Mesh system behind a capable router

SandLake

SandLake

SandLake

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26 Feb 2021
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25
Location
Antrim
I have recently got 1Gib FTTP installed and I have a TP-Link WiFi 6 router which is fine.

I would like to get some thing with more configuration options:-

I would like to run a VPN, I do have a VPN sub and I run it as an app on 1 PC but I would like to cover my whole network or at least some of it, PC's and media sticks

I have decent wired coverage but I would like to supplement it with wireless coverage for phones, tablets and IOT devices.

I'm thinking of an old PC with PfSense/OPNsense/OpenWRT to run as the main router and then with a Mesh system added to it. Can a Mesh system be added to another router - all on the one subnet (I'm not a networking expert, I think that is what it is called) so that I don't get into port forwarding and double NAT issues.
 
Short version: Yes.

Longer version: Running everything through VPN is generally not a good idea. You’ll find some sites won’t accept connections, transactions can be flagged for fraud and even some payment options aren’t available to you (eg PayPal usually offer pay in 3 to me, same site via VPN = no PI3, drop to unencrypted and PI3 works). Also depends on the mesh system, personally I would choose AP’s over mesh - you’ll presumably be running cables to the mesh nodes anyway as wireless backhaul isn’t ideal.
 
If you don’t mind using one mesh device wired into a router with others hanging off that mesh device wirelessly then you can use just about anything as the router

Most mesh devices just bridge between the existing network and wireless client

Some of the more modern offerings can act as routers too like the Amazon Eero devices but you can also configure them to just bridge if required
 
This is fundamentally the same query as this thread

Router for PPoE + VPN

Hi, Finally got myself full fibre connection installed and can run this in a bridge mode with my own router. Unfortunately the one I had has been re=purposed for another install so need to sort out a replacement, which will offer some extra benefits. Got plenty of LAN cables routed so Wifi...
forums.overclockers.co.uk forums.overclockers.co.uk
 
I used to run an OpenVPN vpn on an Asus (Merlin) router and it had the ability to use Policy Based Routing, so, as opposed to running everything through the VPN, I would like to choose the clients that do - is what I should have said - but potentially covering my whole network.
I currently have a (drum-roll) Taotronics mesh wifi system. It works really well, rock solid - but - it is a pig to configure, if it can be configured at all and it cannot sit behind another router, it can and is sitting behind a bridge mode router but that is all.

I have seen that other link but I am more specifically interested in a mesh system that can sit behind another full blown router, I have built a PC with PfSense and am running it now to see how I get on with it, I just need something to give me some WiFi behind it.

I watched an interesting video this morning - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMgs2XFClaM - about setting up OpenWRT wireless access points that happily co-existed and I have a couple of old Asus routers that are OpenWRT compatible so that might be an option.

Thanks for all the replies
 
As was pointed out by @Avalon, you don’t want a mesh system, you want multiple access points which will give you the result you want.

I would suggest you look at the Ubiquiti U6-mesh access points (they’re access points but they can also run in wireless backhaul mesh mode) and they will 100% do what you want with any router because they’re access points.
 
SandLake said:
I used to run an OpenVPN vpn on an Asus (Merlin) router and it had the ability to use Policy Based Routing, so, as opposed to running everything through the VPN, I would like to choose the clients that do - is what I should have said - but potentially covering my whole network.
I currently have a (drum-roll) Taotronics mesh wifi system. It works really well, rock solid - but - it is a pig to configure, if it can be configured at all and it cannot sit behind another router, it can and is sitting behind a bridge mode router but that is all.

I have seen that other link but I am more specifically interested in a mesh system that can sit behind another full blown router, I have built a PC with PfSense and am running it now to see how I get on with it, I just need something to give me some WiFi behind it.

I watched an interesting video this morning - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMgs2XFClaM - about setting up OpenWRT wireless access points that happily co-existed and I have a couple of old Asus routers that are OpenWRT compatible so that might be an option.

Thanks for all the replies
Click to expand...

PFSense is a reasonable product created by people who make horrifically poor choices. I would suggest OPNSense over PFSense any day of the week, ignoring the technical reasons, it's a project that has consistently proven itself to be run properly. Untangle is also worth a look, but to get a UTM experience out of it requires payment, you can build UTM functionality onto OPN of PF, Untangle is a UTM first and foremost with firewall functionality as a secondary consideration.
 
I'll definitely look into OPNSense but I am open to OpenWRT as well.

My new FTTP went down today, I thought it was my PFSense router but it was a national outage - it has been a streessful day!
 
DDWRT/OpenWRT are really light/quick, you can find some great discussion on them and buffer bloat on a previous thread that will genuinely make the internet a more responsive thing to use on everything. Try a few different options and see what works for you - they all do the same thing in principal, but have different ways of achieving it.
 
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