RT AC68U - speed affected by AI protection

[SeveranExpendere]

hey everyone,

I’m been using Merlin firmware on my asus ac68u for some time with great success (and some oddity here and there), so I decided to create an account here to both offer my sincere thanks for fixing what seemed to be a bug ridden piece of software, and to request help.
I’m currently on the latest non beta build - forced to update because the vpn service refused to create the configuration file with the ddns instead of the internal ip - and my home network can be summarized like this:
ONT -> ISP Router -> Asus router

So my problem is, my isp router can consistently reach the 950+ mbps of speed without issues, while my ac68u lingers in the upper 600s, lower 700s.

The isp router is an huawei “smart router” that Vodafone is offering. I don’t see it as being that great of a piece of hardware, but currently it’s bashing my asus to the wall.

Meanwhile I spent half a sick day turning things on and off and testing the speed - turning AI protection increases the network speed considerably!

So my question is - is there some way to improve speed without shutting down aí protection?
Does ai protection even do anything worthwhile? It does log several external intrusion attempts routinely so I’m inclined to keeping it running...
Is the ac68U unable to keep up with gigabit connections and ai protection at all? If so, is there alternatives able to handle this load?
I’m 100% available to test firmware updates focused on improving speed on a gigabit speed so if interested contact me


and finally... I made this posted on a sub reddit months ago I think? About a small ui change. Please consider it?

https://www.reddit.com/r/wrtmerlin/...urce=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

 

[dave14305]

On your Tools / Sysinfo page, you want to see "HW acceleration" say Enabled (CTF + FA) to get max possible throughput. Enabling AIProtection or QoS will disable Flow Accelerator (FA) and limit your connection. What was your max throughput with AIP disabled?

If you want to feel better with AIProtection turned off, consider installing Skynet, developed by @Adamm here on the forums. Very comprehensive, auto-updating, logging, low resource requirements.
[Release] Skynet - Router Firewall & Security Enhancements

 

[doczenith1]

My old 68U with the 1000 MHz version of the cpu could do 940 Mbps with AiProtection on connected to a cable modem. Core 1 would peg at 100% but it could hit those speeds both down and up. What type of connection do you have? I wonder if a PPPoE connection has additional overhead that I didn't have with my cable modem? And if I remember correctly my 68U was on the older 380 code base.

 

[SeveranExpendere]

Thank you for the replies skynet sounds exactly the kind of thing I’d like to have hah! Gonna check that one out.
My asus is connected to the isp router through a cat 5e cable. A short one actually.
From the asus to my server from where I’m running the soeedtests it’s another short cat 5E cable. All cables are solid, no doubt about it since I have several and I replaced them all to be sure.
My cpu1 literally dies at100% and speeds barely reach 700s during a speedtest.
If I turn off the ai protection I get speeds in the 900s. Pretty convincing in the “turn off ai protection “ department xD

If anything is not clear please let me know and I’ll explain in more detail - frankly I’ve invested a fair amount of time in this and my brain is all over the place on this -

Edit- my connection is 1gig down 200 mb up.

 

[SeveranExpendere]

On your Tools / Sysinfo page, you want to see "HW acceleration" say Enabled (CTF + FA) to get max possible throughput. Enabling AIProtection or QoS will disable Flow Accelerator (FA) and limit your connection. What was your max throughput with AIP disabled?

If you want to feel better with AIProtection turned off, consider installing Skynet, developed by @Adamm here on the forums. Very comprehensive, auto-updating, logging, low resource requirements.
[Release] Skynet - Router Firewall & Security Enhancements

I read a bit about it, felt a lot like pi hole - which I already have running - is it worth it to install it still? Or am I under utilizing pi hole?

 

[dave14305]

I read a bit about it, felt a lot like pi hole - which I already have running - is it worth it to install it still? Or am I under utilizing pi hole?

Pi-Hole is more like Diversion (DNS-based ad-blocking). Skynet is more like AIProtection (actively blocking known malware IPs in or out of your network).

 

[Makaveli]

My old 68U with the 1000 MHz version of the cpu could do 940 Mbps with AiProtection on connected to a cable modem. Core 1 would peg at 100% but it could hit those speeds both down and up. What type of connection do you have? I wonder if a PPPoE connection has additional overhead that I didn't have with my cable modem? And if I remember correctly my 68U was on the older 380 code base.

Before I upgraded I was on 68u class hardware, and then upgraded to a Gigabit connection which is PPP0e. Both cores would get pegged pretty hard if taxing the connection. I could only run CTF which was the reason for the high cpu usage in DHCP I could get CTF+FA with low cpu % so there is a difference.

That was also with AI protection off & Skynet on.