Asus RT-N56U Reviewed

[panzer]

Are you having this issue? VPN wired doesn't work, but wireless does?
Link

Well, its hard to say really. For me, it seems to "connect" via wired almost everytime, but hangs. Wireless however doesn't even always "connect". I will have to test it further tonight.

I should add that I tried opening ports via "Virtual Server" (port forwarding) with no luck, and even DMZ'd my machine and had no improvement. Looking at the specs again it says PPTP and L2TP, but I don't see IPsec or pass thru anywhere. I wonder if PPTP and L2TP can be supported without supporting IPsec? To me that makes no sense, but I am no expert. I thought L2TP used IPsec as encryption or something and NOT being able to pass thru would make it useless to list those as supported.

One would think a new $130 router should be able to handle what cheap $29 routers have been doing for years.

On the other hand, it IS blazingly fast! 700-800Mbit transfers measured between Gig-E machines using 9K packets without a hiccup. (my WAN is only 9Mbit, so cant speak to that port, but solid connection and no problems this past couple weeks) and I even hooked up a AP in repeater mode without problems. On 5 Ghz radio, within same room I am getting 13-18 MB file transfers to my Macbook Pro. Getting almost 150 Mbit transfers wireless is as fast as I have ever seen in real life (not synthetic) so I can't complain. (Its just the built-in Macbook Pro adapter, I think it would be faster with a better adapter) On the 2.4 Ghz radio, I have full coverage all over the house using a cheap AP set to repeater mode. That is about 150 feet long, 2 floors, and even outdoors to the back deck. House throughput ranges from 1-4 MB/sec actual measured. Outside still getting 500KB -1.5 MB / sec.

 

[Shikami]

Panzer, have you tried the recent firmware 1.0.1.3? According to here (http://www.eggers-club.de/articles/changes-between-1.0.1.2-and-1.0.1.3-for-the-asus-rt-n56u) "A small L2TP fix was applied. Not sure what it fixes, though."

See if this resolves your VPN issue. Your initial post makes me speculate that you have the latter firmware. Go here for the firmware: http://support.asus.com/Download.aspx?SLanguage=en&m=RT-N56U&p=11&s=2

 

[robwiel]

I wanted to advise everyone here that the HW Nat Module will be disabled if a couple of features are enabled. One is QoS, the second is multicasting for 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz wireless interfaces in the profession tabs, which does link into another tab (forgot which one it is but if you change one both tabs will be configured). I noticed it does make a difference in egress packets. I tested this "penaly" to be for myself at around 3Mb/s.

You can see if it is disabled in the dmesg of the general log after the bridge topology configuration, or in port forwarding it will have an output of enabled or disabled if or if not loaded. Look for these two lines in dmesg to see if enabled:
HIPID=RT3883
Ralink HW NAT Module Enabled

I noticed this was an issue with Engenius routers also when I was researching this; they are based on similar architectures.

Confirmed that indeed NAT is disabled with multicast on. Any idea how to get multicast on and NAT on?

Wow, got 104 mbps on wireless with 5ghz and wireless n only, distance: 1 wall, 6 meters, my previous record was 80mbps on 2.4 distance 50cm.

 

[Shikami]

I do not think it is possible. Unless there are third party firmwares that can "fix" or enable features of the processor.

 

[robwiel]

Confirmed that indeed NAT is disabled with multicast on. Any idea how to get multicast on and NAT on?

Wow, got 104 mbps on wireless with 5ghz and wireless n only, distance: 1 wall, 6 meters, my previous record was 80mbps on 2.4 distance 50cm.

got linksys gigabit switch out of the net, suprisingly same distance transfers files at 120 mbps on 5ghz now

 

[wcohen]

VPN on wired connection

I too have been frustrated by my VPN not working on wired connections. However, I found that disabling the hardware NAT allows my VPN to work on wired connection. As a workaround I have QoS enabled and I see the following on http://10.0.0.1/Main_IPTStatus_Content.asp :

Hardware NAT: Disabled
Software QoS: Enabled
Destination Proto. Port Range Redirect to

This has allowed me to used the wired connection for the VPN.

 

[panzer]

Panzer, have you tried the recent firmware 1.0.1.3? According to here (http://www.eggers-club.de/articles/changes-between-1.0.1.2-and-1.0.1.3-for-the-asus-rt-n56u) "A small L2TP fix was applied. Not sure what it fixes, though."

