Gt-ax11000 as router + ZenWifi AX8 as nodes setup.

[Sting]

Not a good understanding of routers etc, so would appreciate finding flaws in my plan.

Just got these for the home,GT-AX11000 as router + 2 ZenWifi AX8 as nodes setup.

Will try setup as follows, will it work the best possible ?

* GT-AX11000 as router in the garage (connecting to NBN Fibre). Garage has horrible signals coming out out of it.

* Will hook fibre (1000/50) to the 2.5g port in the AX11000 (read that I have to use multiple connection 1st then 2.5g as primary)

* After Router is setup

* Have got wired outlets (Cat6) from garage to 6 rooms. So will select 2 rooms, 1 upstairs and 1 down, these I will hardwire connect the Zenwifi nodes to. (following procedure of connecting them when they are within 1 m apart from each other.



Now I am lost,

Do I need to change the Zenwifi to AP mode before I try to connect them ?

Is hardwiring the 2 nodes better than wifi ?

Should I keep the wifi on in the GT-AX11000, or just in the 2 AX8's nodes ?
Or in all 3 ?

 

[RKG81]

Not a good understanding of routers etc, so would appreciate finding flaws in my plan.

Just got these for the home,GT-AX11000 as router + 2 ZenWifi AX8 as nodes setup.

Will try setup as follows, will it work the best possible ?

* GT-AX11000 as router in the garage (connecting to NBN Fibre). Garage has horrible signals coming out out of it.

* Will hook fibre (1000/50) to the 2.5g port in the AX11000 (read that I have to use multiple connection 1st then 2.5g as primary)

* After Router is setup

* Have got wired outlets (Cat6) from garage to 6 rooms. So will select 2 rooms, 1 upstairs and 1 down, these I will hardwire connect the Zenwifi nodes to. (following procedure of connecting them when they are within 1 m apart from each other.



Now I am lost,

Do I need to change the Zenwifi to AP mode before I try to connect them ?

Is hardwiring the 2 nodes better than wifi ?

Should I keep the wifi on in the GT-AX11000, or just in the 2 AX8's nodes ?
Or in all 3 ?

They will work fine in aimesh mode with the AX11000 as main router. Just go into the app and select the aimesh icon and it will search for a connected node. Since yours will be hard wired, it will detect them immediately and add them to the system. But be aware smart connect seems to slow everything down so it’s better having it disabled.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[raven-au]

Now I am lost,

Do I need to change the Zenwifi to AP mode before I try to connect them ?

Is hardwiring the 2 nodes better than wifi ?

Should I keep the wifi on in the GT-AX11000, or just in the 2 AX8's nodes ?
Or in all 3 ?

No, you don't need to change anything on the AiMesh nodes, they only need to be factory default reset and left alone until joined to the mesh by the master.

There have been some odd problems reported from time to time with ethernet backhaul but if you can get it working it may be better.
Wireless AX has the potential to be faster but I think the drivers, both on router and client devices, have a way to go yet and there's distance and obstacles between the two AX devices that reduce throughput so getting greater that gigabit speeds over wireless is still rather difficult.

Don't get you last question, it mostly depends on whether you have clients to use the wireless doesn't it?
If your using ethernet backhaul then there's the question of using the second 5GHz band for clients but that depends on whether you want backhaul failover or not.
Those two 5GHz bands use different wireless channels anyway so choice to decide.

 

[Sting]

Thanks a lot guys, am starting with just setting up the AX11000, seeing how the wifi goes over a day or 2, then setting up the mesh.

RKG81: Agree with the SMART CONNECT issues, I have used that on my AC88U and it does not seem to move over to the 5ghz band, the speeds are
always as slow as the 2ghz, never switch to faster 5ghz speeds.

Hi Raven, if the Nodes are brand new, I should not need to reset at Factory default ? or ?

As I mentioned before my understanding is nowhere near you guys, so may misunderstand what you mean.

Hoping I do not have problems with ethernet backhaul. (connecting the 2 mesh nodes by wire, is my understanding)


*

One thing shocked me, but maybe I am over reacting. The ethernet cable that came with the GT-AX11000 is a 5e cable ?
Why would a company pushing tech to its limit to its customers do that (even if it is theoretically ok to use 5e), they want people to upgrade
but still supply Cat 5e ?

My home hardwire is Cat 6 or 6A, unsure what the builder put in the walls, I had asked for the best in 2014.

I will be using Cat8 in my wall to router connections etc.

 

[Sting]

The GT-AX11000 made no difference in Dload / Upload speeds or ping over ethernet. (getting 850 to 930mbps down and around 45mbps up)

Son who has the AX Nic, his wifi download changed from 450 to 620mbps down (ASUS 5ghz ch 2).
Upload capped at 50, reamained around the 45mbps mark.
PC is on the floor above the Router. Not directally above, but offset by 7 meters.

