[Laithan]

As I understand it is not recommend to use a 5Ghz WDS backhaul and also a 5Ghz virtual AP on the same radios. It is not really supported (some get it to work) but will half your bandwidth if it does work. I could set up the VAP on 2.5Ghz but it would limit speeds.

What if I didn't use any VAPs and instead add a 3rd router for regular 5Ghz AP? Wouldn't this technically allow me to get the best of both worlds? Full 5Ghz backhaul over WDS unshared and the 3rd router also at 5Ghz (different SSID and channel) for the clients to get max bandwidth? Sorry for the crude paint drawing lol.

[lexridge]

This is essentially what I have been doing for quite a while, but without the other AP as I was using WDS to extend Ethernet. I switched this over to 802.11s late last year so I could also extend VLANs, which is not possible with WDS.

But sure, just plugging in another radio into one of the Station WDS ports would achieve exactly what you want without sharing any backhaul bandwidth.