I’m using a LINKSYS EA6350 with OpenWrt as my router along with TP-Link Deco M9 in bridge mode as APs for my mesh setup. Just want to know if I’m missing something here? I’ve seen a lot of mentions about Batman but not sure if I need this. Can someone tell me if my out-of-the-box setup is okay or if I’m missing something?
The Deco M9 uses a proprietary mesh and is incompatible with both 802.11s and Batman mesh.
In addition the M9 is not supported by OpenWrt as far as I know.
You have 2 options:
- Revert the 6350 to stock firmware.
- Run a cable to one of the M9s
I’m a bit confused here, is there no benefit in using the Deco M9 in bridge/access point mode the way the setup is described? Are you saying I’d be better off removing the router running OpenWrt and have the Deco M9 in router mode?
The original question is (and remains) quite ambiguos…
Mesh is a marketing term that isn't really sufficiently standardized, yes 802.11s exists, but aside from google, no vendor seems to use it so far. As a result the backbone mesh of your TP-Link Deco M9 (afaik) uses a proprietary protocol. which isn't understood by either OpenWrt nor the Linksys OEM firmware.
If you treat it as such, namely the ea6350 running OpenWrt outside of the Deco M9 mesh (more or less like a wired-only router) and the Deco M9 devices as separate mesh in AP mode, it should work quite fine (it's questionable if letting the ea6350 send on the same ESSID/ PSK makes sense in this setup scenario).
Judging from the hardware, the TP-Link Deco M9 Plus v1 might even be supportable by OpenWrt, but this would require someone with that device on the desk to work on it.
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I think both the ea6350 and the M9 support the proprietary Qualcomm WiFi SON mesh. This is a closed source driver so is not supported by OpenWrt. In theory at least the ea6350 and m3 should be able to be part of the same mesh.
Indeed, the marketing of "Mesh" does lead to a great deal of confusion for people not aware of the technical ins and outs. Interoperability is very much NOT guaranteed.
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I guess I'm just not understanding the technical ins and outs as you mentioned and why any mesh system such as a Deco M9, Google Wifi, etc wouldn't work optimally in bridge mode connected to any router running OpenWrt. Could you guys point me in the right direction on reading material? Gonna see if I can educate myself a little more