Not receiving close to full connection speed using R2 router

[Ravenuk]

Hi,

I have an R2 router on a FTTH/FTTP connection, I recently switched to a different ISP as they were offering faster speeds for less money, upgrading to 900/450Mbps.  Both ISPs use the same OFNL network here in the UK.

I noticed after the switchover that I couldn't achieve the full throughput, either from the router's web interface or on multiple computers connected directly via wired ethernet to the R2.  (Even just one device connected, with as close to zero applications/services running in the background to ensure it was a fair test)

I tried the most recent firmware, and also the beta, along with various factory resets of the R2 router, but the averages were always similar to the image/attachment 3 and 2.  I therefore logged this with my ISP who asked me to connect directly to the ZTE modem and establish a direct PPPoE connection from a computer, this returned the results I'd expect to see, consistently. (Image/attachment 1)

I switched back to the R2 and have tried tweaking various settings, including the MTU and even changing the network cable running between the ZTE and R2 router in case that had some damage or a kink.
Nothing unfortunately I've tried so far has made a difference, so I'm looking for some advice if there is anything you can recommend I also try.   I believe the R2 should be able to reach these speeds?

I've temporarily tested the connection on a Netgear XR500 router running the V2.3.2.134 firmware, although the router itself is unable to reach the full speed internally on the connection benchmark (attachment 4), if I manually set the speeds on the XR500, my computer connected via this is fine.  (Attachment 5)

So this is somewhat of a non-issue in many respects, and I do appreciate the XR500 hardware is likely a higher specification.  However the R2 issue is bugging me and ideally I'd prefer to use the R2 as this receives more frequent firmware updates and therefore features.  I'm ultimately just looking for every fair advantage I can get when I go against the aim-assist filled lobbies in Warzone 2.

Hopefully I'm not missing something horrendously obvious here!

Thank you for any assistance/guidance you can provide.

 

[Netduma Fraser]

Hey, welcome to the forum!

Looks like you've put your expected speeds in which is great, disable SmartQoS/QoS fully then do a third party test, what is the speed you get then?

There are only a few settings that will boost the speed - disabling QoS entirely and disabling the protection options in WAN Settings, whatever you get then will be your max

[Fuzy]

Hi,

I imagine you are on a pppoe connection behind your ONT, which might show a slight difference from a live test of your ISP router.

As for the R2's live benchmark test, unfortunately it uses the MLab test which does not necessarily match the test servers following your ISP's peering. It is best to manually enter your flow values.

See this capture, as you can see the R2 is approaching the maximum speeds in RJ45 1G.

The test server, on the other hand, makes the difference!

 

 

[Ravenuk]

Thank you both.

Would you suggest that I just fully disable SmartQoS on the R2 beta firmware to start?

Only unless absolutely necessary, it seems beneficial to be keeping the WAN settings as per the below/attached?  (Though perhaps tweaking the MTU from the default?)

Thanks!

[Fuzy]

The test I did was with smartQoS enabled! so no !

If you don't know! everything is best left as default on the XR500...

[Ravenuk]

Thanks.  That's a bit more confusing then as the attached is the absolute best I've been able to achieve on my computer connected via the R2, with the 900/450 speeds entered manually, whereas the first attachment in my initial post is via the XR500.

I'll give it a try as per Fraser's suggestion and report back, so at the very least a proces of elimination is taking place. 😅

Thank you.

[Fuzy]

Do the test with the app on windows store (it uses less CPU resource).

This capture is made with your ISP or with a VPN ... ?

[Netduma Fraser]

50 minutes ago, Ravenuk said:

Thanks.  That's a bit more confusing then as the attached is the absolute best I've been able to achieve on my computer connected via the R2, with the 900/450 speeds entered manually, whereas the first attachment in my initial post is via the XR500.

I'll give it a try as per Fraser's suggestion and report back, so at the very least a proces of elimination is taking place. 😅

Thank you.

Try with QoS disabled first, that will give you a good idea of what it is capable to achieve. It may be PPPoE slowing it down, so what I would suggest next is perhaps having the XR500 handling PPPoE, with the R2 in the 500 DMZ then remove PPPoE from the R2 and see what you get.

[Ravenuk]

Apologies, some other life tasks took over and I've only just been able to return to this.

Sorry to be a pain but where do I disable Smart QoS?  I'm probably having a mare but can only assume it would be under http://IP/dumaweb/#dashboard
But cannot see exactly where to go from here!

In an ideal world I was hoping to give the XR500 to my brother, so is there any modem you can recommend that can perform the PPPoE task instead of the R2?

Thank you.

[Netduma Fraser]

27 minutes ago, Ravenuk said:

Apologies, some other life tasks took over and I've only just been able to return to this.

Sorry to be a pain but where do I disable Smart QoS?  I'm probably having a mare but can only assume it would be under http://IP/dumaweb/#dashboard
But cannot see exactly where to go from here!

In an ideal world I was hoping to give the XR500 to my brother, so is there any modem you can recommend that can perform the PPPoE task instead of the R2?

Thank you.

No worries, click the TV/Play icon top right on dumaweb, go to Settings and you can disable it from there.

Nothing specifically but any should do really!

[Ravenuk]

Just to confirm that using the XR500 for the PPPoE authentication with the R2 in a DMZ is giving faster speeds than when having the R2 perform PPPoE.  It's not the ful 900/450, more say 713/422 (this is testing via speedtest.net), but that's more than sufficient and could just be the time of the night or the server it's testing from..

EDIT - The R2 lost internet connectivity for a few minutes without me seemingly touching anything, though the router uptime suggests it hasn't rebooted.  Most importantly though is that now whilst in the above configuration, the speeds are perfect and just a few Mbps under the full advetised 900/450..!

Ideally I'd like to re-home the XR500 though if possible, it feels a bit too nice a piece of hardware to be acting purely in this role.   So if anyone in the community could suggest a PPPoE modem from experience that they know works well with FTTP/ONT/OFNL it would be most appreciated.  I've had a look online but have read so much conflicting information around recommended chipsets etc that I'd rather make a decision based on someone's first hand positive experience.

Thank you.

Edited August 25, 2023 by Ravenuk
Change in circumstance

[Fuzy]

I would say that the best would be to take the one provided by your ISP with your internet subscription and put the r2 in dmz behind!
Not sure that you will get better results (throughput speed) with a lambda router, the problem comes more from pppoe protocol which is not optimized for very high throughput!

[Netduma Fraser]

13 hours ago, Ravenuk said:

Just to confirm that using the XR500 for the PPPoE authentication with the R2 in a DMZ is giving faster speeds than when having the R2 perform PPPoE.  It's not the ful 900/450, more say 713/422 (this is testing via speedtest.net), but that's more than sufficient and could just be the time of the night or the server it's testing from..

EDIT - The R2 lost internet connectivity for a few minutes without me seemingly touching anything, though the router uptime suggests it hasn't rebooted.  Most importantly though is that now whilst in the above configuration, the speeds are perfect and just a few Mbps under the full advetised 900/450..!

Ideally I'd like to re-home the XR500 though if possible, it feels a bit too nice a piece of hardware to be acting purely in this role.   So if anyone in the community could suggest a PPPoE modem from experience that they know works well with FTTP/ONT/OFNL it would be most appreciated.  I've had a look online but have read so much conflicting information around recommended chipsets etc that I'd rather make a decision based on someone's first hand positive experience.

Thank you.

Great to hear that resolved it, in the meantime PPPoE/QoS/speeds is something we're looking into. As above if you're able to have your ISP modem/router or switch to a modem/router combo that would do the trick, any should work just fine.