RT-AC1900P crazy D/L slowdown with modem in Bridge Mode

[Gregg G]

Hi, First time post here. I have CenturyLink internet only DSL, advertised as 20Mbps D/L, 0.7Mbps U/L.
I have a Zyxel C2100Z (own it, not rented/purchased from CL). DSLreports shows D/L 20+, U/L 1+ so no
issues. I have a VOIP phone (Yealink T21P-E2) that works flawlessly with the Zyxel C2100Z, but my
VOIP provider (Flowroute) doesn't offer voicemail. So I got a great deal on an Asus RT-AC1900P that
appeared to be brand new. I flashed Merlin (currently have latest 384.13 installed) and loaded Asterisk
and Diversion on a USB drive attached to the Asus. Using Asterisk on the Asus router, I'm able to
setup voicemail and different mailboxes very easily.

I put the Zyxel into Transparent Bridge mode (Tagged VLAN 201) and connected LAN Port 1 to the
WAN port on the Asus. I get inconsistent D/L speeds (sometimes between 4Mbps and 14Mbps), but now
it's down to < 2Mbps. As well, the performance of the Yealink is somewhat degraded (more static and
dropped calls every 15-25 minutes). I am going through all of the ethernet cables and found one that
was somewhat suspect. I'm ordering some high quality Cat 6 patch cables from Monoprice to replace
all of the older cables.

The VOIP phone and 2 desktops are hardwired. I use Wifi for one laptop in the living room and the 2 cellphones.
PPoE connection. I have FreshJR installed and have tried several permutations for QoS, most with
very little effect on D/L speed, but I can see improvement with Bufferbloat depending on the settings.
There are no obvious issues with the RT-AC1900P (like freezing up, rebooting, etc), just the consistently
slow D/L speed and VOIP static.

I have seen several posts online (not just SNB) where people describe losing 1/2 of the D/L speed when
they put their modems into Bridge mode and then connect a router. I haven't come across any definitive
solutions so far! Lots of speculation, but nothing concrete.

Any ideas of where to look for issues? I'm really hoping it's something as simple as a couple of bad ethernet cables!

Kind regards,
Gregg G.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Hi, First time post here. I have CenturyLink internet only DSL, advertised as 20Mbps D/L, 0.7Mbps U/L.
I have a Zyxel C2100Z (own it, not rented/purchased from CL). DSLreports shows D/L 20+, U/L 1+ so no
issues. I have a VOIP phone (Yealink T21P-E2) that works flawlessly with the Zyxel C2100Z, but my
VOIP provider (Flowroute) doesn't offer voicemail. So I got a great deal on an Asus RT-AC1900P that
appeared to be brand new. I flashed Merlin (currently have latest 384.13 installed) and loaded Asterisk
and Diversion on a USB drive attached to the Asus. Using Asterisk on the Asus router, I'm able to
setup voicemail and different mailboxes very easily.

I put the Zyxel into Transparent Bridge mode (Tagged VLAN 201) and connected LAN Port 1 to the
WAN port on the Asus. I get inconsistent D/L speeds (sometimes between 4Mbps and 14Mbps), but now
it's down to < 2Mbps. As well, the performance of the Yealink is somewhat degraded (more static and
dropped calls every 15-25 minutes). I am going through all of the ethernet cables and found one that
was somewhat suspect. I'm ordering some high quality Cat 6 patch cables from Monoprice to replace
all of the older cables.

The VOIP phone and 2 desktops are hardwired. I use Wifi for one laptop in the living room and the 2 cellphones.
PPoE connection. I have FreshJR installed and have tried several permutations for QoS, most with
very little effect on D/L speed, but I can see improvement with Bufferbloat depending on the settings.
There are no obvious issues with the RT-AC1900P (like freezing up, rebooting, etc), just the consistently
slow D/L speed and VOIP static.

I have seen several posts online (not just SNB) where people describe losing 1/2 of the D/L speed when
they put their modems into Bridge mode and then connect a router. I haven't come across any definitive
solutions so far! Lots of speculation, but nothing concrete.

Any ideas of where to look for issues? I'm really hoping it's something as simple as a couple of bad ethernet cables!

