MikroTik CCR2004-1G-2XS-PCIe 25G RouterOS PCIe Router Card

The CCR2004-1G-2XS-PCIe is one of MikroTik's most unconventional products — a complete Cloud Core Router built into a PCIe card form factor. Rather than deploying a separate router appliance, operators can install this card into a server's PCIe slot and gain a fully independent RouterOS instance running alongside the server's own operating system. This makes it possible to consolidate routing, firewalling, VPN termination, and user management into the same physical chassis as the compute infrastructure, saving rack space and reducing complexity.

By default, the PCIe interface presents as four virtual Ethernet interfaces to the host: two interfaces in passthrough mode for bridging at wire speed, and the remaining two for standard in-band management and routing. The dedicated AL52400 quad-core ARMv8 64-bit CPU runs at 1500 MHz independently of the host CPU and is backed by 4 GB of RAM and 128 MB of NAND flash — enough headroom for sophisticated firewall rulesets, IPsec encryption across hundreds of tunnels, queue-based traffic shaping, and advanced routing configurations. IPsec throughput in testing reaches up to 2.6 Gbps (AES-128-CBC + SHA1, 256 tunnels, 1400-byte packets).

The Passthrough mode is a particularly compelling feature for high-performance server environments. In this mode, the card operates similarly to a FastFlow-accelerated inline device, achieving wire-speed throughput of up to 100 Gbps with Jumbo frames — meaning that in most server setups, the CCR NIC will not be the bottleneck. Standard bridging without Passthrough reaches up to approximately 28 Gbps at 1518-byte frames, while routing without fast path achieves approximately 13 Gbps.

The physical port configuration consists of 1× 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet port and 2× 25G SFP28 ports. Monitoring features include CPU temperature, PCB temperature, current, and voltage monitors. The card is cooled by a single active fan and draws a maximum of 29 W (22 W without SFP transceivers attached). Operating temperature is rated -20 °C to 60 °C.

The card ships with both a small (low-profile) and a large (full-height) PCIe bracket, allowing it to fit standard ATX and low-profile server chassis alike. Host compatibility requires Linux with a minimum kernel version of 5.15.25, or RouterOS version 7.x or later. RouterOS v7 is preinstalled with a Level 6 licence — the highest available — requiring no additional licensing. Certifications include CE, EAC, and RoHS.

Key Specifications at a Glance

• Product Code: CCR2004-1G-2XS-PCIe
• Form Factor: PCIe card
• Architecture: ARM 64-bit
• CPU: AL52400, Quad-Core @ 1500 MHz
• RouterOS Licence: Level 6
• Operating System: RouterOS v7
• RAM: 4 GB
• Storage: 128 MB NAND
• Ethernet Ports: 1× 10/100/1000 Mbps
• SFP28 Ports (25G): 2×
• Operating Modes: RouterOS (full routing/firewall/VPN) / Passthrough (wire-speed bridging up to 100 Gbps with Jumbo frames)
• Max Power Consumption: 29 W (22 W without attachments)
• Cooling: 1 active fan
• Operating Temperature: -20 °C to 60 °C
• Dimensions: 170 × 69 × 18 mm
• MTBF: ~200,000 hours at 25 °C
• Host Compatibility: Linux (kernel ≥ 5.15.25), RouterOS (≥ v7.x)
• Certifications: CE, EAC, RoHS
• Included: Small bracket (low-profile), Large bracket (full-height)