Etherhet Backhaul oddities
Hello again.
Just wanted to report some odd backhaul issues I've noticed in 2 instances. I'll do them as separate posts to avoid confusion.
I'm calling all the Deco access points "Pod" just to make it simple. First instance is a 3 building layout where 2 buildings have CAT-6 cables interconnecting them, but the third building cannot currently be wired. The distances in the image are not to scale. The conceptual idea was that "Pod 1" and Pod 3" would be the only connection over wi-fi backhaul as they are about 90 feet apart, but that didn't turn out to be the case. What happens is that Pod 4 ignores the wired connection to Pod 3 and also connects wirelessly to either Pod 1 or Pod 2 even though it is about 350 feet away. That connection is very weak and unstable, yet it will not use the wired connection.
Questions:
1> Why won't Pod 4 use the Ethernet backhaul provided through Pod 3 which has a much stronger signal? It would rather not connect at all than to use the wired connection.
2> Are there any plans for the app to force an access point to use a certain backhaul (including Ethernet,) similar to how you can tell devices to favor certain access points? That way I could tell Pod 4 to use the Ethernet connection.
The second even more odd scenario is when I attempt to use an X75 Pro as an Ethernet Backhaul relay. Theoretically I should have no wi-fi backhaul. Yet in the following illustration, Pod 4 or Pod 5 will connect as wireless to one of the "House" pods if I attempt to plug the backhaul from the house switch into Pod 4, and then the Pod 5 into Pod 4. It isn't consistent which one gets the wi-fi backhaul, but at least 1 of them will ignore the Ethernet backhaul. They will not both connect to Ethernet at the same time. BUT, if I put a small gigabit network switch where the underground cable comes into the Garage/Workshop and then put Pod 4 and Pod 5 into that small switch using the exact same CAT-6 cables, everything works as intended and I have nothing using wi-fi backhaul. I would rather not waste the use of a network switch, given this scenario is one of the documented ways of connecting the Deco units.
Questions:
1> Why won't Pod 5 connect via Ethernet backhaul through Pod 4?
2> Why does a small network switch make everything use the wired backhaul?
