hi I have a mini pc with intel n100 alder lake. Software 23.05.3 ext4. Connected via PPPoe to the ont. I have speed problems, the 4 cores reach 100% and the mini PC overheats a lot, losing Mbit. via Iperf3 I have 2.35GB but when it warms up after 1 minute it reaches 1.8GB. Through speed tests ookla varies from 300 to 800 downloads with 100% used cpu.
in the bios it shows the cpu at 800Mhz not at 3400Mhz.
I enabled irqbalance and packet steering. In my opinion there is some active protection such as energy saving and in addition the MHz of the CPU remains low in my opinion. What should I activate? I need to install some other package?
I'm not going to try to provide a solution but I do want to point out your CPU usage is, ridiculously, high; so let's provide as much information possible outside the box of your post.
What else is your MiniPC tasked with? Is it dedicated to OpenWrt? What packages have you added?
Is that a fresh install? If not, please provide more history.
My gut is saying something is either not correctly configured or there is, critical, information missing needed to solve for you.
2.5 GBit/s WAN speed and PPPoE might push the n100 to its limit, so overheating will certainly affect its throughput (I still wouldn't expect a 'perfect' distribution over all cores, more like the bulk on 1.5 cores). So -especially for testing- have a look at the cooling situation and point a big fan onto it (ideally there opened case) and check how the device behaves - and keep an eye on the temperatures (htop can display frequencies and temperatures, sensors in a 1s loop isn't bad either).
He is not wrong but if the network is trying to pull that much bandwidth as frequently as 'all the time I use it' it raises the question: Is it too personal to ask why the network demands that much bandwidth instantly and for a long time?
I read your OP to mean "as soon as I connect'; meaning 'only when I connect to it with my PC'.
Did I misunderstand?
I have a hard time imagining that, unless the CPU is thermal throttling or somehow locked into its lower clockspeeds. N100 cores are quite the beasts.
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That was, as I read it, what @slh was saying -- it's likely that the system has inadequate thermal dissipation and is thus throttling. And I would say eaxactly the same thing based on your description:
It could be any number of factors, depending on the physical design of your enclosure -- from the processor-to-heatsink connection (is the thermal interface material or paste applied properly) all the way up to the airflow through and around the full enclosure and the ambient room conditions. It's hard to say exactly what the best solution will be, but you can setup a fan to blow right over the heatsink (with the enclosure open) and see if that improves anything.
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I think it is more important and more OpenWrt related to figure out why the CPU usage is so high.
Those miniPCs can run C-S GO; albeit slowly.
But can it run Crysis?.
I don't know.
this is the mini pc
8gb ram e 256gb NVMe
{
"kernel": "5.15.150",
"hostname": "OpenWrt",
"system": "Intel(R) N100",
"model": "Default string Default string",
"board_name": "default-string-default-string",
"rootfs_type": "ext4",
"release": {
"distribution": "OpenWrt",
"version": "23.05.3",
"revision": "r23809-234f1a2efa",
"target": "x86/64",
"description": "OpenWrt 23.05.3 r23809-234f1a2efa"
}
config interface 'loopback'
option device 'lo'
option proto 'static'
option ipaddr '#####'
option netmask '255.0.0.0'
config globals 'globals'
option ula_prefix '####'
option packet_steering '1'
config device
option name 'br-lan'
option type 'bridge'
list ports 'eth0'
config interface 'lan'
option device 'br-lan'
option proto 'static'
option ipaddr '192.168.1.1'
option netmask '255.255.255.0'
option ip6assign '60'
config interface 'wan'
option device 'eth1.835'
option proto 'pppoe'
option username '######'
option password '#####'
option ipv6 'auto'
config device
option type '8021q'
