I have Centurylink Fiber 1Gig up and 1 Gig down. In order to get rid of Centurylink's Modem/Router combo I had to utilize PPPOE and VLAN Tagging. I setup the VLAN Tagging on my TP Link Smart Switch (tl-sg108e) and plugged that straight into the ONT. I used Port 1 as the Tagged VLAN ID 201 and port 2 as the untagged port. I then applied PVID for port 1 and 2 for type 201. I successfully got this working with port 1 plugged into the ONT and port 2 plugged into the Orbi Router WAN (Yellow) port. I have the Orbi Satellite plugged into port 3 on the switch but it's not recognizing the Ethernet Backhaul. Can Ethernet Backhaul work if it is plugged into the WAN port when using a switch? Is there any kind of bridging configuration on the switch that I would need to do in order for the Satellite to recognize the backhaul?

DScone I have two responses. First about your VLAN/network setup. If I understand correctly you have a managed switch with at least: Port 1: Untagged for VLAN201Port 2: Untagged for VLAN201Meaning, ports 1 and 2 are on the same VLAN if no 802.1q tags are included. They act as a 2 port switch. Now, you said you pugged your ONT (I assume the CenturyLink router/modem combo) into Port 1, and Port 2 into the Orbi WAN. On a separate broadcast domain (say, the default VLAN), you want to connect up all the Orbi's. If I follow all that correctly then answer to your question is: Absolutely, that should work as long as you're not using the Orbi's in AP mode (something else is doing DHCP + NAT). If you're using the Orbi's in AP mode, then things are a little different. In that case, you would put your router/DHCP device on the same VLAN as all the Orbi devices.My second response is about getting the Orbi's to recognize the wired backhaul... The short answer there is - "don't have high expectations". While netgear techinically supports a wired backhaul, the feature was released half-baked. The satellites attempt to auto-detect if they have access to the broadcast domain over ethernet, but it's not reliable. And, there's now way to tell a satellite to only use the wired backhaul. From your other post, it seems you've around found out that many other users are running into these issues.

Thank you for your response. Yes, I have found that the ethernet backhaul does not work 100% as others have found as well. My satellite is plugged into port 3 which is outside the VLAN and is an untagged port. The satalite doesn't recognize the ethernet backhaul and defaults to the wireless backhaul. This is to assume that ethernet backhaul can work over the WAN port on the Orbi Router. Wonder if I should put port 3 into the same VLAN and PVID that both 1 and 2 are on?

DSconewrote:Thank you for your response. Yes, I have found that the ethernet backhaul does not work 100% as others have found as well. My satellite is plugged into port 3 which is outside the VLAN and is an untagged port. The satalite doesn't recognize the ethernet backhaul and defaults to the wireless backhaul. This is to assume that ethernet backhaul can work over the WAN port on the Orbi Router. Wonder if I should put port 3 into the same VLAN and PVID that both 1 and 2 are on? The Orbi will only work with an ethernet backhaul over the WAN port if you're in AP (access point) mode, which is not the default. The default is "routed" mode (where the Orbi hands out DHCP addresses and does NAT for your devices). From your answers, I think you're using "routed" mode. This is important for your situation because in routed mode, the broadcast domains of the WAN port and the remaining ports are necessarily different. You could think of it like this: the "untagged" VLAN for the WAN port is a different VLAN than the "untagged" VLANs for the remaining ports. Now, you need each Orbi sattelite that you want to use with a wired backhaul to be connected to the router on the same broadcast domain (VLAN). In routed mode, here's one way would accomplish this in your setup. On the switch: Port 1: Untagged for VLAN 201, your modemPort 2: Untagged for VLAN 201, your Orbi Router's WAN portPort 3: Untagged for VLAN 1, A non-WAN port on your Orbi routerPort 4: Untagged for VLAN 1, One of your Orbi SattelitesPort 5: Untagged for VLAN 1, A different Orbi SatteliteNotice, this has your Orbi router plugged into the switch twice, and each port it is plugged into has a different untagged VLAN. This is correct for "routed mode". If you're using "Access Point" mode, then the answer is different. Let me know and I'll give you an example of what you would do for that instead.

Thank you for the detailed response. I really appreciate the help! Your explanation makes perfect sense. Well... Looks like I won't be able to do this because my ONT is in the basement and is connected to my switch. I have one cat5 going upstairs in the family room (Orbi Router - Router Mode) and another cat 5 going in a upstairs bedroom (Orbi Satellite) on the oposite side of the house. I would need two cat5's in order to do what you described going up to the family room. I could bring the Orbi Router in the basement but I minimze the coverage in the family room. My main purpose here was to use the TP Link switch to do the VLAN tagging and the Orbi to do the PPPOE login to avoid the Centurylink Modem/Router (c3000z). Guess I could hook this up as the router and put my Orbi's in AP Mode. Could you explain how to do this? Would I simply just hook up both the Orbi's up to the c3000z's ports and it would work? - Take the switch out all together.

