Netduma R3 with existing AiMesh WiFi

[QuizTime]

Hi,

 

I have just bought a Netduma R3 and it arrives tomorrow. I have previously had a Netduma R2 and loved it but I have not used it for 2 years due to the bad wifi it has natively. I am looking to get back into the DumaOS swing of things (Mainly for the geofencing for gaming). I have done some research online and I believe this is possible but wanted to come to the experts before I stroll down this road. I would like to maintain my 4 node AiMesh wifi system as the wifi is amazing and I can go 300 feet past my house and still get useable wifi. Can I simply add in an r3 to be used for my gaming pc exclusively without impacting the rest of my wifi system? I have read this is possible using DMZ but I have never done this before. I have posted my current setup and what I hope to accomplish. Any insight/advice would be gladly welcomed. Thanks in advance.

 

My current setup:

 

My desired setup:

[DanologyUK]

No, the R3, nor any of their other routers offer mesh. You will need to run ethernet cables

[QuizTime]

37 minutes ago, DanologyUK said:

No, the R3, nor any of their other routers offer mesh. You will need to run ethernet cables

Can they not be exclusive systems? the Asus gives my house wifi and is my main router (every device besides my pc will connect to) and the R3 is a lan only to my pc. Through scouring the web I thought this was possible. I would set my R3 in the DMZ of my asus and they would be exclusive systems since my R3 would feed and only be needed for one device. 

 

Another option I saw through scouring the web was that the R3 would be my main router at the 4x Asus would be put into AP mode and basically be fancy wifi extenders. This on paper is fine but I also read that in doing each client will control which node it connects to and not the AiMesh wifi system. So if I walk from one side of my house to the other there could be some lag time (on my phone, for instance) in switching between nodes where as it is currently very fluid using the AiMesh.

[DanologyUK]

2 hours ago, QuizTime said:

Can they not be exclusive systems? the Asus gives my house wifi and is my main router (every device besides my pc will connect to) and the R3 is a lan only to my pc. Through scouring the web I thought this was possible. I would set my R3 in the DMZ of my asus and they would be exclusive systems since my R3 would feed and only be needed for one device. 

 

Another option I saw through scouring the web was that the R3 would be my main router at the 4x Asus would be put into AP mode and basically be fancy wifi extenders. This on paper is fine but I also read that in doing each client will control which node it connects to and not the AiMesh wifi system. So if I walk from one side of my house to the other there could be some lag time (on my phone, for instance) in switching between nodes where as it is currently very fluid using the AiMesh.

Sorry i hadnt scrolled down far enough to see the 2nd picture. Yes that will work but none of your AP traffic will be going through your R3 meaning you wont be making any use out of many of the functions such as Smartboost so if someone is streaming stuff on your WiFi it could affect your WAN performance going into the R3 for your PC. 

You ideally need to put the R3 between your modem and your AXE7800 Main and then your PC off of the AXE7800 Main

[QuizTime]

46 minutes ago, DanologyUK said:

Sorry i hadnt scrolled down far enough to see the 2nd picture. Yes that will work but none of your AP traffic will be going through your R3 meaning you wont be making any use out of many of the functions such as Smartboost so if someone is streaming stuff on your WiFi it could affect your WAN performance going into the R3 for your PC. 

You ideally need to put the R3 between your modem and your AXE7800 Main and then your PC off of the AXE7800 Main

So if I understand you correctly...you are suggesting this:

 

Out of curiosity why would I not want to do this?:

 

.

[DARKNESS]

@QuizTimeIdeally, that would be the best route if you want the SQM and all the features the R3 offers. However, if you only need the Geo-Filter, you can stick with the previous method. Keep in mind that a mesh system is not a router, so you'll need to use the R3 as the main source unless your mesh node has a built-in router feature.

[QuizTime]

Can i just setup IP passthrough and have my R3 separate of my asus router? I'm a novice to this stuff so treat me like a noob.

[DanologyUK]

2 hours ago, QuizTime said:

Can i just setup IP passthrough and have my R3 separate of my asus router? I'm a novice to this stuff so treat me like a noob.

I believe you can use either of those 2 picture options. As long as everything is going through the R3, everything will then gain the benefit of the R3

[Netduma Fraser]

You've had a lot of good advice so far but to summarize:

If you want to use all of the R3 functions, i.e. QoS, SmartBOOST etc then you need to do either of these options:

18 hours ago, QuizTime said:

If you only care about using the Geo-Filter then what you suggested originally will work:

22 hours ago, QuizTime said:

[QuizTime]

1 hour ago, Netduma Fraser said:

You've had a lot of good advice so far but to summarize:

If you want to use all of the R3 functions, i.e. QoS, SmartBOOST etc then you need to do either of these options:

If you only care about using the Geo-Filter then what you suggested originally will work:

If I go the geofence only route, will I need to put the R3 in the asus DMZ?

[Netduma Fraser]

12 minutes ago, QuizTime said:

If I go the geofence only route, will I need to put the R3 in the asus DMZ?

If you want to have an Open NAT then yes you'll need to

[QuizTime]

17 minutes ago, Netduma Fraser said:

If you want to have an Open NAT then yes you'll need to

Is that the only option for the geofencing only route to get an Open NAT?

[Netduma Fraser]

4 minutes ago, QuizTime said:

Is that the only option for the geofencing only route to get an Open NAT?

To get an Open NAT you need an open route to the internet, with the setup you're going to use you would need to put it in the DMZ to do that. It's perfectly fine to do so, the R3 has its own firewall so it is protected

[QuizTime]

2 minutes ago, Netduma Fraser said:

To get an Open NAT you need an open route to the internet, with the setup you're going to use you would need to put it in the DMZ to do that. It's perfectly fine to do so, the R3 has its own firewall so it is protected

I appreciate the info and it helped a lot! Happy to be part of the Duma gang again.