BE25 does not support backhaul over switch ???
Hi Deco community,
I've had Deco Mesh at home for 5+ years and have been super happy with it till now. I love the user interface of the app, the ease in which it can all be setup from scratch, and the way I can remote monitor my home network when away.
I just upgraded my ISP connection to a 2.5/2.5Gbps FTTH and was looking for a router that could connect to the ONT at 2.5gbps and to my LAN at 2.5Gbps (so I need minimum of 2x 2.5gbps Ethernet ports). Most devices around the home are Wifi 6/6e . The home is 400mq over 3 floors with ethernet (1 x Cat6e) to each floor. Wi-Fi between floors/rooms is not good, hence the need for more or less one device per room. We are luck that the house is detached and there are no other networks creating congestion.
My intention was to have a hub and spoke design with a BE25 on each floor (ONT is in the basement where I have a 2.5gbps TP-Link Switch connected to the BE25 Master). On floors 2 and 3 I would have the BE25 backhauled over ethernet to the switch which connects all 3 LAN ports of the BE25s.
Over the weekend I brought my 3x BE25s and 3x M5 and 3x M4 to a single location in the basement where I did a FW update and then factory reset everything and created the new network from scratch.
My issue is that no matter what I try (different ports/cables etc.) there is no way I can get past the first step, which is to have the BE25s communicate over ethernet backhaul through the TP-Link TL-SG105 switch.
BE25 (Master) has port 0 (left) to the ONT at negotiated 2.5gbps and port 1 (right) connected to the Switch
BE25 Slave 1) - first added to the network wirelessly - then has port 0 connected to the same switch as master
BE25 Slave 2) - first added to the network wirelessly - then has port 0 connected to the same switch as master
In this extremely simple example - there is NO WAY, that I can get the two slaves to show Ethernet backhaul. Due to the concrete floors and distance, it’s a must that the 2 slave devices communicate with the master over 2.5gbps ethernet.
According to this : General questions about Ethernet Backhaul feature on your Deco | TP-Link Italia - It should be possible.
As an experiment (to see if it was a problem with the switch filtering), I added the M5s to the network (first wirelessly) and then connected them to the same switch and hey presto , all three happily connect over ethernet backhaul. Did the same for the M4s and no problem. It's these BE25s that seem not to be able to work in this way. Interesting point that the LEDs for the ports on the switch indicate the connection is up and running at 2.5gbps (for the BE25) and 1.0gbps (for the M4/M5).
I had a comment from a friend on another forum suggesting that these devices are limited to being daisy-chained (sounds very strange) but I tried that and still no joy - whatever combination of ports/cables (btw all cat6e) they won't both (slave 1/2) show as ethernet backhauled.
If I was having interoperability issues between the BEx and Mx , I could understand maybe (different chipset, origins), but in this kindergarten exercise with the three devices in a brandnew network refusing to create the simplest of hub/spoke networks with just 0.5m of Cat7 cable between them and the switch baffles me completely.
So I looked to changing to another range (avoiding BE completely) yet the XE75 only offers ONE 2.5gbps port - which also baffles me to understand the use case of when that would suffice (in a FTTH using PPPOE to the ONT) unless you were happy to throttle your backhaul connections to 1gbps. There's no better models out there that offer more than 1 multi gigabit port - so am I stuck - do I have to abort this project with TP Link Deco and start again with another brand? This would be such a shame.
Can anyone suggest a model of Deco that supports PPPOE @ 2.5gbps for WAN and has at least 1 extra 2.5gbs port for LAN traffic – AND – is able to backhaul to a switch (which in theory the BE25 should be able to do).
Thanks in advice for any advice.
Cheers, Kevin
@KevinComo : Only other thought I had was to purchase a dedicated (non-wireless) router with multi gigibit WAN/LAN (such as the TP-Link ER707) but this costs 3x a single BE25.
I realise that in some respects my design could be seen to match the lower of these (since I'm using the master BE25 as my main router).
Instead, If I were to buy another single BE25 and use that as my PPPOE router (living in its own network) and then setup the new network with 3 of the BE25 running in AP mode, would that work? Ideally I wouldn't like to downgrade to AP mode (losing all the parental controls and other nice features) - so if my original design should work - I'd persevere down that route.
Thanks again!
Right, and I am using same type of switch, just 8-ports: TL-SG108S-M2. Works just fine with my Deco X50-POE. In fact, my Deco didn't like gigabit switch I had previously with my M5/M9 Plus Deco mesh, so I thought your situation is similar to mine I had originally.
So, for what I could help you with. If you haven't tried that, try the following: power off everything, including switch and all Decos you have. Unplug everything from the switch except cables that go to Decos. Cables connecting switch to Decos: unplug and plug them back tightly from both ends.
Then, power on Main Deco.
Then, power on switch and see it reports 2.5Gbps link to Main Deco.
Then, power on first Satellite BE25 and see if it uses Ethernet backhaul.
Then, power on second Satellite BE25 and see if it uses Ethernet backhaul.
This is very simple setup with just Deco BE25 and switch, nothing else. If that setup works- start powering on rest of your home network device by device and see when it all falls apart.
If you can't get even simple three Deco+switch setup work, I have nothing else I can help you with.
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But, I can also answer your "Can anyone suggest a model of Deco that supports PPPOE @ 2.5gbps for WAN and has at least 1 extra 2.5gbs port for LAN traffic – AND – is able to backhaul to a switch".
I am using Deco X50-POE hardware v2, which comes with two 2.5Gbps Ethernet ports and works just fine with the switch of your type, which is master switch at my house.
Note that you should buy X50-POE new from place where their inventory is sold rapidly, such as Amazon. Original X50-POE hardware v1 comes with one 2.5Gigabit and one 1Gigabit Ethernet port. You could only find that by inspecting the box (it lists HW version on label) or by opening it and checking how ports are labeled.
It appears TP-Link quietly replaced v1 with v2, but you might still get v1 from places with stale inventory or previously owned.
This is photo of X50-POE hardware v2 Ethernet ports.
Hi, thank you very much for your feedback.
For your shared topology here:
It should work well when the first BE25 is configured as the PPPOE router and the other two satellite BE25s are supposed to use Ethernet Backhaul, just like the previous Deco M5/M4. And the second Ethernet port on the main Deco BE25 can be used to connect a laptop for internet access.
There is nothing wrong with your configuration based on the description.
(It is not suggested to separate the 3*BE25s by using one as a PPPOE router, then creating a second network with the other two and setting them into Access Point mode)
I can't say for sure what caused the failure of the Ethernet Backhaul among Deco BE25s. It seems like something is wrong with its Ethernet port.
Have you ever tested using another Deco BE25 as the main Deco?
If you'd like to spend a little more time, you can refer to this link to submit APP feedback and attach the APP log, then I can escalate your case to the senior engineer for further assistance: How to submit Deco APP log
As the root cause of the Ethernet Backhaul failure on Deco BE25 is still suspended, I can't guarantee Deco X50 Pro will be free of the problem. Theoretically, both Deco BE25 and Deco X50 Pro should be able to establish Ethernet Backhaul.
Thank you very much.
Best regards.