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Forum Discussion
Orbi Ethernet Backhaul/Compatible Switches
I've been (unsuccessfully) trying to setup my ethernet backhaul between my Orbi RBR50 and RBS50 and have recently stumbled across a decent number of conversations/posts describing the woes of Orbi's general incompatability with managed/green (802.3az)/IGMP-enabled switches and I'd just like to get to the bottom of this. To be clear, I'm not at all interested in establishing a wireless backhaul (I purchased Orbi EXPLICITLY for the ethernet backhaul support), so please don't ask me to provide the physical distance between the devices...
It seemingly worked for a while but now my network has inexplicably gone down two nights in a row. My network is up at the moment and the RBR50 admin interface is showing that the RBS50 has connections, both wireless and wired, even though it's been stuck at "Config Sync" backhaul status for the last 18 hours or so (though I can still login to the RBS50's admin console directly)...
I should add that one of the changes I implemented was reserving the RBS50's IP address, and my RBR50 is (and always has been) in "Router" Operation Mode.
My network config (currently) has a single switch between RBR50 and RBS50 -- a GS108v3 sitting in my wiring closet. It actually connects to another switch and, of course, some various networked devices (Roku's, RPi, Hue hub, etc.). Below I've included the main path for the ethernet backhaul (first path) but have included other paths to complete the topology (at least in terms of network devices).
CM1200 > RBR50 V2.5.1.16 > GS108v3 > RBS50 V2.5.1.16 > GS316
CM1200 > RBR50 V2.5.1.16 > GS108v3 > GS605v4
CM1200 > RBR50 V2.5.1.16 > GS108v3 > GS108PEv3* (remains disconnected during troubleshooting)
CM1200 > RBR50 V2.5.1.16 > GS605v4
CM1200 > RBR50 V2.5.1.16 > GS108v4* (remains disconnected during troubleshooting)
As you can see the GS316 is hanging off the RBS50 -- I initially had that reversed but am trying this approach to remove as much infrastructure as possible between the two Orbi devices. I also included a couple of other switches that are not currently connected as I'm trying to stay minimal while still supporting the household. Those are a GS108v4 and a GS108PEv3, as indicated on the respective paths above).
Finally, I've tested all the ports on all the switches (including the ones not currently active) and all seem to be working correctly when directly connected to the RBR50. And by "working correctly", I mean I connected the switch to the RBR50 and then connected a Sonos to each remaining port individually and, once the connection to the device was established, I streamed music to it.
That being said, can someone please provide a list of *compatible* switches that would support wired/ethernet backhaul between RBR50 and RBS50? Or, absent that, a list of switches that are generally compatible with Orbi? And I don't mean "compatible" as in it mostly works but the router is often dropping packets or falsely interpreting them as a LAN-based DoS attack or going offline, etc.... And my related request is that since Orbi is for home use, please don't include a bunch of Enterprise-grade switches on the list...
What I'd REALLY love is if the Netgear team would just list out some of their own switches they've tested to be fully compatible with Orbi ethernet backhaul.
37 Replies
Is it physically impossible to bypass the GS108 and connect directly from the RBR50 to RBS50?
I have a GS116v1 switch between my RBR50v1 and RBS50v1 and it works fine. It is a non-green network switch. If you do not have any non-green switches, then I suggest getting a small 4-5 port non-green gigabit switch to add next to your GS108v3 for the backhaul connection. You can find these cheap from Amazon and other retailers.
tomschmidt wrote:I have a GS116v1 switch between my RBR50v1 and RBS50v1 and it works fine. It is a non-green network switch. If you do not have any non-green switches, then I suggest getting a small 4-5 port non-green gigabit switch to add next to your GS108v3 for the backhaul connection. You can find these cheap from Amazon and other retailers.
That sounds like a great approach (i.e., bringing a separate "non-green" gigabit switch into my enclosure and, I'm assuming, connecting the cable leading to the RBR50 and independently the cable leading to the RBS50 to that switch and then connecting the two switches via another cable). However, I'm not sold on how easy it is these days to find a new (not used or refurbished) gigabit switch that doesn't support 802.3az...
Do you have specific examples? Because if there was a new 8-port "non-green" gigabit switch available, I could just pick up a few and replace every switch that "touches" one of these Orbi devices...
CrimpOn wrote:Is it physically impossible to bypass the GS108 and connect directly from the RBR50 to RBS50?
I would never say "impossible" but certainly it's "extremely impractical" as the devices are separated by different floors/walls/rooms. I would hasten to add that I really don't want to make any physical changes to my house (i.e., independent cabling between the floors/rooms) just to support this poor design.
[NOTE: I should mention I call this a poor design not because the engineering isn't great, but based on its inability to work in real-world situations as I would ASSUME that non-enterprise grade switches would have been part of the ethernet backhaul testing or separately support for same would have been ASSUMED as a requirement in the design]
- Thanks for clarifying. I ad pictured the modem, Router, and switch all being located at the wiring hub. Sounds like the modem and router are in one location and the wiring hub in another.
