Wired network issues (several) on RT-AX88U and beta (both 1 and 3)

[werkstrom]

Upgraded my AC68U to a AX88U and generally very pleased. I never ran the stock FW but installed the Merlin Beta 1 right away as I have been running Merlin on the AC68U since I bought that several years ago, so I cannot reference if these issues are present on the ASUS FW or not. Sorry.

Wireless clients generally work just fine. Have no issues that I can think of actually but wired is another matter. First thing I noticed was that one LAN port indicated “Unplugged” in the UI when it is indeed connected. On this port (LAN 2) I have an AX92U that acts as a mesh client and in the mesh UI it shows up just fine and I can work with it. Also on LAN 1 I have an identical AX92U and that port shows up as “Connected”. Very minor issue since the mesh node obviously works just fine… This issue is present still in beta 3.

The main issue with LAN though is that wired devices cannot connect to the LAN at all. It appears all devices loose this ability at the same time and it’s like they cannot get DHCP info from the router. I have definitely not done very extensive testing so this is perhaps more a request as to where I should start trouble shooting and check if anyone else is experiencing similar issues. As I just updated to beta 3 I cannot say if the issue persists but it was definitely present in beta 1.

Any help, input and guidance would be greatly appreciated

 

[FTC]

Hi, I'd first of all and because it is very easy to do in your case, switch cables between Lan1 and Lan2 so that you can rule out an external to the ax88u problem in case that the 'bad port' then appears to be then the lan2 one. Afterwards I would reset and reconfigure the x88 from scratch and starting at a minimum configuration and just with the offending hw connected (the ax92 connected to lan1) to see if you can reproduce it in absence of other configurations or hardware present. If the problem persists then, I would tend to think that you possibly have a hardware problem with that port.

 

[werkstrom]

Very good suggestion actually @FTC Turns out the Mesh Node (one of the AX92's that has no wired connections on it (i.e. only the wired backhaul) does come up "Unplugged" in all tested ports, whilst the other AX92 (that has ha PC jacked in to it) comes up "1 Gbps" in all tested ports. Also the 24p switch I have comes up as "1Gbps" on all ports. Will test if the now "unplugged" node comes up as "1 Gbps" if I plug something into it's lan ports... So that mystery solved (sort of). Thanks for helping @FTC. Much appreciated.

Now we'll se if the issue with the wired clients persists after upgrade to beta 3.

Thanks again for helping

 

[werkstrom]

Did troubleshoot the issue with the wired devices a bit more but I'll start a separate thread on that as to avoid confusion

 

[BailA]

Hi, may I know how you solved it?
I have the same problem.

 

[werkstrom]

Hi, may I know how you solved it?
I have the same problem.

I haven't solved it actually. I've just unplugged (and unregistered) the AX92s to ensure everything works fine without them, and it does. Since it is cold and wet outside I don't spend much time in areas (outside) where I would need the extended range (hey, I live in Sweden ;-)) But eventually it'll get warmer even here and I'll have to bite the apple on this one and start testing. I have also reset my old AC68U to use for testing as a AI node. It was running as the main before with the AX92s as nodes just fine for the longest of times.

 

[werkstrom]

Ok, A bit of an update. I factory reset my (very) old AC68U and set it up as the lone AI-node. Has been running for the whole week now, without any issues... It should be noted I'm running the AC68U on the Merlin 384_19 firmware, that I know is not recommended (from what I understand it is preffered to run Asus FW on the nodes) but it still works without issues, for me. I will leav it a few days more to make sure it is still stable. And then move on with troubleshooting with an AX92.

One thought is that from my understanding the AX92 is using a quite different architecture compared to the AX88 and Ac68 as there is no Merlin FW for the AX92. Wonder if there might actually be some sort of compatibility issue.

 

[werkstrom]

Alright, Thought I'd update this thread with latest findings, should anyone else find it useful...

I am now running 368.5_2 on the AX88 aho is acting as the "main" router in my network.
To that I first connected my very old AC68U as an AI-Mesh node and updated it. It is now running stock 3.0.0.4.386_48262
I then connected one AX92 as a second AI-Mesh node and updated it. It is now running stock 3.0.0.4.386_46061

Both nodes are connected via dedicated backhaul cables (no wifi backhaul)

Everything has now worked perfectly for a month and a half. I know This does not provide an explanation to why thing were going bananas a year ago... But "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"...

The one thing I have changed is that on the 5Ghz band I have changed the threshold for roaming (Roaming assistant) to -50 (I believe it was -70 as default). 2.4Ghs is still -70. No idea if this could be helping but I do notice considerably better roaming when moving indoors/outdoors (where the AX92 is).

I also notice that the issue with "disconnected" LAN ports in the UI is gone. I'm thinking there might actually have been some sort of bug that has been ironed out in newer FW. But... Just guessing.

Anyway. As for now, things are working

 

[CaptnDanLKW]

@werkstrom I (many of us) appreciate these self-updates and FYI posts, even those that span 'a while'.

Your "If it aint broke..." philosophy is quite valid for many people, with the caveat about security issues, which sadly are more common.

I'll share some of my wisdom for those who like to read and absorb data points.

• Mixing Smart Connect (most new) and Non Smart connect capable devices (the popular AC68U) is OK, but you shouldn't enable SC
  • You didn't mention SC, just a datapoint
• Keep remote nodes that don't have a merlin's software at a Build # as close to possible as to the one Merlin's is built off of
  • Your post #7 had your old AC68U connected while running the 384 Codebase - While ASUS Supported, this mixes a AI Mesh 1.0 and AI Mesh 2.0
• Your last post mentions using Roaming Assistant, which is the primary reason for replying. I have posted my experience, my guidance and the logic behind not using it. Even If you don't use SC, the RA on the professional tab will stomp on the seamless AI Mesh Roaming, removing it's benefits.
  • Link https://www.snbforums.com/threads/smart-connect-and-roaming-assist.78788/post-761952

Just more data, YMMV, just my opinion and experience.
Thanks for sharing

 

[werkstrom]

@CaptnDanLKW Thanks for input and suggestions. I'll add to it with a bit more then.

I do believe SC is off/disabled. But it's somewhat unclear. If it's not disabled, I'm quite puzzled as to how to do it... Here's a screenshot

Thanks also for the link, and even more so for the explanation here: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/smart-connect-curious.71929/#post-682642 I'm by no means literate in all these terms but your explanation makes a lot of sense. I'll experiment with turning RA off.

/Henrik