Advice on potential Netduma R2 setup

[JayT]

Hi

I am thinking about buying the Netduma R2 but one of my concerns is the complaints about WiFi speed & signal.

Is the following idea I have a good one (or even possible?):

I have BT Infinity and the plan is to use my Billion 8800NL in bridge mode > Netduma R2 > BT Homehub 5 setup as a wireless access point.  Then just have all devices in the house (apart from my own PC which will be connected via ethernet to the netduma r2) connect to WiFi through the Homehub 5.

I thought about getting one of the netgear routers with Netduma OS on but I see a large amount of complaints regarding the router randomly restarting and that's something that would drive me up the wall and as far as I can tell the only benefit to the netgear routers over the Netduma R2 is the wireless capabilities so if I can simply utilize my existing home hub 5 for the wireless side of things I'd be happy.

Is there any reason why my plan wouldn't work or any potential downsides to it?  I'm not super familiar with networking so thought I better check with you guys before committing to the purchase.

Thanks!

[Netduma Liam]

Welcome to the forum, thanks for your interest in the R2!

Looking online, it seems that it's possible to use the HH5 as an AP, though all reports I've seen thus far are from people who are currently using a BT router. I'm not sure if their configuration requires any unique/proprietary to BT.

Otherwise, you could use the Wi-Fi of the Billion if the R2's WiFi isn't strong enough for you, the only downside would be that you wouldn't have control over wireless traffic when it comes to things like QoS and Traffic Prioritisation.

[JayT]

On 1/26/2021 at 2:29 PM, Netduma Liam said:

Welcome to the forum, thanks for your interest in the R2!

Looking online, it seems that it's possible to use the HH5 as an AP, though all reports I've seen thus far are from people who are currently using a BT router. I'm not sure if their configuration requires any unique/proprietary to BT.

Otherwise, you could use the Wi-Fi of the Billion if the R2's WiFi isn't strong enough for you, the only downside would be that you wouldn't have control over wireless traffic when it comes to things like QoS and Traffic Prioritisation.

Thanks for the reply.

Is there anything I can buy to boost the wifi signal in other areas of the house that would still respect QoS and Traffic Prioritisation? (with either the R2 or XR500)

[Netduma Fraser]

I should think if you have either the Billion or the HH in AP mode behind the R2 then it will work fine. You could get another AP - if you want the devices to appear as though they are directly connected to the R2 then that may be the only option. Extenders would work but you may not see devices individually.

[JayT]

5 hours ago, Netduma Fraser said:

I should think if you have either the Billion or the HH in AP mode behind the R2 then it will work fine. You could get another AP - if you want the devices to appear as though they are directly connected to the R2 then that may be the only option. Extenders would work but you may not see devices individually.

Thanks.

Just so I'm totally clear, connecting a wireless access point via an ethernet cable to the R2 - any devices that connect wirelessly to that access point will respect any QoS/Traffic shaping instructions that are set up on the R2?

 

Edit:  Also, what if I were to purchase one of those mesh wifi kits (for example the TP-Link Deco E4), if I were to connect a mesh kit (in AP mode) to the R2, would devices connected wirelessly to the mesh system also respect QoS/Traffic shaping?

Sorry for the newbie questions, I'm not very familiar with this side of things I just want to make sure I won't be wasting my money on something that doesn't work the way I hope!  

[Netduma Liam]

9 hours ago, JayT said:

Thanks.

Just so I'm totally clear, connecting a wireless access point via an ethernet cable to the R2 - any devices that connect wirelessly to that access point will respect any QoS/Traffic shaping instructions that are set up on the R2?

 

Edit:  Also, what if I were to purchase one of those mesh wifi kits (for example the TP-Link Deco E4), if I were to connect a mesh kit (in AP mode) to the R2, would devices connected wirelessly to the mesh system also respect QoS/Traffic shaping?

Sorry for the newbie questions, I'm not very familiar with this side of things I just want to make sure I won't be wasting my money on something that doesn't work the way I hope!  

Yes, that's correct! In theory anything that goes through the R2, whether it be connected via an AP or otherwise, will be subject to it's QoS configuration.

[JayT]

9 hours ago, Netduma Liam said:

Yes, that's correct! In theory anything that goes through the R2, whether it be connected via an AP or otherwise, will be subject to it's QoS configuration.

Awesome!  I set up my second homehub 5 as an access point earlier today without any issues so I'm familiar with how to do that now.

The R2 definitely sounds like the best choice for me then as I like the idea of quicker software updates.  I'll pre-order in the next few days.

Thanks everyone in the thread for the help.

[JayT]

I was just about to pay for my R2 preorder and I starting having second thoughts about if I'm making a mistake not getting the XR500.

I've seen it said many times that the XR500 has better hardware.  I understand that the better hardware provides stronger WiFi but that side of it doesn't bother me because I'm going to be using access points to handle the WiFi.

However, my question is this:  Does the better hardware in the XR500 affect the performance of my wired connections?  If so, in what ways does the better hardware in the XR500 benefit my devices connected to it via Ethernet cables compared to the R2.

In case it's relevant, I am on BT Infinity with a download speed of 40 and an upload speed of 9.

Hopefully someone can give me some advice on this so I can make my decision on which to purchase tomorrow.  Thanks.

[Netduma Liam]

Both the XR and the R2 will be pretty much equal in terms of performance over wired, considering your ISP and speeds!

The main difference between two is that the networking settings of the XR are Netgear's own, whereas the the R2 Network settings are our own!

[JayT]

2 hours ago, Netduma Liam said:

Both the XR and the R2 will be pretty much equal in terms of performance over wired, considering your ISP and speeds!

The main difference between two is that the networking settings of the XR are Netgear's own, whereas the the R2 Network settings are our own!

Great, that's what I was hoping to hear.

I've just placed my order with you guys!  Now it's time to twiddle my thumbs whilst I wait for your new stock to come in.  😄  Are you still on track to have new orders sent out in late February?

[Netduma Liam]

1 hour ago, JayT said:

Great, that's what I was hoping to hear.

I've just placed my order with you guys!  Now it's time to twiddle my thumbs whilst I wait for your new stock to come in.  😄  Are you still on track to have new orders sent out in late February?

Awesome, thank you!

As 'on track' as we can be, that's the latest delivery estimate we have!