2.5G Port for backhaul with Aimesh Node?

[JT Strickland]

Don't use actual Cat7. It's a proprietary standard that's actually older than Cat6a and should be used with different connectors.

What is Cat7 - And Why You Don’t Need It | Cable Matters Blog

What is Cat7 Ethernet? It is a performance rating of Ethernet cable that is largely abandoned by the industry. Read on to learn more about how to avoid mislabeled cables.

www.cablematters.com

Use Cat6 or Cat6a. Cat6 can do 10Gb up to 55 meters.

It says the cablle I've got is good for 10Gb. I've had it a while. I saw some of the cat 7 & 8 were smaller wire gage, but that may not be indicative of what it will carry.

After closer measurement, I will need about 200' one way because of the route, although it's about 120' straight line, so it will be cutting it close. Matter of fact, about 60 meters. May not work.

 

[Jack Yaz]

Don't use actual Cat7. It's a proprietary standard that's actually older than Cat6a and should be used with different connectors.

What is Cat7 - And Why You Don’t Need It | Cable Matters Blog

What is Cat7 Ethernet? It is a performance rating of Ethernet cable that is largely abandoned by the industry. Read on to learn more about how to avoid mislabeled cables.

www.cablematters.com

Use Cat6 or Cat6a. Cat6 can do 10Gb up to 55 meters.

I used external grade cat 6, about 25m run. Did 2 cables that are currently forming a LACP LAG between managed switches as part of my network backbone

 

[GHammer]

I've got a 500' spool of cat 6 - 23 awg pure copper outdoor cable that I was planning to use off of.
Maybe I should get 100' of cat 6A+ for the backhaul.

Whatever you decide, I've found it best to buy cable by the bandwidth it is rated to pass. Looking at Amazon, 'CAT 6' cables have widely differing specs. I buy 500 MHz

 

[JT Strickland]

I used external grade cat 6, about 25m run. Did 2 cables that are currently forming a LACP LAG between managed switches as part of my network backbone

I'm going to have to study up on the routing procedures.
I had a difficult time learning to terminate cable. I bought several types of RJ-45, and almost none of them worked properly. Part of it was the 23 gauge wire I was using, and part was the budget brands.
I finally broke down and bought some Klein connectors and tools and they work every time for me.

 

[JT Strickland]

Whatever you decide, I've found it best to buy cable by the bandwidth it is rated to pass. Looking at Amazon, 'CAT 6' cables have widely differing specs. I buy 500 MHz

The bandwidth isn't shown on my cable, so I'm not sure what I bought.
They do have it labeled with every foot, though. I haven't noticed that before.

edit: The ad says "up to 550 mhz", so whatever that means.
Maybe on the length of the run.

 

[heysoundude]

The bandwidth isn't shown on my cable, so I'm not sure what I bought.
They do have it labeled with every foot, though. I haven't noticed that before.

edit: The ad says "up to 550 mhz", so whatever that means.
Maybe on the length of the run.

that cable matches Cat6a+ according to the chart above. when the sender and receiver are within X distance (length of cable) of each other, it will pass data at the rate quoted. That number, in this case, is roughly 4x what's required...so you SHOULD have no problem getting 2.5GHz at your length

 

[kernol]

Don't use actual Cat7. It's a proprietary standard that's actually older than Cat6a and should be used with different connectors.

What is Cat7 - And Why You Don’t Need It | Cable Matters Blog

What is Cat7 Ethernet? It is a performance rating of Ethernet cable that is largely abandoned by the industry. Read on to learn more about how to avoid mislabeled cables.

www.cablematters.com

Use Cat6 or Cat6a. Cat6 can do 10Gb up to 55 meters.

I am using VolkanoX Cat 7 cable - specially on the 2.5Gbps ports on my 2 x RT-AX86U's - so perhaps it is not "actual" Cat 7 ???
Comes fitted with RJ45 connectors.

At 100 feet [30.5 meters in my language] the Cat 5e and Cat 6 cables available in our local market just don't yield above 1Gbps.
Cat 7 easier to get here than Cat 6a.

The Cat 7 cable I have is identical to this one featured on Amazon - lots of happy users .

 

[akb]

Can you confirm that it is terminated correctly with all the pins. defaulting to 100mbit is almost always a missing pair not terminated correctly.

 

[JT Strickland]

Can you confirm that it is terminated correctly with all the pins. defaulting to 100mbit is almost always a missing pair not terminated correctly.

The cable checked OK with a tester, and it shows 1Gps when connected to LAN port. I replaced a connector that I felt may not be right.

I wonder if one of the 2.5Gbps connectors in the routers may be deficient. They are both new, but I don't know how to check them any further. Actually one is about a month old, former Aimesh node now primary.
But that's not likely I reckon.

