AX88U WAN aggregation using Merlin firmware

[stoli412]

I looked into the matter further after getting the <asuswrt-merlin.ng> repo git'ed out.
https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin.ng/wiki/Compile-Firmware-from-source

I do not believe for a moment there is any real HW limitations -

I seem to remember the section of source code where the WAN bonding default mentionned 802.3ad and it could be changed.

"mode=802.3ad" and "mode=4" set the same mode.

#if defined(RTCONFIG_BONDING_WAN) && defined(RTCONFIG_QCA)
                if (!strncmp(ifr.ifr_name, "bond", 4)) {
                    ether_etoa((unsigned char *) ifr.ifr_hwaddr.sa_data, eabuf);
                    set_bonding_iface_hwaddr(ifr.ifr_name, eabuf);
                } else {
#endif

However , I am not competent enough to build from source with the WAN Agg mode changed from Mode#4 (802.3ad as above) Mode#0=<balance-rr>
Too bad.

At the same time there are certain features that "self-compiled-builds" will not support : all TRENDNet features is not supported under a self-build
You only get those binaries implemented if someone trusted by ASUS like @RMerlin does the compilation for us....

I got over it...but it is a shame.

Same here...not competent enough to make this change and compile my own build even to test. Anyone out there willing to give @MattM and I a helping hand???

Otherwise looks like we're stuck at 1Gbps unless Asus have a change of heart. How did you contact them? Maybe they'll take more pity on me and be less dismissive since the AX88U doesn't have a 2.5Gb port.

 

[MattM]

I too am on Virgin Media with a Hub 4 and came searching for this very same answer. Very disappointing to hear Asus won't implement this. I have an AX88U, which doesn't have a 2.5Gb port, so even when the Hub 5 comes available I won't be able to get >1Gb speeds.

Is it really a hardware limitation on the Asus routers that's the issue? It seems like it's only software since link aggregation is already possible.

If only VM didn't hand out such terrible kit....we'd be ace if they at least supported 802.3ad like many other cable modems do.

If you want to add a 2.5 GbE interface to your AX88U , you might want to know about this post: https://wu.renjie.im/blog/network/ax88u-nbase-t/
which is somewhat being discussed here:
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/usb-to-2-5gbe-adapter-on-ax88u.67402/page-9

However, I only see the benefit of the 2.5GbE on the router (AX86U in my case) if attaching to a QNAP 2.5GbE 5-port switch, off which I have a 2.5GbE dongle attached to a Synology NAS as well as a third port of the switch attached to a computer PCIe 2.5GbE card.

This setup will still not allow me to reach beyond 940Mbps and even if there was a new modem with 2.5GbE port, I would not place my 5-port switch before the firewall running in the router....

So all in all, <balance-rr> in the ASUS router seemed like what I needed.

Ref your comment about Virgin modem not supporting 802.3ad : even if it did, with only one "IP client" connection made between router and modem, even with 2 cables, you would still only achieve 940Mbps.

I imagine Virgin added support for <balance-rr> mode because that mode allows >1Gbps as it splits the packet from just one client across the number of interfaces made available for the Bond.

 

[MattM]

Same here...not competent enough to make this change and compile my own build even to test. Anyone out there willing to give @MattM and I a helping hand???

Otherwise looks like we're stuck at 1Gbps unless Asus have a change of heart. How did you contact them? Maybe they'll take more pity on me and be less dismissive since the AX88U doesn't have a 2.5Gb port.

I logged into my ASUS account (the one where you can register your products) and highlighted my AX86U and created a "support ticket"

 

[stoli412]

I logged into my ASUS account (the one where you can register your products) and highlighted my AX86U and created a "support ticket"

So I finally got around to creating a ticket with ASUS and got the following response:

Your feedback is very much appreciated. It will aid in further developments of our products to fit customer’s needs. Your feedback has been sent to our development department accordingly as this is currently not an option available in the firmware.

So not a flat-out 'no' but not much else to go on. Fingers crossed 'balance-rr' mode gets added at some point in the future.

 

[robinjoo1]

any news on this ?

 

[Wisiwyg]

I've used this in the past, responded to a similar question in another thread.

