Upgrading from ac3100 to ax88u and questions...

[njhorn]

Hey all, thanks everyone for help on my other post, i ordered my ax88u to replace my ac3100 and ac68u aimesh combo... Hoping to get by with a single router... A few questions when i upgrade though...

-I don't plan to save settings from my old router to apply to new one, i'd rather start fresh. I will copy my dhcp reservations and manually set them up on the 88u though...
-Can i just set up the new router with the same SSID's (i use seperate ones for 2.4ghz and 5ghz) as the old router? I have a lot of IoT devices and hoping this saves me time in configuring them all (Harmony, Hue, EcoBee, MyQ garage opener, etc)
-What is the downside of using the same SSID if any?
-Is there a good how-to on best settings for the ax88u?
-I see everyone talk about Merlin firmware, why should i use this instead? I am a 20+ year linux engineer, with basic networking skills, but not sure i'd know enough to mess with extra settings Merlin provides
-Should i just start with stock firmware and go to Merlin only if i find it to be unstable?

Thanks again!

 

[OzarkEdge]

Hey all, thanks everyone for help on my other post, i ordered my ax88u to replace my ac3100 and ac68u aimesh combo... Hoping to get by with a single router... A few questions when i upgrade though...

-I don't plan to save settings from my old router to apply to new one, i'd rather start fresh. I will copy my dhcp reservations and manually set them up on the 88u though...
-Can i just set up the new router with the same SSID's (i use seperate ones for 2.4ghz and 5ghz) as the old router? I have a lot of IoT devices and hoping this saves me time in configuring them all (Harmony, Hue, EcoBee, MyQ garage opener, etc)
-What is the downside of using the same SSID if any?
-Is there a good how-to on best settings for the ax88u?
-I see everyone talk about Merlin firmware, why should i use this instead? I am a 20+ year linux engineer, with basic networking skills, but not sure i'd know enough to mess with extra settings Merlin provides
-Should i just start with stock firmware and go to Merlin only if i find it to be unstable?

Thanks again!

>>-I don't plan to save settings from my old router to apply to new one, i'd rather start fresh.

You have no other option.

>>-Can i just set up the new router with the same SSID's (i use seperate ones for 2.4ghz and 5ghz) as the old router?

Yes. If you do need to debug a client, re-create its connection to the same old SSID.

>>-What is the downside of using the same SSID if any?

None that I know of unless a client remembers old habits(?).

>>-Is there a good how-to on best settings for the ax88u?

Let me know!

>>-I see everyone talk about Merlin firmware, why should i use this instead?

Asuswrt-Merlin is explained here: https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/

I would prove your new router first before adding more features you may not use.

>>-Should i just start with stock firmware and go to Merlin only if i find it to be unstable?

Good plan!

OE

 

[njhorn]

Awesome thank you. I’ll stick with stock fw to start (upgrading to latest), use the same SSID’s for a quicker replacement (I’ll change the SSID if it causes issues), and I guess have plenty of time to read through the Merlin site right now sigh

>>-I don't plan to save settings from my old router to apply to new one, i'd rather start fresh.

You have no other option.

>>-Can i just set up the new router with the same SSID's (i use seperate ones for 2.4ghz and 5ghz) as the old router?

Yes. If you do need to debug a client, re-create its connection to the same old SSID.

>>-What is the downside of using the same SSID if any?

None that I know of unless a client remembers old habits(?).

>>-Is there a good how-to on best settings for the ax88u?

Let me know!

>>-I see everyone talk about Merlin firmware, why should i use this instead?

Asuswrt-Merlin is explained here: https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/

I would prove your new router first before adding more features you may not use.

>>-Should i just start with stock firmware and go to Merlin only if i find it to be unstable?

Good plan!

OE

 

[L&LD]

I would start on RMerlin firmware if you want the best possible experience right now.

I would also suggest that once you have flashed the RMerlin firmware (or any other firmware) you want to use, to do a full reset to factory defaults including checking the 'Initialize all settings...' checkbox and then reflashing the firmware again followed by another full reset too.

Use the following URL to bypass the setup wizard to go straight to the reset GUI page.

http://router.asus.com/Advanced_SettingBackup_Content.asp

Then set up minimally and manually to secure the router and connect to your ISP, including new SSIDs (see below why that is important).

Why a new SSID? https://www.snbforums.com/threads/i...-ax88u-rt-ac86u-node.60551/page-2#post-532915

In addition, I would follow the Nuclear Reset and the M&M Config guides to give your network the best chance of using the performance the new router offers to its fullest. Including the highest stability and security possible too.

Use the recommended defaults until you're comfortable with the stability and the reliability of the network. Then, slowly add any features and/or customizations one at a time to your setup monitoring it continuously to make sure nothing 'breaks' with the additions you need.

Of course, you can simply flash any of the latest firmware (RMerlin or otherwise) and hope you will have no issues.

But having no issues is still a far cry from an optimally running network too.

Please see the link in my signature below for the guides mentioned above.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Why a new SSID? https://www.snbforums.com/threads/i...-ax88u-rt-ac86u-node.60551/page-2#post-532915

That makes sense. With only so many and well-behaved wireless clients here, I've never had an issue keeping SSIDs. But I wouldn't want to debug even one poorly behaved client, particularly an IoT device buried somewhere deep with a marginal management interface. But then I wouldn't want to reconfigure its SSID, either. Solution: vet your clients!

OE