02-27-2024 02:19 PM
Hello,
I've read conflicting reports on this set up and am trying to understand if it will work.
My house has had Google Wifi (not nest wifi) for many years. Built a barn this year that is 100 ft from the house. Want to extend the same network to the barn. I have put Google Wifi in the barn via a hardwired Ethernet cable thru a conduit.
Set up look like this:
Cable Modem in House -> Google Wifi Router (w/ 2 google points in house ) -> Dumb switch -> Ethernet Wire -> Barn Google point (w/ 2 google points in barn which do not work)
To do the set up for the barn google points, i initially did the set up in the house so they all connected to the google wifi network. All 3 had a great connections in the house. I then brought them to the barn and installed them.
So what happened? The barn google point that is hardwired to the ethernet cable works great. The 2 google points in the barn worked great initially (first day or two) but then stopped working. I assumed i had done something wrong and went thru the entire install process again. Factory reset the google points, re-initialized them in the house. They connected fine to the house network. Brought them back to barn. And again, the same experience. Performed OK at start but quickly stopped working.
My question: Will this set up work? I have read different things on the google community forum and reddit. Am i doing something wrong?
Thanks in advance! Patrick
Answered! Go to the Recommended Answer.
02-28-2024 05:45 AM - edited 02-28-2024 05:47 AM
Hello @Patrick336
The wireless mesh interconnect between Google/Nest WiFi units is an implementation of the IEEE 802.11s standard. It runs inside the WiFi stack. It does not run over Ethernet. So, when you connect a secondary back to the primary/router unit via Ethernet, that unit has to stop paying attention to the wireless mesh to avoid a traffic loop, using the 802.1d spanning tree protocol.
In short, wired secondaries cannot act as "base stations" for more distant wireless-only secondaries.
In your barn, you'll need to connect another Ethernet switch to the end of the cable that runs out there (a good idea anyway, just for electrical isolation), and then connect all of the barn secondary access points to that Ethernet switch so that none of them are trying to use the wireless mesh interconnect.
As for why this worked initially, my short answer is: it's complicated. It was likely due to the distance being far enough to avoid the spanning tree protocol kicking in, leaving two separated mesh networks running, with user traffic through the Ethernet. That only works until an authentication key rotation is required, which requires communication over the mesh to the primary/router unit. Since that can't happen over Ethernet, your remote / island mesh stopped working.
02-28-2024 05:45 AM - edited 02-28-2024 05:47 AM
Hello @Patrick336
The wireless mesh interconnect between Google/Nest WiFi units is an implementation of the IEEE 802.11s standard. It runs inside the WiFi stack. It does not run over Ethernet. So, when you connect a secondary back to the primary/router unit via Ethernet, that unit has to stop paying attention to the wireless mesh to avoid a traffic loop, using the 802.1d spanning tree protocol.
In short, wired secondaries cannot act as "base stations" for more distant wireless-only secondaries.
In your barn, you'll need to connect another Ethernet switch to the end of the cable that runs out there (a good idea anyway, just for electrical isolation), and then connect all of the barn secondary access points to that Ethernet switch so that none of them are trying to use the wireless mesh interconnect.
As for why this worked initially, my short answer is: it's complicated. It was likely due to the distance being far enough to avoid the spanning tree protocol kicking in, leaving two separated mesh networks running, with user traffic through the Ethernet. That only works until an authentication key rotation is required, which requires communication over the mesh to the primary/router unit. Since that can't happen over Ethernet, your remote / island mesh stopped working.
02-28-2024 12:01 PM
Thank you so much for the quick reply. Bummer but I get it. I read one of the articles on the 802.11s topic I think it might have been you who posted it.
And there is no way to run a secondary wifi network off of that switch - correct? because i'd need another router to hand out addresses and that will not work downstream of the google wifi router?
thanks again! Patrick
02-28-2024 12:05 PM
You just need to run Ethernet cables inside the barn to connect all three barn secondaries to that barn-side Ethernet switch. No need for another router.
No, you can't create another primary Google WiFi network inside another "outer" Google WiFi network.