My bucket list/suggestions/observations for Aimesh

[Neil62]

RT-AC86U Main Router
2x RT-AC5300 Nodes
1x RT-AC68U Node

Have been using AiMesh since its official release and I continue to use it. All of my above routers are running the latest AiMesh firmware on each router. In General, I am not using QoS, Smart Connect, and or VPN, AiProtection and RA is also enabled. In my environment, I have also disabled the 5GHZ band, because of stability, nodes going offline. It has helped in my environment.

Biggest issue, stability of nodes.

My bucket list/suggestions/observations, for the future development work of AiMesh deployment:

1. Node support for Guest Account/s should be available.
2. Client Mac address Filtering by Node should be available.
3. Interface connection type, being visible on the Node client listing by client
4. Mac Address of clients, being visible on the Node client listing
5. Ability to change/modify client names via the Node client listing
6. Ability to change/modify the transmit signal strength level on Nodes
7. A Reboot Schedule MUST be available on Nodes.
8. Continued improvement of Stability issues - Offline Nodes.
9. Have a led light indicator (red) at the node (router) level, so that when according to the Web UI, a node has gone offline.
10. Continued improvements of main router client listing (ALL), i.e. showing correct interface type connection, still not correct after latest firmware update for the AC86U, (even after completing a factory reset/initialize and then completing a manual reconfig of the main router AC86U.
11. Improved compatibility between tri and dual band routers, e.g. not being able to disable the second 5GHZ band on a tri band router (AC5300) as a node, when using a dual band main router (AC86U), i.e. when disabling the 5GHZ on the main router AC86U, one 5GHZ band is still running on my both AC5300 nodes.
12. Firmware updates (generic AiMesh Fixes) for ALL compatible AiMesh routers being available/deployed at the same time. I understand this could be more difficult, as different problems may only exist on different router types.
13. More AiMesh beta firmware releases (where possible), from ASUS, for user testing to this forum. It has gone a bit quiet of late.
14. Continued Improvement of Mouse hover help over router settings. e.g. a ? is displayed over the Multi-User MIMO settings field, but no description is displayed (AC86U).

Comprehensive I know. I hope it's not too long winded in reading for everyone.

Over to ASUS techs, for anything that might be meaningful, in my above comments, to ASUS going forward with AiMesh, both in terms, of development/enhancements, as a firmware and marketing tool. I am hoping that someone from ASUS (any acknowledgement) reads my comments and takes them on board for discussions within ASUS..

Please free anyone to jump in and add own your comments and suggestions about my post.

And more importantly, any suggestions or problems with AiMesh, we should ALL (AiMesh Users) continue to send an email with the appropriate backup, to ASUS for support. Complaining about a problem wont help, unless you have already conveyed your problem/suggestion/s to ASUS support about AiMesh.

 

[VANT]

IMO node is only remote radio for main router, so all functions and settings should be on main router

btw. ofcourse wifi scheduler should be avaible for node, or maybe power on/off scheduler ?
In mobile app i saw power saving mode ???

 

[OzarkEdge]

RT-AC86U Main Router
2x RT-AC5300 Nodes
1x RT-AC68U Node

I have also disabled the 5GHZ band, because of stability, nodes going offline. It has helped in my environment.

So, 4 AC routers and you're not using AC for clients or backhaul. I'd call that unusable. How many levels and square feet of coverage is your installation? How many times have you re-installed the AiMesh firmware per FAQ on each router?

OE

 

[Neil62]

So, 4 AC routers and you're not using AC for clients or backhaul. I'd call that unusable. How many levels and square feet of coverage is your installation? How many times have you re-installed the AiMesh firmware per FAQ on each router?

OE

The distance from the nodes to the main router is around 15-20 meters per node, each node location has dual floors to deal with, i.e. ground plus one. All walls (2-3 between node and main), and floors, are all cement, approx 6-8 inches thick. On a average of 25 clients per day.

Each node and main router, has been factory reset firstly and then initialised again secondly (on nodes going offline and or on an official firmware updates), to clear nvram, at a minimum, to date, at least 3 to 4 times times each. All nodes are centrally located, at a height, of at least 2 meters. The main router is running an ethernet backhaul to the ISP modem, nodes are all operating as a wireless backhaul to the the main router. I am not running any Extenders or AP's. In addition, I don't use any VPN connections.

The 5GHZ band has now been off for 3 days and I haven't had a single node now going offline. My ISP speed is only 50mbps down and 10 up, so my ISP speed, will limit true 5GHZ speeds anyway. I have always found the 5GHZ bands to be flaky, at least in my environment. It just does not have the stability and penetration (all cement/rebar/walls/floors) in my environment at a distance of 15-20 meters between nodes back to the main router. My only changes to default AiMesh settings as I remember:

1. AirTime fairness is Off
2. Universal Beamforming is Off
3. Smart Connect Off
4. Chanel is fixed and not on auto
5. Recently, 5GHZ is now Off
6. 2.4 GHZ band wireless mode set to "N" and channel bandwidth set to 20 GHZ
7. Ai Protection enabled
8. Firewall is disabled
9. No QoS
10. Traffic monitor enabled

So as you can see, I am not doing anything special with the routers at this stage, it's really pretty basic.

