AiMesh Topology Set-Up Question

[Laxarus]

Hello Guys,

1- I have a dedicated router in dsl bridge mode connected to the wan port of the ASUS RT-AC5300.
2- 2 LAN ports of AC5300 are connected to the 24 ports switch (LACP)
3- From there my switch distributes the connections to everywhere it is needed.
4- One of the connections is to the LAN port of DSL-AC68U (DHCP Off, NAT off, working similar to AP)
5- Another connection will go to the ASUS PL-AC56 kit (AP Mode)

I will not bother with other devices connected to the network but there are a lot of them. I can send the drawing upon request.

I would like to set up AiMesh to get a single SSID instead of switching to higher signal SSID while roaming. I also would like to purchase 3 Lyra Nodes and add this to the system.

Can I get all these devices connected with AiMesh (AC5300, DSL-AC68U, PL-AC56, 3xLyra) and become big happy family?

Please consider that all these devices will be connected to the 24 port switch with ethernet cable. In the Asus support page for AiMesh, it asks to connect the cables to the WAN ports of the devices other than the primary?

 

[Grisu]

Asus DSL-type modemrouters cannot be used as Aimesh nodes, you would need to set it as first router after modem and have it as main-router for Aimesh and everything else behind.
Not a good solution so forget this one in your future network.

You can use same SSID on all routers and bands without Aimesh too, then better to use different channels on all of them if they are to close together.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Hello Guys,

1- I have a dedicated router in dsl bridge mode connected to the wan port of the ASUS RT-AC5300.
2- 2 LAN ports of AC5300 are connected to the 24 ports switch (LACP)
3- From there my switch distributes the connections to everywhere it is needed.
4- One of the connections is to the LAN port of DSL-AC68U (DHCP Off, NAT off, working similar to AP)
5- Another connection will go to the ASUS PL-AC56 kit (AP Mode)

I will not bother with other devices connected to the network but there are a lot of them. I can send the drawing upon request.

I would like to set up AiMesh to get a single SSID instead of switching to higher signal SSID while roaming. I also would like to purchase 3 Lyra Nodes and add this to the system.

Can I get all these devices connected with AiMesh (AC5300, DSL-AC68U, PL-AC56, 3xLyra) and become big happy family?

Please consider that all these devices will be connected to the 24 port switch with ethernet cable. In the Asus support page for AiMesh, it asks to connect the cables to the WAN ports of the devices other than the primary?

The 68U does not support Smart Connect node band steering, so you would likely need to use separate SSIDs.

Wired AiMesh backhuals through switches is permissible, but you may need to set the backhaul Connection Type to Wired/Ethernet.

OE

 

[Laxarus]

Asus DSL-type modemrouters cannot be used as Aimesh nodes, you would need to set it as first router after modem and have it as main-router for Aimesh and everything else behind.
Not a good solution so forget this one in your future network.

You can use same SSID on all routers and bands without Aimesh too, then better to use different channels on all of them if they are to close together.

I read somewhere that I can install the RT-AC68U firmware on DSL-AC68U and make it behave like RT. I believe this would sort the issue for the aimesh node for this device since I dont use the DSL functionality of it.

The problem is not exactly different SSID but the roaming functionality. I have a pretty big house along with basement, garden, garage, living rooms etc. So I need the devices to switch to the highest signal possible when roaming hence AiMesh.

Anyway. I dont want a double NAT so only 1 device will handle DHCP and NAT which will AC5300. Can I use Lan ports instead of WAN ports? Can I connect all individual devices seperately to switch and make AiMesh work? (3xLyra - AP Mode, AC5300 - Primary Router, DSL-AC68U with RT firmware)

Before buying Lyra, I would like to be clear of what I am going to do.

 

[Salles]

I read somewhere that I can install the RT-AC68U firmware on DSL-AC68U and make it behave like RT. I believe this would sort the issue for the aimesh node for this device since I dont use the DSL functionality of it.

There is an Asus Merlin version for the DSL-AC68U created by Gnuton. You could check that out. However it does not support Aimesh (same as every Asus Merlin Firmware)
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/dsl-ac68u-asuswrt-merlin-builds-for-dsl-routers.55985/

The problem is not exactly different SSID but the roaming functionality. I have a pretty big house along with basement, garden, garage, living rooms etc. So I need the devices to switch to the highest signal possible when roaming hence AiMesh.

There are other ways to use a roaming function than with Aimesh. There is a setting roaming assistant which you need to test to an optimal value when using your router as a router/AP/repeater. Maybe this thread can help you.
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/article-discussion-how-many-ssids-is-too-many.25353/

Anyway. I dont want a double NAT so only 1 device will handle DHCP and NAT which will AC5300. Can I use Lan ports instead of WAN ports? Can I connect all individual devices seperately to switch and make AiMesh work? (3xLyra - AP Mode, AC5300 - Primary Router, DSL-AC68U with RT firmware)

Before buying Lyra, I would like to be clear of what I am going to do.

If you connect Ainodes via ethernet they must be connected directly to Aimesh router. Not sure how it is via wifi, but I would guess that there will be a lower performance if you connect nodes to nodes via Wifi.

