Orbi RBR50v2 Mesh unstable with ethernet backhaul

[orbiuser_2020]

I have a RBR50v2 with two RBS50v2 satellites connected via ethernet backhaul that have worked fine for years.

Very recently my network became very unstable to the point that I could not even reliably ping the RBR50v2 from anywhere on the network (wired or wireless). When the problem would occur I would get 40-50% packet loss no matter where I was on the mesh.

I discovered that this issue only happened when I had traffic from one of the satellites. Ultimately, I replaced it but the problem did not go away.

What I discovered in the process of replacing is that if I disconnected the wired backhaul and let it go to wireless the problem went away.

For now the wireless backhaul is working fine but I would really like to figure out why the wired backhaul causes issues. Could a faulty Ethernet cable between a router and a satellite take down the entire mesh, including devices that are hardwired back to the RBR50v2?

[plemans]

Are you using a switch or going directly rbr---->rbs's? (if running through a switch, which model switch)
have you tried swapping out the cable?

If you hardwire a pc/laptop into the satellites and test them with both wired backhaul and wired pc/laptop, do you still get the packet loss? 

[orbiuser_2020]

I've had it configured both ways: wired from each of the satellites directly into the RBR and wired into a non-green switch and then into the RBR.

I had been using the switch configuration for probably about a year or so when the problem started happening. I switched out to plug directly into the RBR with no observed change in the issue.

With changing out the satellite the only hardware that has been consistent between the scenarios is:

* RBR50v2

* In-wall ethernet cable

* Wall jack

* In-room patch cable to satellite

Now with the backhaul being wireless that hardware is 100% freed up to test on its own. I'm going to hook a known good device to that and see if I get any weird network errors.

[plemans]

I'd buy a cheap 50-100ft cable so you can go directly from router---satellite without having to use the wall jacks/in wall wiring. (for testing) I've frequently seen in wall jacks that caused issues. If it works fine with a long cable, then you might need to redo the wall jacks

[orbiuser_2020]

I just tested transfer with a different device:

computer -> patch cable -> wall jack -> premise wiring -> switch -> cable -> RBR50v2 -> cable -> modem

Many gigabytes of data transferred with zero issues at full internet connection speed (300/300).

If I switch out the computer with an RBS50v2 (computer -> patch -> RBS50v2 -> ... ) then connectivity across ALL devices (wired, wireless, connected to ANY satellite) goes to hell if there is traffic on this particular satellite's wired backhaul. This includes simply pinging the RBR from a device wired directly to it.

[plemans]

some devices are more sensitive to sketchy cables/patch panels than others. 

Thats why I'd like you to try router--->cable----->satellite--->computer

with just the 1 cable. between router/satellite.