Solved Request: How to add aimesh node to media bridge, two attempts not working.

[blacktop_]

Hello,



Thanks for your help in advance.



This is complicated, for me, please be patient and if I missed a similar post, please let me know.



Objective: Share wifi with neighbour, running cable not an option.



Goal: use aimesh to have guest wifi at remote site



All Firmware 386 (current as of today)



Initial setup:



ISP router ---> ax88u ---LAN---> ac68U ---directional antenna x2 ---> *** <---directional antenna x2 ---ac68u. Both ac68u as aimesh nodes.



Problem: slow speeds and dropped connection.



Current setup:



ISP router ---> ax88u ---LAN---> ac68U-AP mode ---directional antenna x2 ---> *** <---directional antenna x2 ---ac68u-Media Bridge----LAN-----ac66u_b1-AP mode. No aimesh.



Works well, great speeds, no aimesh nor guest network.



On the remote site, tried to add the ac66u as aimesh node, unable to see or add it.



Tried a) to add node and confirm it works at main router, it did. Moving it to the remote site and plugging in the LAN to WAN port, did not find it. b) reset the router, plugged it in at remote site, still unable to find it.



Thanks for taking a look at this setup and making suggestions.



Kind regards,



bt

 

[L&LD]

@blacktop_, welcome to the forums!


ISP router ---> ax88u ---LAN---> ac68U-AP mode ---directional antenna x2 ---> *** <---directional antenna x2 ---ac68u-Media Bridge----LAN-----ac66u_b1-AP mode.


Connect the ac68U-as a wired AiMesh node. Connect the ac68u-Media Bridge to the Guest Network of the ac68U-as a wired AiMesh node.

Set the ac66u_b1 in Router Mode.


The above should achieve what you want.

 

[blacktop_]

Thanks for the blistering fast reply, and colour coding - that makes it very clear.

If I understand the above map - that would make everything distal to ac68u-Media Bridge would be on the Guest Network, and only the guest network? It would be handy to access a shared NAS and printer.

The other question is - is there a speed advantage for ac68U-AP mode to be in AP vs aimesh? The combination I haven't yet tried is what you describe. I do like the Aimesh interface.

Theoretically, would the following have the same data transfer rate as the scheme in the first post?
ISP router ---> ax88u ---LAN---> ac68U-aimesh ---directional antenna x2 ---> *** <---directional antenna x2 ---ac68u-Media Bridge----LAN-----ac66u_b1-AP router.

The initial setup had speeds of 15-25 Mpbs with lots of dropped wifi moments.
The setup in the fist post has speeds of 100-120 Mpbs, and seems very reliable.

edit: would like to solve the riddle of how to setup aimesh on the other side of the media bridge

edit2: very glad for the help to get this working to share the internet during these times.

Appreciate the help.

Kind regards,

bt

 

[L&LD]

You're welcome.

Yes, everything plugged into the ac68u-Media Bridge would be part of the Guest Network of the main router.

But the wired and wireless clients connected to the ac66u_b1 in Router Mode would be on their 'own' separate network from the network created by the RT-AX88U.

Are you wanting to be able to see and interact with those clients in your neighbor's home as if they were your own?

If yes, then YazFi by @Jack Yaz (develop branch, if I recall correctly) may be of use to you too.

You will also need to use the ac66u_b1 in AP mode then.

There is no speed advantage in our setup of the ac68U connected via wired backhaul to the RT-AX88U.

However, without AiMesh, you will not be able to connect to the Guest network with all the limitations imposed on it by the main router either.

With an AiMesh node, GN1 for both bands propagate to the AiMesh nodes. GN 2, 3, 4 (depending on the router model) do not, currently.

With an AP node, no guest networks propagate automatically or manually. Each AP will have full access to your internal network for any devices connected to either the 'main' wireless or the 'guest' wireless SSID's.


With all the above, I have been assuming you're using RMerlin 386.1_0 release final firmware for your routers (except for the RT-AC66U, of course).

If I haven't made an error in any of the above posts, and the network isn't working as stated, then the link below should be used to get the network to a good/known state once more before further/better troubleshooting can begin.

If a full reset (as described in the link below) hasn't been performed already on each router after flashing the firmware it is currently running.

Best Practice Update/Setup Router/AiMesh Node(s) 2021

 

[blacktop_]

Thanks again for your suggestions and clarification. Using GN1 + media bridge will be an elegant solution until I am able to further explore this. Will look at YazFi for ad hoc main network connection when needed.

At present all attempts to get a known good aimesh node, prepared on the main network and them moved to the remote site, to connect on the other side of the remote media bridge have failed. My main router does not see it, detect it, nor connect to it. I will keep reading and moving plugs from port to port and test the network to see if it can be added.

I owe thanks to Cpuroast from the #asuswrt for helping me get started. I was at the point where I didn't know where to start, what could be possible, and how to form the questions to make an informed decision.

With all of this help, a network has been formed, and we all thank you.

Will update as it evolves.