Time to upgrade from RT-AC3200

[Michael R Stamper]

Hi - I’m using the RT-AC3200 with Merlin and YazFi to have a dedicated VPN SSID. I am thinking of upgrading as my new condo has fiber coming in by the front door and all of the devices are on the other side of the condo through walls - there is a bathroom and kitchen between the router and the living room.

While the place is small - 84m^2 - I’m worried about he signal going through all of the walls. It’s not possible to just hard wire through the walls without major surgery.

I see Asus has some Mesh and VPN Fusion tech - so will 2 routers that support these capabilities give me a solid signal through the mesh and a dedicated VPN SSID without using YazFi?

If I use mesh will Merlin still work? Will YazFi work with Mesh enabled (assuming the VPN Fusion function for some reason is inferior?).

I appreciate any advice - I’d like to think I would just need 1 router at the front of the condo - but if 2 are required I’m trying to figure out how to get the YazFi capability of having a dedicated VPN SSID working with YazFi or using the Asus VPN Fusion capability either mesh mode (I hope I don’t need this) or not.

Thanks for your time in providing advice.

 

[L&LD]

Sounds like you're pre-worrying.

Why don't you just see if any issues manifest and go from there.

 

[AndreiV]

Your router doesn't need to be close to the incoming connection so you may only need one device.

Flat/ribbon Cat6 ethernet cable is available making it possible to run around a home without "surgery". It is very flexible and passes under doors , goes under flooring very easily.
I bought this at Amazon UK, it is available in different length rolls :

>>> Flat Cat 6 Ethernet Cable <<<

 

[Adooni]

RT-AC3200 is very good router and if it is enough for you I would wait a bit until Asus made AXC routers more stable

If your only reason is that RMerlin do not support it anymore and if you want you can try FreshTomato soft.

 

[Michael R Stamper]

Thanks all. I was trying to get ahead of the “issue” I case it was an issue and start researching possible solutions.
Condo has special floors and ceilings with soundproofing that makes it major surgery to route cables. I won’t have cables running in the floor - it would literally be running through every walkway from the front door to the office at the extreme opposite - so that is a no-go. I’ll see how the setup gets on as I really don’t want to lose the YazFi capability - some streaming channels need VPN and others detect it and I need to use a DNS service for them - having VPN on one SSID, DNS on another, and local Japan network on a third is so flexible!

thanks again - I will see how it goes.

 

[Michael R Stamper]

OK! All moved into the new condo. As suspected - the WiFi works but is weak on the opposite side of the condo and doesn't work on my veranda.

So - advice needed. I currently use YazFi on my ASUS RT-AC3200 router to create an SSID that is tied to my VPN. The other SSID's are going through a DNS Service.

1. What is my best strategy here - to make sure devices on the other side of the condo can choose "MySSID_VPN" or "MYSSID_DNS"? Are there mesh routers that will allow me to have the YazFi dedicated VPN SSID? I don't want ALL my traffic through the VPN - only devices connected to "MySSID_VPN" as I have today.

2. If I get an electrical outlet extender - can I still connect to my choice of SSIDs or will it only be tied to one?

3. If I get a couple of MESH ASUS routers will the YazFI code work and allow both SSIDS in my entire condo? I see LinkSys has some nice-looking MESH routers - will they provide the capability out of the box I am looking for?

4. Will the new Asus routers with MESH and VPN FUSION provide me with the capability I need without the YazFi code?

NOTE: physical wiring is not an option - floors and ceilings are "special" and require major specialized and authorized construction. The floorplan is also not conducive to having cables on the floor from the router which is in the shoe closet by the front door.

Thanks for any help and discussion.