Asus routers hardware acceleration

[unclebuk]

Hello,

Can someone confirm which Asus routers support hardware acceleration for VPN (and merlin-firmware) please.

My understanding is there are two models:

1. Asus RT-AC86U (AC2900 version)
2. Asus RT-AX88U

Are there other models?

Thanks in advance.
b

 

[JDB]

Just those 2 for VPN HW acceleration plus Merlin


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[unclebuk]

Just those 2 for VPN HW acceleration plus Merlin


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ok, thanks a lot.

 

[cplay]

Just those 2 for VPN HW acceleration plus Merlin


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What other ones have aes ni that arent supported by merlin?

 

[RMerlin]

What other ones have aes ni that arent supported by merlin?

On the Broadcom side, there's the GT-AX11000, GT-AX5300 and GT-AC2900.

No idea if there is any AES acceleration on the Qualcomm models.

 

[themiron]

to be precise, aes/sha hw kernel (ipsec) & userspace (openvpn, https, ssh, ...) acceleration supported by every models with ARMv8 CPU, incl.:
RT-AC86U, RT-AC2900, GT-AC2900, GT-AC5300, RT-AX88U, RT-AX5300, RT-AX11000

 

[AzamAzid]

Hi all,

I just bought RT-AC68U. Currently my ISP speed is 500 Mbps and using the RT-AC68U VPN with Torguard streaming IP VPN , I only get around 15 Mbps.

Luckily I'm still entitled for 15 days return policy. Should I return it and get RT-AC86U instead, considering the hardware acceleration for VPN? Will I get significant increase in VPN speed if I use RT-AC86U?

 

[ColinTaylor]

Will I get significant increase in VPN speed if I use RT-AC86U?

Reports from other users say you should expect up to 200 Mbps with the RT-AC86U. With my RT-AC68U and NordVPN I get between 50 and 60 Mbps so I don't know why you're only getting 15 Mbps with Torguard.

 

[mromero]

Hello,

Can someone confirm which Asus routers support hardware acceleration for VPN (and merlin-firmware) please.

My understanding is there are two models:

1. Asus RT-AC86U (AC2900 version)
2. Asus RT-AX88U

Are there other models?

Thanks in advance.
b

I suggest AX86U. The AC86U has overheating problems on the latest Asus AND Merlin firmware. But it should be cheaper and do the same job provided you attach a cooling fan. Based on many posts here, I would attach a cooling fan to any Asus router. The AX88U has been panned on other review sites and takes up too much desk space. I would also disable Trend Micro. Use another device to filter out ads and malware.

 

[CaptainSTX]

While in the past the AC86 could acheive VPN client download speeds of 200+ Mbps when using PIA but currently the speeds are not that high. One factor that seems to influence your VPN speed is the download speed from your ISP. Higher download speeds tend to put a greater load on the router leaving less resources to handle the VPN. Not so much of an impact on my AC86 but on my AC1900P moving from an ISP speed of 200 Mbps to 400 Mbps caused a much more dramatic VPN client speed reduction.

I have switched to StrongVPN and a more realistic estimate is 150 - 170 Mbps. Download speeds when using a VPN client are highly variable hour to hour day to day.

If you want maximum VPN client throughput you will need to add a VPN appliance to your network. Using a PC with an I7 processor 16 gigs of RAM and WireGuard I can get VPN downloads at 425 - 460 Mbps.

 

[Tech9]

I could reach 220Mbps with AC86U, but the speed varies greatly with different servers. Routers using the same CPU cores must have similar OpenVPN performance. From Asuswrt-Merlin supported models - AC86U, AX68U, AX86U, AX88U, AX11000 etc.

 

[unclebuk]

I suggest AX86U. The AC86U has overheating problems on the latest Asus AND Merlin firmware. But it should be cheaper and do the same job provided you attach a cooling fan. Based on many posts here, I would attach a cooling fan to any Asus router. The AX88U has been panned on other review sites and takes up too much desk space. I would also disable Trend Micro. Use another device to filter out ads and malware.

How do you know it is "overheating" ...when temps exceed manuf. recommended temp operating range?
Can you link to operating temps for this router please?

 

[Tech9]

Can you link to operating temps for this router please?

Operating temperature range is 0-40C, but AC86U will start shutting down cores way below 40C due to weak cooling design. This router runs hotter than others and changes in 386 code made the issue more prominent. The CPU thermal protection activates at 100C and some folks were seeing 90-95C at room temperature already. There is a quality control factor in play because some routers overheat and fail, others keep going for years.

Router temperatures

yes, and even the slightest bit helps. I had wired a 120mm 12v fan to a usb plug and taped it on my 86U and got 66C temperatures. This last time, I just set it standing on its edge about 4 to 5 inches away, not "pointed" at the chip, just towards the router, and that got me the same 66C temps...

www.snbforums.com

 

[unclebuk]

Operating temperature is 0-40C, but AC86U will start shutting down cores way below 40C due to weak cooling design. This router runs hotter than others and changes in 386 code made the issue more prominent. The CPU thermal protection activates at 100C and some folks were seeing 90-95C at room temperature already. There is a quality control factor in play because some routers overheat and fail, others keep going for years.

Router temperatures

yes, and even the slightest bit helps. I had wired a 120mm 12v fan to a usb plug and taped it on my 86U and got 66C temperatures. This last time, I just set it standing on its edge about 4 to 5 inches away, not "pointed" at the chip, just towards the router, and that got me the same 66C temps...

www.snbforums.com

Interesting. My router operates consistently at 80C in a room with constant high ambient temps 30-35C and never had an issue with the AC86U (old merlin f/w:384.18) in the 3 + years now running at these temps. I trained a floor fan at the backside air vents today which dropped temps below 50 C. Perhaps I may experience at heat stress induced failure at any time though but so far so good. Thank you.

 

[Tech9]

You perhaps have some of the "better built" units and it depends on the load - number of active wireless clients, LAN connections and what else is running there. AiMesh nodes run cooler than routers - they are repeaters only, no routing. Firmware based on 384 code runs cooler than 386 code firmware. Air circulation is very important. The fact is when someone complaints of overheating, usually AC86U router is involved. Read the threads around.

 

[torstein]

Just a newbie question, is this when having the vpn (nordvpn for instance) installed and running on the router itself or does the router performance hit / temperature spike also apply when running the vpn from your mac/pc while connected to your router at home?

 

[Tech9]

This model may have overheating issues in general, without VPN running. VPN on the router uses router's CPU and may increase the temperature. VPN on the client is no different than usual traffic through the router - VPN encryption/decryption work is done on the client.