Asus + L3 XikStor hardware

[HWfreak]

I may have bitten off a little (or a lot) more than i can chew and need some help from the experts around here.
I have accrued the following hardware:
1 x Asus 89X (main router)
4 x Asus TUF AX4200
XikStor SKS8310-8X L3 optical switch https://xikestor.com/sks8300-8x.htm
And he following device will arrive tomorrow.
XikStor SKS8300-12E2T2X

https://www.amazon.co.jp/2-5G-10G-photoelectric-temperature-controlled/dp/B0DHZ65CZX?ref_=ast_sto_dp

I...may (ahem), have bitten off a little more than i can chew and thus must seek assistance.

The Asus 89x and its (currently 3) TUF AX4200 nodes have been running temporarily in wireless mess - I know, I am a bad boy but it was of course only temporary until i got the switches and fiber in place and then i will switch over to AP mode and fiber backbones x 3.

I need the XikStor SKS8310-8X to play nice with the Asus gear and I know it limits the use of VLAN, but that is not my primary concern at this stage. I would just like these devices to talk to each other and behave like a network. Perhaps I need some assistance with the setup of the VLAN or whatever I need to do to get it playing nicely with the Asus gear.

 

[degrub]

That is a lot of hardware for residential. What are you trying to accomplish ? What are your client devices, wired and wireless ?
i assume you have done a wifi strength survey of the building and know where to place the APs without significant overlap ?
What is your ISP able to provide for service ?

BTW, you may get better response posting in the ASUS AX subforum.

 

[Tech9]

Yet another dead end project like the one last year...

Asus Network design

I am designing a network for several buildings over a reasonable area (not sure how many sq feet), but i estimate, ideally, it will require: A mesh capable primary router - I have 2 x AC88U and 1 x AX89X I think 4 x node routers - I have amassed 6 x AC68U a largish switch - I have a netgear 24...

www.snbforums.com

I like XikeStor address though. Will send them a snail mail with receipt and tracking. Sounds like fun.
Room 25-2-201, Champs Landing, Jiefang Road, Longzihu District, Bengbu City, Anhui Province, China.

 

[HWfreak]

That is a lot of hardware for residential. What are you trying to accomplish ? What are your client devices, wired and wireless ?
i assume you have done a wifi strength survey of the building and know where to place the APs without significant overlap ?
What is your ISP able to provide for service ?

BTW, you may get better response posting in the ASUS AX subforum.

That is a lot of hardware for residential. What are you trying to accomplish ? What are your client devices, wired and wireless ?
i assume you have done a wifi strength survey of the building and know where to place the APs without significant overlap ?
What is your ISP able to provide for service ?

BTW, you may get better response posting in the ASUS AX subforum.

That is not all but the core backbone of the network.

I have already run 40m and 20m 10G fiber and will run at least one and likely 2 more 30-40m fiber links.
The buildings are sprawling and hence the need for fiber and the currently 3 operational TUF AX4200 nodes. I have various older NAS, will build some TrueNAS boxes, and more than a dozen Linux machines. I want to be able to stream video, host old style large network games, remote work, automation and SCADA monitoring, and am investigating whether I can host my own SIP infrastructure. Eventually I will exceed the capability of the Asus equipment but for now that is what I am working with.

The ISP supplies 1Gb optical to my network and that is as good as it gets for here as it is deep in the countryside.

The overlap of the APs is not significant, but I am trying to project WiFi coverage as far outside as possible without being too close to areas where people sleep.

I will always try to cable as many devices as possible and resort to WiFi when there is no other option.

 

[Tech9]

Isn't there anything more commercial grade to invest in?

 

[HWfreak]

Yet another dead end project like the one last year...

Asus Network design

I am designing a network for several buildings over a reasonable area (not sure how many sq feet), but i estimate, ideally, it will require: A mesh capable primary router - I have 2 x AC88U and 1 x AX89X I think 4 x node routers - I have amassed 6 x AC68U a largish switch - I have a netgear 24...

www.snbforums.com

I like XikeStor address though. Will send them a snail mail with receipt and tracking. Sounds like fun.
Room 25-2-201, Champs Landing, Jiefang Road, Longzihu District, Bengbu City, Anhui Province, China.

 

[HWfreak]

It is the same project - I just doubled down on the dual band AX Asus infrastructure (as I really want to use the 89x for now, and when it goes EoL, I will either put a FW in front with of it, and/or keep the Asus gear in service as APs.

The XIkStor hardware looks fine but the firmware sucks - it doesn't retain time or other settings, seems to resist firmware upgrades, doesn't save new PWs etc and I think I might return it and invest in Mikrotik hardware from now. Hopefully I can get L3 hardware to play nice with the Asus gear. Yes I know it is not ideal.