 

[JT Strickland]

I could check it by bringing the node close to the primary and connect with a short cable and that should tell me if it is the cable or not that is deficient. And it might check the routers if I swap the cable out a couple of times, should isolate the issue.
I've got to wait about disturbing the network till Mama's gonna be gone for a while.

 

[JT Strickland]

@L&LD , Man, I am sick, got the 100Mbps blues. I've reran two new cables, new connectors, should be good to go, but no 2.5 Gbps for me, not even 1 Gbps, but 10-100 Mbps. Both new cables. I don't get it. Lan2 is new cable to NAS. Been a long day.

 

[L&LD]

Sad to see that @JT Strickland.

Does any length of cable work @2.5GbE speeds between the two routers?

If the following link's suggestions are followed and a short cable doesn't show the expected link rate, it may be a hardware issue with one or both models you have.

Fully Reset Router and Network

 

[JT Strickland]

Sad to see that @JT Strickland.

Does any length of cable work @2.5GbE speeds between the two routers?

If the following link's suggestions are followed and a short cable doesn't show the expected link rate, it may be a hardware issue with one or both models you have.

Fully Reset Router and Network

I will know this morning when my wife is gone and I can move the node if a short cable works or not. I am beginning to think it is hardware too, but the cable length is 200', so that may be part of it. I can shorten the final run to close to 160' if it is. It is laying on top of the ground now with 20' excess on each end.

I moved the new cable back to the router LAN to WAN on the node, plugged the NAS into a LAN on the node, and they are all going strong at up to 1GbsE with one cable, so that may be all I get. If nothing else, I will have a spare cable if I can't utilize it.

I will follow your suggestions and see what happens later this morning.
thanks,
jts

 

[John Fitzgerald]

I will know this morning when my wife is gone and I can move the node if a short cable works or not. I am beginning to think it is hardware too, but the cable length is 200', so that may be part of it. I can shorten the final run to close to 160' if it is. It is laying on top of the ground now with 20' excess on each end.

I moved the new cable back to the router LAN to WAN on the node, plugged the NAS into a LAN on the node, and they are all going strong at up to 1GbsE with one cable, so that may be all I get. If nothing else, I will have a spare cable if I can't utilize it.

I will follow your suggestions and see what happens later this morning.
thanks,
jts

EDIT: just read post #4 and #8

Sorry I didn't read full post, but did you set it up like this on both routers? It may only work in AP mode and not Mesh, can't confirm.

 

[JT Strickland]

Sorry I didn't read full post, but did you set it up like this on both routers? It may only work in AP mode and not Mesh, can't confirm.

View attachment 34540

No, I didn't configure dual WAN, @L&LD and others have used 2.5GbsE for backhaul without any other configuration, except for enabling it in Aimesh.
I did try configuring dual WAN in the beginning from my intrepretation of old threads, but that didn't work either.

 

[Datalink]

Consider doing this:

Bring the two routers together:

Configure the main router so that it uses the primary WAN input. Leave the 2.5 Gb/s port as a LAN port.

Daisy chain the two routers:

1. Configure the node router to run in full router mode. Connect a LAN port from the main router into the node router WAN port. At this point, the routers are connected via 1 Gb/s ports and they should act as such.

Run a speedtest via ethernet from the node router 2.5 Gb/s port to see what you get. You should be able to see the connect rates in the network map showing 1 Gb/s for the 2.5 Gb/s port , but the speedtest will confirm that yes indeed, you're getting something over 100 Mb/s. With the connect rate showing 1 Gb/s , anything over 100 Mb/s on the speedtest will confirm that the pins on the node router 2.5 Gb/s port are working as expected for a 1 Gb/s connect rate. At the very least, you know that the port controller will run the 2.5 Gb/s port at 1 Gb/s


2. Flip the cable connector on the main router from a LAN port to the 2.5 Gb/s port. At this point the two routers are still connected at a 1 Gb/s rate. Have a look the network map on the main router to see what is indicated for the connect rate with the 2.5 Gb/s port. You should see a 1 Gb/s connect rate.

Run a speedtest via ethernet from a LAN port on the node router to see what you get, expecting to see something over 100 Mb/s as a confirmation that the 2.5 Gb/s port on the main router will at least run over 100 Mb/s. If so, then all of the 2.5 Gb/s port pins are active on the main router and are capable of running up to 1 Gb/s.


3. Flip the WAN port selection on the node router from the primary WAN port to the 2.5 Gb/s port. Change the cable on the node router from the WAN port to the 2.5 Gb/s port. With the two routers connected via the 2.5 Gb/s ports, I'd expect the ports to run connect and run at 2.5 Gb/s. The question is, will the ethernet connect rates as shown in the network map actually show that? Have a look at both network maps, specifically the 2.5 Gb/s port connect rates to see if they have flipped to 2.5 Gb/s. If not, then either there's a bug in the UI, or at least one of the ports will not run at 2.5 Gb/s. Even if the UI does show that it runs at 2.5 Gb/s, you still need some method of testing both 2.5 Gb/s ports with an independent test device to confirm that yes indeed, they are running at 2. 5 Gb/s. Even a small switch with 2.5 Gb/s ports would do the job.

