Is the TX on a ASUS AC3200 2x2 or 3x3 ?

[srinivasvaradaraj]

I am transferring from a AC68R to a AC3200. On 5 GHz, my AC devices from the same location could easily connect at 1300/1300 (TX, RX). However on the 3200 the max I can active is 526.5/1300(TX, RX). I am wondering if this is a firmware issue or a hardware limitation. I am currently running ASUS firmware 3.0.0.4.378_9313. I am curious if anyone else has observed a similar behavior. And if anyone has achieved the full 1300 TX/RX link speeds.

I contacted ASUS and they gave me the usual scripted change channels, reset, power cycle etc, all of which didn't have any impact.

Thanks for any responses.

 

[Nullity]

Has your actual measured throughput changed (like during a iperf test)? Link-rates are not a good judge of attainable throughput or signal strength.

 

[RMerlin]

Link rate will fluctuate based on power management - you need to check the link rates while there is an active transfer.

The AC3200 is a triple stream router.

 

[srinivasvaradaraj]

Has your actual measured throughput changed (like during a iperf test)? Link-rates are not a good judge of attainable throughput or signal strength.

Unfortunately, yes it is affecting throughput. Here are the results from a controlled test between the same two hosts when measured in the TX direction from the router. The first test is from the older 68R and the second is from 3200 (either 5GHz band makes no difference for the throughput). The difference is easily visible when doing large file transfers.

Using the 68R :
[root@pdc ~]# iperf -c 10.0.1.146 -t 120
------------------------------------------------------------
Client connecting to 10.0.1.146, TCP port 5001
TCP window size: 22.5 KByte (default)
------------------------------------------------------------
[ 3] local 10.0.1.5 port 37667 connected with 10.0.1.146 port 5001
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth
[ 3] 0.0-120.0 sec 9.78 GBytes 700 Mbits/sec

Using the 3200:
[root@pdc ~]# iperf -c 10.0.1.146 -t 120
------------------------------------------------------------
Client connecting to 10.0.1.146, TCP port 5001
TCP window size: 22.5 KByte (default)
------------------------------------------------------------
[ 3] local 10.0.1.5 port 37670 connected with 10.0.1.146 port 5001
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth
[ 3] 0.0-120.0 sec 7.46 GBytes 534 Mbits/sec

 

[srinivasvaradaraj]

Link rate will fluctuate based on power management - you need to check the link rates while there is an active transfer.

The AC3200 is a triple stream router.

Thanks Merlin for the response, the link rates never exceed 526.5 TX even during a transfer. I thought I read someone else have a similar issue with the 3200 but I could be wrong. I tried your build of firmware with this router with identical results (possibly a driver issue IDK). This is why I wanted clarification from other 3200 owners if they can replicate the results.

Thanks again for your time

 

[RMerlin]

Thanks Merlin for the response, the link rates never exceed 526.5 TX even during a transfer. I thought I read someone else have a similar issue with the 3200 but I could be wrong. I tried your build of firmware with this router with identical results (possibly a driver issue IDK). This is why I wanted clarification from other 3200 owners if they can replicate the results.

Thanks again for your time

Check that all antennas are well screwed in, just in case.

 

[srinivasvaradaraj]

Check that all antennas are well screwed in, just in case.

Good point,
Just hand tightened all the antennae again made sure they were nice and tight and none of them had threads showing.


Also, I noticed something odd. When looking at the system information from my MAC. I notice a phy mode difference between my 68R and 3200. The 3200 seems to be seen as n. I switched from N/AC to Auto and fixed 80MHz to 20/40/80 and it made no difference.



This is my 68R :
Current Network Information:
surya5ac:
PHY Mode: 802.11ac
BSSID: d8:50:e6:45:19:5c
Channel: 161
Country Code: US
Network Type: Infrastructure
Security: WPA2 Personal
Signal / Noise: -40 dBm / -89 dBm
Transmit Rate: 1053
MCS Index: 8

There is my 3200 :
surya5ac:
PHY Mode: 802.11n
BSSID: 1c:b7:2c:db:5d:c4
Channel: 44
Network Type: Infrastructure
Security: WPA2 Personal
Signal / Noise: -35 dBm / 0 dBm
surya5ac:
PHY Mode: 802.11n
BSSID: 1c:b7:2c:db:5d:c8
Channel: 153
Network Type: Infrastructure
Security: WPA2 Personal
Signal / Noise: -33 dBm / 0 dBm

 

[srinivasvaradaraj]

Good point,

Sorry, replying to my own post, I noticed a comment in their documentation that said, I have to set the wireless mode to 'auto' to enable MCS 8/9. I did that but the TX still remains at 526.5. Does any one have any tips on how to get this to ASUS dev's attention (bypassing support).

Thanks.

 

[Puppa]

What firmware on the 68R & 3200?
Just last night I got 1300/1300 on AC68R .1013 in Bridge mode, AC3200 .9313 in Router mode.
The channel may matter as well. I was on the high band 5GHz ch 169 (with Auto select for channel)

 

[sfx2000]

Also, I noticed something odd. When looking at the system information from my MAC. I notice a phy mode difference between my 68R and 3200. The 3200 seems to be seen as n. I switched from N/AC to Auto and fixed 80MHz to 20/40/80 and it made no difference.

Clear your Airport preferences, restart and re-associate with the router - give that a try..

 

[srinivasvaradaraj]

What firmware on the 68R & 3200?
Just last night I got 1300/1300 on AC68R .1013 in Bridge mode, AC3200 .9313 in Router mode.
The channel may matter as well. I was on the high band 5GHz ch 169 (with Auto select for channel)

I was on .9313 on the 68R. and on the 3200 .9313 as well. I tried going though all the individual 5GHz bands (at fixed 80MHz setting) and the 'auto' setting but the result was the same. Didn't make any difference. I returned the router for an exchange hoping the replacement won't have the same issue. My dad on the other had is enjoying his 'new' high speed 68R though LOL.

 

[srinivasvaradaraj]

Clear your Airport preferences, restart and re-associate with the router - give that a try..

Yup that was the first thing I tried.Didn't make any difference. I returned the router for an exchange hoping the replacement won't have the same issue. Waiting for the new unit.
My dad on the other had is enjoying his 'new' high speed 68R though LOL.

 

[srinivasvaradaraj]

Thank you all for your responses and time, really appreciate it.