Slow transfer rate to the USB HDD

[keytachi]

So I am currently having issue where my transfer rate from either lan or wireless transferring data to the USB HDD that I have connected to the router. My old router was a TP-Link WDR3500 and the transfer rate on that was at least 10 MB/s but now when switching to the Asus RT-N66u, my transfer speed is now reduced to 3-6 MB/S. I don't have any of the other features like (QoN, VPN, or etc..) on. I am currently using the .374 build from merlin (the stability is really nice on it).

I have read forums that people can get to 12 MB/S. I have tried other HDD with my Segate USB 3.0 and still the same result. Is there any tweaks I can do to fix this problem or is there other firmwares that would improve on it? I haven't had time to try out other firmware as my family is on it 24/7 and they get angry when the router goes down for a minute or two.

Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas

 

[RMerlin]

Do you run Download Master or store video/music on it? If so, that could be slowing it down. Try disabling Download Master and the Media Server (under USB -> Servers) and see if it helps with performance.

For best performance it's also recommended to use a native Linux filesystem, such as ext3.

 

[keytachi]

I am currently not running a media server on the usb atm or have the Download manager installed. The hard drive is currently format as a fat32 and how would I format it to a ext3 using windows 8.1?

 

[RMerlin]

I am currently not running a media server on the usb atm or have the Download manager installed. The hard drive is currently format as a fat32 and how would I format it to a ext3 using windows 8.1?

You can't - ext3 requires using a Linux LiveCD to format it. Something like a PartedMagic boot CD for example.

But first, I would try reformatting it as NTFS instead of FAT32. FAT32 isn't optimal for large capacities such as a hard disk.

 

[Stefan1200]

I had the same problem. My old Maxtor 1 TByte USB 2.0 HDD using FAT32 was slow, just 5 MByte/sec. Now using my new WD 2 TByte USB 3.0 HDD using NTFS and my speed jumps up to 9-10 MByte/sec.

Always had Download Master and DLNA Server disabled.

 

[sk1887]

I want to share my problems into this thread.
I am able to read at 9 MB/s my usb drive through samba (measured with windows 8, when copying files)
However when I try to write speed stays at 30 kb/s
what is the problem?
I thought it was related to the wireless card, but it is not the case.
It does write really bad.
I tried using
mount -o remount,async /dev/sda1/
which was posted on the web, but nothing changed.
My Fw is the latest merlin beta, which i really find stable.
P.s I use entware. Only running programs is transmission and nginx. Doubt the impact is noticeable

 

[sk1887]

I found a workaround.
I used Ftp to write files it worked fairly fast.

 

[oric1]

I found a workaround.
I used Ftp to write files it worked fairly fast.

May I know how fast is that? I'm getting 7.5MB/s via FTP.

 

[sk1887]

I've tested the speed with cuteftp
Mine is around 20-30 Mbps, about 4 MB/s (i am downloading with transmission)
It is 7.5 MB/s when I copy files from the usb disk.