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AIMesh no DHCP Guest when on nodes (intranet disabled)

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gorstj

Occasional Visitor
Asus AX86U as main router (386.5_2)
Zen Wifi AC Mini CD6 x 3 as nodes - 3.0.0.4.386_46395-g1fd22d2 (stock firmware latest)
Ethernet backhaul with no intermediate switches.


Main Wifi network works fine both on router and nodes.

1st Guest wifi works fine on router and nodes when 'access intranet' enabled. However the nodes fail to give connectivity when 'access intranet' disabled (no IP address is issued via DHCP).

I have resolved this by adding eth0.502 to the bridge on one of the nodes (see below)

Is this a Merlin fault (i.e. the config for the nodes comes from my router?)
Or is this a Asus firmware fault?
Or is it an incompatibility between the two?


I note there are similar threads but with seemingly very different causes hence why I have started a new thread:
Thread 1 Thread 2

I have SSH'd into the node and here is some debug information:

Code:
john@ZenWiFi_CD6N-6F78:/tmp/etc/Wireless/conf# brctl show
bridge name     bridge id               STP enabled     interfaces
br0             8000.f02f74f16f78       no              ath0
                                                        ath1
                                                        vlan1
br1             8000.f02f74f16f78       yes             ath001
                                                        ath0.501
                                                        ath1.501
br2             8000.f02f74f16f78       yes             ath101
                                                        ath0.502
                                                        ath1.502

Code:
john@ZenWiFi_CD6N-6F78:/tmp/etc/Wireless/conf# ip a
1: lo: <LOOPBACK,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 16436 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN
    link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
    inet 127.0.0.1/8 brd 127.255.255.255 scope host lo
    inet 127.0.1.1/8 brd 127.255.255.255 scope host secondary lo:0
2: imq0: <NOARP> mtu 16000 qdisc noop state DOWN qlen 11000
    link/void
3: imq1: <NOARP> mtu 16000 qdisc noop state DOWN qlen 11000
    link/void
4: imq2: <NOARP> mtu 16000 qdisc noop state DOWN qlen 11000
    link/void
5: imq3: <NOARP> mtu 16000 qdisc noop state DOWN qlen 11000
    link/void
6: imq4: <NOARP> mtu 16000 qdisc noop state DOWN qlen 11000
    link/void
7: imq5: <NOARP> mtu 16000 qdisc noop state DOWN qlen 11000
    link/void
8: imq6: <NOARP> mtu 16000 qdisc noop state DOWN qlen 11000
    link/void
9: imq7: <NOARP> mtu 16000 qdisc noop state DOWN qlen 11000
    link/void
10: eth0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UP qlen 1000
    link/ether f0:2f:74:f1:6f:78 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
11: miireg: <> mtu 0 qdisc noop state DOWN
    link/generic
12: wifi0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UNKNOWN qlen 2699
    link/ieee802.11 f0:2f:74:f1:6f:78 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
13: wifi1: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UNKNOWN qlen 2699
    link/ieee802.11 f0:2f:74:f1:6f:7a brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
14: ath0: <BROADCAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue master br0 state UNKNOWN
    link/ether f0:2f:74:f1:6f:78 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
15: ath1: <BROADCAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue master br0 state UNKNOWN
    link/ether f0:2f:74:f1:6f:7a brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
16: ath001: <BROADCAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue master br1 state UNKNOWN
    link/ether f6:2f:74:f1:6f:78 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
17: ath101: <BROADCAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue master br2 state UNKNOWN
    link/ether f6:2f:74:f1:6f:7a brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
18: sta0: <NO-CARRIER,BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state DORMANT
    link/ether fa:2f:74:f1:6f:78 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
19: sta1: <NO-CARRIER,BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state DORMANT
    link/ether fa:2f:74:f1:6f:7a brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
20: vlan1@eth0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,ALLMULTI,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue master br0 state UP
    link/ether f0:2f:74:f1:6f:78 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
21: vlan4@eth0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,ALLMULTI,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state UP
    link/ether f0:2f:74:f1:6f:78 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
22: br0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,ALLMULTI,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state UP
    link/ether f0:2f:74:f1:6f:78 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
    inet 192.168.1.94/24 brd 192.168.1.255 scope global br0
23: eth0.501@eth0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,ALLMULTI,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state UP
    link/ether f0:2f:74:f1:6f:78 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
24: ath0.501@ath0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,ALLMULTI,PROMISC,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue master br1 state UP
    link/ether f0:2f:74:f1:6f:78 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
25: ath1.501@ath1: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,ALLMULTI,PROMISC,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue master br1 state UP
    link/ether f0:2f:74:f1:6f:7a brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
26: sta0.501@sta0: <NO-CARRIER,BROADCAST,MULTICAST,ALLMULTI,UP,LOWER_UP,DORMANT> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state DORMANT
    link/ether fa:2f:74:f1:6f:78 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
27: sta1.501@sta1: <NO-CARRIER,BROADCAST,MULTICAST,ALLMULTI,UP,LOWER_UP,DORMANT> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state DORMANT
    link/ether fa:2f:74:f1:6f:7a brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
28: br1: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,ALLMULTI,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state UP
    link/ether f0:2f:74:f1:6f:78 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
29: eth0.502@eth0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,ALLMULTI,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state UP
    link/ether f0:2f:74:f1:6f:78 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
30: ath0.502@ath0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,ALLMULTI,PROMISC,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue master br2 state UP
    link/ether f0:2f:74:f1:6f:78 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
31: ath1.502@ath1: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,ALLMULTI,PROMISC,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue master br2 state UP
    link/ether f0:2f:74:f1:6f:7a brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
32: sta0.502@sta0: <NO-CARRIER,BROADCAST,MULTICAST,ALLMULTI,UP,LOWER_UP,DORMANT> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state DORMANT
    link/ether fa:2f:74:f1:6f:78 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
33: sta1.502@sta1: <NO-CARRIER,BROADCAST,MULTICAST,ALLMULTI,UP,LOWER_UP,DORMANT> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state DORMANT
    link/ether fa:2f:74:f1:6f:7a brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
34: br2: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,ALLMULTI,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state UP
    link/ether f0:2f:74:f1:6f:78 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff

