Asus Guest Network = Prolly Other Solution

[Dafish2]

For short we'll just call the guest network title "POS" and move on. Before somebody challenges this, a few things:

1) Base setup was done with only one router that was factory reset and running latest firmware.
2) It's not like configuring it is hard, it's that it doesn't work.
A. 5ghz appeared to work fine. At least very early testing suggested that.
B. A 2.4 guest nework killed the production network over and over and over. I lost count of the reboots, factory resets, and different config tweaks made. The guest network, once configured, blocked the production 2.4 from accepting clients. I changed pretty much everything, from scads of 2.4 tuning/problem/reliability threads and decades of DIY with this stuff. Nada. In fact, even disabling the guest network didn't work. And since it can't be deleted, on disabled, it required a factory reset to return the production SSIS to working.

Shame that, for using AIMesh sounded like a good idea instead of downstream AP's, and by now I expect its stable. Course I expected Guest Networks to be stable too. But if the thing is that unstable, then screw that.

What's next? I really need to get a "guest" network running, and I really don't want to replace both routers. At the same time I prefer factory firmware = I like automated firmware updates fixing vulnerabilities without my babysitting the firmware.

It feels like I need to leave Asus (darn it), move to something with solid code (argh again), and use one of my leftover Asus routers as a downstream AP to the "whatever" router.

* Is that even possible?
* Does "Guest Network Pro" actually work? Could it be used with a non-pro router in an AIMesh? Traffic isolation from "production" is a must, as is having both guest and production over at least 2.4 and 5ghz being stable.
* Meanwhile, I've long wanted to implement Policy Based Routing so I could direct specific IP's over OpenVPN tunnels. Which Merlin does, and I'd always hoped Asus would "trickle down to" given that relationship. This remains non-vital, or I'd have already move to Merlin, but I wanted the automated updates more than policy routing.
* Is "Guest Network" otherwise stable? I suppose I could just not put up a production 2.4, as all my personal data devices are on 5ghs anyway...

So guys, who's making a stable router with quality code, the features I need, and delivering firmware updates automatically?

 

[jksmurf]

* Does "Guest Network Pro" actually work? Could it be used with a non-pro router in an AIMesh? Traffic isolation from "production" is a must, as is having both guest and production over at least 2.4 and 5ghz being stable.

There are some users (@visortgw as an example, possibly @Seth Harman ) who I believe have good working Asus Guest Network Pro (GNP) systems.

To get the most out of it, as you expect it to work, with GNs propagating to AiMesh nodes and VLANs likewise, is is imperative you get Router/Node models on “Asus VLAN List” of 3006 codebase GNP, VLAN supported routers that do just that. See Note 1 below.

If you do not care about VLAN propagating to the nodes Ethernet ports then 3006 GNP Primary and 3006 GNP Nodes on Asus GNP List may be sufficient. Note that many (most) on the GNP list also appear on the VLAN list.

There are quite a number of threads on the vagaries of Guest Network Pro with 3006.102.x Primary and 3004.388.x codebase nodes. From personal experience I strongly suggest you do not go that route. Here are some recent examples of that experience:

5Ghz GUEST Network not propagating to AiMesh nodes?

What is the latest wisdom on getting the 5Ghz (Guest Wifi) band to actually work on the GNP Nodes, using AiMesh (in addition to the 2.4Ghz band). I do not wish to create APs atm. My Guest Network (GNP) is working, but clients (iPhones and iPads) all seem to be served 2.4Ghz only (on Guest) and...

www.snbforums.com

Guest Network Pro not broadcasting on XT8 nodes (GT-AX11000 Pro + XT8 mesh setup)

How do I fix that ?? Just pick guest network not custom ?? Meaning how do I change the instance ! I think it's an either/or thing, so if you want regular Guest Network and not Guest Network Pro I think you have to revert to the 3004.xx firmware branch.

www.snbforums.com

Finally, for completeness there are also routers that use something called Smart Home Master as explained by @bennor in the following thread. This is not what you want.

Guest Network Pro not broadcasting on XT8 nodes (GT-AX11000 Pro + XT8 mesh setup)

How do I fix that ?? Just pick guest network not custom ?? Meaning how do I change the instance ! I think it's an either/or thing, so if you want regular Guest Network and not Guest Network Pro I think you have to revert to the 3004.xx firmware branch.

www.snbforums.com

Note 1. A quick comparison between both lists I linked above suggests (currently):

• Routers that do both GNP and VLAN: Many (most?) of the high-end and newer models (like the GT-BE, RT-AX88U Pro, RT-BE series) support both features.
• GNP only: A few specific models like the GS-BE7200X and RT-BE58 Go, although the recently released RT-BE58 Go e.g., may just be an oversight as its predecessor the RT-AX57 Go is on the VLAN list too.
• VLAN only: Primarily some specific business models (EB-series) and a couple of high-end gaming routers (GT-AX11000 Pro, GT-AXE16000). I am dubious about these missing from the GNP list TBH, might just be Asus failing to update properly, hopefully others can say “model X on the VLAN list actually supports GNP as well”.

And if you can use Ethernet to connect them, even if it needs some work pulling or threading or laying cables and ducts, do it.

 

[Seth Harman]

I've used Guest Network/Guest Network Pro + AiMesh through a few firmware revisions so, in theory, it does work and is stable.

We really can't help until you tell us what firmware revision is running on each specific router/node. What you described smells to me like you're mixing 3006.xx and 3004.xx firmware revisions amongst your hardware. If so, that matches up with your description of 5GHz working and 2.4GHz not working.

 

[bbunge]

I've used Guest Network/Guest Network Pro + AiMesh through a few firmware revisions so, in theory, it does work and is stable.

We really can't help until you tell us what firmware revision is running on each specific router/node. What you described smells to me like you're mixing 3006.xx and 3004.xx firmware revisions amongst your hardware. If so, that matches up with your description of 5GHz working and 2.4GHz not working.

The OP is running an AC86U router and an AC68U as an AP or Aimesh node. Claims latest Asus firmware.
Refuses to give more info or to follow recommendations from this forum.

 

[Seth Harman]

The OP is running an AC86U router and an AC68U as an AP or Aimesh node. Claims latest Asus firmware.
Refuses to give more info or to follow recommendations from this forum.

Ok, I found the original thread where he stated all of this. Beyond making sure he's cabled the nodes correctly for AiMesh Ethernet backhaul what it looks like to me is he's not running AiMesh at all. I'm basing that on this statement:

2) On the "Guest" network I set "Guest network on Aimesh" to "All Mesh Nodes" as I wanted guest devices on both routers to be to communicate. *I then set up matching SSID's on both routers* (opposite ends of the house, different channels). Which I've been doing on the production Wi-Fi's for decades, so... Did I handle the "Guest network on Aimesh" question correctly?​

In AiMesh you aren't setting up anything whatsoever on the nodes directly, everything is done on the main router. So yeah, if he's not actually added the nodes through the AiMesh tab on the main router they're just operating as either routers or wireless APs and that obviously isn't going to work. If he posts a screenshot of whatever is showing on the AiMesh tab on the main router we'd know for sure.