I need to get a strong router to cover 2300 sqft and load balance. My budget is very tight. Any helps is greatly appreciated by many!!
1st,
I am looking to order the Linksys EA9300 to handle 2 ISP connections. I am hoping if their stock firmware doesnt get it, I can simply add OpenWRT and configure.
I live in a community Home on community property in rural washington. I have 2 cellular data connections
The house is about 2300 sqft so picking this router was in the hopes it could cover the sqft of the house in a standalone router. I will be adding outdoor wireless APs (TPlink EAP225) for outside the house to cover the tiny homes and trailers.
My WAN connection as it is coming into existing network:
ATT >> mofi cell modem,bridged(10down x 8 up) >> WAN router(Eth0 Ubi EdgerouterX, actually getting WAN IP from ATT)
Visible >> motorola phone(25down x 15up) >> Glinet MT300N (using Easytether Pro) >> WAN router( Eth1 Ubi EdgerouterX)
I am happy with ubi device but if I can minimize hardware the better, I am within my return window.
I am open to suggestions but want to keep price down as these add ons go against our maintenance budget here, getting EA9300 for $130. Also, looking at WRT3200ACM as it has the qualcomm chipset vs the broadcom in the EA9300. I saw testing from 2 years ago that broadcom in this router was behind the curve in the wireless game. this maybe old news. Im all ears if you have better info.
2nd
I ran into a few problems with Easytether and the newer firmware versions on the MT300N so it is currently running 17.01 LEDE. Was an issue where easytether connection would drop but pinging the gateway was still up so WAN did not know connection was actually down causing things not to load. 17.01 hasnt shown these signs. in the passed 5 days.
I would like to bridge the MT300N to the router so that it is actually getting the IP from the Easytether app on the motorola phone. its currently DHCP on all devices. Tried bridge on previous 19.xx firmware and ended up breaking the config so I choose to abandon bridge mode but now that 17.01 is up and smoother I am interested in trying it again.
One final symptom I keep coming across is, my login trust keeps breaking for a few different site, ie google. or it simply logs me out. Im not sure if its because of the IP changing from the provider or what.
I know this is a lot to swallow but any help would be appreciated by entire property.
Broadcom is generally zero OpenWrt support at all, their wifi drivers are completely closed as far as I know.
The ERX device is a good device for your use... It certainly can handle the speeds. I wouldn't replace it.
I don't understand what's wrong with your current setup that you want to change
So is it just that you want better wifi coverage? If so, buy the EAP225v3 (indoor unit: https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-EAP225-V3-Wireless-Supports/dp/B0781YXFBT/) and install it... voila you should have good quality wifi throughout the 2300 sqft house (in rural conditions you likely don't have much interference especially). Add that outdoor unit: https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-MU-MIMO-Gigabit-EAP225-Outdoor/dp/B07953S2FD) and you're good to go. The two together cost about the same as the EA9300 you're looking at, but they're going to give better overall coverage. Just remember to choose different channels for all the radios involved.
Daniel, thanks for the response.
The problem with the ubi edgerouter is the processing speed. I need something with top processing power as my connections are already low and this guy has a mere 880 dual. I need something faster to make transitions on with WAN to dump what traffic. Its not handling well so far and it shows. Random lag times on page loads even nav a single website. My speeds and latency are different so a 1.4 or 1.8 Ghz dual or quad would do laps around this guy. Just need to have it setup to do what is needed.
Adding an AP would give me coverage but im more focused on performance and packet stability. Would also rather stay clear from a Mesh system as the house can be handled by a single wireless router.
Thanks again.
The ERX should have the processing power to handle 200Mbps no problem. your 10 to 25Mbps connections are not going to stress it. if you are finding problems it is probably with a different component of your system so replacing the ERX will not help... let's find the real culprit.
At first, I didnt look at it as the problem. But after singling it out. It is the issue of the lag. It is better than the previous device I used, TP-Link Dual WAN, most because I was able to pick up on the drop in the easytether connections with the watchdog utility. But it is hardly performing any better. When I connect to each ISP from its modem the connection is fine. Pages load quickly, etc.
One of the things I see is it pushes traffic to the ATT(non easytether) WAN about 80-90 % of the time but it is set to 55% weight. Its not a big issue but just things im seeing.
The wifi is being handed by Ubi AP LR with plenty of throughput.
The ultimate goal is to minimize hardware while maintaining stability and wifi coverage.... on a budget.
your two wans are both variable rate. with variable rate links buffering is inevitable during periods when the link speed slows. however you would not necessarily noticed that if using the link for a short period of time to test directly with your PC. the end result would be that it would seem fine when you connect your PC directly but when you put in your router and use it for long periods you would eventually get delay problems. you would then attribute this to the router causing trouble but what the real problem is is that your ISP link speed declined briefly causing a large buffer to develop.
unfortunately solutions like sqm will not work because they require a constant link speed
On this latency issue,
both sources have the ability to enable wifi connections. So When I have an issue with one, mostly the tethered one, I will wifi directly to the MT300N device and test. there would be no issues outside the higher latency. Pages load alright and media streaming is good. When I connect back, i see issues with both. This issue is intermittent. I have tested for longer periods with the same or similar results. Me changing to another router, one with USB port, is to lessen hardware and hopes to reduce hops on my network and lowering latency.
I have decided to run with a Netgear 6X R8000,, since it has good reviews and is supported by openwrt.