MikroTik hEX with MKController Cloud Management

Summary
Learn how the MikroTik hEX (RB750Gr3) fits in SOHO and SMB networks, what its real limits are, and how MKController’s cloud management helps you deploy, secure and operate fleets of these routers with less risk and manual work.

Mikrotik hEX with MKController Cloud Management

Meet the MikroTik hEX RB750Gr3

The MikroTik hEX (RB750Gr3) is a small five-port Gigabit Ethernet router with a dual-core 880 MHz CPU, 256 MB of RAM and silent passive cooling. It runs the full RouterOS feature set, including advanced routing, firewall, VPN, QoS and even a small Dude server instance for basic monitoring.

You get five 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet ports, a USB 2.0 port and a microSD slot for extra storage and logs. Power draw sits around just a few watts and it can be powered by a standard DC adapter or passive PoE on Ether1, which helps in tight or remote installations.

Unlike the hAP line, the hEX does not have built-in Wi-Fi. It is meant to be a wired router or firewall at the edge, often paired with separate access points. Internally, an integrated switch chip lets you do wire-speed switching between ports when bridging, while routing and heavy processing still depend on the CPU.

Note: This flexibility is powerful but also means configuration is not beginner-friendly. RouterOS exposes many knobs, so it is best handled by technicians or power users, not by plug-and-play expectations.

For full hardware details, you can also review the official MikroTik hEX product page.

Performance in real networks

In simple routing and NAT scenarios, the hEX can push close to Gigabit line rate on a single port pair when using FastPath and FastTrack for established flows. Under ideal conditions, tests with large packets show throughput in the 900+ Mbps range with plenty of CPU headroom for normal SOHO and SMB traffic.

Once you start adding more work per packet, the picture changes. Adding dozens of firewall rules, complex queues or advanced QoS policies quickly lowers the maximum throughput. With many filter rules, performance for tiny 64-byte packets can drop dramatically, which is expected on a small CPU handling every packet in the slow path.

The good news is that with a balanced ruleset and FastTrack used for trusted traffic, the hEX comfortably handles typical broadband links (100–500 Mbps) and even many Gigabit connections for office workloads, VoIP and remote access.

On the VPN side, hardware-assisted IPsec lets the RB750Gr3 handle encrypted tunnels surprisingly well for its price class. With AES-128 and larger packets, you can reach a few hundred Mbps of encrypted throughput, enough for most branch sites, retail locations and remote-user needs when the WAN link is not itself Gigabit.

Security risks you cannot ignore

RouterOS is powerful and flexible, but that also means it has had its share of security vulnerabilities and misconfiguration stories. Historically, devices shipped with default admin credentials and exposed management services, which made them easy targets when left on old firmware or with open WinBox or WebFig ports.

Today, new RouterOS versions push you to set a password on first boot and ship with a safer default firewall. Still, the recipe for trouble remains the same: outdated firmware, weak credentials and open management interfaces on the WAN.

Good hEX hygiene looks like this:

1. Keep RouterOS on a current stable or long-term release and track MikroTik security advisories.
2. Close WinBox, WebFig and API on the WAN; prefer SSH over VPN or a cloud controller to reach the router.
3. Use strong unique passwords or SSH keys and enable two-factor authentication where possible.
4. Log unusual activity, and send logs to a central system so brute-force attempts and anomalies are visible.

Warning: A compromised edge router is not just “one more device.” It can become a pivot into your LAN, a member of a botnet or a silent man-in-the-middle for your users’ traffic.

Why add a cloud controller like MKController

Managing one hEX on your desk is easy. Managing dozens spread across client sites, branches and home offices is a different story. That is where a cloud controller such as MKController becomes useful.

Instead of exposing WinBox or WebFig on the internet, each hEX establishes an outbound encrypted tunnel to MKController. From there, you can open proxied WinBox or WebFig sessions directly from the browser, check health metrics, see when devices go offline and retrieve automatic configuration backups without touching port forwarding or public IPs.

Where MKController helps: MKController keeps your MikroTik fleet reachable through secure tunnels, centralizes monitoring and automates backups. That means fewer risky open ports, fewer manual logins and a much faster way to roll out changes across many small routers.

A typical workflow looks like this:

1. Deploy the hEX with a basic secure template: updated RouterOS, locked-down firewall and VPN or MKController tunnel enabled.
2. Run the MKController adoption script on the router so it calls out and registers itself with the cloud.
3. Use the MKController panel to open WebFig or WinBox, monitor CPU, memory and interfaces and receive alerts when a device goes offline or crosses thresholds.
4. Let MKController pull regular config exports and backups so you can quickly restore a router or clone its configuration to a spare unit.

By moving day-to-day access and visibility into the controller, you reduce the need for static IPs, dynamic DNS tricks or per-site VPNs just to manage boxes.

When the hEX is the right tool (and when it is not)

The RB750Gr3 is an excellent fit in several scenarios:

• Small offices and home offices that need a reliable wired edge router with separate Wi-Fi access points.
• Branch sites and retail stores that require secure VPN connectivity back to a central network with modest bandwidth needs.
• Managed service providers who want low-cost, scriptable CPE hardware they can monitor and manage centrally.
• Labs, training environments and home labs where technicians want to practice RouterOS features without buying expensive hardware.

There are also situations where you should consider a bigger device:

• Environments that need sustained Gigabit throughput with heavy firewalling, many VPNs or advanced QoS on top.
• Networks that require integrated Wi-Fi, 10G uplinks or advanced security functions such as IDS or content filtering.
• Large routing domains with full BGP tables or very large dynamic routing databases, which are not comfortable on 256 MB of RAM.

Tip: Think of the hEX as a compact Swiss-army knife for edge routing. It is brilliant when used within its limits, but it will not replace a full-blown firewall or data-center router.

For many organizations, the sweet spot is clear: leverage the hEX for cost-effective edge routing and VPN at small sites, then use MKController to make that fleet visible, secure and easy to maintain over time. If needs outgrow the hardware, you can migrate to larger MikroTik models while keeping the same cloud-management approach.

About MKController

Hope the insights above helped you navigate your MikroTik and Internet universe a little better! 🚀
Whether you’re fine-tuning configs or just trying to bring some order to the network madness, MKController is here to make your life simpler.

With centralized cloud management, automated security updates, and a dashboard that anyone can master, we’ve got what it takes to upgrade your operation.

👉 Start your free 3-day trial now at mkcontroller.com — and see what effortless network control really looks like.