Asus Aimesh/AP network advice

[darkangel1994]

I guess if you wanted access to using Merlin firmware you could use the 68U as your gateway router and then use the CT8 as an AiMesh pair running in AP mode. That way you get the mesh benefits of the CT8 platform and the features of the Merlin firmware on the 68U.

Is it possible to setup AImesh and still run AP mode on the CT8's? I dont think i'd need the merlin features. Also, is the CT8 a better router than the AC68U is? I have no idea what kind of chipset/CPU is in that router, nothing to find on the internet on it.

I did try using the CT8's in wired backhaul AImesh (without placing them in their desired places), and the AC68U as a node (aimesh). The speeds where quite bad using a laptop on the AC68U, but that might be due to having the three routers on the table (to setup AImesh as per the instructions).

Anyway good idea, didnt thinkoff using the AC68 as the main gateway. Have some options left, the 68u was planned to be in the garage 15/20 meters away, but the current repeater does quite a good job. I might have the three routers (CT8's and 68U) in the house all by wired backhaul and connect the repeater in the garage to one of the AP's (like its now).
I tried selecting wire-only backhaul mode but then all routers have to be wired. This would supposedly free up all wireless capabilities of the routers for wifi use (according to the info).

Might the CT8/68U not be a great combo i could return it for something else (local store). Thanks for the input.

Edit: seamless roaming isnt much or important at all. Maybe using different SSID's (or the same) in AP mode for every router using different bands is something to consider? What bands would i have to chose for 2.4 and the two 5ghz radios?

 

[Smokey613]

First off, the 68U is a dual band unit and the CT8 units are tri-band having two 5g wifi radios. In a wireless mesh setup, the pair of CT8 will establish a dedicated wireless backhaul connection using the 2nd 5g band. If you link them using ethernet, they can then utilize all three bands for client connectivity. Trying to add a dual band unit to a tri band mesh will not provide good results.

The CT8 can run as AP units and still be setup in AiMesh configuration. By this time tomorrow, I hope to have an Untagle firewall unit setup to handle all routing functions and put my CT8 units in a mesh/AP mode setup to handle wifi duties.

 

[darkangel1994]

The CT8 have a Qualcomm IPQ4019 cpu (700mhz?) in them, 256mb ram (128mb flash i think). I wonder if its more capable than the 68U or vice versa?
CT8 doesnt strike me as that capable but i could be wrong.

Would the 2x AX56u have been a better choice? 2x Ac86U is around the same price aswell, but only available via web-order (instead of 2xct8 + 1x ac68).

 

[darkangel1994]

I now have the ac68 as the main router and the ct8’s added as nodes via the ac68. Ac68 being the main router, one of the ct8’s in the corner of the house, i notice the ct8 providing half the speed to the garage as compared to the ac68.

Maybe this will improve if i can get the ct8’s as mesh AP’s instead of adding them as pure mesh nodes to the ac68? I just dunno how to run them as AP’s in mesh mode.

Also, almost all devices connect to the ac68

 

[Smokey613]

Go into Administration on the main CT8 units and change mode to AP. The 68U will provide dhcp and routing services to the ct8 units. If you want to mesh the ct8 units, you can reset the 2nd ct8 unit to factory default. Then add it as a mesh node on the main ct8 unit. You will need to connect the first ct8 unit to your 68U using a network cable. Go from lan port on 68u to wan port on the ct8.

My 2 ct8 units are in an AiMesh group and the primary ct8 is in AP mode. My Untangle unit provides all routing networking functions on my network.

 

[Smokey613]

Also, I got my best wifi results on my ct8 units by using the prior firmware release, not the latest one.