I had (moved, don't have anymore) Comcast 1.2gb service and couldn't get above about 800mb. I have a Netgear CM1200 modem set to link agg on ports 1 & 2 into my AX88U with WAN link agg on WAN and Lan 4 enabled. I used an identical set of CAT6 short cables to connect the two. With this setup I was able to see >1.1gb throughput.

Note if I used Diversion ad blocking the throughput would go down. Using Skynet with Inbound only blocking didn't badly affect throughput. I use a RPi 3B+ with PiHole for ad blocking and UnBound DNS to offload this from the router's CPU. If you have scripts running on your router this could be part of the throughput issue - processing power.

 

[robinjoo1]

i live in the netherlands
my ISP is ziggo
my modem is called the sagemcom
sagemcom f3896lg-zg
it looks like the virgin media hub 5

but at my end i cant enable wan aggeregation
but it does have a option from when you connect 2 lan cables to devices it can provide 2 seperate WAN ip's
so maybe i will try the dual-wan option in that case

 

[ktully]

I'm looking into link aggregation/bonding a little now now as I'm expecting a Hub 4 tomorrow with more downstream bandwidth than can be shared over a single 1 Gbps ethernet port.

I seem to remember the section of source code where the WAN bonding default mentionned 802.3ad and it could be changed.

"mode=802.3ad" and "mode=4" set the same mode.

#if defined(RTCONFIG_BONDING_WAN) && defined(RTCONFIG_QCA)
                if (!strncmp(ifr.ifr_name, "bond", 4)) {
                    ether_etoa((unsigned char *) ifr.ifr_hwaddr.sa_data, eabuf);
                    set_bonding_iface_hwaddr(ifr.ifr_name, eabuf);
                } else {
#endif

The literal 4 here is not hard-coding the bonding mode to LACP, but limiting the length of the string compare.

This code suggests that the user-configured bonding mode from nvram can be passed through to the set_bonding() , which may enforce PHY hardware specific defaults based on check_bonding_mode() .

This old page suggests the bonding kernel module should support round robin. Did you try any of the sysctls suggested there?

Equally I've found some posts elsewhere suggesting that Virgin have removed round-robin from more recent Superhub firmwares, making enabling it on the Asus a possibly pointless exercise

 

[tarzan2000]

Hello friends!
I bought a TL-SG108PE V5.0 home and wanted to create a LAG group from its 3-4 ports to ports 1-2 of my Asus AX86U

The LAG group is assembled and everything works fine at first glance, but I am not getting a total speed of 2Gbps on clients connected to the TL-SG108PE from my NAS source connected to the Asus 86U 2.5Gb port. I only get 1Gbps speeds.
Probably the LAG group does not work properly or the wrong mode (4) is selected in Asus 86U in firmware.

Tell me, is there any way to change the balancing mode of two ports in Asus through ssh?

Spoiler

 

[Ripshod]

I don't see LAG/LACP or anything higher than 1Gbps listed in the specs for the switch, or I'm just missing it. What speed is the connection to your NAS?

 

[tarzan2000]

I don't see LAG/LAPD or anything higher than 1Gbps listed in the specs for the switch, or I'm just missing it. What speed is the connection to your NAS?

The NAS is connected to the 2.5Gb port of my Asus.

AX86U LAN Link Aggregation: doesn't seem to be working?

Hi all, Since I have a 1.5G internet package I figured I should try link aggregation so my devices can take advantage of that. My main router is an AX86U with the latest Merlin firmware, and I have setup my network to be like this: Modem ASUS RT-AX86U Netgear MS510TX switch Some other devices...

www.snbforums.com

 

[Ripshod]

The NAS is connected to the 2.5Gb port of my Asus.

AX86U LAN Link Aggregation: doesn't seem to be working?

Hi all, Since I have a 1.5G internet package I figured I should try link aggregation so my devices can take advantage of that. My main router is an AX86U with the latest Merlin firmware, and I have setup my network to be like this: Modem ASUS RT-AX86U Netgear MS510TX switch Some other devices...

www.snbforums.com

Which NAS is it? Does it support more than 1Gbps?
Any devices connected to the switch will only have a 1Gbps connection as that's all the switch is capable of.
Having two connections between your router and the switch will just confuse matters even though LAG is set up on the router - you're only effectively connecting by two parallel paths which will eventually mess everything up for you. To run a LAG connection both devices need to support LAG and be correctly configured. This switch does not support LAG.

