ASUS RTAC88U and Extender Wifi Setup #advice

[JAAAAA]

Hi Super Smart People - I think this is the right place to post this but correct me if wrong please

I have a huge question about my home network set up at my parents house (my house as well).
Preface: We are with Telstra and still on Cable - but will be moving to NBN shortly.

TLDR: Have an Asus RT-AC88U and Netgear EX7000 Extender and I think I am not using the Asus router to its full potential.

Current Setup: LucidChart Home Wifi

• Summarised: RT-AC88U Asus set up as Router is in garage, doesn't give strong wifi signal from that position to the rest of the house/backyard... - so rely on Netgear AC1900 Router and set it up as an access point for home wifi. Is this the best setup?
  
  
• The Location of the AC1900 Router is much more central and basically covers almost all the entire house.
  

My question - is this really the best set up?

• I feel as if I am primarily relying on the Netgear AC1900 Router for my homes wifi and that Router isn’t as powerful as the RTAC88U router which is AC3100 - so I feel as if I am wasting its powers. *
  
  
• If I were to replace the Asus Router in the location of the Netgear Extender (central of the house) and just have that Asus Router plugged into that ethernet socket - wouldn't that require me to turn my Telstra Modem into a Router as well?
  

Any advice on what you think the best option here is/and any explanation so a noob like myself can understand what if I’m doing it wrong etc that would be very appreciated!!

 

[Grisu]

you wont see much differences by changing them, those nice numbers more for marketing than usability.
Sure it would be better to use 88U on central position, but where is you modem?
You would have to run LAN from modem to central position 88U and one back to garage or where you want to have Netgear to extend your WiFi.
And at the end you may have no benefit of doing so.

We know much to less about your situation to clarify it!
Which line speed do you have?
backhaul LAN or Wifi between routers?
can you run new LAN cables?
which clients can they even use faster Wifi from 88U?
will line limit Wifi down so faster Wifi cant do anything faster except within your home network like to a NAS?

 

[JAAAAA]

you wont see much differences by changing them, those nice numbers more for marketing than usability.
Sure it would be better to use 88U on central position, but where is you modem?
You would have to run LAN from modem to central position 88U and one back to garage or where you want to have Netgear to extend your WiFi.
And at the end you may have no benefit of doing so.

We know much to less about your situation to clarify it!
Which line speed do you have?
backhaul LAN or Wifi between routers?
can you run new LAN cables?
which clients can they even use faster Wifi from 88U?
will line limit Wifi down so faster Wifi cant do anything faster except within your home network like to a NAS?

More information about situation --> click link: LucidChart Home Wifi
Modem and Asus in Garage | Netgear EX7000 upstairs in central position of home.

• Have Premium Speed Cable Connection with Telstra (so up to 100mbs and Speedtest shows that based on the Netgear Router (which I am primarily connected to for the wifi - I get close to 100mbs connection. D
  
  • Stats from a speedtest on Netgear Wifi: Ping 14 m/s ~93mbs DL and 5mbs upload
• Don't know of any clients that cna use faster wifi - but do have basically all the newest devices in this home.
• Have noticed however that when there are a lot of devices on the wifi network (from the Netgear Access Point) it impacts the speeds of the general wifi (streaming lags/gaming is affected)
  • This is why I thought that bringing in a higher AC unit wil allow for more bandwith/prevent this from occuring whilst simulataneously Increasing that wifi range?

 

[Grisu]

do you even need Wifi in garage or would it be enough to get wifi from central router over there?

easiest way: connect modem to wall-LAN and replace Netgear with Asus.

If you get full speed on your client (100Mb/s) your ISP is the limiting factor, not your wifi ...
How should things change by replacing whatever inside your home?

 

[JAAAAA]

do you even need Wifi in garage or would it be enough to get wifi from central router over there?

easiest way: connect modem to wall-LAN and replace Netgear with Asus.

I imagine that the Asus Router has a bigger range than the Netgear - so if that is the case, it would cover the length of the house if it was in the central location.

However, what do you mean wall-LAN? You mean power to ethernet?

 

[Grisu]

I imagine that the Asus Router has a bigger range than the Netgear - so if that is the case, it would cover the length of the house if it was in the central location.

However, what do you mean wall-LAN? You mean power to ethernet?

Maybe, but I wont think so, they all have same Wifi power limits, usually you cant see much differences in range, only speed could go up if you can use more Wifi-bandwith or MuMIMO.
Isnt there a LAN wall socket in the garage? I mean take LAN from 88U-router and plug it to modem directly without router in between. And replace Netgear with Asus then.

Only way to go: Test it and you will see ...!!!

 

[JAAAAA]

Okay I graphed it out - because I am trying to figure out what you're saying - you're suggesting this.

Currently:

Your suggestion:

In this suggestion, just as a general query - dont you NEED to have a modem connected to a Router in order to have wifi etc?

With that said - based on the facts, how would this set up be better? I understand the concept behind being limited by the ISP's internet 100mbs but otherwise - what benefits could i potentially see here?

*Edit - the ASUS would NOT be set up as an access point - it would be set up as a Router?

 

[Grisu]

Asus would be the same as now, nothing changes except its location and no need for Netgear.
Only difference is the longer ethernet cable from modem to router, nevermind.

Is there real ethernet between garage and house or some kind of ethernet over power line (not the best solution)?

 

[JAAAAA]

Asus would be the same as now, nothing changes except its location and no need for Netgear.

Is there real ethernet between garage and house or some kind of ethernet over power line (not the best solution)?

Upstairs in the cupboard is an ethernet wall socket that is real ethernet not over power line.

