Upgrade from Netgear R6900 to Linksys MR9000?

[palmoyas]

Wondering if this upgrade is worth it (or if it's even an upgrade). I was able to pick up the Linksys MR9000 for $54. What performance improvements, if any, could I see? Do any of these matter: Dual core to quad core? 3x3 to 2x4? AC1900 to AC3000?

I'm getting 250Mbps service from Comcast, and currently have the Netgear (Costco version of the R7000, I believe) integrated with a Linksys Velop system in bridge mode. Base Velop unit is tri-band, two satellite nodes are dual band. One benefit I thought of is that it would allow me to move the parent tri-band node out as a more capable satellite node. Four devices currently hardwired into the LAN ports on the Netgear unit.

I really like the Circle content filtering on the Netgear, and there doesn't seem to be an equivalent on the Linksys router, only the ability to block specific websites. For some reason, this router isn't even Linksys Shield capable. THANKS!

 

[Greg72]

Going from tri to dual will cause you to not get the full bandwidth of a Tri-Band Mesh network.

 

[palmoyas]

Going from tri to dual will cause you to not get the full bandwidth of a Tri-Band Mesh network.

If anything, I could use the MR9000 in bridge (AP) mode as the parent mesh node, wired directly to the Netgear, which would still be operating as my router (but with the radios turned off). I could then move the current tri-band Velop parent node out as a satellite/child, replacing one of the current dual band nodes.

Does this sound doable, in theory?

 

[chadster766]

I recommend going with the Linksys Velop MR7350, MR9600 or MX5300 since these are Wifi6 products.

The MR9000 is Wifi5 (AC).

 

[palmoyas]

I recommend going with the Linksys Velop MR7350, MR9600 or MX5300 since these are Wifi6 products.

The MR9000 is Wifi5 (AC).

Thanks. I essentially got the MR9000 for free so I'm "stuck" with it. My Xfinity service is only 200Mbps anyway.

I think I have it dialed in pretty well at this point (yes, I know the 1.22 node is daisy-chained). My AP fluctuates between the low 70s and upper 60s on the 1.16 and 1.22 nodes.

bh_report
Node (MAC) NODE IP PARENT IP Intf. Chan. RSSI(AP/STA) Speed State Timestamp
------------ --------------- --------------- ----- ----- ------------ --------- ----- ------------
24F5A2BA6112 192.168.1.14 192.168.1.4 5GL 36 -66/-58 167.57200 up 1597073467
24F5A2BB520B 192.168.1.16 192.168.1.4 5GH 149 -72/-63 164.63500 up 1597073482
24F5A2BD8417 192.168.1.22 192.168.1.14 5GH 161 -72/-60 154.97300 up 1597073474

 

[chadster766]

bh_report
Node (MAC) NODE IP PARENT IP Intf. Chan. RSSI(AP/STA) Speed State Timestamp
------------ --------------- --------------- ----- ----- ------------ --------- ----- ------------
24F5A2BA6112 192.168.1.14 192.168.1.4 5GL 36 -66/-58 167.57200 up 1597073467
24F5A2BB520B 192.168.1.16 192.168.1.4 5GH 149 -72/-63 164.63500 up 1597073482
24F5A2BD8417 192.168.1.22 192.168.1.14 5GH 161 -72/-60 154.97300 up 1597073474

.14 signal is too strong please move 10ft farther from primary.
.16 is perfect.
.22 is perfects as well but once you move .14 farther from the primary you will probably have to move this one farther from .14 as well.

Below are some of my standard Velop setup recommendations:

• 5Ghz doesn't pass through building materials very well so I wouldn't worry about a strong outside 5Ghz interference too much.
• According to my previous Velop testing Bridge Mode will provide the most performance since the Velop won't be doing NAT and firewalling.
• Use your sysinfo.cgi bh_report to maximize your coverage by keeping the AP\STA signal strengths to approx -70 between nodes. This will also help your wireless client roaming between nodes.
• Disable Prioritization, Node and Client Steering.
• Set Prioritization speeds manually to 1024mbps for both download and upload even though it's disabled
• Have separate SSIDs for 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz.
• Try to get a hub and spoke topology instead of a daisy chain.

Instructions to get the Velop sysinfo.cgi report:

1. Linksys App => Velop Administration => Click on first node in list
2. LAN => IP Address
3. Use the LAN IP Address of the node in the below URL
4. http://<your node ip address>/sysinfo.cgi
5. Login using your Velop system password and username of "admin"
6. The report will display in browser, search for "bh_report" to find the backhaul report section

The output should look like this:

bh_report
  Node (MAC)  NODE IP          PARENT IP        Intf.  Chan.   RSSI(AP/STA)      Speed  State Timestamp
------------  ---------------  ---------------  -----  -----   ------------  ---------  ----- ------------
149182854304  192.168.200.107  192.168.200.131    5GH  161          -70/-59  155.89500     up 1581717301

If you have wired nodes disconnect the Ethernet cable, wait 5 minutes and re-run the report to make sure those nodes are placed properly as well.

 

[palmoyas]

Is the -66 of the .14 node that bad? I can't really move it any farther than a couple of feet without moving it into another room that will present much more interference.

 

[chadster766]

.14 should be ok in that case.

 

[synapse46]

that sysinfo.cgi has all kinds of neat info.
Would it not be good to have prioritization on, it seems to help with buffer bloat, if you’re concerned about that.

Also, sorry if I’m hijacking.

 

[palmoyas]

that sysinfo.cgi has all kinds of neat info.
Would it not be good to have prioritization on, it seems to help with buffer bloat, if you’re concerned about that.

Also, sorry if I’m hijacking.

I'm in bridge mode, so prioritization is inaccessible/grayed out/disabled.

Also, I seem to get the fastest speeds with Node Steering disabled, but Client Steering enabled.