IP Pools
Manage IP address ranges for your subscriber network.
What is an IP Pool?
An IP Pool is a range of IP addresses that Qserve assigns to subscribers when they connect. For PPPoE, each connected subscriber gets an IP from the pool. For hotspot, IPs are assigned dynamically via DHCP. Qserve syncs pool definitions to your MikroTik router automatically.
Creating an IP Pool
- Go to IP Pools → New IP Pool.
- Fill in:
- Name — e.g.,
pppoe-residentialorhotspot-zone1 - Start IP — e.g.,
10.10.1.2 - End IP — e.g.,
10.10.1.254 - Subnet — e.g.,
/24(255.255.255.0) - Gateway — e.g.,
10.10.1.1(usually the router's LAN IP) - DNS Servers — e.g.,
8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4 - Site — which site (router) this pool belongs to
- Name — e.g.,
- Save. Qserve pushes the pool to the relevant MikroTik router.
Pool Size Guidelines
| Network Range | Usable IPs | Suitable For |
|---|---|---|
| /29 (8 IPs) | 6 | Testing, very small deployments |
| /27 (32 IPs) | 30 | Small ISPs, up to 30 subscribers |
| /24 (256 IPs) | 254 | Medium deployments, up to 250 subscribers |
| /22 (1024 IPs) | 1022 | Large ISPs, up to 1,000 subscribers per pool |
Private vs Public IPs
Most ISPs use private IP ranges for subscriber pools and perform NAT at the edge router. Common private ranges:
10.0.0.0/8— large range, good for segmenting multiple sites172.16.0.0/12— medium range192.168.0.0/16— small range, avoid overlapping with home router defaults
If you have public IP addresses from your upstream provider, you can use them directly in pools and disable NAT on the MikroTik router (routed access).
Multiple Pools per Site
You can create multiple pools for one site — for example, separate pools for PPPoE and hotspot, or separate pools for different service tiers. When creating a plan, you specify which pool that plan uses.
Avoid IP address overlaps across sites. If two sites use the same range (e.g., both use 192.168.1.0/24), routing over the VPN tunnel will break. Use a different subnet per site.