ASUS ZenWiFi AC (CT8)｜Whole Home Mesh WiFi System｜ASUS USA

ZenWiFi Systems blanket your home with WiFi, for seamless roaming with no dead zones. They only take a few steps to set up, and offer easy, hassle-free management. Their modern design blends with any style of home.

www.asus.com

Version 3.0.0.4.386.23003

 

[darkangel1994]

Go into Administration on the main CT8 units and change mode to AP. The 68U will provide dhcp and routing services to the ct8 units. If you want to mesh the ct8 units, you can reset the 2nd ct8 unit to factory default. Then add it as a mesh node on the main ct8 unit. You will need to connect the first ct8 unit to your 68U using a network cable. Go from lan port on 68u to wan port on the ct8.

My 2 ct8 units are in an AiMesh group and the primary ct8 is in AP mode. My Untangle unit provides all routing networking functions on my network.

It was quite much trail and error today. The AC68U was really a beast performer, i was surprised because its an old router by now. The CT8's are just like two siblings fighting and not going along
With the AC68 being the main-router, i tried setting the CT8's as AP's from the setup menu (AP mode, not AImesh). Almost all clients connected the AC68 before so il see tomorrow if in AP mode the CT8's will connect some devices aswell. If not, il revert to AP modes and have different SSID's, roaming aint important anyway, just a luxury in this situation.

The EAP245V3 didnt reach the garage with good throughput, the CT8's neither. The AC68U provided 100/100 to the repeater in the garage on its 2.4ghz radio. Maybe il have to have one of the CT8's as main router and the AC68U in the corner upstairs in the house. I will test and try different situations. I just dont like having 8 or 9 SSID's for one household but ok (not counting the garage repeater). The CT8's provide two 5ghz channels....

I wonder if two AC86U's (new ones) would have done a better job

 

[Tech9]

I wonder if two AC86U's (new ones) would have done a better job

Yes. When one of them dies you have another. AC86U had to be sold in pairs only. Buy one, get one free.

 

[darkangel1994]

Yes. When one of them dies you have another. AC86U had to be sold in pairs only. Buy one, get one free.

Are the ones you can buy new today still bad units? Read somewhere the 2019 and newer are less risky

 

[Tech9]

Are the ones you can buy new today still bad units?

Do you love your parents?

 

[darkangel1994]

Do you love your parents?

Hm, i know what to recommend to my sister (ac86 whole property solution)

 

[darkangel1994]

To add, the ct8 just has a bad range? Wonder if reverting to older firmware would increase the bad range.

 

[L&LD]

No RT-AC86U's have 'died' for many customers over the last 3 years (~200+ units now).

Also, the original RT-AC86U (2018 model) I bought and sold so long ago is still in use and provides excellent service (this was passed down within the family I sold it to originally).

This is the order of considering a new router today, depending on the price.

Current Order of Recommended Routers Late 2021

Don't listen to the horror stories about the RT-AC86U. Yes, they are real. But their lack of reliability isn't in proportion to the opinions commonly expressed here.

Who/what decides which model to get? You and your wallet. Look at the link above to see where the prices and your budget/needs meet, today.

 

[darkangel1994]

Yeah well otherwise there should be a warranty i think. The AX68U is the better router but its almost double the price here. The AC86U can be found for as cheap as 90 to 100 dollars new (produced 2021 in china).
Anyway, the AC68U has been quite unstable on its 2.4ghz radio. Either you cant connect at all, or you can connect but dont get any internet access. Some users could get internet, some not. 5Ghz working fine though.
Its running latest merlin firmware, its a 2021 'V3 model' so i might have to try stock and see what happens.

 

[Tech9]

The AC86U can be found for as cheap as 90 to 100 dollars new (produced 2021 in china).

You are going to go in circles forever trying to cut down the cost. It's cheap for a reason.

Its running latest merlin firmware

As I said earlier, I would never put disposable hardware running custom firmware in my parents place.

 

[L&LD]

All hardware is disposable. Don't buy at the top if you don't need to. And in this case, it doesn't seem like it is needed at all.