option ifname 'eth1'
option vid '835'
option name 'eth1.835'
cat: can't open '/etc/config/wireless': No such file or directory
config dnsmasq
option domainneeded '1'
option boguspriv '1'
option filterwin2k '0'
option localise_queries '1'
option rebind_protection '1'
option rebind_localhost '1'
option local '/lan/'
option domain 'lan'
option expandhosts '1'
option nonegcache '0'
option cachesize '1000'
option authoritative '1'
option readethers '1'
option leasefile '/tmp/dhcp.leases'
option resolvfile '/tmp/resolv.conf.d/resolv.conf.auto'
option nonwildcard '1'
option localservice '1'
option ednspacket_max '1232'
option filter_aaaa '0'
option filter_a '0'
config dhcp 'lan'
option interface 'lan'
option start '100'
option limit '150'
option leasetime '12h'
option dhcpv4 'server'
option dhcpv6 'server'
option ra 'server'
option ra_slaac '1'
list ra_flags 'managed-config'
list ra_flags 'other-config'
config dhcp 'wan'
option interface 'wan'
option ignore '1'
config odhcpd 'odhcpd'
option maindhcp '0'
option leasefile '/tmp/hosts/odhcpd'
option leasetrigger '/usr/sbin/odhcpd-update'
option loglevel '4'
config defaults
option input 'REJECT'
option output 'ACCEPT'
option forward 'REJECT'
option synflood_protect '1'
config zone
option name 'lan'
option input 'ACCEPT'
option output 'ACCEPT'
option forward 'ACCEPT'
list network 'lan'
config zone
option name 'wan'
option input 'REJECT'
option output 'ACCEPT'
option forward 'REJECT'
option masq '1'
option mtu_fix '1'
list network 'wan'
config forwarding
option src 'lan'
option dest 'wan'
config rule
option name 'Allow-DHCP-Renew'
option src 'wan'
option proto 'udp'
option dest_port '68'
option target 'ACCEPT'
option family 'ipv4'
config rule
option name 'Allow-Ping'
option src 'wan'
option proto 'icmp'
option icmp_type 'echo-request'
option family 'ipv4'
option target 'ACCEPT'
config rule
option name 'Allow-IGMP'
option src 'wan'
option proto 'igmp'
option family 'ipv4'
option target 'ACCEPT'
config rule
option name 'Allow-DHCPv6'
option src 'wan'
option proto 'udp'
option dest_port '546'
option family 'ipv6'
option target 'ACCEPT'
config rule
option name 'Allow-MLD'
option src 'wan'
option proto 'icmp'
option src_ip 'fe80::/10'
list icmp_type '130/0'
list icmp_type '131/0'
list icmp_type '132/0'
list icmp_type '143/0'
option family 'ipv6'
option target 'ACCEPT'
config rule
option name 'Allow-ICMPv6-Input'
option src 'wan'
option proto 'icmp'
list icmp_type 'echo-request'
list icmp_type 'echo-reply'
list icmp_type 'destination-unreachable'
list icmp_type 'packet-too-big'
list icmp_type 'time-exceeded'
list icmp_type 'bad-header'
list icmp_type 'unknown-header-type'
list icmp_type 'router-solicitation'
list icmp_type 'neighbour-solicitation'
list icmp_type 'router-advertisement'
list icmp_type 'neighbour-advertisement'
option limit '1000/sec'
option family 'ipv6'
option target 'ACCEPT'
config rule
option name 'Allow-ICMPv6-Forward'
option src 'wan'
option dest '*'
option proto 'icmp'
list icmp_type 'echo-request'
list icmp_type 'echo-reply'
list icmp_type 'destination-unreachable'
list icmp_type 'packet-too-big'
list icmp_type 'time-exceeded'
list icmp_type 'bad-header'
list icmp_type 'unknown-header-type'
option limit '1000/sec'
option family 'ipv6'
option target 'ACCEPT'
config rule
option name 'Allow-IPSec-ESP'
option src 'wan'
option dest 'lan'
option proto 'esp'
option target 'ACCEPT'
config rule
option name 'Allow-ISAKMP'
option src 'wan'
option dest 'lan'
option dest_port '500'
option proto 'udp'
option target 'ACCEPT'
the PC just turned on is around 62 degrees during the tests 87/90 degrees. it is connected to my operator's ONT which transmits 1gb/s in download and 300mb/s in upload.
Without any package installed N100 reaches a maximum of 400mb/s.
With irqbalance and Packet Steering around 700mb/s. With my ISP modem I get 960mb/s both lan and wifi 6.
Installed packages
irqbalance
Sqm but still not working
htop
iperf3
Yes but it shouldn't be under stress all the time but only when I run the tests. A maximum of 1GB arrives from the ONT, no more.
