Existing RT-AX88U mesh adding new XT8 nodes

[mhemil]

Hi,

I have a two RT-AX88U mesh system with ethernet backhaul. I added two XT8 nodes, both also on ethernet backhaul, but are experiencing some strange behaviors:

inSSIDer reports both RT-AX88U with good fronthaul speed operating in the 80 MHz band and control channel 112.
inSSIDer reports both XT8 nodes at terrible speed operating in the 20 MHz band and control channel 36.

Some of you will say I should switch the router with one of the XT8s, but currently I do not want to do this.
My entire system are at ethernet backhaul.
I believe the XT8 cannot have control channel in the 100 + band so maybe that's part of the solution?

Anyway, strange that the XT8s no not use the 80 MHz band?

 

[OzarkEdge]

Hi,

I have a two RT-AX88U mesh system with ethernet backhaul. I added two XT8 nodes, both also on ethernet backhaul, but are experiencing some strange behaviors:

inSSIDer reports both RT-AX88U with good fronthaul speed operating in the 80 MHz band and control channel 112.
inSSIDer reports both XT8 nodes at terrible speed operating in the 20 MHz band and control channel 36.

Some of you will say I should switch the router with one of the XT8s, but currently I do not want to do this.
My entire system are at ethernet backhaul.
I believe the XT8 cannot have control channel in the 100 + band so maybe that's part of the solution?

Anyway, strange that the XT8s no not use the 80 MHz band?

20/40/80/160MHz is bandwidth, not band. Clients will connect at their max bandwidth permitted by the AP... at 20MHz max in the 2.4GHz band (set it to 20MHz to be courteous) and at various 20/40/80/160MHz in the 5.0GHz band depending on client capability. Avoid using 160MHz and DFS channels in the 5.0GHz band until you understand how DFS works in your area.

OE

 

[mhemil]

Yes. But do you know why inSSIDer reports 20 MHz and thereby low speed on fronthaul for the nodes?

 

[OzarkEdge]

Yes. But do you know why inSSIDer reports 20 MHz and thereby low speed on fronthaul for the nodes?

20MHz is the bandwidth... it affects speed but it is not speed. Clients connect at their max bandwidth permitted by the client and by the AP. I don't know anything about your wirless configuration and clients... I assume your client connecting at 20MHz bw is doing the best it can.

OE

 

[mhemil]

I'm convinced that something is wrong since both the RT-AX88Us, both the router and the node, are on the 80 MHz band and reports high throughputs whilst the two XT8 are on different control channel and only on the 20 MHz band.

 

[glens]

The main unit doesn't have two 5GHz radios dividing that band so I'd expect it wouldn't know how to direct their use on the nodes. As in the configuration instructions are being sent for "5", not "5-1" or "5-2". I wonder if the same type of situation would happen in reverse if their roles were switched (lack of control over "5").

Hey, it might usually work okay - no clue - but I'd rather expect such issues when using disparate hardware like this