R190W Repeater Mode Functions Poorly

So.... we set 2 R190W's up for repeater operation per the Cambium post here on the forum for the 200 series routers. A wired PC connected to the slave AP works beautifully, 50-70Mbps up and down in a 20mhz channel. Anything connected wirelessly to the slave operates horribly. We turned all encryption off, and that did not help any. Also, anything connected to the Master AP works great. Seems to us the repeater function on the R190's very unstable??????

The wireless problem we have is throughput comes and goes. You can watch the WLAN LED while performing a speed test, and you will see it blink...not blink...blink...not blink. The times it is not blinking directly correlates to huge dips in the speed test. We need this to work for a customer that has a 5000sq foot home. 

Any help with this issue would be greatly appreciated. 

Btw, using 4.3.4-R8

For a 5000sq foot home I'd highly recommend using something like the E410 or even E600 as these both support dual-band 802.11ac wave 2, 2.4/5ghz operation. I'd then use the 5ghz radios to create the mesh network and use 2.4 for client access. The R190 is a low end, low cost client solution that only supports single band 2.4ghz, 802.11n operation. Only being able to use 2.4ghz for both client access and meshing will severely limit throughput. Furthermore, the R190's 2.4 TX power are much lower then the E series products, further reducing range.

From the R190 spec sheet "R190W is ideal for cost-conscious service providers seeking a standard, entry level home router"

Thanks for your input, and do not take this the wrong way.

This customer is getting a 6Mbps package. It is an elderly couple that will do no more than emails and watch a few news feeds. The routers you mentioned are over kill for their needs. 

I can take 2 $40 netgears, dump DD-WRT on them and they will easily pass 6Mbps between them in an area this size all day long. We have a 7500 sq' bulding that has had this setup with 8Mbps for 8 years and still going. 

I will use the netgear/linksys if needed, but we would rather use the 190w if WDS will work properly, due to integration into cnMaestro. 

Hi

Please send below details to me(niraj.mahapatra@cambiumnetworks.com).  Looks like, there is configuration issue while creating repeater mode.

  1. Distance in-between two r190 devices.
  2. The configuration of both Master and slave r190 devices.

Regards

Niraj

Hi

Are you using  WDS Repeater mode(Wireless 2.4GHz-->WDS)   or AP-Station (Wireless 2.4GHz-->Repeater mode) Repeater Mode?

Regards

Niraj

Have tested throughput in the  2000 square feet room in both WDS Repeater mode(Wireless 2.4GHz-->WDS)  and  AP-Station (Wireless 2.4GHz-->Repeater mode) Repeater Mode.

1. Have observed low throughput issue in case of WDS Repeater mode(Wireless 2.4GHz-->WDS)  and planning to fix this behavior upcoming release.

2. Did not see  any throughput  issue in case    of AP-Station (Wireless 2.4GHz-->Repeater mode) Repeater Mode

Please find the throughput results in the  2000 square feet room.

 Network Topology:

Throughput number in between WAN-PC and LAN-PC  with WPA2-PSK security

UDP

TCP

Down Link in Mbps 

Up Link

In Mbps 

Down

Link In Mbps

UP

Link In Mbps

60

53

53

58

Throughput number in between WAN-PC and WAN-PC  with WPA2-PSK Security

UDP

TCP

Down Link in Mbps 

Up Link

In Mbps

Down Link in Mbps 

Up Link

In Mbps

67

57

53

61

Please let me know if you facing any issue with repeater mode (email Id: niraj.mahapatra@cambiumnetworks.com).

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Yes, it was WDS mode that we experienced the low throughput. 

We programmed and tested in AP-Station Repeater mode, and it worked perfectly! In a test setting we were seeing 40down/40up via a tablet connected to the repeater. 

Set up was installed in customers home this afternoon and works perfectly. They decided to go with the 10/1.5Mbps package. A tablet connected to the repeater, pulled 10Mbps anywhere upstairs where the repeater was located. 

Thanks, this will work well for them. 

Hi,

Is there a limit to the amount of Repeater Clients that could connect to a Repeater Base?

For example asuming that each repeater client only requires 2 Mbps Uplink/Downlink, could 20 X R190's connect to an e700 in Repeater mode?

There should not be any limitation while connecting R-Series routers to e700 AP in repeater mode 

@nirajlochan
Has the WDS repeater setting been optimized in a later firmware? Which of the two repeater modes is preferred when they both are operating well?

Hi ,

WDS low throughput issue is still not fixed  . 

you can opt for 2nd solution , " Did not see  any throughput  issue in case    of AP-Station (Wireless 2.4GHz-->Repeater mode) Repeater Mode".

Regards,

Nilesh

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