RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

Hi all,

I've recently upgraded to the 300mbps service. However I think I'm finding that my Asus RT-N66u is unable to handle that speed as it seems to limit at 230ish (and I can see CPU on the router is maxxed out).

Documentation suggests it should be able to handle that speed however posts on other forums say the cpu is too weak.

Has anyone else got the same router working with 300mbps?

If not, can anyone recommend an upgrade that can support 300mbps (and ideally be further futureproofed for the next upgrade... :) )

Lee.

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

Sounds like the H/W acceleration is turned off?

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt...1/#post-216396

What firmware are you running?

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

I've just updated to the latest LTS fork: Firmware:374.43_27E5j9527 just to see if that made any difference, which it hasn't.

HW acceleration is shown as being enabled in the GUI.

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

If you've any QoS on the router and are using it that, also, would slow things down.

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

fret not, it is good for 731mbits. I knew there is no way it would be limited to ~200mbits because that is what one of my old Linksys routers was limited to and that was 10 years old and secondly, I bought myself an ac68u earlier this year and I checked before hand that it is good for 900mbits+ so I knew yours wouldn't be far behind.

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

Yeah I've seen its supposedly capable, but I don't seem to be able to reach it.

I've got QoS turned off and HW acceleration on, but it seems to max at 230mbps. When its downloading the cpu load average gets up to 1.51 which I'm assuming is the problem. :(

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

There are a few different settings that can disable HW acceleration. Their weird and pointless web security stuff in co-operation with Trend Micro is one of those things. Basically anything that needs the router to look deeper into packets so application layer gateways, some VPN passthrough options, etc, will cause them to not use acceleration.

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

Seems too much of a coincidence that it is the same as the 200Mb VM service. If it was HW limited in some way I would expect it to be something different and more "random", eg 265Mb. Is it some other network management on the PC? I have Killer Network drivers and there is a network management option.

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

The SH3 is showing its provisioned at 402500000 which seems right (320mbit).

I don't think its PC related as I can transfer files around on my internal network at ~110MB/s (gigabit speeds).

Will try direct to the SH3 to prove that its not a network issue.

---------- Post added at 13:14 ---------- Previous post was at 12:41 ----------

OK so connected directly to the SH3 and speedtest.net shows 370mbps!

So I think I've proved its the N66u slowing me down. Guess I need a new router!

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

Try using asus merlin firmware to see if that helps

https://asuswrt.lostrealm.ca/

I have the same router but on only 200mb, so can't comment.

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

I'm using merlin firmware, albeit a fork by John on the same forum.

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

I am using his firmware on my N66U but it is in AP mode at the moment so I can't do a like-for-like test to compare.

Post a q on John's Merlin thread, he is usually very prompt & helpful ..

This post on this thread is interesting:

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/fo...09#post-332834

The user seems to have same issue as you although someone else says he gets 900Mbps+ on Johns fork with a N66U ..

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

You need both CTF and FA to hit 350mbit.

So all the logging, QoS, and stats need to be disabled. I had the same with my AC87u.

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

I've disabled everything I can find on the router pages.

When I do a speedtest, the UI on the router stops responding, which tells me the cpu is maxxed.

I'll try a hard reset tomorrow when the kids are at school.

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

Sometimes even after you turn things off you need to reboot several times. I had a nightmare getting FA to turn on on mine, and since it did have barely dared touch anything (although I only use it as an AP now not a router).

Some info here:
https://routerguide.net/nat-acceleration-on-or-off/

There is a page that shows you what is enabled, on mine it's here:

https://imgur.com/C1YQrLu

Both CTF and FA are needed, without either you won't get more than about 80mbit, CTF will get you to around 200, you need both for more.

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

I currently get a max of 333Mb down speed through my RT N66U. (Ethernet) This is the Max allowing for overheads in my SH3 Config file. I have no reason to believe that when VM boost me to 350Mb that I wont get 360Mb or more.

Check that your firmware is up to date and that all your ports and switches are capable of gigabit speeds and that any connecting cable is Cat5e or better.

I also get over 300Mb using WiFi in the same room as my N66U.

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/...2017/09/16.png


Ethernet, but with 3 other users currently on line in the house.

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

Yup, the router is capable of it, it just needs hardware acceleration.

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

Where is Hw acceleration in the Rt-N66U?

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

Thanks for this. On my router for NAT acceleration I only have Enable or Disable... maybe due to a different firmware. It also doesn't show the message you have in yellow.

I can only assume that somehow FA isn't enabled (even though it says it is).

Will try a full factory reset later this morning and see if that helps.

---------- Post added at 08:49 ---------- Previous post was at 08:47 ----------

LAN - SWITCH CONTROL page.

---------- Post added at 08:56 ---------- Previous post was at 08:49 ----------

Well this proves it must be possible then.

My firmware is not the latest, as from what I've read over on the smallnetbuilder forums, the older firmware level is better. There is a guy called john who maintains this version with the latest updates.


I do have a gigabit switch inbetween my pc and the router, but I have no problem transferring to my NAS at 110MB/s which is max gigabit speed so I don't think that's the issue.

If the factory reset doesn't help I may as well try the newest firmware I guess and see if that helps.

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

OK so I have an update with good news!

I did a factory reset on the firmware i was using which was the latest of johns LTS (374.43_27E5j9527) and then immediately ran a speedtest without changing anything. No joy, same 230mbps limit.

So decided to try the latest merlin fw (380.68_2) and lo and behold I've now got full speed!

Interestingly on the LAN - SWITCH CONTROL page it only shows CTF is enabled:

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/...2017/09/16.jpg


On the new version there is a nice cpu graph too, so you can see the cpu load whilst doing a speed test. Much better:

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/...2017/09/17.jpg

Guess I'm going to have to return the new router I ordered last night.... oops !

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/...2017/09/17.png

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

Great! Good news. Merlin 380.68_2 you say? I might try that myself.

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

You may find your Wireless range reduced with the latest Merlin as it uses the newer ASUS drivers. This was the main reason John forked Merlin in the first place.

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

Yeah, I'll have to see how I get on i guess.

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

Good job! Yes Asus nuked the wireless performance somewhat to placate the FCC despite them only having jurisdiction in the US.

Turning off spanning tree protocol might get you FA, but if you're happy with the current performance then yay!

Re: RT-N66u not capable of 300mbps?
 

I've tried turning off the spanning tree protocol (read it on one of the links) but still only shows CTF.

Still, it maxes the connection at around 50% cpu, so seems like it will work :)