See if this resolves your VPN issue. Your initial post makes me speculate that you have the latter firmware. Go here for the firmware: http://support.asus.com/Download.aspx?SLanguage=en&m=RT-N56U&p=11&s=2

It was a good idea, you were right about me being on an older firmware. I was using 1.0.0.9 and had no reliable VPN, but was getting fast speeds (see my post)

After updating to FW 1.0.1.3 the wireless connections could VPN without problems (I wouldn't call it fast however) but there is still NO support for VPN over wired connections. It seems to connect and then hangs. VPN is not supported with the latest update.

I also discovered that AFTER updating to FW 1.0.1.3, my speeds are slower!!!! The same test I did of a file transfer to my Macbook Pro over 5Ghz went from 13-18 MB / sec to just 5-6 MB / sec.

I am really getting annoyed at Asus now. I am getting the feeling they gave us a fast router that handles tons of connections that they achieved by gimping the ability to VPN with. They are charging $129 for a gimped router and if so, should be called out for it. It is too late for me to return this PITA so I might just try to go back to 1.0.0.9 and set my network up differently to accommodate my need for VPN. I will of course NOT be buying Asus routers ever again if they can't fix this issue (without slowing the speeds down)

Of course there is still a chance they or others release a new firmware that fixes the VPN issue without gimping the throughput on the 5Ghz radio.

edit: out of curiosity, I looked at the log to see if HW NAT was loaded, and I guess it is. The only entry I could see is below. (Not sure why, but I wanted to make sure since it seemed like a complaint others had noticed)

from General Log tab:
Jan 1 00:00:07 kernel: CHIPID=RT3883
Jan 1 00:00:07 kernel: Ralink HW NAT Module Enabled

 

[Shikami]

I also discovered that AFTER updating to FW 1.0.1.3, my speeds are slower!!!! The same test I did of a file transfer to my Macbook Pro over 5Ghz went from 13-18 MB / sec to just 5-6 MB / sec.

I have a theory for this. I noticed when testing my laptop (being a 2.4GHz 802.11n) would not connect using 40Mhz instead 20Mhz sometimes. This would mean that it will only link at 65Mbps,which is only about 8.1MB/s. You might want to check to see that this is the problem. I wish it was a 5GHz so this issue would not be a problem for me, but I think it will be due to the fact that I have to use 2.4.

I know how you feel about this router. I do not like the Engrish, cheap looking interface with horrible menus, lacking Linux usage and knowledge, minor issues that have been overlooked that create irritable usage issues, and lacking overall control of the router. Personally, I prefer Ubicom based routers and cannot wait for an 8000 class processor router to be released. My DGL-4500 was becoming long in tooth and I wanted something new. Saw this review and decided to take a risk. I have not been overly pleased, but it will suffice till a new Ubicom based router is released.

Edit: I am assuming that your ports are properly configured. However, there is supposedly a difference between the LAN and the WLAN. This is why I ask.

 

[stevech]

I may have overlooked it, but did OP say here what the air link connection bit rate is? And if it was identical in both tests with different firmware versions? And if there's no competition for airtime with other WiFi or cordless phones?

 

[panzer]

I have a theory for this. I noticed when testing my laptop (being a 2.4GHz 802.11n) would not connect using 40Mhz instead 20Mhz sometimes. This would mean that it will only link at 65Mbps,which is only about 8.1MB/s. You might want to check to see that this is the problem. I wish it was a 5GHz so this issue would not be a problem for me, but I think it will be due to the fact that I have to use 2.4.

I checked that, but it didnt seem to be the problem. I think I found the source of the speed instability however. After playing with it a bit, I found out there is an option for something called "AiRadar" that I had on. While on, I got good and bad speeds like I posted. After I turned it off, it went back to the speeds I was getting in the first place, 13-17 MB/sec on 5Ghz. I think "AiRadar" is only for the 5Ghz radio. It might just be my situation, but the "AiRadar" should be looked at as being a good thing.... unless it turns on you If anyone else is having flaky 5Ghz speeds, turn OFF the "AiRadar" and it should be better.

