Added 2.5gb WAN port to AX86U loaded with RMerlin’s FW

[jsmiddleton4]

I was able to add another 2.5gb port to my AX86U by using two different USB Network adapters and configuring the router in Dual WAN mode.

Both were plug n play.

Cheapest is the Plugable USB 3 to 2.5gb adapter. The Sabrent USB 3 to 5gb adapter worked too but its twice as expensive.

Another forum user who gets most of the credit for this discovery, Vinmar, was able to add one 2.5gb WAN port to his AX88U the same way.

While I am making educated guess I think any 2.5gb USB adapter based on the RTL8156B chipset will work as well any adapter based on the Aquantia AQC111U chipset.

I can now take advantage of my 1+gbs ISP connection and maximize it across my LAN network, both ports 2.5gb ports.

If you have an AX88U and 1+gbs internet connection you can take advantage of it now as well.

If you decide to do this know the USBC connector orientation impacts the available speed. One way it’ll be USB 2 and you can’t get 2.5gb. The other way is obviously USB3 and that’ll pass 2.5gbe. I used to think USB C connector orientation didn’t matter.

 

[ColinTaylor]

I can now take advantage of my 1+gbs ISP connection and maximize it across my LAN network, both ports 2.5gb ports.

While it is encouraging that the adapter is functional I think some thorough testing still needs to be done to prove its worth. At the moment you've only demonstrated less than 500 Mbps on your 1+ Gbps connection. That's not a good sales pitch.

 

[jsmiddleton4]

First of all there’s no sales pitch. Please feel free to not try this yourself.

I’ve demonstrated an increase of on average 100mbs during the day with heavy usage.

Not good enough for you, that’s your choice.

Others IF they wish to try this can report their results and it’ll cost them less than 30 bucks to do so.

Obviously you’ll not be doing so.

 

[ColinTaylor]

There's no need for sarcasm. I was trying to make a serious point. It's great that it works at all but testing it on a "1+ Gbps" connection that varies between 350 and 450 Mbps is probably not a typical situation that the people that would be interested in this would be in. However, if it can provide a throughput of >1Gbps without any negative side effects (e.g. CPU load, stability, etc.) then it would indeed be an excellent addition.

I would love to test this for myself but as my cable modem only has a gigabit Ethernet connection that's not possible.

 

[appleseed]

If you decide to do this know the USBC connector orientation impacts the available speed. One way it’ll be USB 2 and you can’t get 2.5gb. The other way is obviously USB3 and that’ll pass 2.5gbe. I used to think USB C connector orientation didn’t matter.

out of curiosity what is the technical, or speculative, reason for this ? I do not have an AX68U.

 

[Wisiwyg]

Interesting... do you have instructions on how to do this?

 

[kernol]

....

If you decide to do this know the USBC connector orientation impacts the available speed. One way it’ll be USB 2 and you can’t get 2.5gb. The other way is obviously USB3 and that’ll pass 2.5gbe. I used to think USB C connector orientation didn’t matter.

I was puzzled by the USB-C reference - cause my 2 RT-AX86U's don't have USB-C ports - so Googled your adapter and figured out what you meant. Intrigued by the impact of the orientation changes - also thought it made no difference ???

Good catch BTW - thnx {Thumbs-Up} .

 

[BobD]

out of curiosity what is the technical, or speculative, reason for this ? I do not have an AX68U.

not all USB-C sockets are the same. If you believe in Wikipedia then look at this.
USB-C - Wikipedia

 

[jsmiddleton4]

Saturday morning and am able to disconnect work at home clients. I'd say the 2.5gb USB adapter configured in Dual WAN doing just fine..... Add in the bit of overhead from the AX86U and my PC and that's dang smoking........

 

[Caley]

Interesting... do you have instructions on how to do this?

I second this notion. Instructions would be quite lovely!

I have been waiting for a feature like this on my AX86U so I can finally stop using the unreliable WAN Aggregation with my Motorola MB8600 and Xfinity.

Do we know which version of the RMerlin FW is needed? Release or Beta?

Asuswrt-Merlin - Browse /RT-AX86U at SourceForge.net

Alternative firmware for Asus wireless routers

sourceforge.net

I tried installing the latest RMerlin release version of the FW but I didn't see anything jump out at me that I had configured WAN to use USB Ethernet. USB still only shows 3G/4G dongle only. Or am I missing the right combination to get that to work? Ideally I'd want my 2.5GBe dongle to function as either the primary WAN port or a LAN port rated at 2.5GBe speed, whichever this FW supports.

Thanks in advance for the help/insight.

 

[ricka47]

I'm using a Motorola MB8611 into an ASUS RT-AX86U. Since the router only has one 2.5 GB port, I used that as the LAN port and bought the Plugable 2.5GB USB to use as the WAN port. But, while everything looked fine on the router, the PC, and the modem, the speeds were only about 50% of what I was getting previously (down to 450 from about 950). I have the 1.2 GB plan and was hoping to jump up just a bit to the 1400 speeds that I see others getting. I wonder if I should try another USB adapter.

 

[kernol]

The OP of this thread acknowledged the work of @Vinmar to get this USB Ethernet Adapter as WAN port working.
For those looking for a "How to" ... try this post ...
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/usb-to-2-5gbe-adapter-on-ax88u.67402/post-712675
and that thread may well have more useful member experiences .

 

[Caley]

The OP of this thread acknowledged the work of @Vinmar to get this USB Ethernet Adapter as WAN port working.
For those looking for a "How to" ... try this post ...
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/usb-to-2-5gbe-adapter-on-ax88u.67402/post-712675
and that thread may well have more useful member experiences .

Thank you! I was reading through that, very insightful...

 

[ChatmanR]

Thank you! I was reading through that, very insightful...

But, did it work for you?

 

[carlpea]

Clearly a single threaded CPU limitation (Virgin media Gig1 that usually shows 1150Mbps):

 

[L&LD]

No, it's clearly the USB adapter used.

 

[carlpea]

No, it's clearly the USB adapter used.

No, the adapter is working fine in a PC:

https://imgur.com/e3OyFQe

 

[L&LD]

The router isn't a PC though.

 

[carlpea]

The router isn't a PC though.

Exactly!

It's a limitation of the router.

 

[L&LD]

No, it's a limitation of the USB chipset. Of the USB adapter used.