Deploy a MikroTik VM with QEMU and connect via API

These are my notes on how to deploy a MikroTik RouterOS virtual machine using QEMU and interact with it through the REST API.

Prerequisites

• A Linux host with KVM support (kvm-ok should return “KVM acceleration can be used”)
• qemu-system-x86_64 installed (sudo apt install qemu-system-x86)
• A bridge network already configured (e.g. maas-ctrl)

Download the MikroTik image

Download the x86 ISO image from the official MikroTik website:

https://mikrotik.com/download?architecture=x86

At the time of writing, the latest version is 7.20.8.

Create the virtual disk

Create a qcow2 disk image that will be used as the MikroTik hard drive:

qemu-img create -f qcow2 mikrotik_disk.qcow2 256M

Install MikroTik RouterOS

Boot from the ISO to install RouterOS onto the virtual disk:

qemu-system-x86_64 -enable-kvm -m 256M \
  -hda mikrotik_disk.qcow2 \
  -cdrom ~/Downloads/mikrotik-7.20.8.iso \
  -boot d

The MikroTik installer will appear in the QEMU window:

Use the arrow keys or p/n to navigate, spacebar to select packages. You can press a to select all or m for the minimum set. At a minimum, make sure system is selected.

Press i to install. When prompted, confirm the installation. Once it completes, close the QEMU window (the VM will ask you to reboot).

Boot the MikroTik VM with bridge networking

Now boot the VM from the installed disk, attaching it to your bridge network:

sudo qemu-system-x86_64 -enable-kvm -m 256M \
  -hda mikrotik_disk.qcow2 \
  -netdev bridge,id=net0,br=maas-ctrl \
  -device virtio-net-pci,netdev=net0,mac=52:54:00:ab:cd:ef

Configure the IP address

Once RouterOS boots, log in with the default credentials (user: admin, no password). You will be prompted to set a new password.

Assign a static IP address to the interface (adjust the address and interface name to match your network):

/ip address add address=10.0.0.100/24 interface=ether1

Verify the configuration:

/ip address print

Enable the REST API (HTTP service)

Starting from RouterOS v7, MikroTik includes a built-in REST API that runs on top of the HTTP service (www). Make sure the www service is enabled:

/ip service print

If the www service is disabled, enable it:

/ip service enable www

By default, the HTTP service listens on port 80. You can verify or change the port:

/ip service set www port=80

Make a GET request to the MikroTik REST API

From your host (or any machine on the same network), you can now query the MikroTik REST API. The API follows the same structure as the CLI commands, using the path hierarchy as URL paths.

For example, to get the list of IP addresses configured on the router:

curl -u admin:yourpassword http://10.0.0.100/rest/ip/address

Example response:

[
  {
    ".id": "*1",
    "address": "10.0.0.100/24",
    "network": "10.0.0.0",
    "interface": "ether1",
    "actual-interface": "ether1",
    "invalid": "false",
    "dynamic": "false",
    "disabled": "false"
  }
]

You can also retrieve the system identity:

curl -u admin:yourpassword http://10.0.0.100/rest/system/identity

Or get the full system resource information:

curl -u admin:yourpassword http://10.0.0.100/rest/system/resource