Overall, I wish it could be reviewed again, taking the VPN issues into account. It still has potential, but I agree with you about stuff like the GUI, the engrish, etc. The fact that it is certainly fast, and so far reliable is a plus, but the word about the lack of VPN support needs to get out before others get ripped off. On the other hand, seeing how well it does 9K packets and Gigabit makes me fee good about the LAN at least ( I never has a network at home that handled speeds like I am getting with this - file transfers at 120 MB/sec + !! even while others surf the 'net)

 

[Shikami]

That is interesting. AiRadar is actually a feature of 802.11n, and all routers will have something similar being used. Basically, the radio transmits to the location rather than bursts in the typical doughnut. I have not had a chance to test 5Ghz, since the only .11n I have is 2.4GHz.

As for LAN to LAN transfers, this seems slower than the DGL-4500. After my hard drive upgrades and moving of files I was a little shocked to only gain a few megabytes a second. I gave my 4500 away and cannot test the difference; perhaps that is what it is, but does not seem correct to me. I know my hardware's abilities to well enough to know that it should be better.

It does have potential, anything with Linux does.

 

[panzer]

That is interesting. AiRadar is actually a feature of 802.11n, and all routers will have something similar being used. Basically, the radio transmits to the location rather than bursts in the typical doughnut. I have not had a chance to test 5Ghz, since the only .11n I have is 2.4GHz.

Yes, I see that. I think the speed issues may have more to do with my room arrangement (it has lots of mirrors nearby) than the router or the AiRadar feature after further tinkering. (Now only problem I still have is the lack of VPN)

As for LAN to LAN transfers, this seems slower than the DGL-4500. After my hard drive upgrades and moving of files I was a little shocked to only gain a few megabytes a second. I gave my 4500 away and cannot test the difference; perhaps that is what it is, but does not seem correct to me. I know my hardware's abilities to well enough to know that it should be better.

It does have potential, anything with Linux does.

Do you mind me asking what kind of speeds are you getting LAN to LAN?

 

[panzer]

I too have been frustrated by my VPN not working on wired connections. However, I found that disabling the hardware NAT allows my VPN to work on wired connection. As a workaround I have QoS enabled and I see the following on http://10.0.0.1/Main_IPTStatus_Content.asp :

Hardware NAT: Disabled
Software QoS: Enabled
Destination Proto. Port Range Redirect to

This has allowed me to used the wired connection for the VPN.

This is all very interesting, but I don't understand whats going on then. I mean, What kind of handicap is it to have HW NAT disabled, if any?

Also, where specifically did you enable QoS? Dis that automatically disable HW NAT or was something else done to do that?

 

[Shikami]

What kind of handicap is it to have HW NAT disabled, if any?

Sorry, it was a guest reply did not see your post till recently. The translation and rewriting of the headers are being done with hardware with this router instead of software, which is a good majority of the routers that are SOHO. When I tested it off, and other have posted this too with similar RALink hardware module, there is a decrease in about 3Mb/s egress (around 375k/s). However, this testing was very limited and only from a bandwidth tool. I would like to see more thorough testing on this subject matter. I can say this also, ARM architecture is not networking oriented, unless you have an ARM networking architecture core being used. This processor core is not so. To note, this does make sense to me that the Hardware NAT can cause this problem. Funny thing is, I did not think about testing it because I do not need VPN at the moment. Very good find!

I enabled QoS in the "EZ QoS Bandwidth Management." I only selected "games" nothing else. As this is my main form of entertainment besides Netflix.

Do you mind me asking what kind of speeds are you getting LAN to LAN?

Not at all. From a core i7-940 to a Core 2 Dual E6600, Intel's Gigabit CT adapters, between two Western Digital 640AALS hard drives. I was getting 65MB/s. This is up only 10MB/s. I expected around 75MB-80MB. With the DGL-4500 I was getting 55MB/s with slower performing hard drives. I tired IPv4 and IPv6, curious if there would be discrepancy with Linux. Windows 7 and Vista will default to IPv6 transfers, instead of IPv4. The transfer would start very high, as in almost maximum for gbE. Then slowly decreased to 65MB/s with a slow steady decrease, as it normally would be, as the hard drive was filling space.

 

[Shikami]

Gentlemen, there is a new beta firmware:

ASUS RT-N56U beta firmware 3.5.0.1
Support 3G dongle.

http://support.asus.com/Download.aspx?SLanguage=en&m=RT-N56U&p=11&s=2

Edit: I have been running the firmware without issue so far. I have not tested VPN, nothing to test with really. There are some new settings and changes. E.g. in USB menu the 3G modem has been added. There is a bit of a quicker loading that can be noticeable compared to previous firmwares when selecting menus. Also web page browsing is a bit better too. Seems to be heading in a good direction so far.......

