Beta ASUSWRT 386 RC2 public beta with full functions AiMesh 2.0

[afool622]

Clean installed RC2-8 on 2xRT-AC86U... sans Smart Connect. I feel Smart Connect node band steering works well enough but I suspect it can still disrupt streaming media apps.

The remote node uploaded normally. The root node was unsuccessful the first attempt... I've never seen this message before (using direct wired PC):
View attachment 27714

I notice the Wireless Log still needs Tx rate and Rx rate column spacing for readability:
View attachment 27715

Thanks, Asus!

OE

I had the same issue. Root node failed the first attempt. Succeeded the 2nd.

 

[SandmanXX]

Here's something interesting... AX88 as main, RX55 as a node. I wanted to add a GT-AC5300 as a node as well, the former main router. I did the factory reset 4-5 times, the 88 would not hook it into aimesh, although it saw the router every time. Sitting 2 feet from it even. So I put the GT back in the other room, cabled it to the rx88, and did the factory reset, and poof- it added it as an aimesh node the first time. So the takewaway is, I had to actually plug the GT (WAN port) in to get it to aimesh node status.

 

[SBSTNGRSS]

Thank you! Beside the Ethernet backhaul issue, the wifi backhaul feels in rc2-8 rock solid in my config. I leave even roaming assist off, smart connect off and just 1 SSID. All my IOS, MacOSX devices roam flawlessly - it feels better than never before.

@SBSTNGRSS @PretorianADB
We reproduced the RT-AC88U backhaul bugs.
It happened when the RT-AC88U role is a node.
We will fix this bug in next release.

Rotuer/RT-AC88U + Node/RT-AC88U -> fail
Rotuer/RT-AC86U + Node/RT-AC88U -> fail
Rotuer/RT-AC88U + Node/RT-AC86U -> pass
Rotuer/RT-AC86U + Node/RT-AC88U -> fail

 

[LimJK]

@Neil62
The RT-AC86U beta-8 firmware had uploaded

My Configuration:
AiMesh Router: AX88U 9.0.0.4_386_40947-g7e1d916 + 2 x AiMesh Nodes: AC86U 9.0.0.4_386_40947-g7e1d916
Backhaul (Priority:"Auto", Type:"Wired"), Linksys LGS108 Gigabit Switch from Router to Nodes, ISP: 1 Gbps Fibre

Exercise (1)
After full factory reset for AiMesh Router and Nodes, I tried as much as possible to leave NVRAM items as per FirmWare defaults and everything is working as expected for about 24 hours. Items that I configured are:

• Enabled AiProtection: ON
• Adaptive QOS: OFF
• USB Application: Media Server, Samba, NFS, FTP, etc -> All OFF (I am using Synology DS918+ NAS)
• WiFi Fixed Control Channel & Bandwidth
  • 2.4GHz: 11 & 20 MHz
  • 5.0GHz: 149 & 80 MHz
• WiFi 2.4GHz Band Explicit & Universal Beamforming -> All Disabled
• Guest Network -> OFF
• DDNS: ASUS DDNS with Let’s Encrypt
• VPN Server:
  • OpenVPN works with MacBookPro (Tunnelblick 3.8.5beta01) & iPhoneXsMax (OpenVPN Connect 3.2.2)
  • IPsec works with MacBookPro & iPhoneXsMax (native configuration)
  • Instant Guard works with iPhoneXsMax (Instant Guard 1.0.0.0.9)

Exercise (2)
Validated that “Ethernet Backhaul Mode through switch issue” is fixed for my configuration it also forced Connection Priority to "Ethernet Only" with no other selectable options. Has been running well for about 6 hours.

Edit: Add Screenshots ... to show that once Ethernet Backhaul Mode is selected, it force Connection Priority to "Ethernet Only" and this cannot be changed (which is good)



Thank You

Edit: Exercise (3) Added Guest Network Index 1 with 5GHz band only. Everything is working as advertised ... running about an hour.

 

[tom31000]

Hi,

My conf. is :

- AX88U as main router
- 3 AX92 as nodes ethernet backhaul and ethernet connected to the AX88

Latest RC 9.0.0.4.386.40947 on all routers.

Everything seems to work corectly but i'm wondering how are the 3 band of AX92 managed particulary the 2 X 5G ones considering only one is AX capable ?

In the new Aimesh2 UI, I get the information that all the 5G bands are activated for the nodes, but i can only manage 2 bands in the main router wifi conf menu.

