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Mesh System with ASUS DSL-AX82U and RT-AX82U?

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gorkem

New Around Here
Hello, I use a modem and a router at home. I bought a new ASUS DSL-AX82U modem because my old modem died. I decided to set up an AiMesh system by renewing my router. The modem I bought has a router version called RT-AX82U. However, the prices of the modem and router versions are almost the same. If I buy another DSL-AX82U modem, can I use that device in node mode with AiMesh? So should I buy the RT-AX82U or another DSL-AX82U because the prices are the same? If a DSL modem is used only as a router in AiMesh node mode, will there be performance losses? I would be glad if you help. Good day.
 
Welcome to the forums @gorkem.

Your best course of action is to buy separate modem and router(s).

The DSL-AX82U and the RT-AX82U are not my top picks for best results from a network today, and particularly not buying new today and going forward.

If your ISP gives you a (free) modem for your use, that is where I would start.

On the router side, the RT-AX68U, RT-AX86U, and the GT-AX6000 are where I is be spending money on today. Depending on your WiFi environment, size of your home and expected near/medium future ISP upgrades.

Most likely, you will only need one router of the models above, to get superior coverage over your existing equipment. (And, possibly even better than your AiMesh plan right now).

Once you have the new network set up, you can sell your existing products too.
 
Hello, I use a modem and a router at home. I bought a new ASUS DSL-AX82U modem because my old modem died. I decided to set up an AiMesh system by renewing my router. The modem I bought has a router version called RT-AX82U. However, the prices of the modem and router versions are almost the same. If I buy another DSL-AX82U modem, can I use that device in node mode with AiMesh? So should I buy the RT-AX82U or another DSL-AX82U because the prices are the same? If a DSL modem is used only as a router in AiMesh node mode, will there be performance losses? I would be glad if you help. Good day.
The best option would be the TUF-AX5400. It's identical to AX82U but half the price.

 
Hello, I use a modem and a router at home. I bought a new ASUS DSL-AX82U modem because my old modem died. I decided to set up an AiMesh system by renewing my router. The modem I bought has a router version called RT-AX82U. However, the prices of the modem and router versions are almost the same. If I buy another DSL-AX82U modem, can I use that device in node mode with AiMesh? So should I buy the RT-AX82U or another DSL-AX82U because the prices are the same? If a DSL modem is used only as a router in AiMesh node mode, will there be performance losses? I would be glad if you help. Good day.
Yes, you should be able to use dual DSL-AX82U in an AiMesh. Refer to other posters for more info on whether that will be your best option though.
 
Welcome to the forums @gorkem.

Your best course of action is to buy separate modem and router(s).

The DSL-AX82U and the RT-AX82U are not my top picks for best results from a network today, and particularly not buying new today and going forward.

If your ISP gives you a (free) modem for your use, that is where I would start.

On the router side, the RT-AX68U, RT-AX86U, and the GT-AX6000 are where I is be spending money on today. Depending on your WiFi environment, size of your home and expected near/medium future ISP upgrades.

Most likely, you will only need one router of the models above, to get superior coverage over your existing equipment. (And, possibly even better than your AiMesh plan right now).

Once you have the new network set up, you can sell your existing products too.
I’m coming back to this later as im
Now considering mesh and also must use a dsl modem and this is the one I have.

I’m really surprised to read you would use an isp router instead of this one. At least in the uk the isp routers are quite bad. For example bt won’t even let me change dns while with the ax82u I can run dns director and use many. The actual routing capabilities of thenisp DSL routers are bad. Would you mind expanding on your thoughts?

That said - the question for me is, without spending a fortune on a soon obsolete WiFi 6 mesh system like the xt9 - what would be a reasonable stopgap for mesh that wouldn’t create significant speed drop?

In my case I need the some features or Merlin, so I wonder if I can use something else to do WiFi but keep adaptive QOS (which actually works well with the very low internet speeds here) - can something like the xt8/9 /xd6 be used as access points only and still properly mesh? I’m pretty out of the loop these days!
 
... the question for me is, without spending a fortune on a soon obsolete WiFi 6 mesh system like the xt9 - what would be a reasonable stopgap for mesh that wouldn’t create significant speed drop?

