GT-BE98 Pro - setting up combined wired backhaul + wireless satellite?

[changelingo]

Background:
2 floor house 120m2 x2.
Replacing Orbi RBRE960 mesh.

• Fiber enters house bottom floor (corner).
• I'd like to start with the GT-BE98 Pro and then:
  • Run a wired backhaul to a satellite which will also be located on the bottom floor - but other end of the house in my office.

I have three questions:

1. Recommended satellite(s) for the wired backhaul? (AIMesh setup).
2. For example, can I purchase a two-pack of ZenWiFi Pro ET12, use one as the wired backhaul and the second one as a wireless satellite? I can only run wired to one satellite as described above.
3. ...or purchase a second router (GT-AXE16000?) to begin with and run the wire to that and see how the coverage in the house works first...

Thanks a million for thoughts and advice.

 

[jzchen]

I have a BE98 Pro and AXE16000 with wired backhaul. The latest firmware works well, but I don't have experience with wireless backhaul, if you'd need to add a wireless node. How many pieces is your Netgear, 2 or 3?

 

[changelingo]

I have a BE98 Pro and AXE16000 with wired backhaul. The latest firmware works well, but I don't have experience with wireless backhaul, if you'd need to add a wireless node. How many pieces is your Netgear, 2 or 3?

3 units.
That said, the BE98 is still very new - I might also go for 2 AXE16000's immediately given that it's been on the market longer and seems rock solid.

 

[jzchen]

Sadly my only gripe about the AXE16000 right now is that it's been almost 6 months since ASUS last released a firmware/BIOS for it...

 

[changelingo]

Ah ok.
Yeah, I'm not sure which way to go with this. I'm set on trying the wired backhaul solution but want to make sure that the ability to add a third (wireless) node is feasible...

 

[jzchen]

Ah ok.
Yeah, I'm not sure which way to go with this. I'm set on trying the wired backhaul solution but want to make sure that the ability to add a third (wireless) node is feasible...

Mixed wired and wireless backhaul is definitely doable. It would be a defect/bug if you couldn't get it to work. I personally don't have experience because our house is wired to each room. But I can share when a node is disconnected from Ethernet that AiMesh immediately switches to wireless backhaul, (aka self healing), unless I have turned on Ethernet Backhaul Mode to increase available WiFi bandwidth.

It's good to base your decision depending on your budget constraints and size of the property.

EDIT- If you currently have 3 Netgear pieces I'd plan on getting 3 ASUS to replace/upgrade them...

 

[changelingo]

Mixed wired and wireless backhaul is definitely doable. It would be a defect/bug if you couldn't get it to work. I personally don't have experience because our house is wired to each room. But I can share when a node is disconnected from Ethernet that AiMesh immediately switches to wireless backhaul, (aka self healing), unless I have turned on Ethernet Backhaul Mode to increase available WiFi bandwidth.

It's good to base your decision depending on your budget constraints and size of the property.

EDIT- If you currently have 3 Netgear pieces I'd plan on getting 3 ASUS to replace/upgrade them...

Thank you for your feedback! I "just" need to figure out which routers to begin with then...

 

[jzchen]

Since you mentioned putting a BE98 Pro in one corner on the lower floor, then a 2nd router wired to another corner of the house, are you running new ethernet wire? Since the BE98 Pro and AXE16000 both support 10 Gb Ethernet, I'd just want to verify the cable between the two can handle that speed (Cat 6a or higher for longer runs). Hopefully the two can also provide enough coverage to the 2nd floor. That's how mine are run. (I have the two)...

 

[changelingo]

Since you mentioned putting a BE98 Pro in one corner on the lower floor, then a 2nd router wired to another corner of the house, are you running new ethernet wire? Since the BE98 Pro and AXE16000 both support 10 Gb Ethernet, I'd just want to verify the cable between the two can handle that speed (Cat 6a or higher for longer runs). Hopefully the two can also provide enough coverage to the 2nd floor. That's how mine are run. (I have the two)...

Hi,

Good heads-up! I'm running a new cable for the new installation.
It'll be around 25-30 meters of cable between the units.

Still not sure about which units to purchase...

 

[L&LD]

I would suggest you buy identical models. If you want the greatest chance of a stable, reliable, and performant network over time.

 

[jzchen]

Hmmm. In that light ASUS recently released a ZenWiFi BQ16 Pro. Currently 3-pack at Best Buy for a whopping $1699.99, ASUS.com 2-pack just released this morning for $1299.99. TP-Link has a more mature Deco BE95, (but 6 GHz-2 is dedicated backhaul only, capping maximum client use to 22000 Mbps. Interestingly the 2-pack has best per unit price of $499.99 each).