Just looking at the 5gz guest network I figured that the BR2 bridge should be bridging ATH101 and eth0.502. I am not sure what ath0.502 and ath1.502 interfaces are (but I am very new to VLAN's)

So I added eth0.502 to by BR2 bridge....... and now my 5Ghz guest works in the nodes

Code:
brctl addif br2 eth0.502

Code:
john@ZenWiFi_CD6N-6F78:/tmp/etc/Wireless/conf# brctl show
bridge name     bridge id               STP enabled     interfaces
br0             8000.f02f74f16f78       no              ath0
                                                        ath1
                                                        vlan1
br1             8000.f02f74f16f78       yes             ath001
                                                        ath0.501
                                                        ath1.501
br2             8000.f02f74f16f78       yes             ath101
                                                        ath0.502
                                                        ath1.502
                                                        eth0.502
 
I have got the same problem with a guest on nodes. Recently firmware version 386.4_0 works fine.
Thx.
 
I have got the same problem with a guest on nodes. Recently firmware version 386.4_0 works fine.
Thx.

Can I confirm what devices you have for main and nodes?

was is nodes on 386.4 or the main device that works?

mare you on merlin for nodes?
 
I have an AX86U on merlin firmware 386.4 as AiMesh router and another AX86U as AiMesh node.
Everything goes well with AiMesh node on either official firmware or merlin firmware 386.4.

But glitches occurred after I upgraded one of them to merlin firmware 386.5.x.
Thx.
 
I have an AX86U on merlin firmware 386.4 as AiMesh router and another AX86U as AiMesh node.
Everything goes well with AiMesh node on either official firmware or merlin firmware 386.4.

But glitches occurred after I upgraded one of them to merlin firmware 386.5.x.
Thx.

@RMerlin would anything in the Merlin firmware impact the AiMesh or is it more likely to be something in the Asus base and we should just wait for the next version of Merlin (which will incorporate the latest Asus firmware)
 
I have an AX86U on merlin firmware 386.4 as AiMesh router and another AX86U as AiMesh node.
Everything goes well with AiMesh node on either official firmware or merlin firmware 386.4.

