[SOLVED] ASUS AIMesh question

[SonofBear88]

Hi


my current house have 2 floor and i have no choice but to set main router on 1st floor while i set another router as access point on 2nd floor
there 2 differnt ssid so i have to switch the connection when the signal is low
i not able to use as repeater as the wall causing the wifi signal to become so weak so even i able to connect, the speed will be slow
have this setup for more than 5 years and never think of changing it but i recently only know about asus AiMesh

based on what i can see AiMesh can connect 2 router main+nod via ethernet cable
i know if i wifi for the AImesh it will affect the speed but if i connect via ethernet cable
will i able to make both main+node into same network (SSID) so that i do not need to change the connection when i go to different floor
if yes, will the speed slow down as well or it will smart to send data based on the signal strength on either main/node?

sorry that i not really expect in networking
been tested alot of method but access point is the best for me without affect my workstation (2nd floor) when i change to fiber connection

 

[SamirD]

aimesh is good for keeping everything on the same ssid. I believe you can even do this without running a cable so if you have the asus routers, I would just try it.

If you're going to run a cable, I would consider hard wiring everything you can like your workstation. wired>wireless any day of the week.

 

[bill001g]

This really has nothing at all to do with mesh. Almost all the mesh ability is the repeater function.

This is nothing really new you can run AP with the same or different SSID. It is mostly a personal preference thing.

The concept of moving from 1 AP to another is fully in control of the end user device. It decides when the signal level drops below some level and searches for a better one. From the network standard point it is really is as if you could just quickly swap a ethernet cable. From the routers view point it does not know if you connected to a AP via ethernet or wifi. It just sees traffic from the mac address on that port and updates it table.

The vendors just try to pretend mesh is doing something amazing when you are running in AP mode. There really is no such thing as seamless roaming unless you were to load software on the end devices so the network could control them. Things like cell phones where designed with roaming as key feature so the network is in full control of the radio unlike wifi.

Now if you adjust the signal level correctly (ie turn down the power to reduce overlap) the end device should switch especially in the time it takes you to walk between floors. The place it has huge issues is people who actually put in too many radio sources with too much signal overlap. The end device will stay connected to the wrong AP even if you walk over and set it on top of other one. You in those cases have to stop and start the wifi on the end device to force it to switch.

Even when you run mesh in repeater mode it has this issue when you just stick boxes all over your house without doing any planning.

I actually prefer different SSID because its not like most people are running around their house changing this constantly. That way I the human know when there is a better signal rather than some silly software. It also solve the issue when you are say 1/2 between the 2 AP and you take the chance of the device constantly hopping back and forth.

 

[SamirD]

I too keep different ssids and manually move stuff when I want if the device doesn't pick the right one. The only totally seamless wireless system I ever worked with was the old Meraki access points--I would literally only lose 1 ping between the handoff--quite an amazing system. I still have it, but with a top speed of 5Mbs, not much use today except as a really good guest system or maybe for iot.

 

[SonofBear88]

i know how repeater works but the main problem in my house when using repeater is that the signal will weak before it get boosted by repeater and this resulting low speed when i further away from my main router
so my main question is if i using AImesh with wired connection
if i move further away from main router will i still able to get the max speed or it will also drop like i use wifi repeater?

currently i the only person using wired connection on my desktop and majority of my family member using laptop
they need to switch the connection between router if they want get max speed using 5ghz wifi,
no issue on 2.4ghz as the AP on 2nd floor able to cover majority of area

 

[SamirD]

I'm not sure if an aimesh works differently in terms of performance with a wireless backhaul vs wired, but wired would always be better.

 

[SonofBear88]

I'm not sure if an aimesh works differently in terms of performance with a wireless backhaul vs wired, but wired would always be better.

sadly i can't find any video of anyone perform the testing
without confirmation, i better stick with my current setup

 

[SamirD]

sadly i can't find any video of anyone perform the testing
without confirmation, i better stick with my current setup

If you have Asus routers, I would just try it. I wouldn't think it would perform worse.

 

[SonofBear88]

If you have Asus routers, I would just try it. I wouldn't think it would perform worse.

the problem is that i have only 1 asus router RT-AC1300UHP . this model do not have aimesh as well
another router is TP link from ISP
i hope to find someone who show the test result so that i can only consider changing the router

 

[SamirD]

If you're going to have to buy new equipment, it makes more sense to run wires if you can and then 'tune' your access point radios to barely overlap so that a device will transition from one ap to another automatically.