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How to test speed between router and modem

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luckycharms

Occasional Visitor
Hi all,
I'm trying to troubleshoot slow internet issues. The ISP modem gives around 800 Mbps when connecting to its wifi signal. However, spMerlin and my laptop give much slower speeds (100 - 250 Mbps) going through my AC88u merlin router. I'm not sure where the problem is, but wanted to try a speed test between the AC88u and the ISP modem (I'm on Suddenlink). Any thoughts on how to do this, or other steps for troubleshooting?
Thanks...
 
The ISP modem gives around 800 Mbps when connecting to its wifi signal.
So it sounds like the ISP "modem" is also a wireless router?

I'm not sure where the problem is, but wanted to try a speed test between the AC88u and the ISP modem
Connect a PC to one of the modem's LAN ports and another PC to one of the Asus' LAN ports. Try transferring files between the two or use iperf.
 
The router is too underpowered to show you anything better.

If you have AiProtection and all other features disabled, it may do a bit better, but don't expect full speeds either.
 
Hi all,
I'm trying to troubleshoot slow internet issues. The ISP modem gives around 800 Mbps when connecting to its wifi signal. However, spMerlin and my laptop give much slower speeds (100 - 250 Mbps) going through my AC88u merlin router. I'm not sure where the problem is, but wanted to try a speed test between the AC88u and the ISP modem (I'm on Suddenlink). Any thoughts on how to do this, or other steps for troubleshooting?
Thanks...
what happens to the speedtest numbers if you use an ethernet cable between the laptop and asus router?
from what I can tell from Suddenlink's website, they're sending out wifi6 or 802.11AX machines; your Asus is 802.11AC (wifi5) - this is probably causing the wireless speed difference you're experiencing.

In the screenshot below, click on the little "i" icon next to the word Details and read the popup window:
1655412457524.png
 
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The router is too underpowered to show you anything better.

If you have AiProtection and all other features disabled, it may do a bit better, but don't expect full speeds either.
Thanks. I'm not using AiProtection. I turned off Diversion, but CPU is still up around 85-90%. With all that, still getting 250 Mbps. So, I need to upgrade the router to really get 1G?
 
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what happens to the speedtest numbers if you use an ethernet cable between the laptop and asus router?
from what I can tell from Suddenlink's website, they're sending out wifi6 or 802.11AX machines; your Asus is 802.11AC (wifi5) - this is probably causing the wireless speed difference you're experiencing.

In the screenshot below, click on the little "i" icon next to the word Details and read the popup window:
Thanks... I'm not actually worried about wifi speed differences. It's the difference between connecting to the wifi 6 in the modem+router, versus connecting via ethernet (flat cat6) with my AC88u...
 
So, I need to upgrade the router to really get 1G?
No, even my old RT-AC68U, which is slower than your router, could get over 600 Mbps (which is my ISP speed). But things like QoS, VPNs, AiProtection etc. will slow things down. P.S. Ignore the router's on-board speed test, that will give an artificially low figure.

The SNB review test (using the original firmware) showed download speeds of ~800 Mbps.

Go to Administration > Privacy. If there's an option present to "Withdraw" then do so.

P.S. Try a different Ethernet cable. Flat cables can be poor quality.
 
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Go to Administration > Privacy. If there's an option present to "Withdraw" then do so.

P.S. Try a different Ethernet cable. Flat cables can be poor quality.
And a reboot never hurts, especially after changing router settings.
 
@luckycharms, a little insider info about routers (and in this case, Asus' in particular). Turning features off is not the same as never turning them on in the first place.

The two posters above have given good advice. Be sure to try their suggestions.

If the issue still persists, a full reset to factory defaults, after flashing the latest firmware version and without using a saved backup file is indicated (if for no other reason, than to test the hardware properly). Also, be sure not to insert a USB drive that was previously used for amtm into the newly reset router. Instead, either use a brand new drive for testing purposes or, first, format the used USB drive in a PC to NTFS. Before ever plugging it into the router again.

