Description

MikroTik CCR2116‑12G‑4S+ Cloud Core Router—a powerful rack‑mount unit commonly referred to as the “2116.” It’s packed with features tailored for high‑performance and enterprise‑grade networking.

---

Key Specs & Highlights

• Processor & Performance

  • 16‑core Amazon Annapurna Labs Alpine v3 AL73400 CPU, each core clocked at 2 GHz—delivering impressive single‑core performance and overall processing power.

  • Marvell 98DX3255 switch‑chip with Layer 3 hardware offloading, enabling near wire‑speed routing and switching.

• Memory & Storage

  • Equipped with 16 GB DDR4 RAM and a 128 MB NAND flash.

  • Includes an M.2 PCIe slot—ideal for adding SSD storage for logs, containers, or virtual services.

• Ports & Connectivity

  • 13 Gigabit Ethernet ports (12 via switch chip + 1 directly to CPU for management) and 4 × 10 Gb SFP+ ports for high-speed uplinks

• Power & Cooling

  • Dual-redundant internal AC power supplies (100–240 V), supporting highly reliable.

  • Four variable-speed fans manage cooling while optimizing noise and energy

• Management & Durability

  • Built‐in monitoring: CPU/PCB temperature, voltage sensors, serial console port (RJ‑45), and a mode button for configuration recovery or reset Rated for continuous use between –20 °C and+60 °C, with mean time between failures around 200,000 hours

• Performance Benchmarks

  • Fast-path routing achieves ~51 Gbps for large packets; traditional routing yields ~39–50 Gbps; hardware L3 offloading surpasses ~73 Gbps on small packets.

  • IPsec throughput: up to ~4.1 Gbps with 256 tunnels (AES‑128‑CBC + SHA256

---

From the Field: Real-World Insights

• Fan Noise & Power Use
  A user sharing on Reddit noted quiet operation at low load, with fans ramping around ~3,000 RPM under moderate load and power usage around 60 w
  However, occasional fan bursts to full speed—even when idle—were reported, which can be extremely loud.

• Routing Traffic Load
  One user observed only ~5 % CPU usage while running substantial routing traffic—much more efficient than previous models like the CCR2004

• VPN & Encryption Performance
  A GRE + IPsec tunnel achieved ~1.4–2.5 Gbps depending on configuration. Enabling fast-path significantly boosted cleartext traffic to 9+ Gbp.
  Regarding hardware offloaded encryption, it’s reportedly not present or not fully exposed—software-based encryption is the norm, meaning lower throughput for some VPN types

• USB Port Surprise
  Several users mentioned discovering a previously undocumented USB port on newer CCR2116 units—possibly added after initial releases. MikroTik’s official spec sheets do not mention this port, so it may vary by production batch.

---

 CCR2116

Pros:

• Extremely powerful ARM-based CPU with excellent single-core performance

• Significant port capacity (Gigabit + 10 Gbps SFP+)

• Hardware offloading for massive L3 throughput

• Redundant power supplies and high durability for critical environments

• Local availability with reasonable pricing in Dhaka

Considerations:

• Fan noise can be unexpectedly loud at times—even if idle

• Encryption through IPsec is not hardware-accelerated and may be performance-limiting

• USB port availability may vary by unit batch

---