ASUS GT-AX11000 Access Point?
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I posted this in my other hardware post, apologies for double post but now I see it's probably better discussed here. I saw a few other posts about somewhat related issues I'm going to read through also. But here's my situation, new to PfSense:
Not sure if this is the best place to post this or if I should find a better sub-section to post this. Or entirely abandon this and try a Home Networking or ASUS forum? Although I will say I've never had much success on ASUS forums. Less tech savvy people it seems, idk.
So, I got PfSense up and running, hooray! I feel very thrilled. I got it up, changed default credentials, changed default IP from the normal 192.168.1.1, started some basic normal configuration etc... think I got as far as setting DNS to Cloudfare and Google, respectively, so 1.1.1.1. and 8.8.8.8. I was following NetworkChuck's YouTube video to the Tee for about the first 15min... your home router SUCKS!! (use pfSense instead)
Now, enter my world of new problems. Suffice to say, I can't get my ASUS GT-AX11000 to work as an Access Point. Or at least, once I set it to AP mode, I can't get back to its WebGUI to modify or interact in any way. So the hardware I'm working with currently is:
Arris S34 modem (Comcast/Xfinity ISP)
Protectli VP4630 w/ PfSense
TP-Link TL-SG105-M2 5-port 2.5G unmanaged switch
ASUS GT-AX11000 router/WiFi access point
all good, new at least CAT6+ cables (tested in variety of configurations and ports, verified it's NOT the cables problem)
So I had the basic setup initially, ISP modem to Protectli WAN in, then Protectli LAN out to my PC for initial PfSense setup and configuration. I thought, great, now I can get this setup to the ASUS GT-AX11000 as AP and go from there. It's not a forever setup as I plan to eventually upgrade to either Omada or Unifi AP. I assume I'll probably need or want a better, managed PoE switch when I do that later down the road. But for now....No matter what I do, I can't get the AP set up. I've tried a variety of connections i.e. from Protectli LAN out to TP-Link switch, then out from switch into ASUS WAN. FWIW, on the GT-AX11000, you can the WAN port to either the 2.5g, the 1g, or even USB. I read some forums somewhere maybe just skip the WAN and plug the Protectli or switch into any of the LAN ports on the ASUS. I tried that too.
Then I tried removing the switch entirely, as I noticed there were some ports not lighting up. So I think that thing may be toast and only have 2 or 3 functional ports? So I just tried straight to the ASUS from Protectli. Whether with the switch or ASUS, each time I had my PC hardwire connected to either and I was always able to access my PfSense WebGUI from my assigned IP (changed from default). I made sure to use something completely different from the standard 192.168.1.1 to something like 10.27.x.x. and like I said, I was always able to get back to the PfSense.
I tried hard resetting the ASUS router, you name it. I don't know if there's something like messed up in DHCP or DNS? I really didn't go beyond basic initial wizard setup configuration with the PfSense. I just mean, if there is some conflict between the PfSense and ASUS dishing out IP? Or is because the ASUS WebGUI IP changed and I just can't find it anymore to get to it in AP mode and change settings? Maybe a stupid question, why would the WebGUI or even the "asusrouter.com" not bring me back to the web interface to change AP mode settings? Because the Protectli assigned a different IP to the ASUS in AP mode?
Thoughts/opinions? I'm so frustrated, I'm half tempted to try something different like OPNsense, but I don't think this is PfSense's fault at all.... or do I give up the dream of being a network nerd and put my money towards the Unifi Dream Machine world? I work in IT and am trying to learn more about network and security (recently passed the Sec+ cert), so I think PfSense would be better for learning and tinkering... but the simplicity and ease of setup and use of Unifi reminds me why some people prefer that Apple-style eco-system experience sometimes :/
Other reasons for wanting to stick with PfSense: more add-ons or services it seems like. I want to play around with a way to set up something to see URLs visited by each device on my network, broken down. Heck, I can already kinda do that with my ASUS, but it just shows high level web traffic history by device and not granular full URL style i.e. what you might want for parental control setup. Something like idk, Pihole? Or a reverse proxy or something? I digress.Or maybe, I need to get a Gigabit smart managed switch (with Poe) i.e. TP-Link and then a TP-Link Omada wifi AP... and just give up the breaking 1gbps barrier despite having a 1200mbps ISP plan (hence why I was shooting for at least 2.5gbe hardware). I could save money and get a lower, cheaper model Protectli for just 1gb ports.... but I wanted something beefier and more future proof.
Help a brother out. I want to ask the network engineer dudes where I work who I've briefed talked about PfSense with and they encouraged me to give it a go, but it's kinda not work related and I don't know if it's appropriate to take these guys time out of work to help me set up my home network, lol ya know? That's what the interwebs is for.
Any input appreciated, or direct me where I need to go.
PS: FWIW not sure if relevant but my ASUS is running the Merlin-WRT setup.
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@elspoon said in ASUS GT-AX11000 Access Point?:
FWIW not sure if relevant but my ASUS is running the Merlin-WRT setup.
That seems very relevant! Far more likely to have a true access point mode with a 3rd party firmware. There should be some docs for it on their site I would think.
It looks like it does put the single interface as a dhcp client in AP mode from some breif reading so you should be able to just check the pfSense DHCP lease tables to find it's IP address.
Once you do find it I would add it as a static mapping in pfSense so it always gets the same IP address.Steve
