Hi All, I Currently have a 2 router setup and I was watching a guy on youtube who claims to be a...

[G+_Geoff Galley]

Hi All,

I Currently have a 2 router setup and I was watching a guy on youtube who claims to be an IT expert and he was stating that in a network setup where you have 1 router connecting to another router they should never have the same SSID's even if the other router is switched to AP mode.

 

My current setup is my Cable router/modem (In Bridge mode) with an internal IP address ##.##.100.1 is hooked to a RT2600AC with an Internal IP address of ##.##.1.1 the DHCP is turned on but only allocates 100 DHCP address it and a wireless setup of 2.4ghz on channel 1 with and SSID of XYZ and the 5ghz is on 149 and an SSID of XYZ_5.

 

The next router is connected via power line adapters, DHCP is turn off, it's turn to AP mode and its own internal IP address of ##.##.1.2 with a wireless setup of 2.4ghz on channel 11 with and SSID of XYZ and the 5ghz is on 149 and an SSID of XYZ_5. and to this day I have not had any wireless drop outs or connection problems but when trying to find out which router I am hooked to can be a bit tedious.

 

I do plan on turning the SSID's broadcast off once I know for sure that my setup is how it should be.

 

Is this person correct stating that every routers should have different SSID's or is this just their preference.

 

What are your thought?

[G+_Matthew Aaron Flinchbau]

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[G+_Ben Reese]

I think your setup sounds excellent. I wouldn't disable the SSID broadcast as turning it off provides no real security benefit - only a perceived one to you. Anyone with a desire to try hacking your network will also be able to discover the hidden SSIDs.

 

There is some major benefit to using controller-based APs or mesh wireless systems. With a decent setup where APs know what others are doing or a controller is managing them, connections can be handed off from one AP to another. If you're not having issues, I wouldn't worry about it. If you do end up noticing some issues, you can probably tweak the RSSI on your routers to force disconnects earlier - with the idea that the next AP will be able to pick it up.

[G+_Ben Reese]

I would be interested in that video to see what context he claims it's a bad idea.

[G+_Scott Snodgrass]

The only reason why it might be a bad idea is handoff from router to router. Not sure how smart the Asus routers are in AP mode. Keeping separate SSID would allow you to pick and choose which AP to connect to to. But you can certainly use the same for seemless handoff.

[G+_George Fromtulsa]

My long house has two routers. One Airport Extreme, one Netgear.

 

When I had them using same SSID my mobile gear didn't work as I wanted. The signal from both routers carried everywhere and devices seemed to persist on the one first connected even as moving closer to second router made its signal much stronger.

 

Setting the routers to broadcast different SSIDs enables manual selection of closer = stronger signal. Sometimes my phone will automatically change, as I thought it should to stronger signal even with common SSID.

 

Being connected to strongest signal matters when updating device or downloading podcasts/audiobooks.

[G+_Ben Reese]

George Fromtulsa I've seen some issues as you described. That's where tweaking the RSSI may get a better roaming experience.

[G+_George Fromtulsa]

Ben Reese So exposing my ignorance, what is RSSl ??

[G+_Ben Reese]

It's not really a common setting and may not even be exposed on all routers. It's the minimum signal strength where devices consider a strong enough connection. Wireless routers expect to be the only device you're connecting to, so they'll hang onto that connection as long as possible. Reducing the RSSI (or is it increasing? I'm usually confused dBm numbers) will cause it to disconnect sooner.

 

Again, not something that most people have to adjust, just an option. Here's a screenshot of the setting (not actually set) on my Ubiquiti AP. It looks like on OpenWRT it may have to be set manually on config files.

[G+_George Fromtulsa]

Ben Reese Thanks for that. Apple really dumbed down its router software before recently discontinuing it. There's a world of difference between the Airport Express that's one of mine and anything Ubiquity with OpenWRT! Bet the Airport has something that does that, but not user accessible.

 

Manually changing to the strongest signal on the connected device takes seconds, at most. and then is only required when I'm already connected and move.

[G+_Neil Sondhi]

There are many different ways to configure routers/AP when you want a larger area to be covered. I tried all those and then eventually settled down with the following configuration that has been working without any issues since the last 3 years.

 

1. Main router1- DHCP enabled. WAN connected to the modem. LAN1 wired to router2 LAN1 port.

 

2. Router2 - DHCP disabled, same SSID as Main router configured in AP mode.

 

3. Router3 - same configuration as of Router2. Except LAN2 port of router1 is wire connected to LAN1 port of router3. Same SSID as of the main router.

 

4. Router4 - same configuration as of Router2. Except LAN3 port of router1 is wire connected to LAN1 port of router4. Same SSID as of Main router.

 

All router models are Netgear R8000. All you have to consider is that the heavy lifting is done by one router and the rest are just AP. It works like a charm, no signal drops, no degradation of speed etc.

 

Some other points to consider:

 

1. I would use different SSIDs only to troubleshoot otherwise use the same SSID all over.

 

2. if you have the option to reduce the signal strength then it’s better to use it to reduce “overlapping” thus reducing confusing connected devices.

 

3. It’s also important to use same router models, different chips have different results and if you want to make them all work together then it’s better to use same chips.