Possible solution to AiMesh wired backhaul network instability

[OzarkEdge]

I actually have it forced to ethernet (this may in fact be part of the problem if there is/was (prior to the latest firmware) a bug in the routeset up)... though it was auto-detecting ethernet anyway.

My guess (I'm not well versed enough to fully evaluate the routing rules to spot errors) was that some non backhaul traffic was going over wifi by mistake in ethernet only mode. And was thus causing all kinds of WAN/LAN confusion.

So, forcing connection type to Ethernet was not required... you just set it. I'm looking for a link between the auto sensing not working AND wired backhaul glitching, possibly causing AiMesh to intermittently self-heal over the wireless backhaul... and therein disrupting more sensitive network traffic/devices.

Just a thought at this point.

OE

 

[drabisan]

In the spirit of 'questioning everything', I'm skeptical of this need to block node-to-node WiFi to force AiMesh to respect wired backhauls to make AiMesh work. It just seems too simple a defect on ASUS's part.

A common factor here appears to be wired backhauls through additional equipment. Maybe Aimesh is seeing a wired backhaul failure and is trying to self-heal over a very poor wireless backhaul, which then breaks client communications, with lessor clients then falling down, not knowing how to get back up again.

We already know wired backhauls have trouble auto-sensing with some intervening equipment. Did you have to force AiMesh backhaul type to Ethernet, or did it auto sense?

OE

You DO have a point here!
AiMesh DOES use wireless as a backup for wired. This is just an educated guess based on my discussions with Asus around "dedicating" the 2nd 5GHz radio for backhaul on 3 bands models.
At one time they said "create a new backhaul mode as Ethernet only (w/o wifi auto recover)" and that makes me understand even though I set node to be wired, there's still something in the background that allows a fallback to a wireless backhaul when/if Ethernet fails. That will also answer 2 question:
1. why a node is attached wirelessly to router even though there is a wired connection in between.
2. why setting is called "Connection Priority"
Personally I've never seen any performance fluctuations over time. Every time I needed, I got 1Gbps to/from storage attached to node. So it's safe to assume my AiMesh never falls back to wireless (router and node are seeing eachother only on 2.4 and that would be a big performance hit). But my wired connection is a basic L1 connection: lucky to have Cat6 from every room to a patch panel.

Back to the OP, maybe your setup has some really short ethernet problems, not big enough for you to notice it, but big enough for AiMesh to. Personally I would choose NEVER to fall back to a wireless backhaul (aka enforece the settings I have in place, I'm using "Connection Priority": Ethernet). It would be easier to point me to look for ethernet troubles than to figure out speed is bad and only then understand there may be something wrong with my cables. And I did send this feedback to Asus.

 

[Krusty]

Personally I would choose NEVER to fall back to a wireless backhaul (aka enforece the settings I have in place, I'm using "Connection Priority": Ethernet).

thank you @drabisan ... I had assumed this setting meant what it ought to

 

[Herbie Greenfield]

Is there consensus about what log entries indicate backhaul using wired or wireless?

And what about log entries for possible fall back to a wireless backhaul?

 

[OzarkEdge]

Is there consensus about what log entries indicate backhaul using wired or wireless?

And what about log entries for possible fall back to a wireless backhaul?

Backhaul type and wireless signal band/quality is listed with the node on the Network Map page.

To see a wireless backhaul's signal RSSI and Tx, Rx rates for each band, find the backhaul's MAC entries in the Wireless Log. The MACs will be similar to the WLAN MACs listed under Network Map\System Status.

I suppose if you have more than one node, backhaul MAC identification may become less clear. If so, then you may need to ID them as you add the nodes.

OE

 

[Herbie Greenfield]

The node is definitely picking up the wired connection and seems to stay that way (even if priority is set to Auto, opposed to set to Wired priority). I still cannot decipher if system log or wireless log even capture the state of node connection (wired/wireless) to main router.

