What's new

How do you create a wired Ethernet backbone using 2 Routers and a Gateway?

  • SNBForums Code of Conduct

    SNBForums is a community for everyone, no matter what their level of experience.

    Please be tolerant and patient of others, especially newcomers. We are all here to share and learn!

    The rules are simple: Be patient, be nice, be helpful or be gone!

Wolf26pack

Occasional Visitor
Hello Everybody,

Let me start by giving a quick summary of what I am trying to accomplish as well as my hardware & current setup.

Summary

I am trying to create a Ethernet Backbone using my Arris Gateway & 2 ASUS Routers in AiMesh Mode (without losing to much speed). I'd like to connect the Gateway > RT-AC88U > RT-AC5300. I've run 100ft Ethernet cable from the Gateway to one router and another 100ft Ethernet cable to the other router, but then I lose internet connection and I don't
know why o_O. I did get it working once but I lost a lot of speed when testing it. I have a 300/20 from TWC (Spectrum) but when I did get it working that one time my speed went all the way down to 80/20. I've heard you may lose some speed but that is to drastic. So I'd like instructions on exactly what I need to do i.e. Connections, Router Settings etc... I've been trying to get this done on my own for quite a while, but now I come to you for help. Ohh BTW I'm also trying to run a VPN on the ASUS RT-5300 so hopefully it can end with me connecting into the WAN port of it because I don't
think the VPN can work unless the WAN port is used.

Hardware

- Arris DG1670A Docsis 3.0 Gateway
- ASUS RT-AC88U Router (AiMesh Node)
- ASUS RT-AC5300 Router (AiMesh Router Mode)

Current Setup


- I'm currently just running a Ethernet cable from the LAN 3 port of the Arris Gateway to the ASUS RT-AC5300 LAN 3 port completely bypassing the RT-AC88U. ( I get anywhere from 240/20 - 350/20 depending on usage & time of day with this setup)

- The RT-AC5300 & RT-AC88U are connected wirelessly via ASUS AiMesh

- The Gateway is using DHCP to control everything but the RT-AC5300 also requires DHCP to Control the RT-AC88U in Mesh mode.

- Each Gateway & Router has it's own LAN address 192.168.0.1, .0.2, .0.3 etc...

- 2 different SSID's are used One for the Gateway and one for the Routers. The Main SSID is hidden while the Guest Networks are visible

- Both the Gateway & Router are MAC Address controlled and locked down to only let MAC addresses I allowed on the network (For ultimate security) and both are using WPA2 Security.

- Practically everything I have connected to the Gateway or Routers are using Static IP's unless it's something portable like a laptop, Tablet or portable videogame system.

Conclusion

I know I've probably given more info then what was needed, but I wanted to be through. Hopefully someone can help this noob in figuring out how to finally get this setup going so I can have a Ethernet Backbone connecting the Gateway and Routers while also having the Wireless AiMesh working between the 2 Routers.

Thanks in Advance for you expertise
Wolf26pack
 
2 possible issues I see are trying to run 2 DHCP servers together and the 2-100ft network cable runs.

1-
Most people with the setup you describe(like me) have the gateway modem/router set to "bridge mode". I had to get my provider to do this remotely. This will effectively turn off the router functions and make it act like a switch. Then you can use one of your routers as the primary. It will also disable the wifi radios on the Arris.

2-
Are you certain you have high quality cable rated for Gb speeds? The longer the run, the higher chance "cheap" cables will not perform properly. I would start by connecting your primary router with a shorter quality cable and once you're happy with all the settings/performance, try replacing with 100ft cable and retest speed. Then connect the second router with a shorter high-quality cable to see if you can setup the AI-mesh to your performance expectations and go from there.

Having said all that, I am not using mesh since my second router is an older AC66U not compatible with mesh.
I have both routers use the same SSID's (Link_2.4G) (Link_5G) and same wifi passwords but select different wifi channels on the 2 routers that don't interfere. The clients should connect to the strongest signal.
 
your problem is probably because you didn't setup aimesh to be ethernet backhaul. Go into each aimesh node and advanced and change from auto to ethernet. Also make sure the ethernet from router > aimesh node goes in WAN on aimesh node, then from that node to the last aimesh should go LAN port > WAN port on last aimesh node
 
Whoa!! You have way too much NAT'ing going on. Only one router should be doing Network Address Translation, or it will also cause slow speeds. The Arris gateway should be set to "Bridge Mode" and let one of the other routers take control. You've got a lot going on with three fancy products, so it makes things a little more complicated. There could be multiple hurdles, but start with the simple setting the gateway to bridge mode and disabling Wi-Fi (No DHCP). The first router, after the ARRIS would then use the WAN port. The other should not use the WAN port at all.
 