There are ways of using Aimesh on router with Asus merlin (if you know what you are doing).
Ainode needs Asus stockfirmware for Aimesh.
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/aimesh-working-and-updating-working-on-ax88u.56675/

 

[Laxarus]

If you connect Ainodes via ethernet they must be connected directly to Aimesh router.

This is a no go for me. I am distributing everything from the switch located at the server room. Aimesh router is only a single component of the network.

I was curious about AiMesh since I read that Orbi can handle this with switch in AP mode.

See the third setup.
https://kb.netgear.com/000051205/Wh...and-how-do-I-set-it-up-on-my-Orbi-WiFi-System

 

[Salles]

This is a no go for me. I am distributing everything from the switch located at the server room. Aimesh router is only a single component of the network.

I was curious about AiMesh since I read that Orbi can handle this with switch in AP mode.

See the third setup.
https://kb.netgear.com/000051205/Wh...and-how-do-I-set-it-up-on-my-Orbi-WiFi-System

Just to be clear, I am not sure about the possibility to connect ethernet via a switch between Aimesh router and node. Someone with more knowledge would need to elaborate this.
However, ethernet between nodes will not work.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Just to be clear, I am not sure about the possibility to connect ethernet via a switch between Aimesh router and node. Someone with more knowledge would need to elaborate this.
However, ethernet between nodes will not work.

As I understand AiMesh, mixed-and-matched i) star and daisy chain topologies and ii) wired and wireless backhauls are permitted. Some switches may interfere with Auto backhaul type detection, so then set the Connection Type manually to wired/Ethernet.

OE

 

[Jumpstarter]

Hello Guys,

1- I have a dedicated router in dsl bridge mode connected to the wan port of the ASUS RT-AC5300.
2- 2 LAN ports of AC5300 are connected to the 24 ports switch (LACP)
3- From there my switch distributes the connections to everywhere it is needed.
4- One of the connections is to the LAN port of DSL-AC68U (DHCP Off, NAT off, working similar to AP)
5- Another connection will go to the ASUS PL-AC56 kit (AP Mode)

I will not bother with other devices connected to the network but there are a lot of them. I can send the drawing upon request.

I would like to set up AiMesh to get a single SSID instead of switching to higher signal SSID while roaming. I also would like to purchase 3 Lyra Nodes and add this to the system.

Can I get all these devices connected with AiMesh (AC5300, DSL-AC68U, PL-AC56, 3xLyra) and become big happy family?

Please consider that all these devices will be connected to the 24 port switch with ethernet cable. In the Asus support page for AiMesh, it asks to connect the cables to the WAN ports of the devices other than the primary?

my question is why are you using 2 lan ports to connect a switch--- does the 24 port switch require you use 2 ethernet ports for full load, if not i do not see any real benefit to this other than load balancing?

 

[Laxarus]

my question is why are you using 2 lan ports to connect a switch--- does the 24 port switch require you use 2 ethernet ports for full load, if not i do not see any real benefit to this other than load balancing?

It is because of Link aggregation.

I also opened a ticket for the Asus support but all they told me is Lyra can work in AP mode. Not helping at all.

 

[OzarkEdge]

It is because of Link aggregation.

I also opened a ticket for the Asus support but all they told me is Lyra can work in AP mode. Not helping at all.

https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1038071

OE

 

[Laxarus]

Just to update,
I flashed RT Merlin to my DSL-AC68U successfully. Aimesh setup was also successful. However, I had to use the LAN port instead of WAN as there is no WAN port in the DSL-AC68U. Wired backhaul Aimesh was done. The problem was when I connect to switch in-between the main and child, my network goes crazy. So, I had to remove the switch and make a direct connection between the main and child. I have a managed switch so my next experiment will be to enable port isolation and connect them all to switch and see how it goes.

 

[Grisu]

I flashed RT Merlin to my DSL-AC68U successfully. Aimesh setup was also successful. However, I had to use the LAN port instead of WAN as there is no WAN port in the DSL-AC68U. Wired backhaul Aimesh was done. The problem was when I connect to switch in-between the main and child, my network goes crazy. So, I had to remove the switch and make a direct connection between the main and child. I have a managed switch so my next experiment will be to enable port isolation and connect them all to switch and see how it goes.

maybe this will help: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/d...eleased-with-aimesh-node-child-support.57737/

 

[Laxarus]

For the continuation:
I have managed to get it working with the below setup.
RT-AC5300 (Merlin firmware) === Link aggregation (port 1 & port 2) connected to 24p L2 managed switch === LAN port 1 of DSL-AC68U (Merlin RT-AC68U firmware)
I dont know how this relates to the Aimesh but after enabling multicast in the managed switch and setting the Aimesh node as wired in the control panel, everything works as expected.

 

[Laxarus]

Today, I added 3 Lyra units to the network. For wired backhaul, ASUS support page instruction says connect them to each other. For my setup it was clearly no go. I connected all of them to the switches in my network instead. Solid Green light. So this also works.