NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
Orbi 970 wired backhaul disconnected satellites
Today I received my brand new Netgear WiFi 7 (ORBI 970) 3-pack. This set is replacing my WiFi 6 (ORBI 860) 3-pack. My configuration: - 1 router, 2 satellites (firmware: V9.12.1.2 (latest)) - AP...
Maybe, however new stuff in Orbi 7 and managed switches are not.
I'd open a support ticket and let NG know.
https://my.netgear.com/support/contact.aspx
https://www.netgear.com/support/contact.aspx
Then clicking on "Get answers about NETGEAR products before I buy" then clicking on "Networking for Home" then "Chat with us".
I'd run the RBS wirelessly for now and bypass the switches.
I've created a support case at Netgear's support page. Thanks for your help/guidance.
I understand what you are saying, but a managed 10 GBE switch, a modern one (newest model form Zyxel), with a regular configuration, which works perfectly fine with the previous ORBI models and also with all my other 10GBE equipment isn't the problem here. Buggy ORBI firmware is. Several firmware updates have already been released for this model to address these problems. So it is very likely that this firmware still needs some attention from the Netgear development department.
I'll be checking with a managed switch very soon. I don't tend to use managed switches here. No need for my home config.
Today I extensively checked the logging of the switches. What happened is that the communication between the router and the satellites causes a broadcast storm. This results in rapidly disconnecting and reconnecting of the ORBI router.
I have disabled spanning tree, loop protection and IGMP on the switches, but this problem still occurs. I can't get any logging from the ORBI router, so I can't compare anything to the logging of my switches. But the switches do not indicate that they are (temporarily) forcing a shutdown of the specific port. So whether it is the ORBI router or some kind of emergency intervention of the switches (that I can't overrule), I have no idea.
What I do know is that my QNAP NAS and Mac Mini both work at 10 GBE on these switches without any problems and I don't have these problems with any of my other devices (50+). Perhaps the ORBI router uses a method of communication that deviates from standard switch protocols and therefore cannot handle communicating through my switches properly. Yesterday I put my ORBI 860 (RBK863S) set back in place and (with the exception of the wireless speed limitations, the reason why I upgraded my set) that one works perfectly fine. Today I also tested an Orbi Pro WiFi 6 (SXK80B3) set, that one also works perfectly fine, both sets connected to the same switch ports as the new ORBI set. So it must be a (firmware) issue with the ORBI 970 set. I can't figure out any other explanation.
Unfortunately, due to the distance between the router and the satellites, it is not possible for me to work wirelessly. So at the moment the entire set is actually of no use to me.
Working setup:
ORBI Router connected to 10 GBE switch from 10 GBE (yellow) WAN port. Satellites connected wirelessly. Iv'e placed the satellites a few meters away from the router, juist to test this scenario. This setup works stabile.
When I put the satellites back at the place were they should be placed for a good coverage in my home, I've got an 2.4 GHz connection between the router and the satellites at best. When I test the wireless speed at my satellites, I've got around 50 mbit at max. this should be around 850 / 900 mbit when the wired backhaul is working correctly.
Faulty attempts:
When I place the satellites back at the place where they should be and I connect them wired. The satellites work at full speed. Wireless speed nearby the satellites is between the 850 and 900 mbit. But the ORBI systeem is functioning like 3 individual access points without knowing the existence of each other. So there is no roaming and when you check the router config it says no satellites are attached. You just can see the devices that are connected directly to the router itself, not the ones that are connected trough the satellites. So the satellites can use the wired interface for a fast LAN/WAN connection, but can't connect to the router. The pro of this setup is that you have fast WiFi around all 3 the ORBI devices, but they are not working together and when you move through the house you get connection and roaming issues. Configuration changes are also not transferred to the satellites and you can't push firmware updates from the router to the satellites. This is therefore not a desirable situation.
When I switch the ethernet cable on the router from the 10 GBE WAN (yellow) to the 10 GBE LAN (gray) port, the satellites are found by the router, but they can't connect successfully. The status switches between config sync and disconnected. This is the point where the router keeps disconnecting itself from my switch. The links goes down and up every few seconds. Result is a unusable WiFi connection from the router, it's slow and drops all the time. Which is not strange, because the wired connection keeps disconnecting.
I thought I would mention this for the sake of completeness, perhaps others also have this problem and recognize themselves in my experience.