Kind regards,
Gregg G.

Did you ever test the Zyxel bridge mode to ASUS 1900 DSL performance before you added all the scripts, PBX, etc.?

OE

 

[Gregg G]

Did you ever test the Zyxel bridge mode to ASUS 1900 DSL performance before you added all the scripts, PBX, etc.?

OE

Hi, OE -

I did things slowly at first. The speed was never quite as fast when I used the bridge - I would say in the 14-18 Mbps range, but with Centurylink in my area there always seems to be some day-to-day, hour-to-hour "blips". Anyway, after I got everything setup as it is now, I would get 14-18Mbps when I checked. In the last week the speed has plummeted. Without the bridge it looks good - 20+, with the
bridge <1. Something seems to have changed drastically and Centurylink is no help (to be fair, I'm convinced it's not anything on their
end in this case). Perhaps the Asus RT-AC1900P is starting to fail. I am currently not using the Asus, but am planning to do more troubleshooting later in the week and examine the Asus logs.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Hi, OE -

I did things slowly at first. The speed was never quite as fast when I used the bridge - I would say in the 14-18 Mbps range, but with Centurylink in my area there always seems to be some day-to-day, hour-to-hour "blips". Anyway, after I got everything setup as it is now, I would get 14-18Mbps when I checked. In the last week the speed has plummeted. Without the bridge it looks good - 20+, with the
bridge <1. Something seems to have changed drastically and Centurylink is no help (to be fair, I'm convinced it's not anything on their
end in this case). Perhaps the Asus RT-AC1900P is starting to fail. I am currently not using the Asus, but am planning to do more troubleshooting later in the week and examine the Asus logs.

Last mile voice-grade twisted-pair subscriber lines (home phone lines) are always going to be troublesome for high-speed data Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Internet service, and they are falling into disrepair.

But maybe it's your 'great deal' router. Could try a different one for quick test.

For voicemail, I would have switched providers before adding a USB PBX to an AC1900... easier, more robust, and in the cloud. I use VoIP.ms.

OE

 

[Gregg G]

Thanks again OE! Yes, my "Great Deal" may be a dud. The router itself doesn't have any readily apparent symptoms of
degraded performance (the wireless and other functions all seem to perform well). I am a "tinkerer" and like to know how
things work, so I spend more time on little bits and pieces than is normal. I had the PBX set up on a PogoPlug at one time, but
haven't seen it since we moved. I do have another router that I'll try just to check the D/L performance as you suggested.
When I subscribed with Flowroute a few years back, they were local (in Seattle) and had good tech support to help me get
started. Several of the "big" VOIP guys wanted $30+ per month and we just don't use the land line that much.

Anyway, I did a little research on VoIP.ms and they look to have very good rates. How long have you used them, and how
is the customer service? Do you have E911 with them? Once things are set up and routine, I suppose there's not much
interaction with customer service.

Now I'm more curious than anything to determine what the issue is causing the slowdown. I'll let you know if another
router helps or if it's some bad ethernet cables.

Kind regards,
Gregg G.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Anyway, I did a little research on VoIP.ms and they look to have very good rates. How long have you used them, and how
is the customer service? Do you have E911 with them? Once things are set up and routine, I suppose there's not much
interaction with customer service.

I bought an OBi202 ata and started moving from POTS to VoIP.ms 2/22/2014. Customer service is fine... I've used Chat about four times. They have many features, most included; a capable customer portal, and an extensive WiKi. And a strong community of user support here. And they are actively improving their service. I've never had reason to look further... Callcentric and Anveo are similar DIY BYOD options.

I have one account (with sub accounts/extensions) that has 3 e911-enabled DIDs and serves 4 locations across 3 states. I setup a wireless AiMesh node in my detached garage to connect a second OBi202 and phone there... works better than repeater mode. I made a bunch of notes as I learned how to do it and to document what I did; these are posted on my hobby site. I use OBi202s (~$50 on sale) and encrypted Zoiper on mobiles with VoIP.ms. And black AT&T 210 phones connected to the house tel wiring. Much better than POTS except when PG&E cuts your power... then you're screwed all around.

OE