Is the 3rd 5g AX band really used in that scenario ? It seems to be limiting the speed. How can i see the wifi connection max speed (IE AC or AX) in some iphone APP ?

Plus , it would be very very usefull (in my case but i guess for some others) to be able , as it is possible with mesh nodes, to de activate wifi for the main router. If it should maybe give us the ability to manage all the 3 bands of AX92 would be a plus.

 

[drabisan]

To those using wired backhauls, can you confirm if these statements are accurate:

- if using a wired backhaul, set AiMesh node Connection Priority to Ethernet/WAN first
- if using ALL wired backhauls, enable AiMesh Ethernet Backhaul Mode to release all WiFi for client use only

I wonder why the Connection Priority setting even exists... why can't AiMesh assume 'Ethernet/WAN first' and fallback to wireless when necessary?

OE

Router: tri-band GT-AC5300
Node: dual-band RT-AX88U
ethernet backhaul
router and node can see eachother on 5GHz at ~ -75dB, on 2.4 at ~ -60dB

1. Connection Priority to Ethernet/WAN first. 2nd 5GHz radio on GT is still allocated as a wireless backhaul. Node does connect to router sometimes over 2.4 sometimes over 5GHz. Unplugging eth cable turns the backhaul to wireless. With terrible speeds, as expected, due to signal quality.
2. Ethernet Backhaul Mode. 2nd 5GHz radio on GT is available, can be added to SC. I can't find any log indicating node connects to router over wifi. Unplugging eth cable isolates the node and clients connected wireless or wired to node are not working.

Regarding Connection Priority. What if 2 AX router+node can see eachother over wireless and achieve better speeds than ethernet? It would make sense to have WLAN first and eth second. Personally I would not do that, but Asus possibly believes this would be an idea some users would pursue.

 

[FIN]

@SBSTNGRSS @PretorianADB
We reproduced the RT-AC88U backhaul bugs.
It happened when the RT-AC88U role is a node.
We will fix this bug in next release.

Rotuer/RT-AC88U + Node/RT-AC88U -> fail
Rotuer/RT-AC86U + Node/RT-AC88U -> fail
Rotuer/RT-AC88U + Node/RT-AC86U -> pass
Rotuer/RT-AC86U + Node/RT-AC88U -> fail

Rotuer/RT-AC88U + Node/RT-AC68U -> fail too
Rotuer/RT-AC88U + HP Gigabit Switch from Router to Nodes + Node/RT-AC68U -> fail too
Rotuer/RT-AC88U + HP Gigabit Switch from Router to Nodes + 2 Node/RT-AC68U -> fail too

 

[Everbrave]

in AiMesh the main AP and the connected nodes share the same channel. I am not sure if that’s beneficial from an RF point of view (interference) but might be useful/required for the “Roaming assistant” feature.
That is where I see the biggest potential difference between AiMesh with Ethernet backhaul vs multiple APs connected by Ethernet:
AiMesh with the Roaming Assistant feature can actively disconnect clients and suggest a different node if the RSSI falls below the configured threshold.
If you just use multiple APs it’s basically up to each client to decide which AP to connect to.

I am not sure whether sharing the same channel is an advantage, since this restricts the bandwidth. Roaming Protokolle, should be supported in most implementations of AP SW. Honestly, I am not yet sure regarding the benefit of a wired mesh!

 

[CaptnDanLKW]

I wonder why the Connection Priority setting even exists... why can't AiMesh assume 'Ethernet/WAN first' and fallback to wireless when necessary?

OE

I suppose because GigE is no longer 'faster' than the newest multi-spatial/stream AX standards. As you know, in THEORY two AX86U/AX88Us using 5GHZ can have a faster then GigE phy connection in optimal lab conditions, but I agree the logic, defaults and choices should be better - especially for dual band routers. Tri-band, I suppose, someone could eek out slightly faster speeds from a mesh node in optimal wifi conditions but with some added latency.

Those who know, know to use Ethernet!

Just a though on why...

 

[Scottp]

Rc8 automatically connecting strongest node works better than previous versions or production firmware. some iot devices on 2.4g would connect to node that would definitely be weaker previously. It wasn't causing a problem, I did not attempt to fix it in any way. I sort of assumed it was load balancing? these iot devices dont transfer much data at all.

 

[Srikanth]

When we change the region to a different country on the main router, shouldn't the node also inherit this (if the node router allows region change and not hard coded) ?