With that in mind, does Wireless log even show anything from the AiMesh node? While the wireless log does present 2.5GHz and 5GHz, it appears this might only be for the router and not the node. For example, I obtained a MAC address (from the Network Map>Clients>Wireless>5GHz) for a device known to be on 5GHz and connected to the node, not router, (viewable from the Network Map>AiMesh Node>click on the node). This MAC address for a device I believe to be connected to the node does not appear in the Wireless log shows in ASUS WRT (System Log>Wireless Log.)

The device drops off the (wireless) network periodically (daily or 2x daily), as do other devices on the node, so that is why I supposed the node to router connection (Wired vs. Wireless) might have been an issue or one to identify and rule out. But another possibility is the the Node to device signal strength is a problem. They are 2 feet from each other in the same room with no wall between. However, the signal strength appears to be 2 bars. The router is on the floor under a dresser with 1 foot+ of airspace and the device is in a window sill (Nest Cam).

So the questions remain:
1) Are there logs or data to capture the signal strength and interference of a device connected to the AiMesh Node?

2) And, are there logs or data to capture whether an AiMesh Node connected to the router wired ever loses connection, or even flips to wireless?

3) And are there logs or data to capture whether the AiMesh Node signal strength and interference to the router for a wireless backhaul connection?

 

[hancox]

The node is definitely picking up the wired connection and seems to stay that way (even if priority is set to Auto, opposed to set to Wired priority). I still cannot decipher if system log or wireless log even capture the state of node connection (wired/wireless) to main router.

With that in mind, does Wireless log even show anything from the AiMesh node? While the wireless log does present 2.5GHz and 5GHz, it appears this might only be for the router and not the node. For example, I obtained a MAC address (from the Network Map>Clients>Wireless>5GHz) for a device known to be on 5GHz and connected to the node, not router, (viewable from the Network Map>AiMesh Node>click on the node). This MAC address for a device I believe to be connected to the node does not appear in the Wireless log shows in ASUS WRT (System Log>Wireless Log.)

The device drops off the (wireless) network periodically (daily or 2x daily), as do other devices on the node, so that is why I supposed the node to router connection (Wired vs. Wireless) might have been an issue or one to identify and rule out. But another possibility is the the Node to device signal strength is a problem. They are 2 feet from each other in the same room with no wall between. However, the signal strength appears to be 2 bars. The router is on the floor under a dresser with 1 foot+ of airspace and the device is in a window sill (Nest Cam).

So the questions remain:
1) Are there logs or data to capture the signal strength and interference of a device connected to the AiMesh Node?

2) And, are there logs or data to capture whether an AiMesh Node connected to the router wired ever loses connection, or even flips to wireless?

3) And are there logs or data to capture whether the AiMesh Node signal strength and interference to the router for a wireless backhaul connection?

Been meaning to ask this question for a while, and this post made me think of it.

...has anyone actually confirmed that the Wired/Wireless/Auto toggle actually has anything to do with the backhaul? The wording and logic of it makes me think it doesn't.

When i first saw this setting, I understood it to change *client* priority (i.e. wired or wireless clients on that node). That would make sense on a router-based mesh. You probably would want this to be wired for something wired to a TV, for example, to allow for maximum bandwidth for streaming.

Probably a good question for our Asus friends, either way.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Been meaning to ask this question for a while, and this post made me think of it.

...has anyone actually confirmed that the Wired/Wireless/Auto toggle actually has anything to do with the backhaul? The wording and logic of it makes me think it doesn't.

When i first saw this setting, I understood it to change *client* priority (i.e. wired or wireless clients on that node). That would make sense on a router-based mesh. You probably would want this to be wired for something wired to a TV, for example, to allow for maximum bandwidth for streaming.

Probably a good question for our Asus friends, either way.

A client connection type is determined by how you connect it, not by the router.

If you click on the AiMesh node connection type, a popup explains it. It pertains to node connection type.

OE