 

[darkangel1994]

An update. I now have a quite nice network going, no more deathspots and use-able network in the garage building. One of the CT8's is functioning as the main router, the other CT8 and AC68U (merlin) as accesspoints, no AImesh configuration. Router and AP's are on different channels, for 2.4ghz, channel 1, 6 and 11. Done the same for 5ghz. Turned off beam forming, mimo, air fairness and run 20mhz on the 2.4ghz channels across the devices. Router and both AP's have different SSID's aswell as seperate 2.4/ghz channels, so theres no true roaming, but its working much and much better.
We get 100/100 everywhere in the house wirelessly with the 5ghz bands, stable enough aswell. 2.4ghz suprisingly isnt that fast (50mbit in some places), but use-able. The garage sees a reasonable connection with good ping and almost no jitter on tests, about 35mbits with the repeater in-between. The AC68 is providing connection to the garage's repeater.

Ive measured 100/100 before in the garage using the AC68 as an AP at the exact same spot, no idea what happened there, same setup, but its still good enough even for a ip camera.

Was considering exchanging the CT8's with one AX68U and have it working with the AC68, but it seems the current setup, with some slight thinkering is quite a nice one.

Thanks for you guys input into this matter

 

[GHammer]

If you find that all this is too much tweaking and reliability is questionable, take a look at these solutions.
I've shot a signal half a mile using this gear. Glad I don't have those conditions any longer though.

MikroTik

MikroTik makes networking hardware and software, which is used in nearly all countries of the world. Our mission is to make existing Internet technologies faster, more powerful and affordable to wider range of users.

mikrotik.com

 

[darkangel1994]

Thought i'd create a new thread, coming from the wireless buying advice section. I will quote my latest post from that section and start from there:

I now have a quite nice network going, no more deathspots and use-able network in the garage building. One of the CT8's is functioning as the main router, the other CT8 and AC68U (merlin) as accesspoints, no AImesh configuration. Router and AP's are on different channels, for 2.4ghz, channel 1, 6 and 11. Done the same for 5ghz. Turned off beam forming, mimo, air fairness and run 20mhz on the 2.4ghz channels across the devices. Router and both AP's have different SSID's aswell as seperate 2.4/ghz channels, so theres no true roaming, but its working much and much better.
We get 100/100 everywhere in the house wirelessly with the 5ghz bands, stable enough aswell. 2.4ghz suprisingly isnt that fast (50mbit in some places), but use-able. The garage sees a reasonable connection with good ping and almost no jitter on tests, about 35mbits with the repeater in-between. The AC68 is providing connection to the garage's repeater.

Ive measured 100/100 before in the garage using the AC68 as an AP at the exact same spot, no idea what happened there, same setup, but its still good enough even for a ip camera.

To add to the above, the router and two AP's (three 5ghz SSID's) are as follows for their static selected channels, 36, 64 and 140 and auto selection bandwidth (20/40/80mhz). I have two SSID's per router/AP (2.4 and 5). Everythings wired (router and the two CT8's).
Setup seems stable and fast, running for four days now. I have no roaming/one ssid or any mesh, but thats really not a problem.

The only 'problem' is 2.4ghz performance to the garage repeater, which was providing 100mbits there, now in the 30 to 40mbit range (still good enough). The only change was merlin firmware but i doubt that is the problem as i can seem to get higher speeds outside of the garage with my phone. Repeater has the same settings as before, just changed to the new SSID coming from the AC68U.

Another thing i wonder, it doesnt seem possible to just use the 2nd 5Ghz channel on the CT8's, when i disable 5Ghz-1, and have 5Ghz-2 still activated, the 5ghz-1 channel is still active (even though settings says its not). Would think that using the triband/2nd 5ghz radio is more capable and use that, but then theres three SSID's per AP. So im running with the 5Ghz-1 radio and the 2nd de-activated.

Anyway, if you guys think there could be suggestions for improvements, thats welcome.

 

[Tech9]

I personally stopped replying to the other thread because after so many posts there you have created a nightmare Wi-Fi environment with mixed routers, an old repeater, multiple SSID's on the same band and fixed DFS channels. This is all wrong and nothing even close to what we have discussed.