 

[deathnite]

Thanks for adding the built-in Ookla speedtest.
Would it possible to stop the speedtest by pressing the button a 2nd time?
On speedtest.net we can just refresh the page to stop the speedtest, but on the router if the page is refreshed, it doesn't stop, you still get a result.

 

[Moabdave]

@SBSTNGRSS @PretorianADB
We reproduced the RT-AC88U backhaul bugs.
It happened when the RT-AC88U role is a node.
We will fix this bug in next release.

Rotuer/RT-AC88U + Node/RT-AC88U -> fail
Rotuer/RT-AC86U + Node/RT-AC88U -> fail
Rotuer/RT-AC88U + Node/RT-AC86U -> pass
Rotuer/RT-AC86U + Node/RT-AC88U -> fail

Woot Woot! Can't wait to test the next build. Also, can you confirm the issue I'm seeing when adding an 88U as the 2nd node (1st node also 88U), regardless of backhaul, routers freeze?

 

[Neil62]

@ASUSWRT_2020

Thanks for the continued development of Aimesh 2, what a great improvement over Aimesh 1.

Keep up the good work.

 

[Neil62]

@ASUSWRT_2020

There is still a display problem in the current "Wireless Log" GUI, between the Rx rate and Connect Time.

Apologies if it has already been reported with RC8.

 

[bumpengrinder]

An issue as arisen in the last few days that wasn't there before: if laptop is connected to node, then streaming video halts for a few seconds, then runs normally for a few seconds, then halts for a few etc etc etc.

The issue is only on my main wireless network which is set up as Dual-Band Smart Connect (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz). All is well on my 2.4 GHz only guest network.

I am running a GT-AC2900 as main router (on RC2-7) and an RT-AC66U B1 as node (on RC2-7 for RT-AC68U). I see that RC2-8 is now available for the GT-AC2900 and that release 3.0.0.4.386.40558 is available for RT-AC68U, but from my understanding it is best to keep both routers on the same which is the reason I haven't upgraded. One last thing to mention: I am running wireless backhaul as wired backhaul isn't avaible for RT-AC66U B1 on RC2-7 (and as far as see there is nothing in the release notes for 3.0.0.4.386.40558 to suggest that this has been addressed).

I would be grateful for any thoughts before I do embark on the firmware update fun and games again.


Thank you.

 

[rlj2]

T

Update.. it took a while to stabilize and get my devices bound to the nodes I wanted. Running around 40 devices including 4 Nest cameras on all the time. Internet Speed has a better throughput and I am not dropping devices any more. System has not been rebooted in 3 days.. so this is looking good.. but I still miss the Merlin features

the merlin alpha builds are running very stable for me. Hell more stable then .19

 

[OzarkEdge]

An issue as arisen in the last few days that wasn't there before: if laptop is connected to node, then streaming video halts for a few seconds, then runs normally for a few seconds, then halts for a few etc etc etc.

The issue is only on my main wireless network which is set up as Dual-Band Smart Connect (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz). All is well on my 2.4 GHz only guest network.

I am running a GT-AC2900 as main router (on RC2-7) and an RT-AC66U B1 as node (on RC2-7 for RT-AC68U). I see that RC2-8 is now available for the GT-AC2900 and that release 3.0.0.4.386.40558 is available for RT-AC68U, but from my understanding it is best to keep both routers on the same which is the reason I haven't upgraded. One last thing to mention: I am running wireless backhaul as wired backhaul isn't avaible for RT-AC66U B1 on RC2-7 (and as far as see there is nothing in the release notes for 3.0.0.4.386.40558 to suggest that this has been addressed).

I would be grateful for any thoughts before I do embark on the firmware update fun and games again.

Thank you.

I would clean install both routers with RC2-8 firmware.

Use a wired backhaul if you have it.

OE

 

[OzarkEdge]

@ASUSWRT_2020

There is still a display problem in the current "Wireless Log" GUI, between the Rx rate and Connect Time.

Apologies if it has already been reported with RC8.

View attachment 27775

Apology noted.

It also affects the Tx rate column.

OE

 

[bumpengrinder]

I would clean install both routers with RC2-8 firmware.

Use a wired backhaul if you have it.

OE

Ah, so wired backhaul is now working with RT-AC66U, that's great to hear. Thanks for that, this is the encouragement I need to face another clean install, after the many many flashings during my ATEMODE issue.