Asus XT8s and powerline backhaul

[Mad Mesh]

Hello all from a forum newbie

I have four XT8s in a home mesh network and am looking at wiring the backhaul of some or all of them using TP-Link TL-PA8010P/30P (1-port and 3-port) powerline adapters. I know the general feeling is that this is risky, but if I set up the units to use ethernet when it's available and wifi otherwise, the network isn't at risk of crashing if the PLAs fail.
I'm a complete beginner at ethernet, so please excuse possibly dumb questions, but I would greatly appreciate some advice on how to use the PLAs in an ethernet setup for backhaul. The only reference to daisy-chaining I can find for backhaul with XT8s is to connect a LAN port of one unit to the WAN port of the next unit down the line, and so on. My confusion is how to implement this with PLAs. Do I have to use a separate pair of PLAs with their own networks to create each daisy-chain link? I was hoping for a simpler solution: connecting the router LAN port to a PLA, and then connecting each of the other units' WAN ports to its own PLA, all on the same PLA network. Any clarification greatfully received.

 

[fisherman10]

The user manual says you can have 1 main PLA and more node PLAs.

 

[L&LD]

Welcome to the forums @Mad Mesh.

What is the cost of those PLAs? What would the cost be to wire them up properly (Cat5e or better)?

Depending on your ISP speeds, the size of your home, and the quality of the PLAs used, you can expect to see a huge detriment to your current environment.

I had tried up to 4 AV2000 PLAs in a small home (1,100 SqFt) and had nothing but issues (including worse performance) with them. All my customers have benefitted greatly by getting rid of any PLA solutions they may have had and instead, using an older router in Media Bridge mode (where wired devices were available).

Do anything in your power to not go down the PLA route. It isn't a pretty, fast, or reliable road.

 

[Smokey613]

I have a pair of Netgear PLA 1200 that connect my living room to my remote outside office. I only use them when I need a network connection for remote admin ( in case I loose wifi connectivity ) into one of my routers in the living room from my desktop in the office. Other than that, they are pretty useless for any real bandwidth. My AX wifi backhaul is pretty good considering the “barriers” between the 2 XT8 units.

 

[RogerSC]

I wouldn't bother with powerline networking if your XT8's can connect to each other via wifi. Wifi-6 as backhaul is going to be faster and more consistent than powerline networking, which also decreases in speed as the distance and number of circuits crossed increases. Experimentation can be fun, but be sure that you buy the powerline networking adapters from a place where you can return them if they don't work out for you.

Wondering how big your place is? How far apart are the ZenWiFi nodes? Mine are about 40' apart, and their connection, according the the mesh firmware is "Great" *smile*. Of course, has to do with type of construction, walls, and floors as well.