Now will install the Zenwifi nodes closer

 

[raven-au]

Hi Raven, if the Nodes are brand new, I should not need to reset at Factory default ? or ?

You shouldn't need to, no.
But it's the first thing you should do if you have problems pairing them.

 

[Sting]

Thanks Raven, will be trying it on tonite or tomorrow.

 

[Sting]

Hi

Hooked up the AX11000 + Zen Wifi AX8 x 2 as mesh. All is working.

Smart Connect is OFF

The devices on wifi do not automatically switch to the better wifi ch. 2ghz 5ghz etc.

There is an option for: Wi-Fi Agile Multiband enable or disable

If I enable it, will devices switch to better Channels automattically ? Is it tried & tested ? IS there a cutoff of wifi when it switches ?

Cheers

 

[munnmann]

I have the same components. (Ax11000, plus two zen xt8's). There are some issues that I have found with the firmware (see the 9165 firmware post under Asus AX page). Im running _8011. Once I worked out the firmware issues, my speeds have been great, and everything works without any issues. The one item that I did differently is I have a Netgear MS510 switch with 2.5gb ports in between the ax1100 and the two XT-8's so both are connected via ethernet and 2.5gb links. As others have said, try going without smart connect and or airtime fairness. Both seem to cause more challenges vs benefits.

 

[Sting]

I am running 3.0.0.4.384_9165-gdea9675

and 3.0.0.4.386_25524-g9977a2e on the nodes.

AX mode is Enabled

Just tried to turn on: Auto select channel including DFS channels (But does not turn on, box remains unticked after APPLY)

Smart connect is OFF

whats airtime fairness ?

Wi-Fi Agile Multiband: is DISABLED, should I enable it for auto switching between wifi channels as per signal strength ?

 

[munnmann]

Airtime fairness is a setting under the professional tab on wireless that has been buggy. Airtime fairness is supposed to boost overall performance by slowing down the slowest devices on the network. From reports online, its not really working so well under certain firmware versions.


In my case, 2.4ghz is exclusively setup for IOT devices (garage door, Hue lights, smart locks etc). 5ghz is for browsing and computer use. The reason I've done this is because most IOT devices usually only have a 2.4ghz wifi chip and poorly implemented at that. I've disabled almost all the "smart" features on the 2.4. In my case, roaming assist, airtime fairness, Multi user MIMO, and both types of beam forming are off. Also I fix ch 6 as the control channel, turn off wifi6 and set the channel bandwidth down to 20Mhz Wide only. 5ghz has most of the smarter features working for phones, and laptops and I haven't noticed any compatibility. YMMV here however.

I've tried adding back smart router features on the 2.4, but no matter what, some of these smart devices always drop (I'm looking at you Chamberlin MYQ!).

 

[RKG81]

Hi

Hooked up the AX11000 + Zen Wifi AX8 x 2 as mesh. All is working.

Smart Connect is OFF

The devices on wifi do not automatically switch to the better wifi ch. 2ghz 5ghz etc.

There is an option for: Wi-Fi Agile Multiband enable or disable

If I enable it, will devices switch to better Channels automattically ? Is it tried & tested ? IS there a cutoff of wifi when it switches ?

Cheers

I prefer having separate SSIDs instead of letting smart connect decide for me...

On the 2.4ghz SSID I connect all my smart home devices like light bulbs, smart outlets and switches, Printers, echo dots, thermostats etc...

On the 5ghz-1 SSID I connect all my stationary high bandwidth devices like PCs set top boxes, Xbox, Apple TV’s, Smart TVs.

On the 5ghz-2 SSID I connect all my mobile devices.

This configuration has worked very well for me. Smart connect will decide which band to use based on device demands, so I have mine disabled.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sting]

Airtime fairness is a setting under the professional tab on wireless that has been buggy. Airtime fairness is supposed to boost overall performance by slowing down the slowest devices on the network. From reports online, its not really working so well under certain firmware versions.


In my case, 2.4ghz is exclusively setup for IOT devices (garage door, Hue lights, smart locks etc). 5ghz is for browsing and computer use. The reason I've done this is because most IOT devices usually only have a 2.4ghz wifi chip and poorly implemented at that. I've disabled almost all the "smart" features on the 2.4. In my case, roaming assist, airtime fairness, Multi user MIMO, and both types of beam forming are off. Also I fix ch 6 as the control channel, turn off wifi6 and set the channel bandwidth down to 20Mhz Wide only. 5ghz has most of the smarter features working for phones, and laptops and I haven't noticed any compatibility. YMMV here however.

I've tried adding back smart router features on the 2.4, but no matter what, some of these smart devices always drop (I'm looking at you Chamberlin MYQ!).

Wife using router so can't change settings till evening:
Have:
*Airtime Fairness ON (will turn off)
*Roaming Assist ON (will turn off)
*Multi user MIMO ON
*Universal beam forming ON


RKG81, seems like a good idea to have separate SSID's for devices, will try that a bit later. A bit overwhelmed right now. LOL