But glitches occurred after I upgraded one of them to merlin firmware 386.5.x.
Thx.
Same thing happens to me. I had a AX86U as the AiMesh router and AX82U as AiMesh node.

All my device will not be able to get an ip when it is connecting to the guest network thru the AiMesh node if I update the AX86U to 386.5.X..

But it works perfectly fine when my AX86U is on 386.4 firmware.
 
Anything related to AiMesh is out of my control. That means I cannot predict either if anything that I do may or may not interfere with it, since I can't see its source code, so I have no idea how it works internally. One issue that I am aware for instance is the fact that I don't store SSH keys in the same format as Asus, so sharing of keys with nodes will cause issues if the nodes run stock firmware, and you have more than one key saved.
 
Anything related to AiMesh is out of my control. That means I cannot predict either if anything that I do may or may not interfere with it, since I can't see its source code, so I have no idea how it works internally. One issue that I am aware for instance is the fact that I don't store SSH keys in the same format as Asus, so sharing of keys with nodes will cause issues if the nodes run stock firmware, and you have more than one key saved.

It must be very frustrating that the source code isn't out there!

Do we have access to the config file that the main router sends to the nodes? (via SSH)

Perhaps if I could see this I could compare what is output with stock firmware and then what is sent by Merlin version?
I have had a good search through SSH and can't find any config file for cfg_server
 
Do we have access to the config file that the main router sends to the nodes? (via SSH)
No. It`s not a file, it`s a client/daemon setup with cfg_server and cfg_client exchanging information between nodes.
 
So, I figured that I would add my experience with pushing guest network 1 from router (RT-AX6000, Merlin 386.6) to four AiMesh nodes ((2) RT-AX86U [2.5 Gbps Ethernet], RT-AX82U [5 GHz wifi], and RT-AX3000 [1 Gbps Ethernet], all latest ASUS baseline) using 2.5 Gbps switch.

In the past (before upgrading to 2.5 Gbps backbone), I used successfully used TP-Link 1 Gbps unmanaged switches (TG-SG105/TL-SG108). Unable to find a TP-Link TL-SG108-M2 (2.5 Gbps version of TL-SG108 which is backordered in the US), I tried a TRENDnet 8-port 2.5 Gbps unmanaged switch (TEGS380). Unfortunately, the TRENDnet switch does not forward VLAN tags, not allowing the AiMesh nodes to receive IP addresses when Intranet access is disabled. I verified this by connecting an AiMesh node directly to the router via my patch panel, and guest 1 worked as expected on the AiMesh node. FYI, the TRENDnet switch has excellent throughput despite its inability to forward VLAN tags —I am still using it in my office area for 2.5 Gbps devices that do not require VLAN tags (e.g., (2) Synology NASs, MacBook Pro M1, etc.).

I decided to bite the bullet and purchased a 10-port ((2) 10 Gbps SFP+ plus (8) 2.5 Gbps RJ45) managed TP-Link switch (TL-SG3210XHP-M2) plus (2) Wiitek ‎10 Gbps copper SFP+ transceivers (SFP-10G-T). (NOTE: Wiitek is one of the few SFP+ copper transceivers that will auto-negotiate down to 5 or 2.5 Gbps.) I initially tried the switch out of the box (i.e., unconfigured), but it did not work, which was not unexpected. Next, I enabled VLANs (specifically, VLAN tags 501 (guest 1, 2.4 GHz) and 502 (guest 1, 5 GHz)) for the appropriate switch ports (router to switch and switch to AiMesh nodes). Everything now works as it should with a full 2.5 Gbps backbone!
 
Last edited:
NAT acceleration might be the gremlin causing the intermittent issues with the AiMesh guest network

 
Just to say this is resolved with me with the latest update to the Asus firmware for the ZenWifi AC Mini CD6 (now I don't need to do my hack with adding interfaces to a bridge via SSH)

Version 3.0.0.4.386.49693
2022/07/21 34.48 MBytes
ASUS ZenWiFi AC Mini (CD6) Firmware version 3.0.0.4.386.49693
1. Fixed AiMesh issues
2. Improved system stability
 

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