Asus RT-AC86U - streaming problems only when Camera DVR is connected

[JJ MONIE]

Hi all,

New to the forums. I have been reading for a few months now.

I recently replaced my old RT-68U with the new RT-86U. Running current ASUS firmware. Great wireless signal strength and range for what I need it for.

On 3 floors of my house, I have hard wired connections to stream Blu Ray rips uncompressed to 3 WDTV media players and my Oppo 103 Universal player. My main PC is also connected hard wired as well as a couple of TV's, XBOX 360 & ONE and all 3 Blu Ray players. Also, I have my LTS LTD8508K-ST security camera DVR plugged directly into the router. Everything worked great with the old one, which is now sold. I have a few good quality gigabit switches throughout the house.

The only wireless devices I have are a couple of cell phones, My Q garage door opener, printer and a laptop.

Now, the problem I am having is that my Blu Ray rips will no longer play flawlessly on the 3 WDTV media players. They play fine on the Oppo 103. There is allot of buffering, pausing, starting and stopping. After about 5 days of making sure all the settings were correct, reset to factory, etc, I have concluded that once the LTS DVR is plugged into the router, the streaming issues begin. If the DVR is unplugged from the router or powered down, there are no issues. Smaller ripped files under 10-15 GBs play fine on all devices at all times. Just having a problem with the large Blu Ray rips at all times no matter if other devices are online or not.

I have tried to turn bandwidth limiter on to limit the bandwidth of the DVR and still the same issue. QoS on or off, no difference. I have reset the router, swapped out ethernet cables and tried plugging the router in to a separate plug.

I know this sounds like a streaming issue but I do think it has something to do with the 86U as these problems didn't exist with my old one with the exact same setup. Any help on this would be great. Many thanks.

JJ

 

[ApexRon]

Anything posted in router system log during the time that the LTS LTD8508K-ST is plugged in that is relevant? Is there any way to configure the LTS LTD8508K-ST to not use auto-negotiate on Ethernet?

 

[JJ MONIE]

Thanks. Not sure, I will check and report back.

Weird problem, I have tried so many different things and the only thing that fixes it is to unplug the DVR which is not ideal.

JJ

 

[ApexRon]

Try a different Ethernet cable too.

 

[coxhaus]

Maybe try a switch between the router and the DVR.

 

[ApexRon]

Maybe try a switch between the router and the DVR.

I don't disagree with your suggestion but realize:

1. Adding a switch increases the complexity of the connection between the router and the DVR and could either resolve issue or cause an additional issue with the same symptoms
2. It is possible that there is an auto-negotiation issue between the DVR and the router. Thus adding a dumb switch with active, permanently configurable duplex/speed settings, may resolve.

We have to wait for an update from the owner of this issue.

 

[coxhaus]

If there is a problem with the Ethernet port match up adding a switch can eliminate this problem. It is just something to try for weird problems.

More than likely it is a router code problem or a setting which affects router sharing of bandwidth.

 

[ApexRon]

If there is a problem with the Ethernet port match up adding a switch can eliminate this problem. It is just something to try for weird problems.

More than likely it is a router code problem or a setting which affects router sharing of bandwidth.

I don't disagree that a switch may eliminate. However, if owner of issue buys a switch with auto-negotiation it may not fix anything. Beside, why spend money when there basic recommendations for which we haven't heard back on.

Premature to label as router firmware or setting issue. We need log information, different Ethernet cable, and DVR options first.

 

[JJ MONIE]

Thanks all for the suggestions! I'm hoping to give some of this a try this weekend. Will report back. Thanks so much.

 

[JJ MONIE]

Problem SOLVED!

Just got around to looking at it. After checking the connections and cables for the millionth time, I tried something different. Hope someone out there can give me a technical reason as I am just a regular guy with an interest in this stuff.

So, I took the ethernet wire from the LTS LTD8508K-ST that was plugged into the Asus 86U and connected it to the Ethernet line that goes to my basement switch which comes back upstairs to the router. That's it! Streaming large MKVs on all 3 WDTV boxes works again.

This must be a problem with the 86U as I never had that problem before.

Either way, it would be nice to know why but I am happy either way. Thanks folks for all your help and suggestions. This is truly a great place to talk networking.

JJ

 

[coxhaus]

Sounds like you had some kind of switch storm going. Spanning tree should shut it down to protect the network. Maybe your switches or router lack spanning tree support.

 

[ApexRon]

Problem SOLVED!

Just got around to looking at it. After checking the connections and cables for the millionth time, I tried something different. Hope someone out there can give me a technical reason as I am just a regular guy with an interest in this stuff.

So, I took the ethernet wire from the LTS LTD8508K-ST that was plugged into the Asus 86U and connected it to the Ethernet line that goes to my basement switch which comes back upstairs to the router. That's it! Streaming large MKVs on all 3 WDTV boxes works again.

This must be a problem with the 86U as I never had that problem before.

Either way, it would be nice to know why but I am happy either way. Thanks folks for all your help and suggestions. This is truly a great place to talk networking.

JJ

Actually, it was an Ethernet auto-negotiation issue between your DVR and the 86U. Your switch is able to successfully auto-negotiate with both, assuming auto-negotiate is turned on the for the ports you're using on the switch.

 

[JJ MONIE]

Thanks. I use 4 gigabit switches (Net Gear & D Links all unmanaged) in my network and haven't changed anything or looked at them closely at all. It has to be like you said between the DVR and Asus.

JJ