Issue with FritzBox Mesh passing through two Netgear GS110TP switches connected via fiber

Ya your running into same thing with NG Orbi MESH system when connected to managed switches. 

Something you can try that someone helped me with on a GS105T and MS105E switch, they mentioned setting a VLAN configuration on the switch, VLAN ID 4091 and tag all ports. Once this was setup, the ethernet connected satellites started working and Guest Network started working at the satellites. This configuration seems only working for Orbi systems in router mode and satellites ethernet connected to the switch in between. Not sure if this will work for FritzBox as they might be using a different VLAN ID number or maybe non at all. Something to ask them about.

I think these are extreme use cases and in most home environments, you'll not be using a managed switch. And for ease of setup and configuration and reduce troubleshooting hassles and time, non managed switches should be used for MESH systems. Something you should try with your system and see if the remote units will work properly with. Try a GS105 or GS308 (No characters after the model#.) I bet this would work for you.

You might ask FritzBox what they tested there stuff with and or recommend using in between. If they support there satellites being connected to a LAN switch, they should have tested this and can make a recommendation. 

Good Luck. 

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vanhoteen wrote:

Complete Response:

 

Thank you, FURRYe38, for your response and for taking the time to help! I really appreciate your suggestions.

 

I’ve been working on this issue for a week now and contacted FritzBox support for guidance. They confirmed that the problem is not with the FritzBox or the repeater, as everything works perfectly when connected directly. According to them, the issue lies with the Netgear switches, which are likely blocking or filtering essential traffic needed for Mesh synchronization. However, they couldn’t specify which type of traffic (multicast, broadcast, or other) is critical for this process.

 

Here’s a summary of what I’ve tried so far without success:

1.Configured Trust DSCP:

I enabled Trust DSCP globally and on ports 1 (FritzBox and repeater) and 9 (fiber) on both switches to ensure that DSCP packets remain unaltered.

2.Adjusted QoS (DSCP to Queue Mapping):

I mapped DSCP values such as AF41 and EF to high-priority queues (queues 3 and 4) to prioritize critical traffic for Mesh synchronization.

3.Modified STP (Spanning Tree Protocol):

While RSTP is globally enabled, I disabled STP on ports 1 and 9 or configured them as Edge ports to avoid temporary blocking during the Mesh discovery process.

4.Disabled IGMP Snooping:

I disabled IGMP Snooping on the VLANs associated with the FritzBox and repeater to allow multicast traffic to pass through unrestricted.

5.Captured and analyzed traffic:

I used Wireshark to analyze multicast traffic and the ip.dsfield field but couldn’t find any clear evidence of what might be blocked.

 

Despite these configurations, the Mesh symbol still doesn’t appear when the connection passes through the Netgear switches. However, when the repeater is connected directly to the FritzBox, the Mesh works perfectly, confirming that the issue is with the switches.

 

As an alternative solution, I’m planning to add another Mesh repeater connected solely via Wi-Fi between the FritzBox and the current repeater to avoid passing through the Netgear switches. I hope this resolves the issue while I continue looking for a definitive solution to use the switches.

 

Once again, thank you so much for your help. If I make any progress or find a solution, I’ll share it here to help others facing similar issues. Best regards! 😊

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