Best way to connect 1x AC66U, 1x AC68U, 2x N56U

[tangggcarol]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post and pardon me if i did not use the right terminology but i will be glad to elaborate if i missed out any details.

Over the years, i have gather quite a number of surplus wireless routers namely:

a. 2x N56U
b. 1x AC66U
c. 1x AC68U

I will like to seek your expert opinions which one of the above should be configured as routers and access points for maximum coverage in my small apartment. There is more than 25 wireless networks detected in my apartment and mostly are from my neighbours so it is almost necessary to have one access point in each room. My plan for the setups are as follows...

Location 1 (living room - inside cabinet)
This is the location of the network cable distribution panel where i also placed my NAS, switch, broadband terminal point, broadband modem, router. Unfortunately, the wireless router placed here will be enclosed in a cabinet with weak wireless signals.

Qn #1 So is N56U or AC66U or AC68U (with both 2.4/5 GHz wireless signals disabled) a more ideal candidate to function as a wired router? In other words, do all three have similar routing performance if i disabled their wireless signals.

Location 2 (living room - outside cabinet)
In this room, i have devices such as macbook air with 802.11ac wireless adapter.

Qn #2 Am i not realising the full potential of AC66U if i configured this merely as just an access point?

Location 3 (room #1)
Also in this room, i have devices such as imac with 802.11ac.
Qn #3 Am i under-utilising AC68U if i configured this merely as just an access point?

Location 4 (room #2)
Qn #4 Configure N56U as access point since there are only devices with 802.11n wireless adapter in this room?

Qn #5 Also, would it be better to configure all the access points with identical SSIDs as i frequently roam around the house with ipad/iphones (802.11n)? i.e. three access points have two SSIDs for the 2.4 and 5GHz? or a total of 6 SSIDs for the three access points?

Please feel free to let me know how would you otherwise configure them?

Thank you.

 

[L&LD]

I would definitely use one of the RT-N56U as a router (wired) only.

You would not be underutilizing the routers in AP mode as long as you have the same class clients to connect to them.

In the same rooms, I would not have multiple wireless routers' radios going (maybe I'm not understanding your setup properly?).


I would also install the latest firmware (RMerlin's where you can) in each router and reset to defaults before you set each up.

I would also have different SSID's for each router: to ensure that your device connects to the router you expect it to (forget 'roaming' with consumer class routers - you need an enterprise level setup to do it right).

 

[CaptainSTX]

Use your distribution panel to connect the router all the APs using Ethernet cable.

Use different channels for each radio. In a perfect world without 25 SSIDs 1, 6, 11 would be best but with 25 SSIDs you will have to experiment and find what works best for you.

For best results use a different SSID for each of your radios so it is quickly and easily possible to connect to the nearest and probably the fastest connection.

 

[sinshiva]

I'm sure an n56 would be perfect as a router (radios off), but what is your internet connection?

i think using the AC routers as APs is just fine. They also are probably your best devices if you ever wanted to attach a usb drive directly to share, etc. more cpu for file transfers, etc in not being the router, etc. maybe try and keep one accessible, probably the ac68.

maybe use the last n56 as a utility device, like if you ever need a wireless bridge or repeater, only if you dont need the additional AP, of course.

cheers

 

[tangggcarol]

Hi All,

Many thanks for the suggestions! You have saved me lots of time combing the web for the right solution. I have heeded your advise in using the N56U as a wired router and configure the rest of the surplus routers such as AC66U, AC68U and N56U as Access Points with different SSIDs.

I have two more questions...

Qn #6
Would i benefit if i replace my "non-smart" trendnet 8-port network gigabit switch (TEG-S80G) to a "smart" gigabit switch that allows link aggregation to my synology DS713+? e.g. Cisco SG-200

let me elaborate further....Most of the clients in the house have low storage internal memory in order to keep the cost low. So devices such as iphone, ipad, imac, macbook airs, apple TV will usually need to access the DS713+ storage to playback music and movies. In addition, i have a 24/7 IP camera wired to the DS713+ via the network switch. Also i have sonos bridge with 4 sonos "connect aka ZP120" connecting to this network switch streaming music from DS713+. Occasionally i have friends who will access my DS713+ photos and videos from internet via my fibre broadband plan. So the one common device that is frequently accessed by all other clients is always the synology DS713+. I have also upgraded the default memory from 1GB to 2GB in DS713+. But I still sometimes encounter choppy movies playback if there simultaneous access. So i am wondering whether buying a smart switch with link aggregation is a good idea.

Qn #7
If yes, is cisco SG-200-8 a good candidate as i doubt i have the networking knowledge to administer more complex smart switches since link aggregation is the only feature i might need? what other candidates would you recommend?

I like to hear your views.

Thank you.