I wouldn't concern myself with WiFi 6 going "obsolete" any time, especially "soon"ly. If I didn't thoroughly enjoy my pair of XT8s here in the semi-rural US, based on my experience with them I'd gladly await a good sale price on a pair of XT9s. Though compared to what one could do with them in the UK, from what I understand, that option may not even be viable.

In my estimation the option of "mesh" mode vs. "router + AP" falls decidedly to the latter. Since the main functional difference between the 8s and 9s (internally to the firmware the reference is to "XT8 Pro" for the latter) is in being able to "do" DFS on the 5-1 radio, thus >80MHz channel width with the XT9s on 5-1. If, as it seems to be the case, in the UK such option is limited, there'd be no real difference between them.

Either way, I'd happily employ whichever were cheaper at the time and worry about WiFi 7 when it finally gets ratified and starts becoming readily and economically available some time down the road.
 
I wouldn't concern myself with WiFi 6 going "obsolete" any time, especially "soon"ly. If I didn't thoroughly enjoy my pair of XT8s here in the semi-rural US, based on my experience with them I'd gladly await a good sale price on a pair of XT9s. Though compared to what one could do with them in the UK, from what I understand, that option may not even be viable.

In my estimation the option of "mesh" mode vs. "router + AP" falls decidedly to the latter. Since the main functional difference between the 8s and 9s (internally to the firmware the reference is to "XT8 Pro" for the latter) is in being able to "do" DFS on the 5-1 radio, thus >80MHz channel width with the XT9s on 5-1. If, as it seems to be the case, in the UK such option is limited, there'd be no real difference between them.

Either way, I'd happily employ whichever were cheaper at the time and worry about WiFi 7 when it finally gets ratified and starts becoming readily and economically available some time down the road.
All good points. I use Merlin so I’m not sure what the oob limitations are here. I feel like I was still able to select into the 100s easily.

My thought was then to get something that’s triband so I can do the WiFi back haul. But I would like to know infused all the cash on the xt9 whether the government limits what we can select, I don’t think so and it’s not illegal as long as you aren’t within c range of an airport afaik.

I will dig into it thanks. The main issues for me are

1) the older housing blocks a lot of signal, and I’m chained to the location of the router

2) my office is the furthest from the router, and despite having a connection there’s a significant difference even loading basic things (Microsoft dynamics for example crawls in my office and flies in the living room) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

3) I’d like to use the os portal remote player. It’s ok after some tweaking, I got the Rssi to 72-75 from 87 , but again significantly better when I’m closer.

So the idea of a fast WiFi back haul not half inf speed every request is appealing to me - unless I misunderstand. Thanks again for taking the time.
 
I’m coming back to this later as im
Now considering mesh and also must use a dsl modem and this is the one I have.

I’m really surprised to read you would use an isp router instead of this one. At least in the uk the isp routers are quite bad. For example bt won’t even let me change dns while with the ax82u I can run dns director and use many. The actual routing capabilities of thenisp DSL routers are bad. Would you mind expanding on your thoughts?

That said - the question for me is, without spending a fortune on a soon obsolete WiFi 6 mesh system like the xt9 - what would be a reasonable stopgap for mesh that wouldn’t create significant speed drop?

In my case I need the some features or Merlin, so I wonder if I can use something else to do WiFi but keep adaptive QOS (which actually works well with the very low internet speeds here) - can something like the xt8/9 /xd6 be used as access points only and still properly mesh? I’m pretty out of the loop these days!

You've misread what I've quoted. I hardly recommend an ISP router. It's the modem I wouldn't worry about using from the ISP. The

The list of routers I would recommend has changed since the beginning of the year. But in no case would I be looking at XT-'x' models.

Today, the RT-AX68U (depending on how slow your ISP speeds are), GT-AX6000, and RT-AX88U Pro are what I would recommend (only).

The latter is the best because it will probably have the longest support (as it was announced the latest), has the newest SDK, will support 3.0.0.6.xx level firmware (as will the GT-AX6000), and when it is on sale, is the same price as the older GT-AX6000 or less.

With the models listed in this post, you will find a significant performance increase in throughput and lower latency, and these all have RMerlin support too.

Don't spend more than you need to. Buy two of these router models as you see fit. But, do not open the second unit until you have fully tested the first one in your environment. You may be pleasantly surprised how much more throughput you get (and, won't even need a second router at all). Return, what you don't use.
 
