AX86U Dual Wan / Load Balancing Concern

[nelvash606]

hello everyone, I have this concern, I am using ASUS RT-AX86U, I plugged in 2 ISP and enable load balancing, but I am not sure on how to configure to manage the load, this is the setup I want: configure load balancing between the two ISPs on a single router, with one ISP dedicated to my PC bandwidth and the other for wireless devices (smartphone, tablet, laptop, etc)

 

[Adooni]

You can route requests from a particular device through the Primary WAN or Secondary WAN. If you enable routing rules, type your source IP, destination IP and WAN unit, then click on add icon and click Apply to save.

like for example here https://rog-forum.asus.com/t5/gaming-routers/routing-rules-for-dual-wan/td-p/803132

 

[nelvash606]

thank you for the input, just to clarify, if I already set the routing of my ISP 1 to my PC, will the secondary ISP automatically take over the wireless connection for my phone, tablet, etc? or do I need to setup each devices still?

 

[kildare]

one ISP dedicated to my PC bandwidth and the other for wireless devices (smartphone, tablet, laptop, etc)

With this requirements you apparently don't need load balancing but only some routing rules for each wan.

 

[nelvash606]

thank you for the input, just to clarify, if I already set the routing of my ISP 1 to my PC, will the secondary ISP automatically take over the wireless connection for my phone, tablet, etc? or do I need to setup each devices still?

With this requirements you apparently don't need load balancing but only some routing rules for each wan.

how about my second concern, will it work that way? I want to maximize my router capability if ever or should I just forget about load balancing and go straight with routing rules?

 

[kildare]

I'm using my Asus router in AP mode and have a professional multiwan firewall/router, so I can only suggest some general settings.

First, assign a static IP (outside the DHCP range) to your PC and set the preferred WAN for this IP (of course if your router has this type of dual wan options)
Then set the preferred WAN for your DHCP IP range to the other WAN.
But as I said, I don't know if these settings are available in your router.

Otherwise, setting individual routes for your devices might be a difficult job if the devices don't have fixed IP or an own subnet.

 

[FernandoF]

thank you for the input, just to clarify, if I already set the routing of my ISP 1 to my PC, will the secondary ISP automatically take over the wireless connection for my phone, tablet, etc? or do I need to setup each devices still?

Then set the preferred WAN for your DHCP IP range to the other WAN.

Assuming the LAN IP subnet/router address is 192.168.50.1, and the first routing rule for the PC is already set, @nelvash606 can set a second routing rule for the rest of the network using CIDR notation, as follows:

• Source IP: 192.168.50.0/24
• Destination IP: all
• WAN Unit: Secondary WAN

 

[nelvash606]

Hello everyone, the routing rules seems to work for my wired devices like PC and NAS but for the past weeks, I noticed that the wifi is not stable, it will show no internet and I need to reconnect to fix it. I think my ASUS router can't handle the load balance well, I am planning to get the tplink ER605, can anybody suggest any work around about it? Thank you

 

[FernandoF]

@nelvash606, can you please post a screenshot of your WAN > Dual WAN settings page?

 

[nelvash606]

Hi, is this what you mean?

 

[FernandoF]

Thanks for the screenshot, @nelvash606. Assuming the following statements are correct:

• You want one ISP (specifically the 1G WAN) dedicated to your PC and the other ISP (2.5G WAN) handling the rest of your network
• Your LAN IP subnet/router address is 192.168.50.1
• You have already manually assigned a DHCP IP to your PC, say 192.168.50.100, under LAN > DHCP server (you don't really need to redact that IP as it's simply an internal LAN address)

... then I would suggest the following changes under WAN > Dual WAN:

1) Swap your Primary and Secondary WAN's, i.e.:

• Primary WAN=1G WAN
• Secondary WAN=2.5G WAN

2) Set the Routing rules in this order:

• First rule (for the PC) ................................................ 192.168.50.100 - all - Primary WAN
• Second rule (for the rest of the network) ....... 192.168.50.0/24 - all - Secondary WAN

Please provide an updated screenshot and let us know if that solved your issues. Thanks.

 

[nelvash606]

hi @FernandoF thanks for the input, I made the following changes, I add my NAS IP to connect only on my primary (is it necessary? or should I let the second rule take over?) I actually having problem since my NAS is not connecting haha

also the load balance configuration, should I keep it as ratio 1:1? or better 3:1? appreciate the help

 

[FernandoF]

Hi @nelvash606. If you also want the NAS to connect to the Primary WAN, then yes, you do need to set the manual DHCP assignment (say .101) and add the corresponding routing rule. However, for GUI clarity (as the router will sort the rules internally anyway), it's always better to have all the Primary WAN rules listed before the Secondary WAN "catch all" rule:

• First rule (for the PC) ................................................. 192.168.50.100 - all - Primary WAN
• Second rule (for the NAS) ....................................... 192.168.50.101 - all - Primary WAN
• Third rule (for the rest of the network) ............. 192.168.50.0/24 - all - Secondary WAN

As far as the Load Balance Configuration (currently 1:1), that is irrelevant for this scenario, as we are manually determining the load assignment. Each device on your network sees one ISP only (either the Primary or the Secondary, but never both at the same time), so there's really nothing for the router to "balance".

 

[nelvash606]

hi @FernandoF I just leave the NAS, I let it take what ISP to use, as for the other concern, the first and second rule you provided earlier seems to work for now, I will monitor, thank you

 

[nelvash606]

hi good day friends, suddenly my AX86U stops broadcasting 5GHz, so I get new router which is asus tuf AX4200, this is like a downgrade but I use the remaining credits to buy tplink er605, now I have this setup - ISP 1 & 2 and asus router connected to tplink er605, on my asus router, my PC and NAS connected to it (using link aggregation) features of asus router, I encountered this issue that my NAS is undiscoverable, I am confuse if which device I need to make some adjustment, is it on tplink er605 or asus router, thank you in advance