Mikrotik L2tp Server Setup Full [ 2025-2026 ]

L2TP/IPsec uses a Pre-Shared Key (PSK) for the IPsec tunnel. Create one strong key (e.g., MikroTik_VPN_2024!).

/ip ipsec identity add peer=vpn-profile auth-method=pre-shared-key secret=YourStrongPSKHere generate-policy=port-strict

Important: generate-policy=port-strict automatically creates firewall policies allowing L2TP (UDP 1701) and IPsec (UDP 500, 4500).

If you want clients to access the internet through the router (full tunnel), add masquerade rule:

/ip firewall nat add chain=srcnat src-address=192.168.89.0/24 out-interface=ether1 action=masquerade comment="NAT VPN clients to internet" mikrotik l2tp server setup full

If you want split-tunnel only to LAN, omit NAT.

Firewall: allow UDP/500, UDP/4500, and protocol 50 (ESP) to the router, but restrict source addresses where possible.

Example minimal rules:

/ip firewall filter add chain=input protocol=udp dst-port=500,4500 action=accept comment="Allow IPsec/IKE" add chain=input protocol=ipencap action=accept comment="Allow ESP" add chain=input protocol=udp dst-port=1701 action=accept comment="Allow L2TP" (add additional rules to drop/limit, and always keep established/related accept rules)

Ensure these rules appear before any generic drop rules.

On the MikroTik:

Check active connections:

/interface l2tp-server session print
/ppp active print

View IPsec security associations:

/ip ipsec active-peers print
/ip ipsec installed-sa print

Check firewall hits:

/ip firewall filter print stats where comment~"IPsec"

From a client:

/ip ipsec proposal add name=l2tp-proposal enc-algorithms=aes-256-cbc auth-algorithms=sha256 pfs-group=none lifetime=30m
mikrotik l2tp server setup full