Second Edit: There is a speed difference. I have measured an increased with the new firmware. It is not a lot, but still enough to warrant a question: "what did they do?"

 

[Unregistered]

Somone posted an apparent fix to the wired-vpn issue on Newegg. Its been dogging me for a while now, but this has fixed my issue so I thought I'd pass it along. I'm currently using fw1.0.1.2. The measured uplink speed was reporting correctly, but I entered 3000 as a manual value (per guidelines below). My wired vpn (cicso) is now a-ok. I'm amazed.

fwiw - I tried multiple fws with no resolution. 1.0.1.3 significantly slowed me down, so I downgraded to 1.0.1.2. I would have stayed with 1.0.0.9 were it not for the vpn issue.

Good luck.

From the Newegg reviews:
-----
Other Thoughts: My VPN connection to my work PC from home using the RT-N56U and a wired PC would NEVER work. Connecting to the work PC via VPN from a wirelessly connected PC at home through the RT-N56U worked just fine. After speaking with Asus support, the solution was VERY simple!

All that needs to be done is as follows:

1) Go to "http://192.168.1.1" and log on with your credentials.

2) On the left hand side of the main menu, click on "EzQoS bandwidth Management".

3) Click/ Select on the "Internet Application" icon which looks like a globe with a ring around it.

4) Select the "Manual uplink speed" radio button.

5) Type 1024 (or higher upload speed based on your upload bandwidth tier in Kbps) in the box and click "Save"

6) That's it! VPN from wired as well as wireless PCs through the RT-N56U should work without any further issues

-----

Manufacturer Response:
Thank you for you kind review of this wireless router.

For tho of you who are experiencing issues with VPN connectivity over a wired connection, this can be fixed by enabling the EZ QoS function and entering a value in the upload field according to the amount of bandwidth that you'd like to prioritize to upload transmissions. VPN relies on upload so you should make sure the value you choose is sufficient. To test your upload speed you can do a speed report at www.dslreports.com/speedtest. For the QoS manual upload speed setting, you should use a value close the the maximum upload speed reported from speed test. I've attached on image of the EZQoS setup screen.

ASUS Support Team

Related File(s):
RT-N56U

-----

 

[Shikami]

New Firmware gentlemen! http://support.asus.com/Download.aspx?SLanguage=en&m=RT-N56U&p=11&s=2

There is a HW NAT driver update. Perhaps, this can fix the issue with VPN?

Somone posted an apparent fix to the wired-vpn issue on Newegg.

This is known. However, if you use QoS or the Mutli-cast settings for wireless HW NAT module will not load.

 

[Unregistered]

This is known. However, if you use QoS or the Mutli-cast settings for wireless HW NAT module will not load.

Ahh, Shikami, I failed to make the connection. I see now. Not a preferable tradeoff. Thanks for your posts.

I upgraded to 1.0.1.4 and tested my Cisco VPN. It works now without setting QoS, and HW NAT reports as enabled. A step in the right direction.

(If I end up making a third post, I'll sign up for an account.)

 

[Anonymous Coward]

Unfortunately for me, firmware 1.0.1.4 still does not allow VPN to work via wired connection when Hardware NAT (HWNAT) is enabled. Wired VPN works when disabled (either with QoS or Multi-cast turned-on), but this was true with 1.0.1.3 as well.

Perhaps for whatever reason, HWNAT simply is not compatible with VPN for many of us? And since VPN via wireless works without having to turn off Hardware NAT, I assume this means that hardware NAT is only for wired ethernet connections?

 

[Shikami]

I upgraded to 1.0.1.4 and tested my Cisco VPN. It works now without setting QoS, and HW NAT reports as enabled. A step in the right direction.

That is good news!

The 1.0.1.4 firmware does not have the 3G support as the beta 3.5.0.1. This is not important to me, but figure I note this for others though. Also, QoS still disables HW NAT, which I think is unfortunately the way the core logic works, due to other RALink SOC based routers with similar reports.

The bandwidth speed tests for me keep on creeping upwards with new firmwares, which is nice even though I did not have a speed problem WAN wise.