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Need help with AiMesh

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afaiyaz15

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1. Does ASUS AiMesh support IEEE 802.11k,v,r standards? Assume that my all wireless clients support them. No need to worry about them.
2.I want to set up an AiMesh setup which may consist some AiMesh supported routers/repeaters. I want to create a star topology (or something like that) where a Non-ASUS wired router (let a Mikrotik hEX S) will be my central router, other ASUS nodes will act as access points, and I plan to connect all those ASUS nodes with my central Non-ASUS router on wire. Will I be able to create an AiMesh system in such configuration?
3.
If possible, will I be able to seamlessly roam between those APs?

My network plan is like this.
network_plan1.png
 
2.I want to set up an AiMesh setup which may consist some AiMesh supported routers/repeaters. I want to create a star topology (or something like that) where a Non-ASUS wired router (let a Mikrotik hEX S) will be my central router, other ASUS nodes will act as access points, and I plan to connect all those ASUS nodes with my central Non-ASUS router on wire. Will I be able to create an AiMesh system in such configuration?
No. AiMesh needs the central router to be an Asus AiMesh device. In your proposed setup the nodes would just be normal APs.

See post #4.
 
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If possible, will I be able to seamlessly roam between those APs?

The roaming will be the same, the radios are the same. You have to spread out the APs at -65dBm or more, otherwise your devices may not roam. Roaming depends on devices and the way you place the APs. There is no roaming, if your routers/APs are too close to each other.
 
My first thought is that Asus have outdone themselves with a document that's so badly translated from Chinese it should win a comedy award.

It shows 1 AP, another wirelessly connected to that AP. So, I'm eager to know if my plan would work....
I must admit I didn't think that was a valid configuration - but apparently it is. So it looks like I was wrong and you don't need the central router to be an AiMesh device (maybe that was new in AiMesh2).

Do you already have these three Asus devices? If so it would be fairy quick to set it up and try it for yourself. I think the RP-AC55 is just a standard repeater so I don't think it offers anything special with respect to AiMesh.
 
Then, what are your thoughts about this?

I wouldn't use home routers/extenders at all. TP-Link EAP620HD AP is currently CAD140 on Amazon (~USD112), AX1800 class. EAP245V3 is CAD100 (~USD80), AC1750 Class. Omada Controller is CAD95 (~USD75). PoE, 802.11k/v/r, guest network, VLANs, central management, access portal, network stats, etc. Set it once and you have Wi-Fi. Use router of your choice. The matching SafeStream router is ER605 for ~USD60, if you want to go with one vendor. Check the prices in your country - the whole Omada system may come close to home routers as APs.
 
Do you already have these three Asus devices? If so it would be fairy quick to set it up and try it for yourself. I think the RP-AC55 is just a standard repeater so I don't think it offers anything special with respect to AiMesh.
Sadly, I don't have any of those devices. I was planning my next WiFi setup, so some of these devices came in my mind, which are around my budget. I am a student, and don't have that much income to buy devices and test them... So I'm seeking for suggestions which would help me to setup my system.

For your acknowledgement, the repeaters I mentioned before in the diagram (RP-AC55 & RP-AX56) are AiMesh-supported repeaters.
 
I wouldn't use home routers/extenders at all. TP-Link EAP620HD AP is currently CAD140 on Amazon (~USD112), AX1800 class. EAP245V3 is CAD100 (~USD80), AC1750 Class. Omada Controller is CAD95 (~USD75). PoE, 802.11k/v/r, guest network, VLANs, central management, access portal, network stats, etc. Set it once and you have Wi-Fi. Use router of your choice. The matching SafeStream router is ER605 for ~USD60, if you want to go with one vendor. Check the prices in your country - the whole Omada system may come close to home routers as APs.
I've gone through the TP-LINK EAP & Ubiquiti Unifi lineup. I was initially planning to set up my WiFi structure using one of those systems. But most of those devices have less-gain antennas (around 2-3 dBi i remember). I don't have that much money to buy a single AP for each room. My home has a symmetrical structure. I wanted to attach two APs on the middle wall, facing outwards. But as their antennas are not that powerful, I guess the signal will not be able to penetrate 3 walls and reach to the farthest corner.
drawing1.png

As I'm a CS student, my drawing is so bad... Sorry for the drawing.
 
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For your acknowledgement, the repeaters I mentioned before in the diagram (RP-AC55 & RP-AX56) are AiMesh-supported repeaters.
I did read the product descriptions of both those repeaters before posting. While the RP-AX56 does say it's an AiMesh device read very carefully what it says about the RP-AC55. It is not listed as an AiMesh device. It just says you can use it to "Expand your current AiMesh network", which any repeater can do.

Getting back to your original question about seamless roaming, I don't think those devices would do that. 802.11k,v,r are chipset/driver capabilities rather something that AiMesh does. Even my RT-AX86U only supports 802.11k and r. I very much doubt the RP-AC55 supports any of those modes.
 
I did read the product descriptions of both those repeaters before posting. While the RP-AX56 does say it's an AiMesh device read very carefully what it says about the RP-AC55. It is not listed as an AiMesh device. It just says you can use it to "Expand your current AiMesh network", which any repeater can do.
Thank you very much. I didn't notice this info carefully.... My fault
 
I don't have that much money to buy a single AP for each room.

Place one AP in second and second last room - you have one wall only in each direction. I don't know what Internet is needed in the rooms 3' wide. Sound like lockers/storage places to me. What expected Internet speeds we are talking about?
 
Place one AP in second and second last room - you have one wall only in each direction. I don't know what Internet is needed in the rooms 3' wide. Sound like lockers/storage places to me. What expected Internet speeds we are talking about?
The 3' rooms on the both sides are verandas. We'll need internet sometimes there cuz if someone wants to have a private phonecall then he'll go there to talk.

I'm planning to buy WiFi 6 APs (Unifi U6 Lites are cheap enough now) (though in my place we don't have more than 20 Mbps internet speeds)

Thanks for your valuable suggestion...
 
If you have up to 20Mbps Internet speeds, perhaps using 2.4GHz 802.11n is a better option for walls penetration. I found recently some Asus RT-AC1200 V2 routers on sale for $30. They have Access Point mode in firmware. Reviews say the range is good and they also offer 2-stream AC radios, but limited to Fast Ethernet ports (100Mbps). Your internal network will be slower, but the cost is very low too. I know nothing about your local prices, shop around.
 
Keep in mind with wall mounting, you will get much less signal behind the AP. This article explains how to understand antenna radiation plots.
 
From the drawing in post 8, I would put a single RT-AX86U at the top/middle and have your full-speed ISP internet connection, everywhere.

No need to worry about roaming (which is up to the client devices (mostly), not the router per se), no need for multiple units, no saturating of the local environment with more AP's than are really needed.

If an RT-AC86U, RT-AX88U, or an RT-AX86U doesn't cover the area well enough, two will do so easily (this is a very small area to saturate with Wi-Fi).

Getting a single router in the proper location for the areas to be covered is more important than getting (too much) hardware to accomplish the same goal, and at a much higher cost and more than likely, worse performance levels.

With the ability to have wired backhaul, your options are much more open and the resulting experience much more performant and stable too.

If two routers were really needed (I don't see why though, with the small scale here), I would set up one on each end of the space indicated in the drawing (with each mounted on the interior veranda walls).

You may still have to play with the signal strength settings so that the signals do not overlap excessively near the middle rooms, but it should be a much better solution than an AP in each room.
 

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