In MikroTik routers and switches, Mangle is a feature used for marking and modifying packets within the firewall, enabling advanced packet manipulation for traffic management and routing. It is primarily used in the Firewall and Routing sections to mark packets, connections, or routing paths so that they can be further processed or treated differently. Mangle is crucial for implementing policies like Quality of Service (QoS), load balancing, bandwidth limiting, and advanced routing.
See step by step tutorial MikroTik Load balancing across two ISP connections using Mangle.
Here are some of the key uses of Mangle:
Packet Marking: Mangle can mark packets or connections to distinguish certain types of traffic. These marks can then be used in other firewall rules or for routing decisions.
- For example, marking VoIP traffic for prioritization.
Routing Mark: You can use Mangle to assign a routing mark to a packet, allowing it to be routed differently from other traffic.
- This is useful in scenarios like load balancing across multiple ISPs.
TTL Modification: Mangle allows you to modify the TTL (Time to Live) field of packets, which is used to control how long a packet can travel before it gets discarded.
Changing TOS/DSCP Values: Mangle can modify the Type of Service (TOS) or Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) fields of packets, which are used for classifying and prioritizing traffic in QoS setups.
Traffic Shaping and Prioritization: By marking certain traffic types (like gaming, VoIP, video streaming), you can apply specific queues or bandwidth limits.
NAT Bypassing: Mangle rules can help selectively bypass NAT (Network Address Translation) for specific types of traffic.
In summary, Mangle provides MikroTik users with a powerful tool for identifying and manipulating traffic, allowing for complex configurations like advanced routing, traffic prioritization, and fine-tuned bandwidth management.
