VPN speed on router slower than macbook

[dreba]

VPN on my macbook is faster than the same vpn config on my ac68. Why is that? CPU load is normal.

 

[ColinTaylor]

I'm not sure I understand the question. A VPN client running on a MacBook will be much faster than a VPN client running on the router because the CPU in the MacBook is much more powerful.

 

[dreba]

So I should expect a throughout around 12mbs? I doubt that. There must be some other explanation

 

[Jack Yaz]

So I should expect a throughout around 12mbs? I doubt that. There must be some other explanation

What level of encryption are you using?

Your CPU in your router is either 800MHZ or 1GHz - neither of which are going to handle VPN traffic at substantial throughput.

 

[ColinTaylor]

So I should expect a throughout around 12mbs? I doubt that. There must be some other explanation

The following thread describes how one user managed to increase his VPN speed from ~10Mbps to ~50Mbps (although it did require overclocking the CPU).

https://www.privateinternetaccess.c...-50-mb-throughput-on-pia-with-an-asus-rt-ac68

 

[dreba]

According to most forum posts I have read, the throughput is around 30mbs (without over clocking), so something is wrong here.

 

[Zirescu]

Depends on your VPN provider and encryption level.

 

[dreba]

Depends on your VPN provider and encryption level.

Why? I am using 128 aes.

 

[Zirescu]

Some VPN providers enforce higher encryption levels which bogs the router down. Usually you'll want to connect to the VPN server that is closest to you but this might not always be the fastest server so a little trial an error could be required.. Are you using CBC or GCM? Are you also using the latest firmware on your router?

 

[dreba]

Fastest server? Why does that matter? The very same server on my Mac maxes out my internet connection 50mbs but on the ASUS 10-12mbs. Latest fw yes.

 

[hvluu]

Again, the processor on a high-end laptop and desktop is way more powerful than the embedded processor in the consumer-end routers. Hence it explains the big gap of speed between your Mac and your router.

However, the AC68U (I assume, not sure if your router is the U series), without overclocking won't be able to pull more than 20Mbps (I have one myself so I know). Even with overclocking (I overclocked it to 1.4Ghz), the speed that I was getting with my VPN provider (Torguard) topped at 40Mbps, and it usually gave me ~35Mbps. Of course it still depends on the cypher you're using and the server you're connected.

There was time when I was so obsessed with the VPN throughput, I signed up for all the free trial from almost every VPN provider out there I could find that are reliable and not under the 14-eye countries and the speed I got was always under 20Mbps which was not acceptable for me as my ISP top speed is 110Mbps. I haven't tried PIA yet so I can't speak for the service nor the speed.

If you want a more dedicated router for VPN, you can get the AC86U (I just got it last week) and it should max out your ISP's speed right out of the box. Or just build a pfSense box router.

 

[dreba]

Very useful info, thanks a lot! Pfsense seems interesting, possible to run on Mac mini?

 

[hvluu]

Mac mini should be more than enough if you do not care about power consumption


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