• When you say nothing changes except its location what do you mean by that?
  • By removing the Netgear device from the picture will this have an impact on performance positively?
  • Just to confirm - by going via your suggestion you dont need to directly connect the modem to the router - as I thought you did?
• Sorry to ask this again (thank you so much for your help btw - just trying to learn)
  • "Maybe, but I wont think so, they all have same Wifi power limits, usually you cant see much differences in range, only speed could go up if you can use more Wifi-bandwith or MuMIMO."
  • Will the RT-AC88U have more wifi bandwith or MuMIMO compared to the Netgear EX7000 as an access point based on information (see words linked)

Also is this what you meant?

 

[ColinTaylor]

The label in the previous post is wrong. It says "Connected and setup as an access point", it should say "Connected and setup as a router".

No one can answer your questions about performance, range, etc. because everyone's environment is different. It's just something you're going to have to try for yourself. Just replace the EX7000 in your current setup with the Asus, and plug the cable from the modem directly into the wall socket in the garage.

 

[JAAAAA]

Update - I tried to implement the suggested changes and ran into some issues. Namely, I couldn't actually find a LAN Wall Socket next to the modem in the garage that I could plug INTO - just cables running out of that wall.

Found that there is currently also a POE device that is plugged into the Router downstairs too. So, current setup is:

Not really sure how to proceed - without a LAN Port next to the router is my current setup the best option? Or should I consider going down the path of power over ethernet etc?

 

[Grisu]

Let it be as it was, not the bad!
Your infrastructure is now very different to your first posting, so it is was good like before.
You need LAN for your PoE devices in the garage.
That can only be supported from router-LAN port.

If you still want to change (for no essential reason) you would need a second LAN cable back from router to garage for IP cams and you need Netgear over there for good Wifi too.

As I said nothing will get any faster as your ISP is limiting factor NOT WiFi!

 

[JAAAAA]

While we're on the topic - comparing the Netgear EX7000 vs the Asus Router - is the only difference the fact that the Netgear Router has a higher AC so would be able to deliver higher bandwith to multiple devices?

Does the Asus Router being plugged into the Router do anything different than me simply using the built in routing ability of the Telstra Stock Modem and have the Asus as an access point?

• * Weird question so hard to understand - but basically, does the Router being plugged into the modem bring any benefit (apart from better wifi) than using a stock modem and using its routing capabilities - and then just having an access point somewhere else?
• * I feel as if having the modem being connected via LAN to the Router brings benefits to the internet for the rest of the home through the ethernet ports in the house but I'm unsure...

 

[Grisu]

If you dont use any features possible with Asus and Merlin on it you can use your modem in router mode too.
Even with Wifi turned on and no need for a second router in the garage, we dont know your modemrouter, will it support 5G?

You can buy a AX11000 router and wont see anything faster with your line, Wifi is not your limiting factor!

As long as your clients get 80-90Mb/s download speed you cant make anything faster by changing to whatever.

 

[JAAAAA]

If you dont use any features possible with Asus and Merlin on it you can use your modem in router mode too.
Even with Wifi turned on and no need for a second router in the garage, we dont know your modemrouter, will it support 5G?

You can buy a AX11000 router and wont see anything faster with your line, Wifi is not your limiting factor!

As long as your clients get 80-90Mb/s download speed you cant make anything faster by changing to whatever.

What I mean is - by plugging my Router into modem - outside of Wifi. The LAN for the house will be provided by the Router, in which case does that not mean that the Router is managing all those connections better than what a Stock Modem/Router would?

 

[Grisu]

your needs are that rudimentary that it wont make any difference.
Run your provider modem in router mode and rest in AP mode for Wifi coverage only.
As I said, your Asus is able to do much more you dont use, so all the same in your case.
No VPN, no NAS, no scripts, no enhanced security apps, no download master (torrent), no mesh, no aiprotection ...

You are an average user with no need for these routers, why think about at all?
I want a Ferrari, dont know how to use it or where to drive, only using it to go to school.

 

[JAAAAA]

your needs are that rudimentary that it wont make any difference.
Run your provider modem in router mode and rest in AP mode for Wifi coverage only.
As I said, your Asus is able to do much more you dont use, so all the same in your case.
No VPN, no NAS, no scripts, no enhanced security apps, no download master (torrent), no mesh, no aiprotection ...

You are an average user with no need for these routers, why think about at all?
I want a Ferrari, dont know how to use it or where to drive, only using it to go to school.

How would you define the appropriate needs though - like the House has almost 25 clients just checking by logging into the IP now with (Sonos/IP Cameras/Smart Devices/Wifi Doorbell + ~ 6 phones, ~ 4 laptops using it) so I would say that the usage on the internet is quite heavy...

I dont know but I feel as if compared to an average household this is heavy usage and so the needs aren't particularly rudimentary (I could be wrong though if I misunderstood what you mean by that)...

 

[Grisu]

it doesnt matter how many clients you have, they all need "only" internet access - thats basic and handled easily with provider modemrouter too.
Your routers (both) can be used as AP without any routing functionalities, only to extend Wifi or additional LAN ports.
Be happy that you dont need more, I am almost in the same league.

 

[JAAAAA]

it doesnt matter how many clients you have, they all need "only" internet access - thats basic and handled easily with provider modemrouter too.
Your routers (both) can be used as AP without any routing functionalities, only to extend Wifi or additional LAN ports.

Just a question - What are other routing functionalities? Like what more can they have on top of “internet access”

 

[Grisu]

I wrote some of them in #16

No VPN, no NAS, no scripts, no enhanced security apps, no download master (torrent), no mesh, no aiprotection ...

or hard core gamer, wifi-phone calls, streaming in different region, external access.