Network performance with aging routers:

Hello I am using the ASUS RT-AX82U router and love it.

I have 8+ years old Netgear router, Comcast 200/5mbps. Works as new.

Hope your messages not going across that everyone need to upgrade they routers/switches.

KN7K

I had a 4-year-old ASUS router. It was reliable but connections across rooms were poor.

I replaced it with Google Mesh with 3 units. Initial setup by phone app very fast. Range phenomenal - distances up to 600 ft easy. But DHCP and forwarding setups are a nightmare. It is all by phone. You do a static DHCP and nothing changes despite reboots. But 2 hours later it is working. And then port forwarding that sometimes works sometimes not. I went on a 1-month overseas trip hoping to be able to use my station remotely, and the internet power switch would not work despite mesh reboots. It started working magically when I came back.

Perhaps the trouble is with Google, which wants to do everything by phone app where screen space is limited.

Ignacy NO9E

I have been running Bufferbloat tests for a few years now, and usually I am at A grade when running the test with the computer attached with tp cable, and often B grade or worse when using WiFi. My connection is FTTH (fiber to home) and 100/100 Mb. The router is a Mikrotik RB4011 and I have a fiber from the router down to the incoming "router" that is supplied by the provider. I had to use a TP-cable to fiber converter at the incoming end, as there is only TP option for the user, but my Mikrotik offers a SFP port. This gives me less copper cable (20 meter), and galvanic isolation, and hopefully less RFI :)

I just set up the router to use a simple queue to see if it would improve the latency. As I usually see 80-100 Mb when testing, I did set the limit to 70 Mb. Tested this using my Dell laptop using WiFi and a congested 2,4 GHz. Surprised to se a substasial improvement, and for the first time I do get A+ grade when testing! The morale is one does not need the "coolest/newest" h/w but need to be able to understand how to configure it :) But honestly I'm not sure I will notice any difference between grad A and A+.

> @Mike-VA3MW said:
> @Ignacy
> I use Google Mesh at home. Just make sure you run the Mesh in bridge mode and you don't have to worry about DHCP or port forward issues.
> If you don't do that, then you have to operate in a double NAT'd mode and that is painful.
> 73

Hello Mike

I have a google mesh.

I have enabled UnPNP on my router, Also upnp on my Mesh.

Still unable to set up smart link .

I got the ports 4994 TCP and 4993 UDP, and tried manual port forward, still not connection.

When i go into the advance setting in the mesh and try to see for Mode, NAT vs Bridge, i am unable to set it up, as it mentions mode has been setup automatcally.

I have opened up a ticket, and awaiting a response

What am i doing wrong.

I have windows 11, Smart SDR 3.5.9,

Please help

Thanks

Jith

One comment on router performance.

Some software enables the packet inspection / QOS option by default. If it is enabled, it consumes a large number of CPU cycles. This can slow router performance (speeds) down greatly. I've seen a router go from 1gbps speed tests to 300-350mbps. Sometimes this option to disable packet inspection is known as Cut-Through-Forwarding (CTF) although it has other names/check boxes. Once enabled, the more packet inspection functions you have enabled, the more CPU cycles are consumed. If you are not seeing speed tests at your ISP's stated speeds, you may want to look at router options.

For Comcast, their routers are set to +20%, so if you pay for 100mbps down, 10 mbps up, you should expect to see something close to 120mbps down, 12mbps up. For their 800mbps service, you should see something like 940-960mbps down. That speed pretty much fills a 1gbps wired Ethernet link. Wired connections are the best way to test internet speeds.