Re: Setting up wired backhaul

donawalt · ‎2022-02-12

HI all, I am taking another stab at getting the RBR/RBSS850 set up in an old big house with lost of thick walls etc.! This time, I have been getting all the rooms wired with Ethernet, done! My current config:

Comcast 1GB/40MB -> Netgear CM1200 -> Netgear GS348 48 port Gigabit unmanaged switch.

I ideally want to set up all RBR850's with wired backhaul, and I think I can based on the locations I need. I actyually have two houses/worth of them, so I have 1 RBS850, and 4 RBR850s. (I actually have another RBS850 too).

I saw the picture (below) in the Orbi set up pages, but it's not clear what the switch is connected to. So my questions are:

1) Can I set this up to get wired backhaul everywhere:

CM1200 -> RBS850 AND GS348 (on LAN port); 3-4 RBS850's connected into the GS348

2) Can I just set it up that way, or do I Have to do something different, like getting it work via WiFi with RBRs and RBS's adjacent, then move to this configuration?

3) Can I set it up per the picture below, ie CM1200 -> GS348, with th RBS850 and 3-4 RBR 850's all connected via the GS348 switch? Do I Have to do anything different first, like again get them all working via WiFi then change the configuration?

Thanks!

FURRYe38 · ‎2022-02-25

@donawalt wrote:

Hi, as promised I am checking back with results! Everything worked fine, the network is running great! We have a rowhouse, about 4500 square feet with 3 floors and a basement. We have Comcast 1.2/40 service. I have an RBR850 in the basement where the cable comes in (somewhat in the center, thanks to a long cable), an RBS850 in the dining room on the first floor roughly 1/3 of the way in from the back of the house, nothing on the second floor, and another RBS850 on the third floor roughly 1/3 the way in frm the front of the house! All are well more than 30' from each other. I was very careful studying signal strength as I added the devices one at a time, as a result I only need two satellites, and the speed test results are great everywhere! The router handles the basement and 1st fl. living room at the front of the house, the RBS in the 1st fl. dining room near the back handles that room and the bedrooms on the 2nd floor right above it, and third floor RBS handles that floor (it's smaller than the other two floors) and the 2nd floor bedroom in the front of the house. Since I have about 24 Ethernet runs to different rooms, not only are the 2 RBSs wired for backhaul, but our 2 laptops, and 2 Apple TVs are wired. The rest of the Ethernet runs are not needed for now.

I turned on LAG as I have a CM1200 modem. I don't think I made any other changes to the default settings for the network, but I do want to ask for advice on some settings. I did not turn on Guest Network, Access Control, Netgear Security/Armor, or VPN; the router also serves as DHCP. Firmware is up to date 4.6.3.16. I am using the default Comcast DNS servers. IPv6 is on and working.

1. 2.4 GHZ is set to Auto, 5 GHz is set to channel 48. I assume that's ok, I have checked signals from other nearby networks and it looks reasonable. OK? Yes if it's all working. I prefer to use manual channels 1 and 40 or 11 and 48. I have a next door neighbor that has a Orbi system and there on 6 and 44.

2. Security is WPA2-PSK. I seem to remember I need to keep it there for my printers to work (HP Laserjet and an OfficeJet photo printer), as they have minimal security? Or should I do stronger security? Yes keep WPA2 for now. Mixed mode WPA2/3 we have asked about.

3. AX features are enabled on both 2.4 and 5 GHz. OK? Yes.

4. UPnP is on. I seem to remember that's only for games, if so, we don't need it for games, so should I turn it off? If you don't see any problems, you can leave it ON. It's not only for games.

5. 20/40 MHz Coexistance is on for 2.4 GHz. I seem to remember some issues with that, is it ok to leave on? If all of your devices are working well, leave it. Or you can set 40Mhz only.

6. WMM is on for both 2.4 and 5 GHz, is that correct? Yes.

7. CTS/RTS Threshhold is 64 for both 2.4 and 5 GH. Is that correct? Yes. Keeps this unless you see problems, then you can try 500 or 2347.

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-WiFi-6-AX-and-WiFi-6E-AXE/RBR850-RTS-CTS/td-p/2198616/jump-to/...

