What is MikroTik CHR and can I run it on a VPS?
Yes. MikroTik CHR (Cloud Hosted Router) runs on any KVM-based VPS, and ColossusCloud uses KVM virtualization across all servers. You can deploy it right now using the MikroTik ISO in our ISO library, or select MikroTik CHR as the OS when creating a new VPS.
What MikroTik CHR actually is
MikroTik CHR is a version of RouterOS built specifically to run as a virtual machine. It’s the same routing software that powers MikroTik’s hardware routers, packaged to work on hypervisors like KVM, VMware, and Hyper-V.
Think of it as turning your VPS into a full-featured router. You get everything RouterOS offers: routing, firewalling, VPN, bandwidth management, traffic shaping, BGP, OSPF, MPLS, and more. All running in a data center instead of on a physical box in your office.
Who uses MikroTik CHR on a VPS
MikroTik CHR is popular with several different groups:
- Network engineers who need a remote router for VPN endpoints, site-to-site tunnels, or traffic management
- ISPs and MSPs who run routing infrastructure in data centers
- Developers and students who want to practice RouterOS configuration without buying hardware
- Businesses that need a cloud-based firewall, VPN concentrator, or traffic shaper
- Anyone running BGP who needs a router in a data center with proper connectivity
If you’ve ever wanted to drop a MikroTik router into a data center without shipping hardware, MikroTik CHR on a VPS is exactly that.
How to deploy MikroTik CHR on ColossusCloud
- Log into the Client Portal
- Navigate to your VPS server list
- Click the gear icon next to the VPS you want to use
- Select Boot from ISO
- Choose the MikroTik CHR ISO from the library
- Reboot the VPS
Once it boots, you’ll have a fresh RouterOS instance. Connect via SSH or WinBox using your VPS IP. The default login is admin with no password. Set one immediately.
Specs and MikroTik CHR licensing
CHR doesn’t need much. A small VPS with 1 vCPU and 1 GB RAM handles most routing workloads. For heavy traffic shaping or many VPN tunnels, bump to 2 vCPUs and 2-4 GB.
MikroTik offers a free tier for CHR capped at 1 Mbps upload. For production, you’ll want a paid license (P1, P10, or P-Unlimited), which removes the cap. They also offer a 60-day free trial of all paid tiers. You’ll need a MikroTik account to manage licenses.
Why KVM matters for MikroTik CHR
MikroTik CHR requires a hypervisor that provides full hardware virtualization. Container-based virtualization (like OpenVZ) won’t work. ColossusCloud runs KVM/QEMU across all VPS plans, so compatibility is never an issue.
Ready to deploy MikroTik CHR? Pick a VPS in any of our six locations and boot from the MikroTik ISO. For a detailed walkthrough, see our MikroTik CHR deployment guide.