Gigabit ISP - Worth upgrading router?

[Col_panic]

I have att's gigapower internet service and am wondering if it's worth changing any of my hardware. It's hard to complain about the speed but I should be getting close to 1000 Mbps up but have never seen more than 300.

Here is my current set up
NVG589 gateway in passthrough mode
Apple 6th gen AirPort Extreme AC doing DHCP and NAT
A second AEac in bridge mode as an AP for upstairs

Using speedtest.net I get ~920 Mbps down and ~280 up when wired.
Wireless I get ~150 each way on an 802.11n device and ~225 on an 802.11ac device.

Are any of these likely to be bottlenecks for the wired upload connection? The wireless speeds and coverage are just fine I think. I'm trying to sync a rediculous amount of data to Google Drive.

 

[L&LD]

Those Ookla speedtests are while the sync is happening?

Is that 1Gbps up and down?

If so, the download speed is close enough, especially if there is also a sync happening to google drive. The upload speed may be fine, but again google drive may be eating into that number which indicates about only a third of what you are possibly paying for. The AE is definitely limiting the upload speeds too.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...ort-extreme-80211ac-reviewed?showall=&start=1

The wireless connections are simply not getting anywhere close to your ISP provided speeds.

An RT-AC68U or above will provide you with much better range and throughput vs. the AE. Especially on the 5GHz band.

Not to mention better WAN to LAN and LAN to WAN throughput so that you can really enjoy your 1Gbps ISP rates.

With a #6 ranking for Total Router in July 2013 and only compared to the then available RT-AC66U, the AE 6th gen router is holding you back more than you want.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/tools/charts/router/bar/74-wan-to-lan

 

[Col_panic]

Thanks for the reply. I'll have to replace the one doing DHCP. The ATT gigapower is supposed to be 1000 Mbps symmetrical to compete with Google. I'm not so concerned with wireless speeds. All 3 computers are wired to gigabit and mobile devices all get >100mbps all over the house on 5ghz (and only one supports ac speeds).

Fwiw the sync was not happening when I did these tests. I also connected a laptop directly to the RG by itself and the numbers were about the same. I don't doubt that the AE might bottleneck but I think att may not be giving me all 1000 upstream. It's seems odd that the AE would do 900+ in WAN to LAN but only 300 in LAN to WAN. Aren't those usually similar?

But again, it's hard to complain about those speeds for $70/mo (It's good to live in Austin right now). I'm also about to switch to Google fiber so I'll be able to compare the two directly. I'll have two gigabit fiber connections to play with for a while.

 

[L&LD]

Did you look at the first link I supplied? Sure, the firmware has changed since that early review, but it is not symmetrical (though it does seem opposite of what you're describing).

I think your ISP is okay, the AE is the limiting factor. I'm sure your newest GB ISP will confirm that.

 

[Col_panic]

I saw the link, thanks. But when I connect a laptop directly to the RG (still in pass through mode) bypassing all apple networking gear it still doesn't change. I think the bottleneck must be upstream.

 

[L&LD]

Okay. What is the RG? Wired? Have you tried different cables between all test equipment to rule out that possibility?

If the NVG589 is what you're calling the RG is, then it doesn't seem possible to put it in true bridge mode and that may also be a bottleneck for your network.

Some hints may also possibly be applicable in the following link.

https://rolande.wordpress.com/2014/05/16/enabling-ipv6-on-my-home-network-part-2-att/

 

[Col_panic]

I am calling the NVG589 a residential gateway (RG). Sorry if that's not the proper term. I've moved cables around a lot and it's always the same.

That's an Interesting link re IPv6. I currently have ipv6 disabled which was part of the steps I took to get it into IP Passthrough mode which, as I undersand it, is as close as it will get to true bridge mode. I may give that a try.

I tried connecting the Ethernet cable that goes from the NVG to the outdoor fiber box directly to a computer but it asked for username/password which I don't know. I don't know anything about the outdoor fiber box.

I also ordered an R7000 to replace one of the AEs. Any issue using an AE to extend the R7000s network like I currently do with 2x AEs (wired from downstairs to up)?

 

[sfx2000]

I saw the link, thanks. But when I connect a laptop directly to the RG (still in pass through mode) bypassing all apple networking gear it still doesn't change. I think the bottleneck must be upstream.

Most Ookla Speetest hosts can't saturate a 1Gbit link... if you ISP has an instance, you might see better numbers (this is why Comcast has their own)...

BTW - your AP Extreme AC should be just fine with a 1Gb link

 

[sinshiva]

hey, try this speedtest; http://speedtest.epbfi.com/epbfiberoptics

 

[Col_panic]

Both ATT and Google have local speed test servers but I've tried lots of different ones and it doesn't matter. I either get slower results or I get 900/300. I think att has just gimped the upload speed but I'm not complaining! After years of suffering with TWC its pretty awesome to have a connection that makes any home networking gear the bottleneck.