I use Merlin so I’m not sure what the oob limitations are here.
There is not Merlin support of the XT9 at this time yet there is for the XT8 (via Gnuton's fork, which is what I'm using).

1) the older housing blocks a lot of signal, and I’m chained to the location of the router
If you're the homeowner vs a renter it really would be best to run an ethernet cable between the router and your office. In fact, I'd run a pair of them for redundancy, using wire capable of 10Gb/s since WiFi 7 /is/ coming at some point. The labor for the second wire will be free, only the cost of the wire itself will double.

Apart from that, the notion of a tri-band router is sound, using a radio dedicated to the interconnection. And it's certainly worth giving it a try first.

Taking things a step further, using a pair of tri-bands connected together by ethernet, one can greatly enhance wireless connectivity between clients where each is using it's own router/node/AP radio instead of sharing them.


2) my office is the furthest from the router ...
See above...


So the idea of a fast WiFi back haul not half inf speed every request is appealing to me - unless I misunderstand. Thanks again for taking the time.
I'd say you're understanding that correctly.

In order of increasing preference I'd say:
1) tri-band units using dedicated backhaul
2) dual-band units wired together
3) tri-band units wired together

When you try using option 1, and you /should/, I hope it works well enough for you.
 
Unfortunately only option 1 works, I’m a renter.

So given I have the dsl-ax82u right now (dual band) I can’t really see adding an rt-ax82u to it offering much benefit over a mediocre signal? Given it would share the single band, even at 160.

It seems like the only option I have where I live is to go with a tri band with dedicated wireless back haul. It’s been a long time since I’ve lived in a place where I couldn’t do Ethernet back haul, hence being so out of it. It was so simple when the places were wired (and had fibre)

The biggest issue for me is internal - my internet is very limited here sadly (60/15) but I am a an avid photographer and have a lot of files to copy from the office to a synology connected to the router, plus the above mentioned game scenario etc.

Food for thought, the xt7/8/9 is on sale right now with Black Friday, though @L&LD doesn't seem to be a fan! The eeos don’t seem to be triband sadly (as they’re half the price.

I assume these mesh routers with wireless back haul can be used as AP - so I can keep using the modem / router I currently have - which honestly does a very good job with adaptive qos based on how bad my internet is - or do
I need to use the routing function?

Thanks again for taking so much time. I really appreciate it.
 
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So, choosing between XT8 and XT9:

The 8 will run Merlin's firmware. This works very well for me, though I don't use them the same way that you'd be using them. I fully expect they would fill your requirements. But their 5GHz-1 radio only goes one 80MHz-wide channel at most.

The 9 (which I'm confident is the same internally as Asus' "business model") has 5GHz-1 radio which can use twice as many channels. For either one 160MHz channel or for an alternate 80MHz channel (at least for me here in the U.S.). But it has no Merlin firmware support.

I believe it's possible the 9's 5GHz-1 (and 2.4GHz?) supports more of the WiFi 6 specification than does the 8, since the 9's system chip succeeds the 8's within Broadcom's lineup. Unless you expect heavy wireless usage by many clients this should not be an issue. Just thought it was worth mention.
 
Thanks @glens and @Tech9 - is there a better system for wireless backhaul in your opinions? Related to Merlin’s firmware, I have to keep the DSL modem /ax82u so the plan would be leave that routing and use the mesh’s system in bridge - though untold prefer if Merlin was on everything, for the day I get off this crap DSL.

The Eeos pro 6 seems to be only 80Hz as well. There is a tp link “5400” combo but I’ve never used their stuff. Maybe a “7300”. The DECO XE75- I quote because I get the need for these numbers but don’t love the naming structure that’s been chosen?

I’m also surprised (if I’m right) the xt9 is only 2x2 not 4x4? I would have expected the latter would make a difference on the non backhaul channel. But maybe this is largely irrelevant?
 
Yes, both of the radios within the system chip (2.4 and 5-1) are only 2x2 on both models.

I don't have any recommendations to offer. Whatever you get should be tri-radio if you want best possible throughput, but you know this.

You might consider the "small business" version of the XT9 as it appears to have slightly more capable firmware and is made with an integral wall mount bracket for greater placement options. https://www.asus.com/networking-iot...utions/asus-expertwifi/asus-expertwifi-ebm68/
 
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