I have recently upgraded my network configuration at home, with a new main router (RT3200) that substitures the ISP router, and changes in configuration.
I would like to test the connection speed (to internet and internally and from wifi and ethernet) achived by wifi and ethernet from both routes, the main RT3200 and a Fritz!box 4040 that acts now just as an access point.
I am not used to this kind of testing, I just use online speed tests to test ISP internet connection.
How is the best way to do this and which are the tools?
A have heard about iperf, but don't know if it is easy to use or the requirements.
I would like to keep it as simple as posible.
Don't need a thorough or professional test, just to have an idea of the what speeds can be achieved in the network.
there aren't any really, there's no speed guarantee on internet.
iperf would need a counter part somewhere on internet to work.
network, or internet ?
those are two different things.
iperf works very well for LAN tests, but not for WAN connections.
FYI iperf for Window is really slow, it wasn't able to reach 1gbit on my LAN.
There are however several versions, and I only tried one of them.
Thanks, yes that kind of tools is what I use to test internet connection.
My internet connection is a symmetric 300 Mbs line and tools report about that number (not less than 280) from ethernet connections to my internal router. So it is OK.
But I would like to test other wifi connections from my devices (mobiles and computers) and internal connection to compare the results using 2,4 GHz and 5 GHz and connection to one router or the other.
I suppose I have to create a server and install client software to do the tests, and connect the server to the wan port of the main router or to the ports I wan to test if they get the connection speed.
For example between ethernet links (there are two routers interconnected by a non managed switch, all connections are supposed to be Gigabit ethernet, wifi is activated in both routers, the main being a ACX with 160 MHz wide channles in 5 GHz and the other an AX with 80 MHz).
That is where a bit of guidance about the easiest programs and what to test and how to look for points of weakness.
By the way: yes I use mainly windows in the computers and android in mobiles.
Well I have some preliminary results running iperf3.
For a computer directly connected through 1Gb ehternet to the main router, I get about 940 Mbps or even sometimes 980 Mbps from it to the iperf3 running in the router.
I think that is quite a satisfactory result.
From the same computer to iperf3 running in the other router (connected by a non managed 1 Gb switch) I get about the same results: 940 Mbps.
Taking into account that they are connected by VLans (non tagged in the lan port but tagged at the cpu interface) I think that the results are more than good.
But the same does not apply to wifi (wifi is a complicated beast when you want performance and in crowded environments).
For the computer connected to the main router with 5 GHz wifi and very close to it, I only get about 35-40 Mbps.
That is a quite poor result.
The link says that it has stablished a 2x80 MHz channel connection capable or about 433 Mbps each, so theoretical speed should sum up about 866 Mbps.
Channels don't seem to be so busy in that frequencies:
Well it seems that the main problem was that the wifi card from where I was doing the tests is not a good one or has some problems.
I repeated the tests from a recent laptop with wifi 6 capabilities and I get about 300 Mbps in conections with the new RT3200 router and about 150 -200 with the Fritz!box 4040, which are much more reasonable (under wifi 5 GHz, in 2.4 I get up to 40 maximum).
Nice results. I'm happy your experience with the RT3200 has been positive, like mine. I use SQM plus VPN, and also WDS with 3x connected together to extend WiFi.
I have yet to test many options.
But for the price I am quite happy, I expect it to give me up to 600 Mbps (in case my internet gets upgraded) and a stable connection and service to the home.
The fritzbox is much more cumbersome (well it has several years old) but it is just as access point and it will serve well.
Have you tried packet steering? May I expect it to help proccess packets more quick?
What is SQM? I have heard about it but don't know exactly what it is for.
To say the truth I have assigned the power on an orange led and heartbeat to the blue (white) led in power on, and cpu seems to be mostly free.
I have been reading about SQM and installing it.
It degrades a bit the upload or download performance, but keeps latency load and so other users won't suffer too much when somebody is downloading big files or uploading them (or gaming I imagine).
I have activated it and results are impressive: these are results before configuring SQM in my 300 Mbps internet connection.
And these after configuring SQM (gamers have to be happy, my son will be gratefull):
Terrific. Yes the idea is that you prevent saturation related lag. So downloads or other connection saturation won't cause a latency increase that will break latency sensitive things like gaming or video conferencing.
Is your bandwidth stable above a certain level? If so all you need to do is set the bandwidth to just below that level. You should enable irqbalance (install package and the enable with config file - search these forums for irqbalance and you should see how to do it) and that will increase performance of this router. With irqbalance this router has been identified as managing 1Gbit /w SQM.
I will try. But I am having wifi connectivity problems from some devices in the home, after having activated Fast transition (not just in this device, but in both, this and the fritzbox 4040).
Even deactivating the fast transition in both routers, the problems continue and there is one windows 10 laptop that cannot connect to the wifi.
I don't think it has to do anything with SQM, but have to solve that before installing more things in the router.
You never know what is going to happen when you change something, it seems to work, but there is allways a problem with some device or configuration.
No most of my devices are not wifi 6, surface 3 is old and does not have wifi 6.
Any way the problem is in the other router too (which is wifi 5 AC, not acx) and wifi 6 is supposed to be backward compatible with AC and older devices.
But the problem seems to be WPA3, the new default connection method.
OpenWRT activates WPA2/WPA3 security by default.
All worked fine till today, but due to problems with Fast transition I hade to forget the wifi net in this device.
After that it does not connect.
I have set the WPA2 method and now it works.
I am trying to upgrrrrrrade the marvel driver to see if it does the trick.
And I have my family happy, you know, as if you have the oblto know every problem or bug a change can produce.
I have not seen any difference, but it seems that the CPU is quite low load in the device, with the 300 Mbps.
I am happy with these router and with openWRT, even being a snapshot beta build, everything is workin fine.
I have installed adblock too to see if it works OK.
I don't want to block any place but spammers or potentially dangerous places.
But sometimes it blocks you from sites that are supposed to be hacking places with no illegal content.
Will see how it works and whether it does not create more problems than it solves.
I am curious to see how you get on with adblock. I have not installed because I imagine it will create problems as you say for normal use.
I have the feeling fast transition is not entirely stable yet and with my three RT3200's, my android devices and laptop transition fine but our Apple devices do not always. So I think I'm going to disable it myself.
Glad you're happy. I would try optimizing SQM by ascertaining best speed connection can achieve and then setting bandwidth to 0.90% of that and then setting overhead properly.