 

[tarzan2000]

Which NAS is it? Does it support more than 1Gbps?
Any devices connected to the switch will only have a 1Gbps connection as that's all the switch is capable of.
Having two connections between your router and the switch will just confuse matters even though LAG is set up on the router - you're only effectively connecting by two parallel paths which will eventually mess everything up for you. To run a LAG connection both devices need to support LAG and be correctly configured. This switch does not support LAG.

Yes, the NAS has a 2.5Gb adapter and is connected to the 2.5G port of the Acs. Clients are connected to the switch by 1 Gbit ports. I am testing downloading a file from the NAS by two clients at a speed of 1 gbit each. The total bandwidth is not higher than 1 gbit (i.e. the sum of 500+500).
In my understanding, I expected a speed of 1+1 gbit due to the presence of the LAG group.

As far as I understand from the documentation for the switch - it supports LAG https://www.tp-link.com/ru/support/faq/991/ (https://mcgrp.ru/files/viewer/473060/32) and I hoped that the total connection speed in total to the Asus AX86 would be at least 2gbps.

 

[Ripshod]

Yes, the NAS has a 2.5Gb adapter and is connected to the 2.5G port of the Acs. Clients are connected to the switch by 1 Gbit ports. I am testing downloading a file from the NAS by two clients at a speed of 1 gbit each. The total bandwidth is not higher than 1 gbit (i.e. the sum of 500+500).
In my understanding, I expected a speed of 1+1 gbit due to the presence of the LAG group.

As far as I understand from the documentation for the switch - it supports LAG https://www.tp-link.com/ru/support/faq/991/ (https://mcgrp.ru/files/viewer/473060/32) and I hoped that the total connection speed in total to the Asus AX86 would be at least 2gbps.

The switch does have LAG. However, IT doesn't support LACP (802.3ad) and so is incompatible.

 

[tarzan2000]

The switch does have LAG. However, IT doesn't support LACP (802.3ad) and so is incompatible.

LAG vs LACP issue is put forward for the confusing conception between them.
LAG is an actual instance for link aggregation.
LACP is a control protocol to enable LAG automatically configure network switch ports, detach link failure and activate failover.

That is, Asus AX 86\88 supports LACP exclusively?

 

[Ripshod]

That is, Asus AX 86\88 supports LACP exclusively?

Correct.
To help future readers look for 802.3ad in the specs before buying. LAG is just an abbreviation for Link Aggregation no matter the actual protocol used.

 

[tarzan2000]

Correct.

It's a pity of course

 

[Ripshod]

It's a pity of course

Still a handy switch should you ever need one in future.
Leaving this thread now, let it get back on topic.

 

[tarzan2000]

Still a handy switch should you ever need one in future.

You will be surprised, but suddenly everything worked for me as I would like. I don't know what happened, but the fact remains

AX86U LAN Link Aggregation: doesn't seem to be working?

Hello friends! I bought a TL-SG108PE V5.0 home and wanted to create a LAG group from its 3-4 ports to ports 1-2 of my Asus AX86U The LAG group is assembled and everything works fine at first glance, but I am not getting a total speed of 2Gbps on clients connected to the TL-SG108PE from my NAS...

www.snbforums.com

 

[MattM]

I'm looking into link aggregation/bonding a little now now as I'm expecting a Hub 4 tomorrow with more downstream bandwidth than can be shared over a single 1 Gbps ethernet port.


The literal 4 here is not hard-coding the bonding mode to LACP, but limiting the length of the string compare.

This code suggests that the user-configured bonding mode from nvram can be passed through to the set_bonding() , which may enforce PHY hardware specific defaults based on check_bonding_mode() .

This old page suggests the bonding kernel module should support round robin. Did you try any of the sysctls suggested there?

Equally I've found some posts elsewhere suggesting that Virgin have removed round-robin from more recent Superhub firmwares, making enabling it on the Asus a possibly pointless exercise

It looks like you might be right about new firmware making it into the SuperHub4 and breaking the round-robin unofficial suport:

Archived - Virgin Media Community

community.virginmedia.com

I am currently looking into trying to get an SH5 and adding a second 2.5Gbe to my Asus AX86U router
@tropicoco seems to be coming up with some nice ideas ref the bonding in balance-rr : https://www.snbforums.com/threads/usb-to-2-5gbe-adapter-on-ax88u.67402/post-815276