Slow HDD Data Transfer on VPN

[Pabla]

Just recently got my vpn set up and working to be able to access my HDD connected to my ac-3100 (merlin 384.13). I am able to access it via smb but the write and read speeds are very slow. On my Local network write and read are ~ 38mbps/25mbps respectively. Through my VPN I'm only able to get 2.8mbps/0.2mbps. Is this expected? or is there some setting I can tweak to speed up the transfer speeds. I am using OpenVPN with IPVanish using the TUN interface type.

 

[Sky]

Just recently got my vpn set up and working to be able to access my HDD connected to my ac-3100 (merlin 384.13). I am able to access it via smb but the write and read speeds are very slow. On my Local network write and read are ~ 38mbps/25mbps respectively. Through my VPN I'm only able to get 2.8mbps/0.2mbps. Is this expected? or is there some setting I can tweak to speed up the transfer speeds. I am using OpenVPN with IPVanish using the TUN interface type.

Pabla,

I'm surprised no one ever answered your question. Sorry about that.

Yes, VPN speeds are always going to be slower than your local network. There are many technical things going on but to put it simply, when you use a VPN:

1. the information travels through your network to your VPN server/client;
2. the server/client encrypts the information before sending it to the internet;
3. the information can only go to the internet at the sources' upload speeds;
   
4. the server/client decrypts the information coming in from the internet; then
5. the information goes to/from you

That process slows things down, sometimes a lot. The biggest bottleneck in the USA is the upload speed as our upload speeds are very slow for most people. If your upload speed is not the issue, then it lies in the encryption/decryption used by the particular type of VPN you are using.

Some types of VPNs are faster, like the PPTP option in ASUS, but less secure. Some are slower, like the OpenVPN option, but more secure.

There are other, far more technical types of VPNs out there that require a lot more work to setup and maintain. They can easily become a hobby. Wireguard is one such example written of often in these forums as being both faster than other VPNs and more secure, but it is not for the faint of heart and if you get it working you will necessarily move beyond being a mere amateur.

There are some things that are very important to remember here:

1. Why do you want a VPN? Security, Privacy, Secrecy?
2. Unless you own both ends of the VPN (server & client) you have neither security nor privacy, and any semblance of secrecy is a mist in the wind
3. Is any threat you foresee realistic? Obviously the threat of government surveillance is universally real, but not all governments beat up all of their citizens all of the time. If it's general "hackers" is that realistic for your situation?
4. If you are simply trying to keep your personal stuff personal in a relatively free society like the USA and your are not a high profile persona locally or nationally like a TV person, actor, actress, or politician, and you are not involved in government-secret-highly valuable work, then simple and easy is probably the best way to go.

The simplest & easiest is ASUS built-in VPN-PPTP server with Windows built-in VPN client. The not-as-simple and not-as-easy is ASUS built-in OpenVPN server. Everything else is, well, harder.

If you use ASUS VPN Server for PPTP, Apple's iOS devices will refuse to work with it unless you do some technical stuff to address that issue. That means it will not work as a personal Hotspot to successfully connect to your VPN. If you want to use an iOS device as a personal Hotspot, they will work OK with ASUS built-in OpenVPN server.

Sky

 

[Pabla]

Pabla,

I'm surprised no one ever answered your question. Sorry about that.

Yes, VPN speeds are always going to be slower than your local network. There are many technical things going on but to put it simply, when you use a VPN:

1. the information travels through your network to your VPN server/client;
2. the server/client encrypts the information before sending it to the internet;
3. the information can only go to the internet at the sources' upload speeds;
   
4. the server/client decrypts the information coming in from the internet; then
5. the information goes to/from you

That process slows things down, sometimes a lot. The biggest bottleneck in the USA is the upload speed as our upload speeds are very slow for most people. If your upload speed is not the issue, then it lies in the encryption/decryption used by the particular type of VPN you are using.

Some types of VPNs are faster, like the PPTP option in ASUS, but less secure. Some are slower, like the OpenVPN option, but more secure.

There are other, far more technical types of VPNs out there that require a lot more work to setup and maintain. They can easily become a hobby. Wireguard is one such example written of often in these forums as being both faster than other VPNs and more secure, but it is not for the faint of heart and if you get it working you will necessarily move beyond being a mere amateur.

There are some things that are very important to remember here:

1. Why do you want a VPN? Security, Privacy, Secrecy?
2. Unless you own both ends of the VPN (server & client) you have neither security nor privacy, and any semblance of secrecy is a mist in the wind
3. Is any threat you foresee realistic? Obviously the threat of government surveillance is universally real, but not all governments beat up all of their citizens all of the time. If it's general "hackers" is that realistic for your situation?
4. If you are simply trying to keep your personal stuff personal in a relatively free society like the USA and your are not a high profile persona locally or nationally like a TV person, actor, actress, or politician, and you are not involved in government-secret-highly valuable work, then simple and easy is probably the best way to go.

The simplest & easiest is ASUS built-in VPN-PPTP server with Windows built-in VPN client. The not-as-simple and not-as-easy is ASUS built-in OpenVPN server. Everything else is, well, harder.

If you use ASUS VPN Server for PPTP, Apple's iOS devices will refuse to work with it unless you do some technical stuff to address that issue. That means it will not work as a personal Hotspot to successfully connect to your VPN. If you want to use an iOS device as a personal Hotspot, they will work OK with ASUS built-in OpenVPN server.

Sky

Thank you for the in-depth information! Since that post I chose to use my VPN only to gain access to local devices and not for streaming media. I think anything more than setting up an OpenVPN for me is too far out of my own knowledge. However the insight you just gave will help me get started in researching for a better solution!