Question Asus AiMesh Network Setup

[IamDavid]

I'm adding another Asus router to our network and I'm not sure what the best direction would be. Should I continue to run the AX11000 as the primary router or move it to a mesh node and use the RT-AX89X? My network info is below. It supports ~100 devices daily with all the mesh nodes wired back to the main router. 4850Sqft home. Thanks for any input!

 

[SamirD]

I would make the newer ax89x as your primary router. The reason being is that it seems to be made to handle even higher speeds with the 10G.

The two routers you have are quite interesting as I've never seen an IPSec vpn server in a consumer product before. These have to be very pricey and probably cost more than a comparable enterprise router and access point which should actually have more performance when set up correctly, but it is interesting to see IPsec VPN connectivity, dual wan, and other enterprise features in these routers making them appropriate for business as well as consumer uses.

How do you like the Aimesh? I haven't experienced it myself, but it seems to be a very attractive and better solution for seamless wifi roaming than all the 'mesh' systems out there. I would love to hear your opinion.

 

[VirtualLarry]

How do you like the Aimesh? I haven't experienced it myself, but it seems to be a very attractive and better solution for seamless wifi roaming than all the 'mesh' systems out there. I would love to hear your opinion.

I've tried AiMesh with a set of AC68U-family routers, and while this was a year or two ago, I didn't have much luck. It dropped out connections, very briefly, but often.

I couldn't complete Macrium Reflect backups or restores to an SMB-protocol NAS.

Maybe it's OK for short "bursty" traffic, like web browsing. "Streaming" music or videos would probably be OK too, due to the amount of buffering that those do.

But NAS access / Windows File-sharing? Forget it, don't even bother trying! Go back to wired.

 

[SamirD]

Thank you Larry. I think they've improved it in the last year or so hence why I'm asking. Not for me as I'm all wired all the time, but in case the wife or someone else wants a wifi setup now that ubiquiti units are just powned.

 

[IamDavid]

I would make the newer ax89x as your primary router. The reason being is that it seems to be made to handle even higher speeds with the 10G.

The two routers you have are quite interesting as I've never seen an IPSec vpn server in a consumer product before. These have to be very pricey and probably cost more than a comparable enterprise router and access point which should actually have more performance when set up correctly, but it is interesting to see IPsec VPN connectivity, dual wan, and other enterprise features in these routers making them appropriate for business as well as consumer uses.

How do you like the Aimesh? I haven't experienced it myself, but it seems to be a very attractive and better solution for seamless wifi roaming than all the 'mesh' systems out there. I would love to hear your opinion.

Thanks Samir, I was thinking the same thing but with the AX11000 being a triband versus the dual band on the ax89x I wasn't sure.

I personally love the Aimesh setups. Many people have problems setting them up and with firmware issues but fortunately for me, I have had very few issues/complaints.

 

[IamDavid]

I've tried AiMesh with a set of AC68U-family routers, and while this was a year or two ago, I didn't have much luck. It dropped out connections, very briefly, but often.

I couldn't complete Macrium Reflect backups or restores to an SMB-protocol NAS.

Maybe it's OK for short "bursty" traffic, like web browsing. "Streaming" music or videos would probably be OK too, due to the amount of buffering that those do.

But NAS access / Windows File-sharing? Forget it, don't even bother trying! Go back to wired.

Sounds like you were one of the unlucky ones from early on AX devices. We use between 500GB-1TB per day of external data and another insane amount of local. NAS Server and Plex server running 24/7, ~100 different connected devices split about 50/50 wired/wireless. The biggest PITA was when I added the T-Mobile CellSpot. I ended up having to connect it directly to the AT&T PACE router. For me, ASUS has done a phenomenal job on the hardware and software.

 

[SamirD]

Thanks Samir, I was thinking the same thing but with the AX11000 being a triband versus the dual band on the ax89x I wasn't sure.

I personally love the Aimesh setups. Many people have problems setting them up and with firmware issues but fortunately for me, I have had very few issues/complaints.

I think that would make more of a difference without the wired backbone that you have. With all the access points simply doing ap duties, I don't think it makes a difference in terms of backhaul, and as far as a router, it seems like the ax89x has a lot more power since it can process 10G.

 

[SamirD]

Sounds like you were one of the unlucky ones from early on AX devices. We use between 500GB-1TB per day of external data and another insane amount of local. NAS Server and Plex server running 24/7, ~100 different connected devices split about 50/50 wired/wireless. The biggest PITA was when I added the T-Mobile CellSpot. I ended up having to connect it directly to the AT&T PACE router. For me, ASUS has done a phenomenal job on the hardware and software.

