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Asus Merlin: disable 802.11b DSSS/CCK

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mzakharo

New Around Here
Welcome to the forums @mzakharo.

Why do you think the RT-AX86U doesn't do that already with current firmware? What is your goal and what benefits does it net you?

The less you play/touch the almost limitless combinations/options, the more stable and performant the router will be.
 
Welcome to the forums @mzakharo.

Why do you think the RT-AX86U doesn't do that already with current firmware? What is your goal and what benefits does it net you?

The less you play/touch the almost limitless combinations/options, the more stable and performant the router will be.

this link: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/openwrt-disables-802-11b-legacy-rates-as-default-finally.68236/ explains the benefits of turning off 802.11b: airtime and spectral efficiency
 
I'm not doubting the benefits (and originally read that post by @sfx2000 many times).

You didn't answer the questions though?
 
You could try changing the Wireless Mode from Auto to N only. I can't test this myself at the moment.

I'm also curious what device you have that requires DSSS/CCK be disabled?
 
I tried setting N-Only, this besides also disabling AX (not desired), and fiddling with many other 'professional' settings, I had no success with either stock or merlin software.

I'm also curious what device you have that requires DSSS/CCK be disabled?
disabling DSSS/CCK is not to improve compatibility, on the contrary, it is to reduce backward compatibility in favor of better performance for OFDM-capable clients








Maybe
 
Linguistics, and opinions on right and wrong aside, does someone with the knowledge of the ASUS firmware know if 802.11b disabling is possible, either through GUI, or command line? Or does this require work on the dev side, if so, how to go about setting this in motion?

As a side note, you can buy Plume Superpod AP, and 802.11b is disabled automatically. Probably many other routers do the same, and more likely will in the future. ASUS is dragging their heels on this. Reading Asus-merlin website, it is my impression that it is in the spirit of this custom firmware to give users access to features long before they get mainstreamed in Taiwan.

Here is an explicit presentation on rationale in disabling 802.11b (in case you missed it in the OpenWRT patch notes): https://mentor.ieee.org/802.11/dcn/14/11-14-0099-00-000m-renewing-2-4ghz-band.pptx
 
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OK the best I've been able to come up with is this:
Code:
# wl -i eth6 down
# wl -i eth6 rateset 6b 9 12b 18 24b 36 48 54
# wl -i eth6 up
Seems to work AFAICT. 802.11b devices can't connect but g/n devices can. I don't have any ax devices to test with.
 
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@mzakharo, your impression, and assumptions of the Asuswrt-Merlin firmware are wrong.

Asuswrt-Merlin is an alternative, customized version of that firmware. Developed by Eric Sauvageau, its primary goals are to enhance the existing firmware without bringing any radical changes, and to fix some of the known issues and limitations, while maintaining the same level of performance as the original firmware. This means Asuswrt-Merlin retains full support for NAT acceleration (sometimes referred to as "hardware acceleration"), enhanced NTFS performance (through the proprietary drivers used by Asus from either Paragon or Tuxera), and the Asus exclusive features such as AiCloud or the Trend Micro-powered AiProtection. New feature addition is very low on the list of priorities for this project.

About | Asuswrt-Merlin


Thank you for the PowerPoint presentation. I can agree with most of it. But that doesn't change what focus the router manufacturers and specifically Asus and RMerlin himself are pointed towards. A fully functional and fully backward compatible router, regardless of the client devices one may have.

Have you ever tried changing/testing the actual options that are available?

For example, the OFDMA/802.11ax MU-MIMO settings (for both bands)? I have that set to DL/UL OFDMA + MU-MIMO for the better part of this year (RT-AX86U) with no issues and subjectively faster (less latency) performance.
 
I am wondering if selecting a "N only" mode from drop-down menu in Menu>Wireless>General will effectively disable 802.11b? ;) I thing that is the OP wanted to achieve...
 
No, see posts 5 and 6 above.
 
OK the best I've been able to come up with is this:
Code:
# wl -i eth6 down
# wl -i eth6 rateset 6b 9 12b 18 24b 36 48 54
# wl -i eth6 up
Seems to work AFAICT. 802.11b devices can't connect but g/n devices can. I don't have any ax devices to test with.
This is perfect! works like a charm. Thank you so much. Looking at Beacons in monitor mode, I see them coming in over OFDM now. All of my G/N/AX devices look unaffected.

Modifying any Wireless settings/rebooting causes these settings to be reset. How do you make these settings persist?
 
Modifying any Wireless settings/rebooting causes these settings to be reset. How do you make these settings persist?
There aren't really any hooks or events linked to the wireless subsystem. So the best you can do is put those commands in a services-start script on the assumption that the WiFi will have been initialised by then.

If you make any changes in the GUI that restarts the WiFi those changes will be lost until the next reboot. So if you are really concerned about that you'd have to also create a service-event-end script with conditional code for a wireless restart.
 
While the solution, proposed by ColinTaylor works for me (although avoiding wl down/up would be preferable),

In the explicit user-set 'N-Only' mode ( or what should be a N/AX-Only mode on AX routers), the AP should no longer broadcast any DSSS/802.11b beacons. A bug/oversight on ASUS part maybe?
 
While the solution, proposed by ColinTaylor works for me (although avoiding wl down/up would be preferable),

In the explicit user-set 'N-Only' mode ( or what should be a N/AX-Only mode on AX routers), the AP should no longer broadcast any DSSS/802.11b beacons. A bug/oversight on ASUS part maybe?
A more valid question would be whether Broadcom even supports disabling that feature. Most Broadcom-based routers use their private SDK daemon rather than hostapd likle OpenWRT uses.
 

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