 

[Tech9]

Not sure what exactly advice you are looking for. None of your Asus routers are VLAN capable, they have limited active clients support per radio, they require power lines to every AP location due to no PoE support, with routers in AP Mode you can't even have isolated Guest Network... if you go for AiMesh it adds some functionality and takes away per AP control. The hardware purchased has serious limitations before you even start. Perhaps the thread below can give you some better hardware ideas?

Assistance with Large Wifi Network over multiple Buildings Ubiquiti

Hi All, I've been away a while but here I am back with the big one :) Hope you are all doing well out there? Wondering if some of you clever folk @Tech9 @ColinTaylor @SomeWhereOverTheRainBow @thiggins etc could assist with a project I am involved in. Please note I am a tech hobby guy and not...

www.snbforums.com

 

[HWfreak]

Not sure what exactly advice you are looking for. None of your Asus routers are VLAN capable, they have limited active clients support per radio, they require power lines to every AP location due to no PoE support, with routers in AP Mode you can't even have isolated Guest Network... if you go for AiMesh it adds some functionality and takes away per AP control. The hardware purchased has serious limitations before you even start. Perhaps the thread below can give you some better hardware ideas?

Assistance with Large Wifi Network over multiple Buildings Ubiquiti

Hi All, I've been away a while but here I am back with the big one :) Hope you are all doing well out there? Wondering if some of you clever folk @Tech9 @ColinTaylor @SomeWhereOverTheRainBow @thiggins etc could assist with a project I am involved in. Please note I am a tech hobby guy and not...

www.snbforums.com

I have two small 10G PoE switches to be used at the far reaches of the network, so that the distance for UTP is minimised and I don't have dozens of 40m lengths of UTP making things look more fugly than need be.
I will be running power where it is needed (as it is needed for other applications anyway) and PoE for the obvious applications like cameras etc. Due to the type and volume of Asus devices, and also my desire to keep as many devices cabled at possible, there is less need for a swarm of wireless devices at this juncture nor the need for network segmentation.
That said, I have taken your point (both previously and now) about the capacity to have these features in the future and in time, that will happen.
Right now, I would be content if I could get all devices onto one LAN with 3 or 4 fiber backbones, Asus AP mode for the 4200s, and I could run a decent enough guest WiFi on the 89x (only) if required.

 

[HWfreak]

Not sure what exactly advice you are looking for. None of your Asus routers are VLAN capable, they have limited active clients support per radio, they require power lines to every AP location due to no PoE support, with routers in AP Mode you can't even have isolated Guest Network... if you go for AiMesh it adds some functionality and takes away per AP control. The hardware purchased has serious limitations before you even start. Perhaps the thread below can give you some better hardware ideas?

Assistance with Large Wifi Network over multiple Buildings Ubiquiti

Hi All, I've been away a while but here I am back with the big one :) Hope you are all doing well out there? Wondering if some of you clever folk @Tech9 @ColinTaylor @SomeWhereOverTheRainBow @thiggins etc could assist with a project I am involved in. Please note I am a tech hobby guy and not...

www.snbforums.com

Upon further reflection, the counsel I am seeking is given the constraints of the Asus hardware mentioned, my question is how do I marry together these different grades of hardware into a single working network. Of course it is not a best or ideal case or on that would be deemed satisfactory by a professional, but much of our experience and journey here is organic in nature and is the...soil from which better planning and decisions will sprout in the future.
Thanks for your assistance and patience in advance.

 

[Tech9]

Since your goal is to wire as much as possible clients - do this first the way you want it. Asus routers as APs add later and where needed, they are wired-to-wireless bridges only. Wired IP camera network has to be isolated from main network, but this is what most NVRs do by default. For simplicity get an NVR with the number of ports needed and PoE. For TUF-AX4200 model in particular - explore OpenWrt firmware options, may give you more flexibility for the intended use. I don't have a good overview of your place and planned network and can't really recommend specific devices. I also don't know what region are you in and what hardware is commonly available around. What I know though is mix and match may become difficult to maintain and expand down the road.

 

[Tech9]

There is something else you may want to think about - the mix and match setup becomes your responsibility. You accept the sysadmin role to support it and maintain it. If you won't be available all the time - go simple and standard so someone else can make changes and/or take over when needed. Document every single device and settings. Single plane of glass systems like UniFi or Omada are easier to manage locally and remotely. You just need access to the controller and get visibility over the entire network. They also allow limited rights management accounts. Both will notify you when something goes wrong so you don't have to monitor the network all the time.