deco m4 before or after swtich?
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Hello, I have the following setup:
1. Router TP-LINK AC1350 provided by ISP with DHCP and DNS enabled, Wi-Fi is disabled
In first room
2. Switch TP-LINK TL-SG1005D connected to 1. via cable through building walls
3. Deco M4 connected to 2. via cable configured in AP mode
4. Three more devices connected to 2. via cables: Windows PC, NAS and STB (Set Top Box) for TV
In second room
5. Deco M4 connected to 1. via cable through building walls, approx. 15m away from first Deco (3.)
In short
ISP <--> switch <--> Deco1, PC, NAS, STB
ISP <--> Deco2
The network is connected, but extremely unstable and unusable. Both Decos show white light, but Wi-Fi clients keep disconnecting or Wi-Fi shows "Connected, No Internet". Cable clients (PC, STB) loose connectivity to gateway (router 1.) or give ping time in range of 100s-1000s ms (normally <1ms).
If I disconnect second Deco (5.) all gets stabilized and works normally.
I was trying re-adding second Deco and process seemed to be smooth without issues: reset Deco, wait for blue pulsing light, connect. But, problems re-appear very quickly. I'm not sure if that is expected, but right after adding second Deco the first device starts showing red light. However it comes back to white within a minute or two. Also, in Deco Android app I see second Deco as "Disconnected from other Decos" although it lights white.
I tried also adding Deco device (3.) before switch (2.), so setup was like this: ISP router <--> Deco <--> switch 1005D <--> PC, NAS, STB. But it did not help.
I also tried setting up Decos in router mode which works stable, but it gives separate networks for wired and wireless devices which is not desired outcome.
I do have set of three Decos and I tried third device but results are the same. I presume this excludes hardware issues.
My questions are following:
Q1. Deco has two ethernet ports. Is Deco at all supporting adding network switch to its downlink? Like this: ISP <--> Deco <--> switch <--> other wired devices
Q2. Is it better to connect Deco directly to ISP's router and then network switch (and other network devices) - like in Q1 - or it is better to use network switch between ISP's router and Deco device - like in my current setup described on top?
Q3. I never managed to get DHCP address on wired clients. Is Deco providing DHCP only to its wireless clients?
Q4: ISP's router logs give me nothing. Is there any way I can see Deco logs? Or, some other way to troubleshoot what is wrong with my network after adding 2nd Deco device?
Thanks to all in advance!
Igor
I run Deco in Access Point mode and my home network is set similarly to yours, specifically:
ISP <--> switch <--> Main Deco, Satellite Deco 1, PC, Printer, Smart TV
ISP <--> Satellite Deco2
It works very well for me.
Start with this document: General questions about Ethernet Backhaul feature on your Deco.
What you have is most likely issues with the wired part of your home network: ISP router or switch incompatibility with Deco units, or something wrong with Ethernet cables. Because I use the same switch as you do, it can't be the switch, but it still worth checking it. You have TP-Link router, it should be compatible with TP-Link Deco, but that should be checked, too.
What you need to do is test different wired configurations to narrow down location of the problem. With the assumption that if wired part of your home network is Deco compatible, everything should work.
Also, please run all these tests with Deco in Access Point mode.
-----------------Test 1
For the first test I would recommend connecting all three Deco M4 you have directly to ISP Router, with short Ethernet cables of good quality:
ISP <--> Main Deco
ISP <--> Satellite Deco1
ISP <--> Satellite Deco2
Have nothing else connected to ISP router.
Power on Main Deco first, wait till its LED is white, then power on Satellite Deco one after another.
Check if this setup is stable and each Satellite Deco reports Ethernet under its Signal Source in Deco app:
If all three Deco are stable in that setup, this excludes ISP Router TP-LINK AC1350. If they aren't stable, and/or Satellite Deco report WiFi backhaul, the problem is with the router:
-------------------------Test 2
If first test successful, for second test I would recommend do the same but with all three Deco units wired to switch:
ISP <--> switch <--> Main Deco, Satellite Deco 1, Satellite Deco 2
Have nothing else connected to the switch.
Same checks as in the first test. If this setup is stable, switch is not your culprit.
------------------------Test 3
After first two tests the only suspects left are Ethernet cables and other wired devices. Try your original configuration, but use very short Ethernet cable for Deco 2, and not the one you are using now.
ISP <--> switch <--> Deco1
ISP <-very short Ethernet cable-> Deco2
Also, in this test disconnect everything from the switch but Deco 1 and Ethernet cable from router. On ISP router disconnect everything but Ethernet cable to the switch and Ethernet cable to Deco 2. In case one of wired devices somehow conflicts with Deco Ethernet backhaul.
------------------------
Once again, what you observe puzzles me, because I have practically same networking configuration, with exactly same switch, and since I deployed my Deco mesh over a year ago I have not seen issues like you do.
I run Deco in Access Point mode and my home network is set similarly to yours, specifically:
ISP <--> switch <--> Main Deco, Satellite Deco 1, PC, Printer, Smart TV
ISP <--> Satellite Deco2
It works very well for me.
Start with this document: General questions about Ethernet Backhaul feature on your Deco.
What you have is most likely issues with the wired part of your home network: ISP router or switch incompatibility with Deco units, or something wrong with Ethernet cables. Because I use the same switch as you do, it can't be the switch, but it still worth checking it. You have TP-Link router, it should be compatible with TP-Link Deco, but that should be checked, too.
What you need to do is test different wired configurations to narrow down location of the problem. With the assumption that if wired part of your home network is Deco compatible, everything should work.
Also, please run all these tests with Deco in Access Point mode.
-----------------Test 1
For the first test I would recommend connecting all three Deco M4 you have directly to ISP Router, with short Ethernet cables of good quality:
ISP <--> Main Deco
ISP <--> Satellite Deco1
ISP <--> Satellite Deco2
Have nothing else connected to ISP router.
Power on Main Deco first, wait till its LED is white, then power on Satellite Deco one after another.
Check if this setup is stable and each Satellite Deco reports Ethernet under its Signal Source in Deco app:
If all three Deco are stable in that setup, this excludes ISP Router TP-LINK AC1350. If they aren't stable, and/or Satellite Deco report WiFi backhaul, the problem is with the router:
-------------------------Test 2
If first test successful, for second test I would recommend do the same but with all three Deco units wired to switch:
ISP <--> switch <--> Main Deco, Satellite Deco 1, Satellite Deco 2
Have nothing else connected to the switch.
Same checks as in the first test. If this setup is stable, switch is not your culprit.
------------------------Test 3
After first two tests the only suspects left are Ethernet cables and other wired devices. Try your original configuration, but use very short Ethernet cable for Deco 2, and not the one you are using now.
ISP <--> switch <--> Deco1
ISP <-very short Ethernet cable-> Deco2
Also, in this test disconnect everything from the switch but Deco 1 and Ethernet cable from router. On ISP router disconnect everything but Ethernet cable to the switch and Ethernet cable to Deco 2. In case one of wired devices somehow conflicts with Deco Ethernet backhaul.
------------------------
Once again, what you observe puzzles me, because I have practically same networking configuration, with exactly same switch, and since I deployed my Deco mesh over a year ago I have not seen issues like you do.