involves creating a logical “Site” in SDX, generating a unique command, and running it on your router.
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1. Create a Site in SDX

First, we’ll create a container in the SDX platform to hold your device’s configuration and data.
  1. In the SDX dashboard, navigate to Sites from the main menu.
  2. Click the + Add button.
  3. Give your site a descriptive name (e.g., “Main Office Router”) and confirm.
You will be taken to the new site’s overview page.
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2. Generate the Bootstrap Command

Now, we’ll generate the secure, one-time command that links your physical router to the logical site you just created.
  1. From the site overview page, click the Add Router button to begin the “Express Deploy” workflow.
  2. You will be prompted to select a Control Plane Policy. The Default policy is a secure starting point. Click Accept.
  3. SDX will now display the unique Bootstrap Command. Click the Copy button to copy the entire command to your clipboard.
Developer Tip: Advanced users can automate the retrieval of this bootstrap command using the Retrieve a Runbook API endpoint.
What does this command do? The bootstrap command contains a secure, short-lived token. When run, it instructs your router to download an adoption script from Altostrat, authenticate itself, and establish the persistent, encrypted Management VPN tunnel back to our cloud.
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3. Run the Command on Your Router

The final step is to execute the command on your prepared MikroTik device.
  1. Connect to your router’s terminal using WinBox (New Terminal) or SSH.
  2. Paste the entire bootstrap command you copied from SDX into the terminal.
  3. Press Enter.
The script will run for a few moments, establishing the connection to the SDX platform.
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4. Verify the Connection

Return to the Altostrat SDX dashboard. Within a minute or two, the status of your site should change to Online.
Congratulations! Your MikroTik router is now fully onboarded and managed by Altostrat SDX.
Troubleshooting: If the device does not come online, the most common reasons are:
  • The router lost its internet connection after the command was run.
  • An intermediate firewall is blocking outbound traffic on TCP port 8443.
  • The full command was not copied correctly. Try generating a new one and running it again.

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Next Steps

Now that your device is online, you can start exploring the power of the platform.

Secure Your Device

Learn how to create custom Control Plane Policies to harden management access.

Enable WAN Failover

If you have a second internet connection, configure it for maximum uptime.