I also thought about this: the frequencies remain at 800mhz so the processor is trying hard or they didn't put the thermal paste hahaha but before opening it I wanted to understand if something had to be activated. I read something on the internet about an energy saving mode that caused problems and about packages to install on openwrt to make the n100 run better.
As far as the fan is concerned, I will definitely mount it on top of the structure of the PC case
That is Celsius, correct? What is room temperature?
Regardless, way too hot.
Let's presume it is thermal throttling: it should throttle and cool down, not throttle and stay so hot it won't stop throttling. Regardless of the load. It is not going to melt itself trying to work @800Mhz. I'm not sure it would even use the fan @800MHz. It would perform horribly and be all over the place as the load heats it up, it throttles down, speeds back up, throttles down, ouroboros style. From what I can find the N100 starts to throttle @~100c and has a maximum of 105c.
Have you touched/changed any settings the Bios/UEFI?
Go into the UEFI and there is a setting to set everything to default. Choose it. Reboot back in and only change settings you are positive you need for the software. There should be both passive cooling and active cooling options; ensure they are set to cool with the most aggressive settings.
From what I can find the N100 starts to throttle @~100c and has a maximum of 105c.
Unless you have old ears like me, you should hear the fan @ ~90c (if it has one). Can you hear the fan?
If not How long have you had it? How long has it overheated? Does it have a fan? Most those miniPCs are ~4screws to open.
If you have to, open it, power it up and look at the fan. If you have an infrared thermometer, point it at the heatsink.
If it is still under warranty, I would not try to fix it with thermal paste; it needs to go back. If it is clogged, use compressed air, and this is critical, prevent the fan from spinning while you blow it clean. You are guaranteed to over-rev the fan if not.
It doesn't have a fan, it's like that from the factory. It arrived 3 days ago with psfense, I formatted the ssd and installed Openwrt ext4, I sent the device link above. I'll check the bios to see if I can find anything. Do I need to install something else on openwrt to make it run better?
First, let's get in the UEFI and make sure its setting are optimized. OpenWrt has no control over CPU speed.
What does LuCI say your loads are?
What does 'Realtime Graphs' show as the load, over time, when you stress the PC?
I'm asking about LuCI stats because you have 4 cores and if it is showing 1.0 load, that is 25% of 100%.
Its a Linux thing.
So, let's be sure we are all on the same page using the same nomenclature.
Clearly there are issues if SQM is not working. So disable it and check raw speed because, even working, SQM is CPU intensive.
I made a couple of tweaks and got to 920mb/s. This is the result with sqm active. https://www.waveform.com/tools/bufferbloat?test-id=8ae0a4b8-0356-4be3-a138-c0c9d3f4065d
I installed a fan and the case is much cooler and the tests are excellent. The CPU reaches a maximum of 50% and the Mhz reaches 2500Mhz with Sqm active.
The Live Chart says this:
1 Minute Load:0.14
Average:0.10 Peak:0.20
As for the temperature I couldn't find anything to display it
That seems more like you goal?
Okay, so the heat issue seems gone, now someone just needs to tweak your SQM.
Those are Linux numbers. You have 4 cores so you divide by 4.
Have you read the SQM tutorial?
yes, the test looks perfect, have you seen?
Yes, I thought you said you were paying for 2.35Gbps but I misunderstood.
In the future I will switch to 2.5 gb/s. 2.35 gb/s is the speed Iperf3 gives me. Thanks so much you were very helpful. I just need to buy a fan to connect it directly to the motherboard. Thanks again, I'll mark the post as resolved. Good night
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Great. That does confirm that it was a a thermal issue.
If the fan is actually installed (as compared to jerry-rigged), you're good to go. Otherwise, the next task should be to figure out how to properly install the fan so that is worthy of a permanent installation.
If your problem is solved, please consider marking this topic as [Solved]. See How to mark a topic as [Solved] for a short how-to.
Thanks! 
In my defense:
100c is so hot I expected some mention of how warm the case was getting or the air out of it.
Well, if you want to keep it:
The case should have been able to cool it well below 100c. Even if you are in a very hot climate. You should have never seen throttling like that.
You are using less than 12% of the CPU @ 2500MHz (which is exactly where I would expect usage to be on a 4 core CPU @ 2500MHz with SQM and 1gb/s ) which turbos up to 3400MHz.
It may need paste or it may have another issue but, out of the gate, it has serious issues.