I need help setting up a mesh network using OpenWRT. Recently, I moved to a new house and decided to build a mesh network using OpenWRT. Honestly, I searched extensively but encountered difficulty installing it due to the varying explanations depending on each person's network distribution method.
This is my current network:-
Modem IP: 192.168.1.1
Pi-hole as DHCP server: 192.168.1.2
8 routers (Cudy WR3000s) running OpenWRT
My idea is to connect two routers to the switch via LAN cable, while other routers will connect to each other wirelessly due to the large area and the lack of possibility of connecting cables.
The problem with all wireless mesh is that 2.4Gbps 160MHz channel will be shared between all nodes and all node interconnections.
Usually that boils down to one "dumb ap" per floor. Maybe second router on porch side in one floor and other secondary in garden side in other floor.
Usually single router covers 100-150sqm / 1000-1500 sqft in same floor unless there are significant obstructions like metallic fire doors, safes, or aluminum foil coates insulation panels in inner walls.
How big is the house, floors, and what is representative wall material....
You could use powerline ethernet set to link floor mini-meshes together.
Is that new to you, or is it a new build? Is it 20 years old or 100?
As @brada4 says, construction and layout of the building can have a dramatic effect on microwave radio propagation.
From your description, it looks like you really do want a mesh (a wireless backhaul, at least in part).
Again, as mentioned, powerline ethernet could be a good solution that bypasses many of the potential wireless backhaul shortcomings.
You did not mention your location, but in your situation I would purchase a pair of powerlines on Amazon and try it. If it does not work, send them back and get a refund.
In a building with state of the art wiring and switchboard, the very latest anti-surge breakers will stop a powerline signal dead if going from one circuit to another, but that is another story entirely.
One last comment, bare in mind that with more than two mesh nodes, if you want it to be reliable, fast and resilent, you really need something more than the basic 802.11s that comes built in to OpenWrt - by that I mean you need a dynamic mesh-management service such as BATMAN or Mesh11sd - be warned!
The house has been rebuilt, and the 2.4GHz frequency provides excellent coverage when I tested it. I really want to use B.A.T.M.A.N, but I haven't found a tutorial that suits my situation.
Does this mean you will end up with all your access points cabled (via ethernet and powerline)?
Notwithstanding possible powerline issues, this will be the simplest and most reliable approach.
As I said, test the powerline approach before committing if you possibly can.
Some of the gotchas of powerline ethernet that I have encountered:
Might not work circuit to circuit within your house, particularly if it is newly re-wired (anti-surge/anti-spark breakers)
Can be susceptible to interference from arcing electric motors, eg power tools or other devices that generate electrical noise on the power cables eg some cheap or older microwave ovens.
Will not work between phases if you have a 3 phase supply (unlikely in a domestic environment).
Compatibility between different manufacturer's powerline offerings is not guaranteed.
Next about powerline - you likely get three-phase input, you will need same phase wire linked together like via staircase logthning or vacuum cleaner sockets in hallways are among good candidates.
Also you can get cable installers to get cables near vertical piping (not with heating pipes for obvious reason) - they put fish weight on fishing line to get first connection through, or even ventilation channels - fishing line again, but this time with mini-parachute and inverted vacuum cleaner
Yes, on the first floor I will connect one router via Ethernet and two routers wirelessly.
On the second floor, I will connect one router via Ethernet and the rest wirelessly.
Everything is ready, and the speed and quality of the cables are excellent. I just need to find a way to connect the routers using OpenWRT mesh. I mean the best way to config OpenWRT and mesh system and taking into consideration that I have a DHCP server (192.168.1.2) and gateway (192.168.1.1).
It is "dumb AP" setup, just that you get 2 mesh links replacing wires, one per floor, once established they ask as a cable , with bridging, vlans etc.
It is easy - install mesh11sd package and set identical parameters in the wifi menu, same place you add access points.
SOME wifi clients (like Windows with some network drivers) can join the mesh net but in general you treat it as another wire. Like with vlans for guest/kids/iot networks etc.
Do not exagerate with number of AP-s - they all cross-talk and the less you have the better BW you get.
You can have full wpad-mbedtls which is more feature-complete than mesh (or openssl since you have ton of space anyway)
You need mesh11sd package which enables mesh option in luci/wireless.
That is not "another method".
If you want over the air encryption (aka SAE, an encryption method that WPA3 is based on) of your mesh backhaul, the minimum required version of wpad is one of the following:
wpad-mesh-mbedtls
wpad-mesh-wolfssl
wpad-mesh-openssl
If you want OWE* encryption on your guest network vifs as well as SAE encryption on the mesh vifs you must have one of these:
wpad-mbedtls
wpad-wolfssl
wpad-openssl
I have not noticed any difference in mesh backhaul performance with any of these.
The mbedtls versions are, I think, smaller if that matters to you.
* OWE - Opportunistic Wireless Encryption. This, like the mesh backhaul encryption, is also based on SAE, but does not require your guests to know a "wifi code" to use the guest network, but still provides the security of "over the air" encryption. This is recommended for guest type networks, usually accompanied by a captive portal.
