Multi-Router Network Traffic Monitoring System Based on Python Flask

Abstract

Background: Network traffic monitoring in multi-router environments is often constrained by reliance on a single protocol and decentralized access management. Objective: This study develops a web-based monitoring system using the Python Flask framework that is capable of simultaneously monitoring eight MikroTik routers and incorporates SSH failover and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) features. Methods: The implemented solution includes an automatic failover mechanism between the MikroTik API and SSH, the implementation of Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), and flexible historical report extraction functionality. Testing was conducted on eight MikroTik routers using failover time, data loss, and role-based access validation as the primary evaluation parameters. The failover scenario involved deliberately disabling the primary API service to evaluate the system’s ability to transition to SSH-based access. Results: The evaluation results demonstrate that the system maintains the availability of monitoring data during primary access failure, with a maximum protocol transition recovery time of 2.2 seconds and no observed data loss. Testing also confirms that RBAC effectively secures system configurations by differentiating the access privileges of administrators and regular users. The failover test was conducted in two trials, yielding consistent recovery times of 2.073 and 2.077 seconds, respectively, and all seven role-based access test cases were successfully validated. Conclusion: The scientific contribution of this study lies in integrating centralized multi-router monitoring, API–SSH failover, RBAC, and historical reporting into a single Flask-based platform. The proposed system provides an empirically validated reference model for developing reliable and secure web-based network monitoring systems.