Set the Asus routers to AP mode, connect the cable to the WAN ports on each and skip the mesh. Assign all three devices with the same SSID's. Or, bridge the Arris and get a third Asus router to use with the other two in Aimesh mode.
 
I have something like this setup without aimesh

Connect the ac5300u to the arris gatway and configure normally - ip address usually 192.168.1.1
Setup the ac88 as a repeater. Make sure you assign a manual ip address that does not conflict witht he ac5300 so you can get into it - for example 192.168.1.2

Connect to the 5ghz band of the ac5300u from the ac88 - this is how the repeater will connect to your network and internet
configure the wireless 2.4gz and 5ghz ssid with different ssid and wep keys - this way you know where you are connecting to if you need to troubleshoot problems

i've disabled beamforming and mimo - not sure if they really do interfere

All of the wired ports and wireless ports are live on both routers

you can check the status of your devices this way by getting into their management console separately and you should be able to ping one from the other.



Hello Everybody,

Let me start by giving a quick summary of what I am trying to accomplish as well as my hardware & current setup.

Summary

I am trying to create a Ethernet Backbone using my Arris Gateway & 2 ASUS Routers in AiMesh Mode (without losing to much speed). I'd like to connect the Gateway > RT-AC88U > RT-AC5300. I've run 100ft Ethernet cable from the Gateway to one router and another 100ft Ethernet cable to the other router, but then I lose internet connection and I don't
know why o_O. I did get it working once but I lost a lot of speed when testing it. I have a 300/20 from TWC (Spectrum) but when I did get it working that one time my speed went all the way down to 80/20. I've heard you may lose some speed but that is to drastic. So I'd like instructions on exactly what I need to do i.e. Connections, Router Settings etc... I've been trying to get this done on my own for quite a while, but now I come to you for help. Ohh BTW I'm also trying to run a VPN on the ASUS RT-5300 so hopefully it can end with me connecting into the WAN port of it because I don't
think the VPN can work unless the WAN port is used.

Hardware

- Arris DG1670A Docsis 3.0 Gateway
- ASUS RT-AC88U Router (AiMesh Node)
- ASUS RT-AC5300 Router (AiMesh Router Mode)

Current Setup


- I'm currently just running a Ethernet cable from the LAN 3 port of the Arris Gateway to the ASUS RT-AC5300 LAN 3 port completely bypassing the RT-AC88U. ( I get anywhere from 240/20 - 350/20 depending on usage & time of day with this setup)

- The RT-AC5300 & RT-AC88U are connected wirelessly via ASUS AiMesh

- The Gateway is using DHCP to control everything but the RT-AC5300 also requires DHCP to Control the RT-AC88U in Mesh mode.

- Each Gateway & Router has it's own LAN address 192.168.0.1, .0.2, .0.3 etc...

- 2 different SSID's are used One for the Gateway and one for the Routers. The Main SSID is hidden while the Guest Networks are visible

- Both the Gateway & Router are MAC Address controlled and locked down to only let MAC addresses I allowed on the network (For ultimate security) and both are using WPA2 Security.

- Practically everything I have connected to the Gateway or Routers are using Static IP's unless it's something portable like a laptop, Tablet or portable videogame system.

Conclusion

I know I've probably given more info then what was needed, but I wanted to be through. Hopefully someone can help this noob in figuring out how to finally get this setup going so I can have a Ethernet Backbone connecting the Gateway and Routers while also having the Wireless AiMesh working between the 2 Routers.

Thanks in Advance for you expertise
Wolf26pack
 
As others have mentioned, your basic configuration is wrong, but they're also giving you a bum steer on the Ethernet side. Here's my take on it, and I have a very similar setup, with a RT-AC88U as the primary, and a RT-AC68U as the "node". It works great, I don't know why some people are telling you to skip it.

1) You really only want to use the cable modem part of your Arris unit - I have just a cable modem, so I can't help with configuring it.
2) Then, you connect the Arris cable modem to the WAN port of your primary AIMesh router.
3) You need to use CAT5e or better cable - I use only CAT6, and everything works great. The 1000Base-T spec allows for 100 METERS of cable, so 100 feet is no problem at all. Many of my runs are longer.
4) Next, connect a cable from a LAN port of the primary AIMesh router to the WAN port of the secondary node. In my case, I have the LAN port going to a Gigabit switch in the basement, then the Mesh router connected to the switch, but the switch is not required.
5) Set the firmware of both routers (from the main router web interface) to "Connection Priority" of "Ethernet". (You click on the icon for the AiMesh nodes on the main page, then click on the node in the list of nodes in the right hand column. When the detail for that mesh node pops up click on "More Config" to access that setting.)

Good luck.
 

Latest threads

Sign Up For SNBForums Daily Digest

Get an update of what's new every day delivered to your mailbox. Sign up here!
Top