Now, if you prove that the 2.5 Gb/s ports on both routers are running as expected, and the long cable proves out, then I'd expect the two routers to connect and operate via that cable. From the sounds of it, you might need to replace it if you don't have full confidence in it.

The other unknown here is whether the node routers 2.5 Gb/s port will operate as the WAN input port when the node router is configured to operate as a node, instead of operating as a router. Maybe you found a bug?? Testing both routers initially in router mode should confirm if the two 2.5 Gb/s ports will operate as expected. Then its a question of determining what happens when the node router is flipped to operate as a node.

 

[JT Strickland]

I'm not sure I follow you about how to connect to the node router to run a speed test. I have a 250/10 cable connection, 1000/1000 coming soon.
Here is what I got initially with a short cable to the node:

LAN Router -> NAS ethernet port = 100MbsE
and
2.5GbsE Router -> 2.5GbsE Node = 100MbsE
set backhaul in Aimesh to 2.5G priority, Rebooted
2.5GbsE Router -> 2.5GbsE Node = 100MbsE

set backhaul in Aimesh to Auto
LAN Router -> WAN Node = 1GbsE
LAN Router -> NAS ethernet port = 100MbsE

Same results as with the long cable(s). BTW, they are both new with new connectors. It's not the cable, unless length is a factor.

 

[ColinTaylor]

MbsE? GbsE?

 

[JT Strickland]

MbsE? GbsE?

I saw the notation used for Ethernet, may not be correct, but didn't want to confuse it with wireless.
edit: Meant to be Megabits per second Ethernet and Gigabits per second Ethernet.

 

[JT Strickland]

Consider doing this:

Bring the two routers together:

Configure the main router so that it uses the primary WAN input. Leave the 2.5 Gb/s port as a LAN port.

Daisy chain the two routers:

1. Configure the node router to run in full router mode. Connect a LAN port from the main router into the node router WAN port. At this point, the routers are connected via 1 Gb/s ports and they should act as such.

Run a speedtest via ethernet from the node router 2.5 Gb/s port to see what you get. You should be able to see the connect rates in the network map showing 1 Gb/s for the 2.5 Gb/s port , but the speedtest will confirm that yes indeed, you're getting something over 100 Mb/s. With the connect rate showing 1 Gb/s , anything over 100 Mb/s on the speedtest will confirm that the pins on the node router 2.5 Gb/s port are working as expected for a 1 Gb/s connect rate. At the very least, you know that the port controller will run the 2.5 Gb/s port at 1 Gb/s


2. Flip the cable connector on the main router from a LAN port to the 2.5 Gb/s port. At this point the two routers are still connected at a 1 Gb/s rate. Have a look the network map on the main router to see what is indicated for the connect rate with the 2.5 Gb/s port. You should see a 1 Gb/s connect rate.

Run a speedtest via ethernet from a LAN port on the node router to see what you get, expecting to see something over 100 Mb/s as a confirmation that the 2.5 Gb/s port on the main router will at least run over 100 Mb/s. If so, then all of the 2.5 Gb/s port pins are active on the main router and are capable of running up to 1 Gb/s.


3. Flip the WAN port selection on the node router from the primary WAN port to the 2.5 Gb/s port. Change the cable on the node router from the WAN port to the 2.5 Gb/s port. With the two routers connected via the 2.5 Gb/s ports, I'd expect the ports to run connect and run at 2.5 Gb/s. The question is, will the ethernet connect rates as shown in the network map actually show that? Have a look at both network maps, specifically the 2.5 Gb/s port connect rates to see if they have flipped to 2.5 Gb/s. If not, then either there's a bug in the UI, or at least one of the ports will not run at 2.5 Gb/s. Even if the UI does show that it runs at 2.5 Gb/s, you still need some method of testing both 2.5 Gb/s ports with an independent test device to confirm that yes indeed, they are running at 2. 5 Gb/s. Even a small switch with 2.5 Gb/s ports would do the job.

Now, if you prove that the 2.5 Gb/s ports on both routers are running as expected, and the long cable proves out, then I'd expect the two routers to connect and operate via that cable. From the sounds of it, you might need to replace it if you don't have full confidence in it.

The other unknown here is whether the node routers 2.5 Gb/s port will operate as the WAN input port when the node router is configured to operate as a node, instead of operating as a router. Maybe you found a bug?? Testing both routers initially in router mode should confirm if the two 2.5 Gb/s ports will operate as expected. Then its a question of determining what happens when the node router is flipped to operate as a node.

I suppose I could install spdmerlin and run a speed test from the (now) node router by SSH.