Maybe I will retire the AC5300's and the 68U, go all AC86U's they (mine), definitely have a better WIFI signal strength (coverage) and speed over distance vs my others, (AC5300, AC68U). I have confirmed this (limited, AC5300), as I originally had one of AC5300's running as the main node and checking connection strength via the wireless log, the AC86U provided better signal strength connection to the nodes. Also, I have less offline nodes, using the the AC86U as the main router. ASUS also stipulate, to use highest spec router as the main router for AiMesh. Again in my environment, for now, the AC86U is now the big boy on the block.

I am not giving up on AiMesh though and I will continue to use it. I look forward to functional and stability improvements, in going forward with AiMesh from ASUS, beta and or official firmware releases, I will continue to put my hand up.

And what's your current Aimesh setup in terms of coverage, environment, routers/nodes etc?

 

[OzarkEdge]

The distance from the nodes to the main router is around 15-20 meters per node, each node location has dual floors to deal with, i.e. ground plus one. All walls (2-3 between node and main), and floors, are all cement, approx 6-8 inches thick. On a average of 25 clients per day.

Each node and main router, has been factory reset firstly and then initialised again secondly (on nodes going offline and or on an official firmware updates), to clear nvram, at a minimum, to date, at least 3 to 4 times times each. All nodes are centrally located, at a height, of at least 2 meters. The main router is running an ethernet backhaul to the ISP modem, nodes are all operating as a wireless backhaul to the the main router. I am not running any Extenders or AP's. In addition, I don't use any VPN connections.

The 5GHZ band has now been off for 3 days and I haven't had a single node now going offline. My ISP speed is only 50mbps down and 10 up, so my ISP speed, will limit true 5GHZ speeds anyway. I have always found the 5GHZ bands to be flaky, at least in my environment. It just does not have the stability and penetration (all cement/rebar/walls/floors) in my environment at a distance of 15-20 meters between nodes back to the main router. My only changes to default AiMesh settings as I remember:

1. AirTime fairness is Off
2. Universal Beamforming is Off
3. Smart Connect Off
4. Chanel is fixed and not on auto
5. Recently, 5GHZ is now Off
6. 2.4 GHZ band wireless mode set to "N" and channel bandwidth set to 20 GHZ
7. Ai Protection enabled
8. Firewall is disabled
9. No QoS
10. Traffic monitor enabled

So as you can see, I am not doing anything special with the routers at this stage, it's really pretty basic.

Maybe I will retire the AC5300's and the 68U, go all AC86U's they (mine), definitely have a better WIFI signal strength (coverage) and speed over distance vs my others, (AC5300, AC68U). I have confirmed this (limited, AC5300), as I originally had one of AC5300's running as the main node and checking connection strength via the wireless log, the AC86U provided better signal strength connection to the nodes. Also, I have less offline nodes, using the the AC86U as the main router. ASUS also stipulate, to use highest spec router as the main router for AiMesh. Again in my environment, for now, the AC86U is now the big boy on the block.

I am not giving up on AiMesh though and I will continue to use it. I look forward to functional and stability improvements, in going forward with AiMesh from ASUS, beta and or official firmware releases, I will continue to put my hand up.

And what's your current Aimesh setup in terms of coverage, environment, routers/nodes etc?

Thanks for describing your AiMesh! It is helpful for understanding the issues.

My AiMesh is described in my install notes linked below in my forum signature https://www.snbforums.com/threads/o...-supported-products.44375/page-14#post-381537

I will be upgrading the 68Us to 86Us soon (I could not resist ASUS/Micro Center's 2 for $140 each) to see if they can handle the 96 foot wireless backhaul that runs the length of my brick house to a semi-detached brick garage/workshop. If not, I'll try adding back a 68U as a second node in a daisy chain.

My AiMesh has been stable but the wireless backhaul RSSIs were not good enough... the node eventually went offline once. I've moved it temporarily to 60 feet and it's been solid since.

I also want to experiment with Smart Connect, which is not available in the 68Us. Our residential WiFi usage is modest, so seamless roaming is not a big requirement. I'm willing to get on board now and see how AiMesh progresses over time.

The distance from the nodes to the main router is around 15-20 meters per node, each node location has dual floors to deal with, i.e. ground plus one. All walls (2-3 between node and main), and floors, are all cement, approx 6-8 inches thick. On a average of 25 clients per day.

Concrete floors can be poured on ribbed steel decking, bearing on steel bar joists, enclosed with suspended ceilings hiding lighting, wiring, plumbing, and ventilation equipment. Or, they can be exposed precast panels. Both re-enforced with steel.

As I read your description, your router is TWO such floors (or similar) BELOW and ~45 to 60 feet away from your nodes separated by thick concrete walls. I could be wrong, but this sounds like a very difficult environment for AiMesh wireless backhauls.

What sort of RSSI values are you logging for the node 2.4/5.0 WLAN MACs? You may have to wire the backhauls or move the router to the same level as the nodes to eliminate the floors and their furnishings.

OE