[Wireless] ASUS router Hard Factory Reset | Official Support | ASUS Global

Fully Reset / Best Practice Setup / More

Almost all L&LD Links

About L&LD
 
Ok, some updates here. When I plug my computer directly into the ISPs modem, I get around 810 Mbps. When I plug ethernet into the AC88u, I get around 650 Mbps. When I connect via 5 GHz wifi, I get around 150 Mbps. So... Dropping 160 Mbps just by going through the AC88u isn't good... But there's something way off with the wifi connection. I'm sitting right next to the router doing the tests. Any thoughts? I could try to reset to factory, but thought I'd ask with these new data in hand first...
 
Sitting right next to the router isn't the way to test Wifi with today's routers. Between 3M to 12M is the distance needed to see the fastest speeds.
 
I'm not sure I agree. I was able to get 900+ Mbps out of my AC68U.

What you need to understand is that in fact your router *is* underpowered.

The reason others have told you only w/ TM components disabled, is because otherwise CTF (which the OEM would prefer to keep enabled for performance reasons) must be disabled in order NOT to break it!

CTF is a "hack" of the firewall that comes at a price; a loss of functionality. It's just that NOT everyone will notice it if they happen, luckily, to NOT need the functionality that's been lost. CTF breaks QoS, port forwarding, NAT loopback, and other things.

In fact, I just had someone the other day on the FreshTomato forum who ran into this very problem.


As I said then, you're being deceived by the OEM as to the *true* performance capabilities of your typical consumer-grade router. ISPs are beginning to outpace the capabilities of such routers, and OEMs are depending on these hacks to extend the useful life of their products.

Bottomline, you can have top performance, but it's based on a compromise between that performance and functionality. The OEM does his best to hide it, or at least NOT discuss it unless challenged, for obvious reasons. For many of us, we may eventually be forced to move to other platforms like pfSense and x86 to maintain performance w/o such compromises.
 
Only with TrendMicro services disabled and NAT acceleration enabled.

What you need to understand is that in fact your router *is* underpowered.

The reason others have told you only w/ TM components disabled, is because otherwise CTF (which the OEM would prefer to keep enabled for performance reasons) must be disabled in order NOT to break it!

CTF is a "hack" of the firewall that comes at a price; a loss of functionality. It's just that NOT everyone will notice it if they happen, luckily, to NOT need the functionality that's been lost. CTF breaks QoS, port forwarding, NAT loopback, and other things.

In fact, I just had someone the other day on the FreshTomato forum who ran into this very problem.


As I said then, you're being deceived by the OEM as to the *true* performance capabilities of your typical consumer-grade router. ISPs are beginning to outpace the capabilities of such routers, and OEMs are depending on these hacks to extend the useful life of their products.

Bottomline, you can have top performance, but it's based on a compromise between that performance and functionality. The OEM does his best to hide it, or at least NOT discuss it unless challenged, for obvious reasons. For many of us, we may eventually be forced to move to other platforms like pfSense and x86 to maintain performance w/o such compromises.

I agree with both of you. I suppose I should clarify that I was disagreeing with top speed achievable and not that the router is underpowered which I do agree with.
 
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So, what would you recommend for being a good choice for a new router that isn't underpowered for my purposes? Specifically: 900 Mbps+ WAN to LAN with Diversion and Skynet running, and ideally TM running as well. The AX86U looks decent...
 
Dell XPS 15 9500.
I think we need to know the actual Wifi card in there, not the laptop model. Often, laptops have various options for wifi cards, after all.

A quick search says this might be the "Killer Wi-fi 6 AX500-DBS (2x2)" card, but you probably should reply with what you actually have...

All that being said, I think your issue is all the extra load on the CPU for your other programs (Diversion, etc). I have my older AC68U running with none of that stuff - just a basic router setup. I can get 400Mbps on my 500/500 fiber service with 5GHz on my 4 year old HP laptop (Realtek RTL8822BE wifi 2x2 card). I know the AC68 is not able to keep up when CPU-limited things are running, which is why I haven't bothered with those. The hardware is capable, the CPU not-so-much... AFAIK. I expect even the AX86 won't have enough CPU to handle lots of other software running on top of the network connection, but I'll let others who know more chime in on that matter.

Also, it's important to know how far away you are from the router. Distance makes a HUGE difference in throughput on 5GHz. I'm sitting about 10 feet from my router, with clear LOS.
 
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