View solution in original post

FURRYe38 · ‎2022-02-12

Should be like this:

CM1200 -> RBR850 AND GS348 (on LAN port); 3-4 RBS850's connected into the GS348

https://kb.netgear.com/000051205/What-is-Ethernet-backhaul-and-how-do-I-set-it-up-on-my-Orbi-WiFi-Sy... 📡

Remember the CM1200 does NOT have a router built in. Its only a modem.

Netgear has set up a community forum specifically for the Orbi AX products. Most of the people who watch that forum are more likely to have experience with Orbi AX (WiFi6 RBK 3,7,8 and 9 Series) products. Might be more likely to find someone who has a solution if the question is posted there:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-AX/bd-p/en-home-orbi-ax

Please use this link to the main forum product list to review and choose where to make your posts.
https://community.netgear.com/t5/NETGEAR-Forum/ct-p/en-netgear

Thank you.

CrimpOn · ‎2022-02-12

A lot of people prefer an incremental installation process for Orbi satellites:

Plug one in while in the same room as the router.
(If it does not sync, then there is a problem)
Connect the satellite to router with an ethernet patch cord.
(again, if it does not sync in 4-5 minutes, there is a problem)
Finally, move it to the desired location and connect the ethernet.
(If it does not sync, that puts the focus directly on the ethernet wiring, as the satellite has already been proved to function correctly.)
Repeat with next satellite.

donawalt · ‎2022-02-12

Thank you all, very helpful! I'll post back how it goes!

donawalt · ‎2022-02-25

Hi, as promised I am checking back with results! Everything worked fine, the network is running great! We have a rowhouse, about 4500 square feet with 3 floors and a basement. We have Comcast 1.2/40 service. I have an RBR850 in the basement where the cable comes in (somewhat in the center, thanks to a long cable), an RBS850 in the dining room on the first floor roughly 1/3 of the way in from the back of the house, nothing on the second floor, and another RBS850 on the third floor roughly 1/3 the way in frm the front of the house! All are well more than 30' from each other. I was very careful studying signal strength as I added the devices one at a time, as a result I only need two satellites, and the speed test results are great everywhere! The router handles the basement and 1st fl. living room at the front of the house, the RBS in the 1st fl. dining room near the back handles that room and the bedrooms on the 2nd floor right above it, and third floor RBS handles that floor (it's smaller than the other two floors) and the 2nd floor bedroom in the front of the house. Since I have about 24 Ethernet runs to different rooms, not only are the 2 RBSs wired for backhaul, but our 2 laptops, and 2 Apple TVs are wired. The rest of the Ethernet runs are not needed for now.

I turned on LAG as I have a CM1200 modem. I don't think I made any other changes to the default settings for the network, but I do want to ask for advice on some settings. I did not turn on Guest Network, Access Control, Netgear Security/Armor, or VPN; the router also serves as DHCP. Firmware is up to date 4.6.3.16. I am using the default Comcast DNS servers. IPv6 is on and working.

1. 2.4 GHZ is set to Auto, 5 GHz is set to channel 48. I assume that's ok, I have checked signals from other nearby networks and it looks reasonable. OK?

2. Security is WPA2-PSK. I seem to remember I need to keep it there for my printers to work (HP Laserjet and an OfficeJet photo printer), as they have minimal security? Or should I do stronger security?

3. AX features are enabled on both 2.4 and 5 GHz. OK?

4. UPnP is on. I seem to remember that's only for games, if so, we don't need it for games, so should I turn it off?

5. 20/40 MHz Coexistance is on for 2.4 GHz. I seem to remember some issues with that, is it ok to leave on?

6. WMM is on for both 2.4 and 5 GHz, is that correct?

7. CTS/RTS Threshhold is 64 for both 2.4 and 5 GH. Is that correct?

Thank you in advance for your advice!

donawalt · ‎2022-02-25

I forgot to add #7, RTS/CTS Threshholds are both 64. Should I bump them up to 2347?

