spdMerlin Different Speedtest results

[Mikii]

Hi. I am getting very different Speedtest results form my computer and from the Asus router.

Here's what I get from the router (Version: speedtest 1.1.1.28)

Michele@RT-AC88U-72D8:/jffs/addons/spdmerlin.d/ookla# ./speedtest

Do you accept the license? [type YES to accept]: YES
License acceptance recorded. Continuing.

   Speedtest by Ookla

     Server: Arcolink TLC - Siena (id = 29951)
        ISP: Telecom Italia
    Latency:    12.90 ms   (0.07 ms jitter)
   Download:   553.45 Mbps (data used: 601.8 MB )                               
     Upload:   103.32 Mbps (data used: 47.7 MB )                               
Packet Loss:     0.0%

and here's the results from the computer (Mac M1; Version: speedtest 1.2.0.84):

mic@Mac-mini-di-Michele-2020 ~ % speedtest                                         

   Speedtest by Ookla

      Server: Arcolink TLC - Siena (id: 29951)
         ISP: Telecom Italia
Idle Latency:    13.54 ms   (jitter: 0.17ms, low: 13.40ms, high: 14.00ms)
    Download:   918.82 Mbps (data used: 1.2 GB)                                                   
                167.28 ms   (jitter: 52.75ms, low: 13.14ms, high: 481.43ms)
      Upload:   103.33 Mbps (data used: 90.4 MB)                                                   
                106.58 ms   (jitter: 27.86ms, low: 12.78ms, high: 181.26ms)
 Packet Loss:     0.0%
  Result URL: https://www.speedtest.net/result/c/eaed1696-1691-4c91-9da3-ffbcb57ae5a6

I clearly remember getting the same type of results both from the computer and from the router, but something changed on the router side a few months ago and I do not know what and why.

Thank you for any suggestion.

 

[ColinTaylor]

That's the maximum speed that hardware is capable of:

Ookla Speedtest cli binary available

Hi guys, I just discovered that the binary version of Speedtest is now available. I successfully installed the arm version on my Asus Merlin: ookla repository: https://ookla.bintray.com/download/ or https://bintray.com/ookla/download/speedtest-cli/1.0.0#files The binary version for Asus...

www.snbforums.com

 

[Mikii]

mmm..
That does not explain why I was getting the full speed (I am pretty sure I was getting 900 Mbps in the past months?!)....

 

[ColinTaylor]

mmm..
That does not explain why I was getting the full speed (I am pretty sure I was getting 900 Mbps in the past months?!)....

Maybe you are confusing the results from your RT-AC88U with the results from your RT-AX88U? I presume both are being used in router mode?

 

[Viktor Jaep]

mmm..
That does not explain why I was getting the full speed (I am pretty sure I was getting 900 Mbps in the past months?!)....

The router CPU, like my AC86U, can't seem to handle more than about 500Mbps... Perhaps you had another device hooked up to one of your LAN ports, and did a speedtest through it? Doing it this way would yield that (mostly) full bandwidth of 900Mbps.

 

[visortgw]

The router CPU, like my AC86U, can't seem to handle more than about 500Mbps... Perhaps you had another device hooked up to one of your LAN ports, and did a speedtest through it? Doing it this way would yield that (mostly) full bandwidth of 900Mbps.

@Viktor Jaep, you are most likely spot on! I have a 1 Gbps up/35 Mbps down cable connection. The most I ever achieved with RT-AX88U via Speedtest running on router was about 450 Mbps down/37 Mbps up. Once I migrated to GT-AX6000 with its 2.5 Gbps WAN port (which matches provider supplied cable modem's LAN port), I typically now see 1100 Mbps down/40 Mbps up. I believe that a combination of the faster router CPU and the faster physical connection (2.5 Gbps vs 1 Gbps) between modem and router account for the much better performance.

 

[Mikii]

Hi. The test in my post Nr 1 is actually from a RT-AX88U 388.1_0. I do not know why it says AC88U in the prompt, maybe it got it from an old restore or something...

ASUSWRT-Merlin RT-AX88U 388.1_0 Sat Dec  3 18:17:22 UTC 2022
Michele@RT-AC88U-72D8:/tmp/home/root#

I'll keep investigating....

 

[ColinTaylor]

Hi. The test in my post Nr 1 is actually from a RT-AX88U 388.1_0. I do not know why it says AC88U in the prompt, maybe it got it from an old restore or something...

ASUSWRT-Merlin RT-AX88U 388.1_0 Sat Dec  3 18:17:22 UTC 2022
Michele@RT-AC88U-72D8:/tmp/home/root#

I'll keep investigating....

If you restored a backup file from your old router onto your new router you should factory reset your router and manually configure it. The backup file is not intended to be used on a router other than that which created it. The hardware of the RT-AX88U is completely different to the RT-AC88U.

 

[CaptainSTX]

Another possibility is that when it was setup the system remembered a text string from a previous setup. My AC86 shows up as an AC1900 which is the router I used previously. I did not reuse a settings file.

The wrong name/router type has no impact on the router's performance nor will it result in you installing the wrong configuration file.

 

[Viktor Jaep]

Another possibility is that when it was setup the system remembered a text string from a previous setup. My AC86 shows up as an AC1900 which is the router I used previously. I did not reuse a settings file.

The wrong name/router type has no impact on the router's performance nor will it result in you installing the wrong configuration file.

You should probably check your NVRAM to see why that's in there? That's pretty weird...

nvram show | grep "AC1900"

 

[MartiniGM]

I was about to write the same thing...

When I run speedtest on my computer connected to my RT-AX88U I get close to 1000Mb down- and uploadspeed. But the router doesn't even get close. I tried the same samme server that I were using in the app and some others. But spdMerlin rates the connection slower than it is.

Edit: Turning of features to reduce the CPU load increases the result.. probably means the router isn't fast enough for speedtest

 

[drinkingbird]

I was about to write the same thing...

When I run speedtest on my computer connected to my RT-AX88U I get close to 1000Mb down- and uploadspeed. But the router doesn't even get close. I tried the same samme server that I were using in the app and some others. But spdMerlin rates the connection slower than it is.

Edit: Turning of features to reduce the CPU load increases the result.. probably means the router isn't fast enough for speedtest

View attachment 48451

Doing these speeds tests requires creating a lot of data and packets. These routers are not designed for that, it is completely done in software and will max out the CPU. The same holds true for your PC, but your PC's processor is 1000x more powerful. Don't be fooled by the Ghz of the processor in the router, it is an ARM type processor, nowhere near what a PC processor can do, and generally it will use only one core of that low powered CPU to generate and route the packets.

Always speed test from a wired PC if you want to see the true full capability of your internet connection, or if you want to see your wireless speed, do it wireless, you may not be able to max out your connection but you'll see what your wifi can do.

If you have a >1G internet connection connected via 2.5G port or LAG - you may need to run simultaneous tests from two wired PCs to see the true speed (assuming you don't have a PC with 2.5G port and a router with a 2.5G LAN port). I guess if you have AX with 160mhz and a really good wireless NIC, you might be able to max it out over wifi.