Router Bandwidth Limiter over repeaters?

[DaveMishSr]

I have searched the forums and can't seem to find any information on how bandwidth limiter functions in networks with repeaters. Specifically, I have 3 RT-AC3100's. One is acting as a router and 2 are repeaters. I have to restrict bandwidth for a Fire Stick as it goobles up bandwidth and my wife has trouble with her VPN for work among other issues.

So I have just set up the 2 repeaters (necessary due to a neighbor who just moved in & pumping out 8 SSID's) with different wireless keys for now until I can make sure the Fire Stick won't potentially suck up bandwidth through the repeaters by bypassing the limiter settings of the router. As an aside, NewEgg is selling refurb'd AC3100's for $159.

Would someone be kind enough to shed some light on whether the bandwidth limiter settings of the router are "honored" through connections established by those clients through the repeaters? If not then are there any workarounds?

Thanks for any help.

Edit: Hopefully this is the right forum. I am running Merlin firmware.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Just guessing:

Looking at the bandwidth limiter screen it appears to try to convert the client's name or IP address to its MAC address.

I don't know how Asus' repeater mode works, but the repeaters I've used in the past "hid" their clients MAC address behind their own. If that is the case here then using the clients MAC address won't work.

In which case try this: Reserve an IP address for your client in DHCP. Then, make sure the client's name doesn't appear in the limiter's drop down list (you may need to turn off the client and reboot the router). Now create your limiter rule using the IP address you reserved. Check that after adding the rule it is still the IP address and that it hasn't changed it to a MAC address.

 

[DaveMishSr]

Just guessing:

Looking at the bandwidth limiter screen it appears to try to convert the client's name or IP address to its MAC address.

I don't know how Asus' repeater mode works, but the repeaters I've used in the past "hid" their clients MAC address behind their own. If that is the case here then using the clients MAC address won't work.

In which case try this: Reserve an IP address for your client in DHCP. Then, make sure the client's name doesn't appear in the limiter's drop down list (you may need to turn off the client and reboot the router). Now create your limiter rule using the IP address you reserved. Check that after adding the rule it is still the IP address and that it hasn't changed it to a MAC address.

In Network Map|Clients (button) that brings up a "Clients Status" dialog box to the right. If you select a client from that dialog box another box appears. At the bottom of that box is an option, "MAC and IP address binding". If you select that option to "on" that client then appears in the LAN|DHCP page in the "Manually assigned IP list" at the bottom.

So, does that "binding" do what you suggest? That is does this link the client's MAC address with an IP adress so the bandwidth is limited no matter what device the client establishes a link with?

I am sorry to keep asking questions but I cannot find anything on this at all.

 

[ColinTaylor]

If you select that option to "on" that client then appears in the LAN|DHCP page in the "Manually assigned IP list" at the bottom.

I don't run the same firmware as you so the Network Map works differently for me. But ultimately you want the MAC to IP assignment to appear in the list at the bottom of the LAN > DHCP Server page.

So, does that "binding" do what you suggest? That is does this link the client's MAC address with an IP adress so the bandwidth is limited no matter what device the client establishes a link with?

So, assuming your client get it's IP address via DHCP, it's address won't change in the future. That's step 1. The second step is to use this IP address in your Bandwidth Limiter rule.

 

[CaptainSTX]

If you want to limit bandwidth based on IP then you will need to limit it for a client's 2.4Ghz, 5 Ghz radios as well Ethernet port since each of those devices will have its own MAC . Then of course if a user spoofs or changes their MAC or IP using readily available utilities your restrictions are all for naught.

 

[DaveMishSr]

If you want to limit bandwidth based on IP then you will need to limit it for a client's 2.4Ghz, 5 Ghz radios as well Ethernet port since each of those devices will have its own MAC . Then of course if a user spoofs or changes their MAC or IP using readily available utilities your restrictions are all for naught.

Yes if they do then the resulting bandwidth utilization increase will show up in the traffic analysis reports. However, they don't have that level of expertise & the Fire Stick still has enough bandwidth to stream without incident. I never hear any complaints so...

At any rate, it sounds as though I am going to have to either:

• leave things as they are with the repeaters having different WiFi keys. That client connects to the router without issue.

• or go over to Asus OEM firmware & use the new AiMesh feature. According to their FAQ QoS works over the mesh.

 

[FreshJR]

Just use adaptive QOS on the main router and call it day.