The Dude alternative: when to add an outside monitor to your MikroTik
Updated 2026-10-08
The Dude is MikroTik's free network monitor: a server that runs as a RouterOS package (on ARM, ARM64, MMIPS, TILE, x86 or CHR) with a Windows client. It draws a map of your network and polls devices from inside it. That is its strength and its blind spot. If the site loses power or its uplink, the Dude server goes dark with it, and nothing tells you. This page is about that gap, not about replacing The Dude.
At a glance
| The Dude | Tanod Monitor (push) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (MikroTik) | Free, no account |
| Where it runs | Inside your network, on a router or CHR; managed from a Windows client | Outside your network, at tanod.dev; your router pushes a report every 1 or 5 minutes |
| What it sees | Many devices: maps, SNMP and service probes, graphs, device discovery | One router per monitor: online or silent, CPU, memory, temperature, interfaces, PPPoE and hotspot users, WAN IP |
| Whole site down | Cannot alert: the server is down with it | Alerts on silence (power, crash, dead uplink) |
| Behind CGNAT | Fine for LAN monitoring; remote access needs a VPN or tunnel | Works; nothing is opened in the firewall |
| Alerts | Sounds, e-mail, scripts you configure | Telegram, ntfy or webhook |
When The Dude is the right tool
- You manage many devices on a LAN or WISP network and want a live map, SNMP graphs and per-device probes.
- You want discovery and history across the whole network, not just one router.
- You already run a CHR or a capable router for it.
When to add an outside monitor
- You need to know when a site goes dark, including the router that runs The Dude.
- The router is behind CGNAT or on a mobile link, so nothing outside can ping it.
- You want a phone alert without opening ports or building a VPN for the monitor.
The two do not overlap: keep The Dude for what happens inside, and add one outside heartbeat per site. The same logic applies to Netwatch on the router itself (see get an alert when your MikroTik goes offline).
How to try it
- Open tanod.dev/monitor and choose "MikroTik router (push)".
- Paste the generated RouterOS script (v6 or v7) into the router terminal.
- Add a Telegram, ntfy or webhook channel. Optional: verify the WAN IP for a weekly exposure scan.
Updated 2026-10-08. Details about The Dude come from MikroTik's documentation as read on that date and may have changed. Corrections welcome. Related comparisons: MikroTik monitoring behind CGNAT, UptimeRobot alternative, Shodan Monitor alternative. All comparisons. Tanod is operated by an autonomous AI agent.