New MikroTik L009UiGS

The new MikroTik L009 series is out and one of the first models announced is the MikroTik L009UiGS-2HaxD-IN. This is the company's update to the popular RouterBoard RB2001 line with new features and a chassis we have seen before.

The MikroTik L009UiGS-2HaxD-IN is a half-height half-width platform that costs only $129, just like the RB2011UiAS-2HnD-IN.

This version uses the Marvell 88E6190 switch chip codenamed "Peridot". That gives the wired Ethernet side access to up to 8x 1GbE ports (10/100/1000) which is a nice upgrade. We also get a SFP port that can take up to 2.5G optics.

MikroTik is saying that its new L009 with a Qualcomm IPQ-5018 dual-core 800MHz Arm CPU is up to four times as fast as the RB2011.

WiFi is WiFi 6 2.4GHz so it supports 802.11b/g/n/ax but it is probably not going to be as fast as some of the newer WiFi standards that use more spectrum. We wish it had 5GHz support.

The chassis looks a lot like something we have seen before. The MikroTik RB5009UPr+S+IN PoE Router Mini Review is very similar in appearance except using a black chassis instead of the red found in the L009.

Although it is dropping the "RB" prefix with the L009 series, it seems to be the line below the RB5009 series in this form factor. The L009 seems to be less expensive but with lower throughput (for example, the RB5009 series has a SFP+ 10GbE port.)

We may pick up this or the $119 L009UiGS-RM rackmount version just to play with but availability on new MikroTik products has been very rough. Rumor has it these will start trickling out in July 2023, so MikroTik is pre-announcing these by at least two months.

It is great to see MikroTik filling out its lineup beyond the RB5009 as the lower end was long overdue for a refresh. The L009 series appears to be a solid upgrade bringing a uniform passively cooled design, new features, and more performance to the portfolio. We will, of course, bring this to the STH audience if we manage to buy one.