400Mbps in RT-AC66U?

[goncalossilva]

Hello!

We have the RT-AC66U with merlin (380.57) managing a 400/100 internet connection at the office, but the download bandwidth is limited when on WiFi.

I am able to achieve 400Mbps when connected via ethernet, but via WiFi it hovers around 220Mbps (MacBook) ~ 260Mbps (Nexus 6P). Both the MacBook and the Nexus 6P report a link speed of around 900Mbps. The result is about the same whether I am right next to the router or 2 rooms away, so I don't think WiFi interference is the problem.

I've tried toggling a few settings (firewall, bursting, etc), but the results are very consistent. We never had QOS, traffic monitor or any other bandwidth-affecting features turned on. Am I missing something? If the RT-AC66U simply can't handle 400Mbps via WiFi, what Asus router (with merlin support ) would you recommend?

Thank you.

 

[Nullity]

Hello!

We have the RT-AC66U with merlin (380.57) managing a 400/100 internet connection at the office, but the download bandwidth is limited when on WiFi.

I am able to achieve 400Mbps when connected via ethernet, but via WiFi it hovers around 220Mbps (MacBook) ~ 260Mbps (Nexus 6P). Both the MacBook and the Nexus 6P report a link speed of around 900Mbps. The result is about the same whether I am right next to the router or 2 rooms away, so I don't think WiFi interference is the problem.

I've tried toggling a few settings (firewall, bursting, etc), but the results are very consistent. We never had QOS, traffic monitor or any other bandwidth-affecting features turned on. Am I missing something? If the RT-AC66U simply can't handle 400Mbps via WiFi, what Asus router (with merlin support ) would you recommend?

Thank you.

What WiFi card does the macbook have?

Your results do seem low.

I can get ~200Mbit from my RT-N66U and my Nexus 9 (300Mbit link speed), so I would assume that 802.11ac devices would be capable of much more than that. RMerlin reported that he got ~700Mbit with his Nexus 9 and his 802.11ac router (68? 88?).

The RT-AC68U seems to be the current "best buy".

 

[sfx2000]

I am able to achieve 400Mbps when connected via ethernet, but via WiFi it hovers around 220Mbps (MacBook) ~ 260Mbps (Nexus 6P). Both the MacBook and the Nexus 6P report a link speed of around 900Mbps.

Link Rate vs. TCP/UDP throughput are different things - over wifi, your numbers are quite good...

 

[goncalossilva]

What WiFi card does the macbook have?

Your results do seem low.

I can get ~200Mbit from my RT-N66U and my Nexus 9 (300Mbit link speed), so I would assume that 802.11ac devices would be capable of much more than that. RMerlin reported that he got ~700Mbit with his Nexus 9 and his 802.11ac router (68? 88?).

The RT-AC68U seems to be the current "best buy".

700Mbps would be a dream. I have a MacBook Pro 15" late-2013, its WiFi card is an AirPort Extreme (Broadcom BCM43xx).

Would you say that 400Mbps are achievable on 5GHz with the RT-AC68U? I'm unsure what exactly might be throttling my speed in the RT-AC66U compared to LAN.

 

[Nullity]

700Mbps would be a dream. I have a MacBook Pro 15" late-2013, its WiFi card is an AirPort Extreme (Broadcom BCM43xx).

Would you say that 400Mbps are achievable on 5GHz with the RT-AC68U? I'm unsure what exactly might be throttling my speed in the RT-AC66U compared to LAN.

My question was an attempt to determine whether the slow speeds were caused by the AP or the client... I dunno.

 

[A.D.]

We have the RT-AC66U with merlin (380.57) managing a 400/100 internet connection at the office, but the download bandwidth is limited when on WiFi.

• Check the forums here regarding 380 vs 378 on a 66 device.
• Check the CPU load. If it's at 100 % then the good old 600 MHz single core is busy encrypting your WiFi connection.

 

[bbsc]

700Mbps would be a dream. I have a MacBook Pro 15" late-2013, its WiFi card is an AirPort Extreme (Broadcom BCM43xx)

Your laptop should have BCM94360CS installed.
It's capable to connect at 1.3 Gbps with RT-AC66U and to do more than 600 Mbps of real throughput.
The problem is the regional settings of broadcom driver, I guess.

My test results of RT-AC66U throughput are here.
CPU load is 60-70% at high speeds.

 

[goncalossilva]

Thanks everyone. I used `top` while running speedtest.com and it is, indeed, hitting 100% as soon as the test starts, so I assume it's struggling with the encryption. Time to upgrade.

 

[goncalossilva]

Your laptop should have BCM94360CS installed.
It's capable to connect at 1.3 Gbps with RT-AC66U and to do more than 600 Mbps of real throughput.
The problem is the regional settings of broadcom driver, I guess.

My test results of RT-AC66U throughput are here.
CPU load is 60-70% at high speeds.

What firmware are you running?

 

[bbsc]

What firmware are you running?

378.56_2

 

[A.D.]

Thanks everyone. I used `top` while running speedtest.com and it is, indeed, hitting 100% as soon as the test starts, so I assume it's struggling with the encryption. Time to upgrade.

There are other things demanding the CPU, such as USB media access, and although I haven't conducted tests in this regard, from what I read maybe WAN setting details may affect performance too (not to mention VPN). Also, there are many discussions about whether HW acceleration (only possible while certain options aren't used, check its status in the UI) has any impact or not -- but while in most threads people will claim that it doesn't, this obviously isn't true if you're at 100 % CPU.

And finally, there are several reports regarding the 380 firmware on a 66 having various effects; I think a mysterious slowdown was along them. If I understand that correclty then the merlin 380 has a new driver (because the stock 380, not officially available for the 66, has it) while there are two merlin derivative releases which reverted back to the driver present in the stock / merlin 378.

So before buying a new device, you may want to consider the above.