If you don't mind sharing, I'm really curious what you are doing to have that type of data usage. I manage 4 isp accounts across 3 different sites and I don't use that much data even with our nightly backups across our vpn tunnels.

Yeah, the pace is a real pain--I had to deal with it at one site before we moved and the only way to get our IPsec vpn packets through it was to get a block of static IPs.

 

[IamDavid]

If you don't mind sharing, I'm really curious what you are doing to have that type of data usage. I manage 4 isp accounts across 3 different sites and I don't use that much data even with our nightly backups across our vpn tunnels.

Yeah, the pace is a real pain--I had to deal with it at one site before we moved and the only way to get our IPsec vpn packets through it was to get a block of static IPs.

Large amounts of media editing (work from home), Plex (12 users), and a houseful of media devices (7 - 4K UHD TVs along with every other device you can think of). 16 Nest security cameras too. I'm grateful for AT&T's unlimited 1gb fiber internet! Some days I feel like a full-time IT guy but for the most part, the network runs itself. Asus has created a great ecosystem of products. The addition of the 10G is great.

 

[SamirD]

Large amounts of media editing (work from home), Plex (12 users), and a houseful of media devices (7 - 4K UHD TVs along with every other device you can think of). 16 Nest security cameras too. I'm grateful for AT&T's unlimited 1gb fiber internet! Some days I feel like a full-time IT guy but for the most part, the network runs itself. Asus has created a great ecosystem of products. The addition of the 10G is great.

Thank you so much for sharing. Oh yeah, that will do it--today's media eats storage like nothing. And the plex will do it too if you're streaming to the outside. Those nest cameras are also going to use a lot of data and are a serious security threat unless they're somehow airgap isolated from the rest of the network. I too have thought about changing to att at one site where it's available, but the pain of dealing with their router keeps me from pulling the trigger. I don't have weeks to fiddle with getting our setup working through their gear. I'm surprised you didn't have 10G already with all the media editing as it helps so much with network transfers.

 

[IamDavid]

Thank you so much for sharing. Oh yeah, that will do it--today's media eats storage like nothing. And the plex will do it too if you're streaming to the outside. Those nest cameras are also going to use a lot of data and are a serious security threat unless they're somehow airgap isolated from the rest of the network. I too have thought about changing to att at one site where it's available, but the pain of dealing with their router keeps me from pulling the trigger. I don't have weeks to fiddle with getting our setup working through their gear. I'm surprised you didn't have 10G already with all the media editing as it helps so much with network transfers.

I've taken a few measures to help with the Nest cameras but you are correct, they are by far the least favorable part of our setup. As for AT&T, and I can't believe I'm saying this, they've corrected many of their router issues over the past 2 years. Early on we tried them but failed miserably and moved to Spectrum for a while. Spectrum only allows for 35Mb uploads so we had to find an alternative. We moved back to AT&T about the time they fixed multiple firmware issues and have been happy ever since.
I had a couple 10G devices prior to adding the new AX89X, now I get to go wild and expand it even further. On one hand, the network can be a PITA but on the other, it's a fun, albeit expensive hobby!

 

[SamirD]

I've taken a few measures to help with the Nest cameras but you are correct, they are by far the least favorable part of our setup. As for AT&T, and I can't believe I'm saying this, they've corrected many of their router issues over the past 2 years. Early on we tried them but failed miserably and moved to Spectrum for a while. Spectrum only allows for 35Mb uploads so we had to find an alternative. We moved back to AT&T about the time they fixed multiple firmware issues and have been happy ever since.
I had a couple 10G devices prior to adding the new AX89X, now I get to go wild and expand it even further. On one hand, the network can be a PITA but on the other, it's a fun, albeit expensive hobby!

If the cameras are wired, it's very easy to replace them with traditional IP cameras and an NVR. The IP cameras can sit on their own physical network that only connects to the NVR and the NVR typically has a separate ethernet port for local/remote access.

I never had any issues with their router except that it would block phase 2 IPsec requests. Until they stop trying to be a middle man with the DMZ+ and other types of nonsense, there's always the change of a problem. But I completely understand the move back from Spectrum--35Mb uploads are what keep me from moving to any type of gig plan on cable--the asymmetrical nature of the bandwidth doesn't work well for us.

That's awesome that you've been able to play with 10Gb. I think the harder part is having a setup that can fully utilize that much bandwidth, which I can't. But as you said, networking is fun even though it can be expensive and a pain! Just remember this though--it's cheaper than a lot of other hobbies like cars or planes.