New Fiber Gig service and RT-AC88U

[DK48]

Hi guys, I hope this isn’t a dumb question, or the wrong place to ask.

I recently upgraded my service from ~400mb/20mb cable to ~1g/1g fiber.

I have an Asus RT-AC88U running Asuswrt-Merlin 386.4.

When I test using the routers built in Speedtest feature, I get about 400/300. When I test using a laptop connected to the router I get 410/550.

When I plug my laptop directly into the fiber ONT with no router at all, I get 760/950. These speeds are close to where the service claims I should be at.

All connections are wired. I have all QoS settings turned off. AiProtection is off. NAT is enabled under WAN.

Do you guys think I’m simply at the max capacity of this router? Or maybe I just need to fix some settings?

There is a slim chance the culprit could be the Cat5 cable between the ONT and my router as well, but I doubt it. That is the next thing I thought about checking.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Edit: I see I probably should have posted this under the “ASUS AC Routers & Adapters” section. I apologize.

 

[Tech Junky]

laptop directly into the fiber ONT with no router at all, I get 760/950

You should see symmetrical speeds. Upload in many cases should never be higher than the download.

Try a different cable with the laptop and see what you get.

I had an Asus laying around as a spare and when I needed it the speeds fell on their face using it. It's probably time to get something new but, if you're familiar with flashing the router try going back to stock FW and see what you get for speeds and try a revision lower like 386.2

 

[DK48]

The fiber technician said it’s not uncommon to see a slightly higher upload speed. They mentioned that before we even tested it. However, I agree. I thought it was odd myself

I can certainly try the stock firmware. I just assumed the Merlin firmware was better in all aspects. I’ll try a different cable first.

Thanks.

 

[Tech Junky]

Always start with Layer 1 = cables

Tech's tend to shrug off doubts to move onto the next job instead of figuring out why it's not 100%. With a gigabit nic though you should be able to hit a max of 980/980 due to overhead. Real world / test server though... might be slightly less but still should have a 9 in front of both numbers.

 

[L&LD]

If you haven't performed a full reset to factory defaults recently, without importing a saved backup config file to re-configure the router afterward, it may be worth doing so now.

The router's built-in speed test isn't reliable (CPU/RAM, too weak), but you should be able to get your full ISP speeds via a wired desktop computer (or laptop, that is plugged into AC power).

Use the following links as needed to get your router back to a good/known state (it isn't there right now).

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

Fully Reset / Best Practice Setup / More

Almost all L&LD Links

About L&LD

Troubleshooting 101 Asus/RMerlin Routers 2020

Top 10 Simple Asus/RMerlin firmware powered Router Troubleshooting steps to try first: NOTE: Although this is for Asus/RMerlin-firmware powered routers, the steps below may be relevant to all routers, to get to a quick fix for common symptoms. Check that the router’s System Time is accurate on...

www.snbforums.com

 

[DK48]

If you haven't performed a full reset to factory defaults recently, without importing a saved backup config file to re-configure the router afterward, it may be worth doing so now.

The router's built-in speed test isn't reliable (CPU/RAM, too weak), but you should be able to get your full ISP speeds via a wired desktop computer (or laptop, that is plugged into AC power).

Use the following links as needed to get your router back to a good/known state (it isn't there right now).

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

Fully Reset / Best Practice Setup / More

Almost all L&LD Links

About L&LD

Troubleshooting 101 Asus/RMerlin Routers 2020

Top 10 Simple Asus/RMerlin firmware powered Router Troubleshooting steps to try first: NOTE: Although this is for Asus/RMerlin-firmware powered routers, the steps below may be relevant to all routers, to get to a quick fix for common symptoms. Check that the router’s System Time is accurate on...

www.snbforums.com

I have done a reset without uploading a config but it’s been a while. I think I did the reset by clicking something from within the web page settings though as I’ve never held down the physical reset button as your link describes.

Dumb question, will pushing the physical reset button still work as designed even with the Merlin firmware? Thanks.

 

[L&LD]

The reset button is not the recommended way today. The link describes the WPS Button reset method (be sure you follow the instructions for your specific router.

Also, if you can, do not use Ports 5-8 on that model (known as problematic).

 

[DK48]

Well, you guys are awesome.

I’m not sure what did it, but I went ahead and installed the stock firmware, then after that I did a hard reset following the instructions for my device. I did not upload a config file. Don’t really need to as all I really have is 5 port-forwards and that’s it.

Now I’m getting way better speeds. My best one so far was 949/941. Seems the average is closer to 890/920 though.

I’m happy! Thanks guys.

 

[Tech Junky]

Double the speed with a few minutes of software changes is a cheap afternoon.

 

[Tech9]

I just assumed the Merlin firmware was better in all aspects.

I see consistently better performance and stability with stock Asuswrt. If you don't need extra Asuswrt-Merlin features, stay on Asuswrt.

 

[DK48]

I see consistently better performance and stability with stock Asuswrt. If you don't need extra Asuswrt-Merlin features, stay on Asuswrt.

The events of today has proven that true. I don’t need the extra features and right now I’m cooking along at 900/900 like it’s nothing.

Next question, any suggestions on inexpensive non-PoE dumb switches that won’t bottleneck me?

 

[Tech9]

Any switch will potentially bottleneck Gigabit line. The uplink is Gigabit and shared between the switch ports.

 

[DK48]

I hear ya. It would be rare that any more than one port would be utilized at one time so that would be fine. It’s just for a spot in the house where I have about 3 devices but only one port on the wall back to the router.

 

[Tech Junky]

You should be able to find a cheap $5-$10 4-5 port gig switch for splitting the wall jack. You don't need anything special or expensive to do that.

 

[Tech9]

I hear ya. It would be rare that any more than one port would be utilized at one time so that would be fine. It’s just for a spot in the house where I have about 3 devices but only one port on the wall back to the router.

Any Gigabit switch in this case. TL-SG108 is good 8-port switch in sturdy metal case, about $20.

 

[follower]

Any Gigabit switch in this case. TL-SG108 is good 8-port switch in sturdy metal case, about $20.

I have some sg105 and sg108. Housing is good. Inside? Cheaply made PCB and chips are inside. Cheaply made power adapter. That's why TP-Link is cheap. No 1g LED from V4, 1 shared led. They just work ok though. The one thing I like it supports IGMP interestingly.
Latest version: V6.

 

[follower]

I have some sg105 and sg108. Housing is good. Inside? Cheaply made PCB and chips are inside. They work just ok though.

 

[TheLyppardMan]

I see consistently better performance and stability with stock Asuswrt. If you don't need extra Asuswrt-Merlin features, stay on Asuswrt.

Does the stock firmware have the option to set up OpenVPN to enable remote log-in to a home network and is it the same procedure to enable it as with the Merlin firmware? Also, I presume Skynet is not available with the stock firmware, so would that expose the network to extra risks from hackers?

 

[ElmerFudd]

I have had a different experience with Merlin firmware. That is, it tends to be more reliable than stock for me and more features like Skynet, YazI, Diversion to boot.

 

[Tech9]

Does the stock firmware have the option to set up OpenVPN to enable remote log-in to a home network

Yes. Very similar setup screen.

Also, I presume Skynet is not available with the stock firmware, so would that expose the network to extra risks from hackers?

No. I wouldn't run Skynet script at all.