FURRYe38 · ‎2022-02-25

@donawalt wrote:

Hi, as promised I am checking back with results! Everything worked fine, the network is running great! We have a rowhouse, about 4500 square feet with 3 floors and a basement. We have Comcast 1.2/40 service. I have an RBR850 in the basement where the cable comes in (somewhat in the center, thanks to a long cable), an RBS850 in the dining room on the first floor roughly 1/3 of the way in from the back of the house, nothing on the second floor, and another RBS850 on the third floor roughly 1/3 the way in frm the front of the house! All are well more than 30' from each other. I was very careful studying signal strength as I added the devices one at a time, as a result I only need two satellites, and the speed test results are great everywhere! The router handles the basement and 1st fl. living room at the front of the house, the RBS in the 1st fl. dining room near the back handles that room and the bedrooms on the 2nd floor right above it, and third floor RBS handles that floor (it's smaller than the other two floors) and the 2nd floor bedroom in the front of the house. Since I have about 24 Ethernet runs to different rooms, not only are the 2 RBSs wired for backhaul, but our 2 laptops, and 2 Apple TVs are wired. The rest of the Ethernet runs are not needed for now.

I turned on LAG as I have a CM1200 modem. I don't think I made any other changes to the default settings for the network, but I do want to ask for advice on some settings. I did not turn on Guest Network, Access Control, Netgear Security/Armor, or VPN; the router also serves as DHCP. Firmware is up to date 4.6.3.16. I am using the default Comcast DNS servers. IPv6 is on and working.

1. 2.4 GHZ is set to Auto, 5 GHz is set to channel 48. I assume that's ok, I have checked signals from other nearby networks and it looks reasonable. OK? Yes if it's all working. I prefer to use manual channels 1 and 40 or 11 and 48. I have a next door neighbor that has a Orbi system and there on 6 and 44.

2. Security is WPA2-PSK. I seem to remember I need to keep it there for my printers to work (HP Laserjet and an OfficeJet photo printer), as they have minimal security? Or should I do stronger security? Yes keep WPA2 for now. Mixed mode WPA2/3 we have asked about.

3. AX features are enabled on both 2.4 and 5 GHz. OK? Yes.

4. UPnP is on. I seem to remember that's only for games, if so, we don't need it for games, so should I turn it off? If you don't see any problems, you can leave it ON. It's not only for games.

5. 20/40 MHz Coexistance is on for 2.4 GHz. I seem to remember some issues with that, is it ok to leave on? If all of your devices are working well, leave it. Or you can set 40Mhz only.

6. WMM is on for both 2.4 and 5 GHz, is that correct? Yes.

7. CTS/RTS Threshhold is 64 for both 2.4 and 5 GH. Is that correct? Yes. Keeps this unless you see problems, then you can try 500 or 2347.

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-WiFi-6-AX-and-WiFi-6E-AXE/RBR850-RTS-CTS/td-p/2198616/jump-to/...

donawalt · ‎2022-02-25

Thanks you @FURRYe38 for the replies and that thread. Whew! RTC/CTS is mind-boggling. I rtired a test this morning, with everyone out of the house, I had 3 simultaneous speed tests (3 different computers/devices) going plus watching for collisions, with RTS/CTS set to 500. No Collisions. I am wondering if that is a nice middle ground between the 64 and the 2347...

FURRYe38 · ‎2022-02-25

Give that a whirl and see. I've been using default 64 since v.5 version of FW came out and its been stable. Even with ethernet connected RBS. Were hoping that NG is moving in the right direction in regards to FW.

donawalt · ‎2022-02-25

Ah @FURRYe38 you convinced me. Without having any problems so far, I changed it back to 64! Thanks for the insight.

FURRYe38 · ‎2022-02-26

Be sure to save off a back up configuration to file for safe keeping. Saves time if a reset is needed.
https://kb.netgear.com/000062080/How-do-I-back-up-the-configuration-settings-on-my-Orbi-WiFi-System

Will get this thread move over to the Orbi AX forum.

Enjoy. 📡

donawalt · ‎2022-02-26

Thanks. I really misunderstood the range of the 850 satellites. Before, I had 4 of them in the house, as it has some stone, brick, and metal throughout a basement and 3 floors of the house that I thought would restrict signals. I used the signal strength meter on my Mac to really understand where signals are strong before I added another device, and low and behold I only have a router and 2 satellites now, and the signal and speed test results are unbelievably strong. I have a signal at the end of the patio and garage now. I get 500Mbps download even in the bathrooms lol. So lesson learned, don't go crazy with satellites - it may work more poorly not better.

FURRYe38 · ‎2022-02-26