Asus Aimesh/AP network advice

[darkangel1994]

CT8 and AC68U as an accesspoint, i dont think thats a nightmare but ok. Two AX68 would have been better perhaps, the omada wasnt for me since the EAP245 didnt even reach the garage which was one of the main requirements. Maybe a more expensive AP from TP link (or equal brand) but that wouldnt fit the budget.

The CT8's and AC68U is what i have right now, and this thread is mainly for what i can improve on whats there.

 

[Tech9]

Use the ZenWiFi as designed - AiMesh Router + AiMesh Node. Wired AiMesh is more stable. Router and Node at -65dBm signal level is preferable for better roaming. You can play with Roaming Assistant for fine tuning, if it works on ZenWiFi. For 2.4GHz use @20MHz channel with the best throughput. How to find it - leave the router on Auto for a week and watch the most often used channel. Lock it after and don't change it. For 5GHz use the lower band, channel 36 is a safe choice @80MHz. Don't use DFS channels to avoid service disruptions. I would not use SmartConnect, but you can experiment with on/off. If AiMesh is wired, I would simply disable the second 5GHz radio - it's not needed. Replace your garage no-name repeater with AC68U in Repeater Mode running stock Asuswrt. For 100Mbps ISP service and few users should be more than enough. Keep the setup as simple as possible and as close as possible to default settings. Run VPN server for remote access to ZenWiFi settings.

 

[darkangel1994]

Ok i will play/test with those settings/setup when no one is home and using the network. With one AP less in the house, i'd have iffy wifi on one side of the home, but il see if i can fix that by eventually moving the router somewhat (cable length problem).
Il flash the AC68U to stock asuswrt for a start.

Should i run the zenwifi in AImesh or AImesh-APmode? I read on this forum that pure aimesh is on the same channels and thus halves bandwidth/airtime etc. And if i understand correctly, the AC68U should not join the AImesh as a node, but connect as a repeater, using the same channels and display SSID?

It would be 'cleaner' to have just one or two SSIDs (2.4 and 5ghz perhaps), aslong as phones and devices choose the correct radio.

Thanks (again) for your input.

 

[Tech9]

Should i run the zenwifi in AImesh or AImesh-APmode?

CT8 is Qualcomm based, AC68U is Broadcom. I would test CT8 AiMesh stability first, then experiment with what works best for AC68U - another Node or Repeater. Asus advertises CT8 coverage up to 500m2. I don't know why you need so many routers in this place. Right AP placement is important. More than needed AP's make things worse. Bridge the ISP modem and use CT8 as Router + Node. Otherwise you'll miss all CT8 advanced firmware features.

aslong as phones and devices choose the correct radio.

For Internet access alone, it doesn't matter much in your case. Common 2-stream clients connected to 2.4GHz will get up to 90Mbps speed (limited by tech) in wider coverage area. Same devices connected to 5GHz will get up to 100Mbps speed (limited by ISP) in smaller coverage area. SmartConnect may work well for you. AC68U doesn't support SmartConnect - another reason why I would deal with it later, after the main network is up and running.