WiFi Network / Ethernet Backhaul
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HI
I have a Huawei modem in the garage and ethernet points at all floors.
At the ground floor I will need more than 1 Deco to make a mesh network to have stable connection.
Will this topology work?
- If I've understood correctly, the Switch is required to prevent loops etc. The Deco's cannot be connected to the modem directly.
- Will the WiFi Deco's create a network with the Deco that are connected by ethernet?
- What switch would you recommend?
Thanks very much
Pieter
I would recommend switching your Deco mesh to Access Point mode. You can do that in Deco app, under More/Advanced. I'll add screenshot of the Deco app screen with that setting to the end of this post.
Here is the difference in features between two Deco modes, Router (default) and Access Point: What’s the difference between Access Point mode and Router mode on the Deco?
In Access Point mode, you will not need a switch: you can connect multiple Deco directly to Huawei Ethernet ports.
Answering your questions from the original post.
This topology will work in both Access Point mode and Deco Router mode. In Access Point mode, you also have an option to connect Deco units directly to Huawei router. See this document for more detailed conversation on Ethernet backhaul topic: https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/faq/1794/
WiFi Decos will create same network with Ethernet connected Decos, you have nothing to worry there. You will have one WiFi mesh. More to that, you can freely connect/disconnect Deco to/from Ethernet, move them around, and your WiFi mesh will stay as is, appearing as single SSID to any device that wants to connect to it.
There are also no configuration settings to enable/disable Ethernet backhaul: if you connect Deco unit to Ethernet cable and it can establish Ethernet backhaul, Deco unit will use Ethernet. If it cant, it'll switch to WiFi backhaul.
You can see how each Deco unit is connected in its page in Deco app.
If you still want to go with switch, best bet is basic gigabit unmanaged switch from TP-Link. Less features better. :) On my home network, one of my switches is TP-Link 5-port TL-SG1005D.
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I would recommend switching your Deco mesh to Access Point mode. You can do that in Deco app, under More/Advanced. I'll add screenshot of the Deco app screen with that setting to the end of this post.
Here is the difference in features between two Deco modes, Router (default) and Access Point: What’s the difference between Access Point mode and Router mode on the Deco?
In Access Point mode, you will not need a switch: you can connect multiple Deco directly to Huawei Ethernet ports.
Answering your questions from the original post.
This topology will work in both Access Point mode and Deco Router mode. In Access Point mode, you also have an option to connect Deco units directly to Huawei router. See this document for more detailed conversation on Ethernet backhaul topic: https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/faq/1794/
WiFi Decos will create same network with Ethernet connected Decos, you have nothing to worry there. You will have one WiFi mesh. More to that, you can freely connect/disconnect Deco to/from Ethernet, move them around, and your WiFi mesh will stay as is, appearing as single SSID to any device that wants to connect to it.
There are also no configuration settings to enable/disable Ethernet backhaul: if you connect Deco unit to Ethernet cable and it can establish Ethernet backhaul, Deco unit will use Ethernet. If it cant, it'll switch to WiFi backhaul.
You can see how each Deco unit is connected in its page in Deco app.
If you still want to go with switch, best bet is basic gigabit unmanaged switch from TP-Link. Less features better. :) On my home network, one of my switches is TP-Link 5-port TL-SG1005D.
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