I believe I finally have this sorted. the old DIR-655 is now co-existing fine with our new RT-AC66U.
However some questions on how I have this connected continues to baffle me.
1. In ALL the guides I read on the subject - seems one of the key requirements to get any router to work as a AP - is to connect one of it's available LAN ports - directly - to an available LAN port on the parent (main) router.
Q: Is this absolutely necessary for maximum benefit.?
Reason I ask is several-fold:
1. Our internal LAN layout has at least a dozen separate LAN plugin plates scattered around the house - half of the layout runs to a patch panel in our media rack and through a switch to the wiring closet. The other half - terminates directly at a network patch panel in the closet - which then patches to a switch in the closet.
The switch layout (with ins and outs) look like this:
Switch 1 (16 Port DLink - Media Rack)
Inputs
Port 1: Living Room 1
Port 2: Living Room 2
Port 3: Studio 1
Port 4: Studio 2
Port 5: Studio 3
Port 6: Studio 4
Port 7: Media Room 1
Port 8: Media Room 2
Port 9: XBox 360
Port 10: Oppo BDP-105
Outputs
Port 11: Back To wiring closet
Port 12: Back To wiring closet
Switch 2 (8 Port DLink in Wiring Closet)
Inputs
Port 1: Server 1 (Windows Server in closet)
Port 2: Media Rack (Port 11 from Switch 1 but not used right now)
Port 3: Media Rack (Port 12 from Switch 1)
Port 4: Photo Studio 2 (Unused LAN port near wiring closet)
Port 5: Wife Office 1 (Wife's computer upstairs)
Port 6: Kitchen 1 (Kitchen PC Upstairs)
Output
Port 7: Out to RT-AC66U
Basically - when all is said and done - I have just a single cable coming out of the 8 Port Switch in the closet into a single LAN port on the RT-AC66U - the whole bloody LAN on a single cable!
I am certain this is probably not the best way to connect this.
Now - for better wireless coverage upstairs - I currently have the DIR-655 placed upstairs right next to Kitchen PC. I have a LAN cable plugged into Port 1 of the DIR-655 to the wall jack that leads to Port 6 of the switch in the wiring closet.
I then have the kitchen PC plugged into Port 4 on the DIR-655 and everything seems to be working.
However - in an earlier iteration - when I had the DIR-655 connected the same way (LAN PORT 1 on the router to the wall - which leads to Port 6 back at the patch panel in the closet) - when I took that cable from the patch panel and plugged it directly into the RT-AC66U (Bypassing the switch in the closet) - pretty much all the PCs exhibited a strange LAN slowdown.
Even weirder was when I brought up Windows Network Map on my PC - which is connected to Switch 1 (16 Port DLink) and then over to Switch 2 (8 Port DLink) - it always showed the PC - looking like it going DIRECTLY to the DIR-655 first - and then off to Switch 1 and Switch 2 and then the RT-AC66U
Almost like Windows wanted to believe that EVERY PC in the house was going thru the DIR-655 before going through the switches on the LAN and finally to the RT-AC66U. When in reality - only a single PC (Kitchen_PC) is actually connected directly to the DIR-655.
Long story short - I really want to move the DIR-655 into our upstairs living room area - as this part of the house really needs some wireless help. I want to use one of the available living room wall ports (Port 1 & 2 on the 16 port switch) but I do not understand the implications of the router heading back thru two switches before getting back to the RT-AC66U.
If this plan is suboptimal - would a better plan be to move the router but ensure that the living room port (Let's call it 2) gets it's own line back from Switch 1 to the wiring closet - to plug directly into the RT-AC66U?
Sorry for the long winded post - but it's confusing
Hope someone can sort me out a bit
Cheers,
Sonic.
However some questions on how I have this connected continues to baffle me.
1. In ALL the guides I read on the subject - seems one of the key requirements to get any router to work as a AP - is to connect one of it's available LAN ports - directly - to an available LAN port on the parent (main) router.
Q: Is this absolutely necessary for maximum benefit.?
Reason I ask is several-fold:
1. Our internal LAN layout has at least a dozen separate LAN plugin plates scattered around the house - half of the layout runs to a patch panel in our media rack and through a switch to the wiring closet. The other half - terminates directly at a network patch panel in the closet - which then patches to a switch in the closet.
The switch layout (with ins and outs) look like this:
Switch 1 (16 Port DLink - Media Rack)
Inputs
Port 1: Living Room 1
Port 2: Living Room 2
Port 3: Studio 1
Port 4: Studio 2
Port 5: Studio 3
Port 6: Studio 4
Port 7: Media Room 1
Port 8: Media Room 2
Port 9: XBox 360
Port 10: Oppo BDP-105
Outputs
Port 11: Back To wiring closet
Port 12: Back To wiring closet
Switch 2 (8 Port DLink in Wiring Closet)
Inputs
Port 1: Server 1 (Windows Server in closet)
Port 2: Media Rack (Port 11 from Switch 1 but not used right now)
Port 3: Media Rack (Port 12 from Switch 1)
Port 4: Photo Studio 2 (Unused LAN port near wiring closet)
Port 5: Wife Office 1 (Wife's computer upstairs)
Port 6: Kitchen 1 (Kitchen PC Upstairs)
Output
Port 7: Out to RT-AC66U
Basically - when all is said and done - I have just a single cable coming out of the 8 Port Switch in the closet into a single LAN port on the RT-AC66U - the whole bloody LAN on a single cable!
I am certain this is probably not the best way to connect this.
Now - for better wireless coverage upstairs - I currently have the DIR-655 placed upstairs right next to Kitchen PC. I have a LAN cable plugged into Port 1 of the DIR-655 to the wall jack that leads to Port 6 of the switch in the wiring closet.
I then have the kitchen PC plugged into Port 4 on the DIR-655 and everything seems to be working.
However - in an earlier iteration - when I had the DIR-655 connected the same way (LAN PORT 1 on the router to the wall - which leads to Port 6 back at the patch panel in the closet) - when I took that cable from the patch panel and plugged it directly into the RT-AC66U (Bypassing the switch in the closet) - pretty much all the PCs exhibited a strange LAN slowdown.
Even weirder was when I brought up Windows Network Map on my PC - which is connected to Switch 1 (16 Port DLink) and then over to Switch 2 (8 Port DLink) - it always showed the PC - looking like it going DIRECTLY to the DIR-655 first - and then off to Switch 1 and Switch 2 and then the RT-AC66U
Almost like Windows wanted to believe that EVERY PC in the house was going thru the DIR-655 before going through the switches on the LAN and finally to the RT-AC66U. When in reality - only a single PC (Kitchen_PC) is actually connected directly to the DIR-655.
Long story short - I really want to move the DIR-655 into our upstairs living room area - as this part of the house really needs some wireless help. I want to use one of the available living room wall ports (Port 1 & 2 on the 16 port switch) but I do not understand the implications of the router heading back thru two switches before getting back to the RT-AC66U.
If this plan is suboptimal - would a better plan be to move the router but ensure that the living room port (Let's call it 2) gets it's own line back from Switch 1 to the wiring closet - to plug directly into the RT-AC66U?
Sorry for the long winded post - but it's confusing
Hope someone can sort me out a bit
Cheers,
Sonic.
