Wireless Joint

So, I got a Linksys WRT3200ACM. I installed ROOter. Now what? I am relatively tech savvy, but there's so many options, i'm simply overwhelmed. If someone could walk me through the following things, I would happily compensate with money, food, or drinks. Especially if via discord or similar.

I just want to set it up properly to be a normal router to start. So I can make sure everything works by the time the modem gets here, and that will be the last variable to deal with. I've perused the OpenWRT tutorials, but there's too much to process.

I'm currently using it with my home ISP, plugged into the WAN, with DHCP off, since there's a router upstream from this one. Sharing via ethernet. I am pretty sure I'm running the latest release from Dairyman himself. GoldenOrb_2021-11-22 ( OpenWrt 21.02.0-rc3 )

For context, i'll be using quectel modems in USB3.0 enclosures, but not setting any of that up for at least a week.

Current Goals:

• Broadcast 5Ghz & 2.5Ghz wifi

• connect to existing wifi, and share it over ethernet & wifi (WiFi as Wan)

Future Goals: (aka next week)

• RV Full Time Off Grid living (in a month)

• connect to internet via 2 modems, each on a separate carrier

• load balance from the 2 modems, would like to prepare for this now though

• instant failover from 1 WAN to another WAN, likely using mwan3?

What else am I forgetting?

Thanks!

Not sure you will find any ONE specific person here to just do it all for you or mentor you step by step per say. What you will find here is people who are very willing to help with SPECIFIC questions. There are MANY different moving parts in what you describe and a few missing parts as well.

Honestly your best bet is to break it down into individual questions or steps. Also you need to finalize things a little more then you have described.

You dont mention what your data and possibly phone needs are for this system. Make a list of what you need this system to enable you to do... For example in my case when I was setting up my "list of requirements" it was to be able to stream 2 sd movies on netflix at the same time so my gf and i could both watch movies. I also had a requirement that I would need to me able to make a good quality zoom call (even if I had to stop all other internet access during the call). Lastly in my case I also needed the ability to make a decent cell phone call. I also at this time listed out a montly budget to try and stick to for monthly service fees and a budget for one time purchase equipment as well.

You mention an RV setup and dual carrier setuo but do NOT mention anything about external antennas or WHICH carriers.

You mention a modem but do not give a model manf or even if your interested in 4g or 5g.

You mention the netgear router but also mention an upstream router. Will this upstream router be a part of the rv setup? Are you hell bent on using the netgear and external usb enclosures or would your budget allow for a different router that could house the modems internally? People tend to be more familiar with the ZTE type routers so you might have a better exierence using one that others are more familiar with.

Budget..,. what can you spend on this...as i said above both one time purchase budget and recurring monthly fees budget.

It defintely can be a bit overwhelming but if you plan out in your head all the things I have mentined we can that get into the details of how to meet those criteria and the people in here are absoluetly AWESOME at that, but you have some work to do first

Adm1jtg wrote: ↑Sat Dec 04, 2021 1:16 pm It defintely can be a bit overwhelming but if you plan out in your head all the things I have mentined we can that get into the details of how to meet those criteria and the people in here are absoluetly AWESOME at that, but you have some work to do first

The reason I didnt list all that is because it's kind of irrelevant to most of the questions I was asking. And someone would still be able to know whether or not they could help without those thigns. But I have answers to most those things if they come up. I've also already done all the research into which items I'm using physically to make it happen, and which plans. I just need to confirm I'm actually setting it up correctly.

Thanks though!

Well i have not seen any in here that have successfully setup a load balanced failover setup between 2 carriers. I am sure its possible but it is at least way above my pay grade.

Most in here need help with carrier related issues, aiming antennas, configuring the basic router for a single carrier and equipment choices.

Since no one else has answered your post I would suggest maybe trying some of the brainiacs in the whirlpool forums, where dairyman and the like hang out, but again when I was in there it was all about asking SPECIFIC questions to fix SPECIFIC issues.

Your looking for some rather high level networking stuff on a system that was never intended to do what your asking. These systems typically work well for a single carrier, using external antennas but even in that scenerio many have had carrier issues leading to a rather unstable system thus why i asked additonal questions in the above email. Visable and ATT are notorious for at times having issues with staying connected but not always. Lots of testing and tweaking and monitoring is needed for months and even after all that you may not end up 100% stable. Add to that in an RV your setup will always be changing as far as signal strength and carrier availability, Environment, weather, season and even temperature are all factors as well.

I wish you luck as in my personal opinion your reaching for the stars with this setup and have kind of gone about this a little backwards. Buying al the equipment on your own and then asking for help to make it all work is making your task even harder. Asking someone for help in choosing the CORRECT equipment might have made it easier.

Adm1jtg wrote: ↑Fri Dec 10, 2021 8:54 pm Since no one else has answered your post I would suggest maybe trying some of the brainiacs in the whirlpool forums, where dairyman and the like hang out, but again when I was in there it was all about asking SPECIFIC questions to fix SPECIFIC issues.

lol I have definitely been over there too. Dairyman is the best and super helpful. I should send them money. I will.

Adm1jtg wrote: ↑Fri Dec 10, 2021 8:54 pm Your looking for some rather high level networking stuff on a system that was never intended to do what your asking. These systems typically work well for a single carrier, using external antennas but even in that scenerio many have had carrier issues leading to a rather unstable system thus why i asked additonal questions in the above email. Visable and ATT are notorious for at times having issues with staying connected but not always. Lots of testing and tweaking and monitoring is needed for months and even after all that you may not end up 100% stable. Add to that in an RV your setup will always be changing as far as signal strength and carrier availability, Environment, weather, season and even temperature are all factors as well.

thank you for all that info. The last few bits are definitely helpful perspective-givers. That said, the ROOter website has pages describing load balancing and failover, so that makes me think it is intended for it. I also assume we see the failures and struggles more than we see the successes. I dont think The Wireless Haven would have a business if it was that impossible to set up. But you definitely sound like you have more experience with it than me. I am just starting. Thank you for trying to guide me. I'll let you know how it goes.

Adm1jtg wrote: ↑Fri Dec 10, 2021 8:54 pm Buying al the equipment on your own and then asking for help to make it all work is making your task even harder.

I also asked for LOTS of help and did lots of research before buying anything. I started this process probably 2-3 months ago. And only just bought stuff this past week or so.

Luckily, I got a lot of what I needed figured out and tested yesterday. It turns out my router is just a pain in the ass, because it has a 3rd radio in it that messes everything up. Also apparently not as "open source" as Linksys likes to suggest (the wifi drivers are all still closed source). But I've got Wifi bridging working, got one modem hooked up. Gotta learn how to use MWAN3 to set up one of the LAN as a WAN. It'll take time, but it looks like it'll happen. might just avoid updating OpenWRT for a while so it doesnt break .