R3 Congestion Control not working correctly + Ping Optimizer causes instability (Zen PPPoE)

[coffeehouse]

 

Hello Fraser / NetDuma Team,

I would like to report a possible R3 firmware/DumaOS issue. I have spent a long time testing different configurations, and I believe this may not be a normal setup problem.

Network setup:

• Router: NetDuma R3

• ISP: Zen Internet FTTP

• Connection type: PPPoE

• Speed: 900 Mbps download / 100 Mbps upload

• Firmware: DumaOS 4.0.540

Main issue:

The Congestion Control function appears to have little or no effect.

I manually changed the percentages (10%, 20%, 50%, etc.), but the Bufferbloat results do not change. It feels like QoS is not actually applying the limits.

I have already tested:

• IPv6 disabled

• SmartBOOST ON and OFF

• Speed Test Bypass ON and OFF

• Congestion Control mode set to Always

• Different Congestion Control percentages

• Different Ethernet cables

• R3 as main router

• R3 as secondary router behind Zen router

The result is basically the same.

Another problem:

When running Ping Optimizer, sometimes the R3 loses Internet connection completely. After several reboots it recovers.

After recovery, the built-in R3 Speed Test sometimes becomes abnormal:

• Normally around 900 Mbps download

• After the issue sometimes only around 500 Mbps download

Strange behaviour:

Sometimes without changing any settings:

• Bufferbloat suddenly becomes Grade A

• Speed Test returns to normal

• Everything works correctly

Then later, without any changes, the problem returns again.

Additional observation:

When R3 is used as a secondary router, the Speed Test ping was previously around 5–6 ms.

After the recent instability, the same setup now shows around 7–8 ms consistently.

I mainly use the R3 for competitive gaming (eFootball), so consistent latency and stable QoS performance are very important.

Could you please advise:

1. Is this a known PPPoE/QoS issue?

2. Could Congestion Control be failing internally?

3. Is there any Diagnostic Log I can provide?

4. Is there an Early Access/Beta firmware available that I could test?

I am happy to test firmware versions and provide feedback if it helps identify the issue.

Thank you very much.

[Netduma Fraser]

There can be issues with PPPoE sometimes so if possible I'd suggest having the other router handle it, put the R3 then in the main router DMZ to ensure you don't have any NAT issues then connect ALL devices to the R3 and see if Congestion Control works better then. Ping Optimizer can be inaccurate so I wouldn't trust the values all the time, also by design it disconnects devices to ensure they don't interfere with the test, when finished they would reconnect. There are logs in Settings > Advanced > Troubleshooting.

I've given you Early Access so you can try the firmware there: https://forum.netduma.com/topic/60946-new-r3-firmware-dumaos-401147/