Slow Download Speed with Ethernet on XR500

[bz0r]

Hey Everyone!

I've been able to find a lot of topics relating to unusually slow speeds for XR500s on this forum; however, once the "normal" steps are offered (i.e., fully disable QoS, disable IPv6, PPPoE settings, etc.) they dive into "well that's weird" with no real resolution...

So, not to bring this up again, but I'm absolutely stumped... here's the run-down:

Problem

• Internet speeds are normally 48 Mbps Down / 4 Mbps Up
• I get those speeds via most connections/tests: XR500 dumaOS Connection Benchmark, WiFi connections to the XR500, and directly from the modem (Pace 5268AC).
• However, my desktop computer when connected via Ethernet gets an unstable ~30 Mbps when connected to the XR500, but gets the full speed when directly connected to the Modem (5268AC)
• NOTE: wireless connections to the XR500 get the full speed... it's only Ethernet that's having issues. My desktop doesn't have WiFi, so not an option there.

Steps Taken

• Upgraded Firmware: XR500 V2.3.2.104-DumaOS3.0-Beta
• Fully disabled QoS, reset Bandwidth Allocation Distributions, disable all Traffic Prioritization rules
• Re-enabled QoS but set Anti-Bufferbloat to 'Always' and at 100%/100%, again resetting Bandwidth Allocation Distributions
• Ensured "Share Excess" is enabled in QoS for both download/upload
• Disabled IPv6
• Verified no PPPoE involved
• Tested on different cables

All of the above made no difference at all...

The fact that it's working via WiFi but not Ethernet is very weird. I'm at my wits end trying to figure out what's going on. It's not only slow but highly variable (speeds jumping up/down all over the place during the test, but all other connections get the 48Mbps like butter...)

If anyone has any ideas/pointers, I'm all ears :).

[Netduma Fraser]

Can you run an experiment please, this will help us determine whether it is the router or the PC that is causing the slow down. First, just try the other LAN ports. Second, re-enable QoS, leave Congestion Control on Never but add a manual rule for Traffic Prioritization to the wired PC. Use advanced and for source & destinations ports do 1-65535 TCP/UDP then run a speed test, double check high priority goes up when you do it to ensure the rule works and see what speeds you get.

[bz0r]

Hey Fraser!

Thanks for the quick reply-- I'm game for any experiment.  Here's what happened:

1. Different LAN Port

Was about to kick myself if it was just a faulty port, but unfortunately, I got the same speeds on the rest of the LAN ports.

2. Advanced Traffic Prioritization Settings

Followed the steps you outlined:

• Set QoS on, Congestion Control to "Never"
• Added manual Advanced Traffic Prioritization Source/Destination 1-65535 over TCP & UDP
• Confirmed that it was catching packets from my machine properly (started/end a stream and saw packets increase/stop accordingly)

Conclusion: it's a mixed bag. Definitely more stable and a little bit faster, but still not at the speeds I get when connected directly to the modem-- though a step in the right direction. I ran two tests and it spikes up to ~40 Mbps, dropping to ~38 Mbps by the end of the test.

Does that tell us anything meaningful?

Thanks again for the quick help here-- any possible test is much appreciated

[Netduma Fraser]

Could you just screenshot the rule you made just so I can double check it please? It does seem to suggest so far that it is capable of reaching those speeds so probably not an issue with the device itself. Could indicate that usually when it's slower that something else might be using up the bandwidth and preventing a full speed test.

[bz0r]

Hi Fraser,

I don't have a screenshot for you, but I can guarantee that I followed the instructions to the letter.

I actually bypassed the router entirely, plugging my computer directly into the modem to get the full 50Mbps no problem. I thought to try the XR500 again today, so put my desktop back through it, and the connection was basically unusable (Zoom calls were extremely choppy, which I need for WFH).

I appreciate your tips, but it's clear to me that something is very wrong with the Ethernet connection on the device-- for whatever reason. At this point, I'm moving to a Google router, so no longer an issue for me personally, but if anyone is reading this for any debugged purposes, the issue was not resolved-- unfortunately.

[Netduma Fraser]

Could you try these settings for your PC ethernet adapter and see if that improves it please?

https://helpdesk.flexradio.com/hc/en-us/articles/202118518-Optimizing-Ethernet-Adapter-Settings-for-Maximum-Performance