Since you have one that will be wireless a 2nd channel of the same freq range is probably a good idea, so a 4-band to 4-band with one 6-2 as dedicated backhaul...

 

[Plak]

The BQ16 pro might be what you looking for. Just got released and has really good review already. Nice coverage and incredible speeds. What's nice is that since it runs on a newer asus firmware you can combine the 5 and 6 ghz bands alone which is more ideal. Currently with the be98 pro (i have two in wired mesh setup) you cannot do that but i am sure that will change with firmware updates.

But yeah as suggested I would stick to identical routers if possible.

You should read the review at dongknows.com

 

[changelingo]

The BQ16 pro might be what you looking for. Just got released and has really good review already. Nice coverage and incredible speeds. What's nice is that since it runs on a newer asus firmware you can combine the 5 and 6 ghz bands alone which is more ideal. Currently with the be98 pro (i have two in wired mesh setup) you cannot do that but i am sure that will change with firmware updates.

But yeah as suggested I would stick to identical routers if possible.

You should read the review at dongknows.com

Thanks! I think this is what I'll be doing.

 

[rcast1986]

Hey OP, how did it all end up working out for you? I have a BE98 Pro running a wired backhaul to a AX11000, and am trying to use an AX58 as a wireless node of some sort, but am running into issues. 25 mbps download, weak signal on aimesh.

 

[changelingo]

Hey OP, how did it all end up working out for you? I have a BE98 Pro running a wired backhaul to a AX11000, and am trying to use an AX58 as a wireless node of some sort, but am running into issues. 25 mbps download, weak signal on aimesh.

Hi,

It actually went really well. I went with 2x BE98's, installed a wired backhaul and off I went. It works really really well despite one of the BE98's is on a lower floor serving 50% of the house - but from a lower floor.
The best part is the stability. No more internet drops, no issues with wifi etc etc.

 

[rexet]

The BQ16 pro might be what you looking for. Just got released and has really good review already. Nice coverage and incredible speeds. What's nice is that since it runs on a newer asus firmware you can combine the 5 and 6 ghz bands alone which is more ideal. Currently with the be98 pro (i have two in wired mesh setup) you cannot do that but i am sure that will change with firmware updates.

But yeah as suggested I would stick to identical routers if possible.

You should read the review at dongknows.com

Hi @Plak,

Your setup is really interesting.
I currently have a pair of BQ16 with a very strong wireless backhaul (thanks to MLO).
I would like to add the BE98 as the main routeur and use the two BQ16 as wireless satellites but the Dong Knows review mention this:

Note: If you intend to mix the ZenWiFi BE16 Pro with other AiMesh Wi-Fi 7 hardware, such as the GT-BE98 Pro, to form the "ultimate" gaming mesh, it's not yet time. The combo will work if you use wired backhauling (recommended) with MLO turned off. If you intend to use MLO as the wireless link, it's best to wait until all the kinks are worked out before opting for a mixed hardware setup.

I'm not sure to understand what are the "kinks" he is refering too. Do you have an idea why it would not work?

Thanks

 

[jzchen]

Last I checked when MLO is enabled on the BE98 Pro it SmartConnects all four channels (implying all are included). I'm not able to procure a single BQ16 Pro to try them together, but it would be via wired backhaul. Currently the AXE16000 node has it's 6 GHz stuck as dedicated backhaul, turning on Ethernet Backhaul seems to enable it for use but my OnePlus Open doesn't use it so I turned it back off....

 

[Plak]

My guess is that dong is talking about the be98 pro needing firmware updates to fix and improve the whole mlo + aimesh experience when combining another node using the aimesh between the be98 pro and bq16 pro. And probably others too.

The way it is right now is that even if you using wired backbaul, mlo is not enabled or available on the other node(s). My 2nd be98pro does not broadcast or have mlo available. I see it in the aimesh showing not available.

Also on the be98 pro, all four channels have to be used to enable mlo. On the bq16 pro you can use 5 and 6 ghz which is more what I want to use and not mix things with the congested 2.4 ghz. The be98 pro probably will be my last router i will buy at least from asus when something new is announced. It's always a good idea to wait at least 1-2 years for firmware updates before buying a new router. I think the next firmware update for the be98 pro might have afc enabled which is something i am curious to see in action. I know its enabled on the bq16 pro as the range and speeds are improved quiet noticably from dongknows review. I probably will move towards a mesh combo in the future that are designed to work as one.

Mlo is still pretty buggy. It barely shows up on my s22 ultra phone while the other main wireless ssid show up all the time with no issues. I must say i am a bit disappointed with how slow asus is patching and enabling afc on the be98 pro. But then again it's asus so not surprising. They aren't really good with anything support/updates related anyway especially with how much backlash there has been for their RMA handling and tons of negative customer feedback/videos online.