WAN Trunk (GT-AX6000)

[jay1337]

Hi,

I need help setting up my home network. My setup is the following:

1. ISP Modem
2. Two TP-SG105E switches
3. ASUS Router GT-AX6000

I connect one SG105E to ISP modem which is in bridge mode. Then I connect the second SG105E and attach the ASUS router to this 2nd switch. And now the switches need to have ASUS network on other ports but for some reason they do not.

VLANS:
ID 2: ISP Connection
ID 3: ASUS Network

1st switch:
Port 1 assigned to VLAN 2 (untagged) - direct ISP connection
Port 2 assigned to VLAN 2 and 3 (tagged) - connected to 2nd switch

2nd switch:
Port 1 assigned to VLAN 2 and 3 (tagged) - connected to 1st switch
Port 2 assigned to VLAN 2 and 3 (tagged) - connected to ASUS Router


What am I missing? Do I need to flash asus-merlin for this to work? I came across this thread which is somewhat similar but I see he used robocfg https://www.snbforums.com/threads/wan-port-vlan-trunking.58921/

 

[glens]

What else are you connecting between the ISP and your network? Why the switch_es_ /between/ them?

 

[jay1337]

Just two switches. I need the two switches because I want the devices connected to them to also get IPs from the ASUS router but there is no way to have more than 1 cable from the router back to the switch(es).

I can see the switch in the ASUS WebUI with its IP address and mac which means its connected. But when I connect a computer to the switch it gets no internet access and no IP assigned...

It looks as if my VLAN configuration is not ok but I am not sure what...

UPDATE:

The computer gets assigned a "random" IP on a different subnet mask, 255.255.0.0 instead of 255.255.255.0 when plugged into the switch.

 

[glens]

If you want the router to claim (and feed) things plugged into the switches, they (the switches) must be attached to the LAN side of the router, not its WAN side.

 

[jay1337]

If you want the router to claim (and feed) things plugged into the switches, they (the switches) must be attached to the LAN side of the router, not its WAN side.

So it’s not possible to pass the LAN connection back via a single cable (WAN)? I can also get the ISP connection into a LAN port if that helps since the router supports “Dual Link aggregation”. There must be a way to achieve this with only one cable

What about bridging or creating another WAN interface on the router? In the linked thread (
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/wan-port-vlan-trunking.58921/) the guy achieved what I need, or at least it seems?

Also: https://www.asus.com/us/support/FAQ/1050072/

 

[glens]

Okay, that makes sense now. I didn't grasp what your goal was.

That Asus guide page ought to cover everything except specific instruction for the switches, which is where your problem lies if the router firmware actually works.

I'm thinking that with a setup like this you'll stand a chance of halving resultant throughput on the wire. I'm also thinking I'd best bow out of the conversation at this point since I can offer no informed assistance. Sorry. My solution to the problem would be to run another wire...

 

[Crimliar]

Have historically done what you are trying to do, and as far as I'm aware that network is still working! It's a complete pain to set up, and the last time I tried to explain how it worked on these forums I failed! The key part is though that the easy way to do it is to have connections from the WAN port AND from a LAN port between the router and that second switch. Oh and if you do get it working it can severely impact the throughput of devices connected to the first switch!

 

[Tech9]

WAN port AND from a LAN port between the router and that second switch

Of course. You have to have both connections. Only the switches use VLANs to share the single cable for WAN/LAN between them.

 

[glens]

Asus didn't say to use more than one connection to the switch - the implication is that the bridging takes place within the router - only one smart switch would thus be needed (in the equipment cabinet). It appears as though using two smart switches (w/ two connections to router from one) no special configuration would need be done on the router at all.

 

[Tech9]

no special configuration would need be done on the router at all.

Correct. The trunk is the link between the switches. The switches manage VLANs for WAN and LAN. The router has to be connected to the second switch with both WAN and LAN to the corresponding ports. This is similar to how I was running pfSense on a Mini-PC with single NIC as router on a stick with one managed switch. I don't know what VLAN configurations are available on 3.0.0.6 firmware and if they work correctly. If they do - possible with one managed switch on the modem side. If they don't - two managed switches deal with VLANs and any router connected with WAN/LAN ports.

This is the theory. Specific configuration on a specific model switch - the User Manual. There are some differences.

 

[jay1337]

I got it working but with two cables from the router to the 2nd switch. The devices on the first switch are also managed by the asus router and all is ok.

Thanks for the help.

 

[glens]

I got it working but with two cables from the router to the 2nd switch.

So you don't need /any/ VLAN-on-the-WAN configuration on the router itself for this, right? The switches are doing all the work?

 

[jay1337]

So you don't need /any/ VLAN-on-the-WAN configuration on the router itself for this, right? The switches are doing all the work?

I still have a VLAN for the WAN but it could most probably work without it too, I would just have to configure the setup a little differently.