DSconewrote:Thank you for the detailed response. I really appreciate the help! Your explanation makes perfect sense. Well... Looks like I won't be able to do this because my ONT is in the basement and is connected to my switch. I have one cat5 going upstairs in the family room (Orbi Router - Router Mode) and another cat 5 going in a upstairs bedroom (Orbi Satellite) on the oposite side of the house. I would need two cat5's in order to do what you described going up to the family room. I could bring the Orbi Router in the basement but I minimze the coverage in the family room. My main purpose here was to use the TP Link switch to do the VLAN tagging and the Orbi to do the PPPOE login to avoid the Centurylink Modem/Router (c3000z). Guess I could hook this up as the router and put my Orbi's in AP Mode. Could you explain how to do this? Would I simply just hook up both the Orbi's up to the c3000z's ports and it would work? - Take the switch out all together. Don't change AP vs routed mode over this! You don't need 2 cat 5 cable runs! Just because the Orbi's don't propertly support VLANs, doesn't mean you're out of the game. You just need two more steps. Step 1: Put a managed switch upstairs near where your router isThis can be your basement switch, if it is small and quiet. If not, just buy a cheap 4 port managed switch (faneless, preferrably). They are about $65 if you get a new one. Step 2: Setup the new switch like mentioned earlierThe modem gets plugged into the cable line that runs upstairs and goes into Port 1 on the switch. The rest remains the same as my note earlier. The only down side is that you'll have to organize 4 cables so it looks nice. If you get a switch with flashing lights, maybe you'll have to carefully put electrical tape over the LEDs too. But, all in all, it'll be clean. Now, say you really don't want to put a managed switch near the Orbi router. AP mode is possible with a single cable, but that means something else will need to provide routing/DCHP/NAT services. And, whatever it is, will need to be in your basement. If you don't want to use the CenturyLink modem's built in features, I would suggest getting a cheap pfSense box. For reference, that's what I use.

Orbi RBR & RBS Ethernet Backhaul Help

14 Replies

t_k
Luminary
Feb 14, 2018
DScone

I have two responses. First about your VLAN/network setup.

If I understand correctly you have a managed switch with at least:

Port 1: Untagged for VLAN201
Port 2: Untagged for VLAN201
Meaning, ports 1 and 2 are on the same VLAN if no 802.1q tags are included. They act as a 2 port switch.

Now, you said you pugged your ONT (I assume the CenturyLink router/modem combo) into Port 1, and Port 2 into the Orbi WAN. On a separate broadcast domain (say, the default VLAN), you want to connect up all the Orbi's.

If I follow all that correctly then answer to your question is: Absolutely, that should work as long as you're not using the Orbi's in AP mode (something else is doing DHCP + NAT).

If you're using the Orbi's in AP mode, then things are a little different. In that case, you would put your router/DHCP device on the same VLAN as all the Orbi devices.

My second response is about getting the Orbi's to recognize the wired backhaul... The short answer there is - "don't have high expectations". While netgear techinically supports a wired backhaul, the feature was released half-baked. The satellites attempt to auto-detect if they have access to the broadcast domain over ethernet, but it's not reliable. And, there's now way to tell a satellite to only use the wired backhaul.

From your other post, it seems you've around found out that many other users are running into these issues.
- DScone
  Star
  Feb 14, 2018
  Thank you for your response. Yes, I have found that the ethernet backhaul does not work 100% as others have found as well. My satellite is plugged into port 3 which is outside the VLAN and is an untagged port. The satalite doesn't recognize the ethernet backhaul and defaults to the wireless backhaul. This is to assume that ethernet backhaul can work over the WAN port on the Orbi Router.
  
  Wonder if I should put port 3 into the same VLAN and PVID that both 1 and 2 are on?
  - t_k
    Luminary
    Feb 15, 2018
    DSconewrote:
    Thank you for your response. Yes, I have found that the ethernet backhaul does not work 100% as others have found as well. My satellite is plugged into port 3 which is outside the VLAN and is an untagged port. The satalite doesn't recognize the ethernet backhaul and defaults to the wireless backhaul. This is to assume that ethernet backhaul can work over the WAN port on the Orbi Router.
    
    Wonder if I should put port 3 into the same VLAN and PVID that both 1 and 2 are on?
    The Orbi will only work with an ethernet backhaul over the WAN port if you're in AP (access point) mode, which is not the default. The default is "routed" mode (where the Orbi hands out DHCP addresses and does NAT for your devices). From your answers, I think you're using "routed" mode.
    
    This is important for your situation because in routed mode, the broadcast domains of the WAN port and the remaining ports are necessarily different. You could think of it like this: the "untagged" VLAN for the WAN port is a different VLAN than the "untagged" VLANs for the remaining ports.
    
    Now, you need each Orbi sattelite that you want to use with a wired backhaul to be connected to the router on the same broadcast domain (VLAN). In routed mode, here's one way would accomplish this in your setup.
    
    On the switch:
    Port 1: Untagged for VLAN 201, your modem
    Port 2: Untagged for VLAN 201, your Orbi Router's WAN port
    Port 3: Untagged for VLAN 1, A non-WAN port on your Orbi router
    Port 4: Untagged for VLAN 1, One of your Orbi Sattelites
    Port 5: Untagged for VLAN 1, A different Orbi Sattelite
    Notice, this has your Orbi router plugged into the switch twice, and each port it is plugged into has a different untagged VLAN. This is correct for "routed mode".
    
    If you're using "Access Point" mode, then the answer is different. Let me know and I'll give you an example of what you would do for that instead.

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Orbi RBR & RBS Ethernet Backhaul Help