The Limits of a GS-AX3000

[dwp]

I purchased a GS-AX3000 to replace a Netgear R6400. The Netgear simply could not seem to keep up with the number of devices I was trying to connect to it. That number was about 17 (mostly wifi but several wired too). At this point, adding another device caused problems with connections being dropped an not-re-eastablished, etc. I finally gave up fighting this and purchased the GS-AX3000 and things were immediately improved - what a relief!

I felt free to start adding devices to the router/network - mostly wifi. Aft first, this did not seem to make much of an issue. I did, however, need to start running scheduled reboots in the middle of the night, twice a week. Thankfully, ASUS-WRT made that easy enough.

However, I recently tried to add a new machine and that machine needed not only its own IP but two more IPs for the 2 VirtualBoxes it was to run. This brought the total to maybe 25 devices being connected. At this point I started to notice the same sort of sad behavior I was seeing in the old Netgear at about 17 devices. I think I can live with things this way. I am not sure if a router with more RAM or a fast processor would "fix" this and allow more devices to connect. It is just no clear to me what the limiting factor is.

Any input?

Thanks

 

[ColinTaylor]

I did, however, need to start running scheduled reboots in the middle of the night, twice a week.

This indicates there's something wrong. The router ought to stay up for months on end without the need for rebooting. Try to fix this problem first.

However, I recently tried to add a new machine and that machine needed not only its own IP but two more IPs for the 2 VirtualBoxes it was to run. This brought the total to maybe 25 devices being connected. At this point I started to notice the same sort of sad behavior I was seeing in the old Netgear at about 17 devices. I think I can live with things this way. I am not sure if a router with more RAM or a fast processor would "fix" this and allow more devices to connect. It is just no clear to me what the limiting factor is.

RAM and CPU don't affect the number of devices that can connect. Even old Asus routers from 5 years ago can support hundreds of clients simultaneously. Each WiFi SSID will typically support either 64 or 128 client connections.

 

[sfx2000]

RAM and CPU don't affect the number of devices that can connect. Even old Asus routers from 5 years ago can support hundreds of clients simultaneously. Each WiFi SSID will typically support either 64 or 128 client connections.

RAM matters...

WiFi has to track AID's (Association ID) for every wireless client station

NAT requires RAM for every network flow ID and state table entries...

Don't use blanket statements...

 

[ColinTaylor]

RAM matters...

WiFi has to track AID's (Association ID) for every wireless client station

NAT requires RAM for every network flow ID and state table entries...

Don't use blanket statements...

Oh good grief. Get a life. He was asking whether he needed to buy a router with more than 512 MB of RAM to support up to 25 devices.

 

[sfx2000]

Oh good grief. Get a life. He was asking whether he needed to buy a router with more than 512 MB of RAM to support up to 25 devices.

Don't use blanket statements - that's my point...

 

[ColinTaylor]

Don't use blanket statements - that's my point...

I would have thought it was obvious by my quoting of his question immediately before my reply that I was answering that rather than making a blanket statement. Apparently not.

 

[sfx2000]

I would have thought it was obvious by my quoting of his question immediately before my reply that I was answering that rather than making a blanket statement. Apparently not.

Everything we do can be considered general knowledge - and you are very knowledgeable...

 

[dwp]

Hi to all and thanks. I AM wondering if I will need to consider getting a different router at some point if my supply of devices continues to grow. But it is not an immediate thing. I really DO have to conclude that RAM, at least matters to some extent. It seems likely that CPU might as well. One never gets something for nothing and my own experience with both the old Netgear and now this new Asus strongly suggests that device counts do impact router performance. I would also point out that increasingly router makers are specifying device counts on their offerings (although these may not be accurate).

However, I cannot say that this "explains" the issues I have noticed - especially on the new Asus router. As I have reported elsewhere, I see lots of stuff like this in the router's log:

Dec  7 06:00:09 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(508): eth5: Disassoc xx:E6:2D:97:E1:E5, status: 0, reason: Disassociated because sending station is leaving (or has left) BSS (8), rssi:0
Dec  7 06:00:09 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(508): eth5: Disassoc xx:E6:2D:97:E1:E5, status: 0, reason: Disassociated because sending station is leaving (or has left) BSS (8), rssi:0
Dec  7 06:00:14 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(527): eth5: Auth xx:E6:2D:97:E1:E5, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
Dec  7 06:00:14 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(556): eth5: Assoc xx:E6:2D:97:E1:E5, status: Successful (0), rssi:-55

and

Dec  7 07:22:23 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(491): eth5: Deauth_ind x:EF:CA:F7:68:D4, status: 0, reason: Disassociated due to inactivity (4), rssi:0

As the number of devices increases, the frequency of this stuff increases. It really has me stumped. Cheers!