Level 1 CTF vs Level 2 CTF

[atkinsom]

Hi,

I've been trying to find out some of the pro's and con's of using level 1 ctf vs level 2 ctf. I understand that level 2 is supposed to be faster on my AC68U but I can't find any threads discussing the tangible differences between the two options. I'm trying to maximize my gigabit connection with Bell but not at the expense of any features the router might have that I can't use anymore in the future. Thanks for any information.

AC68U John's Fork

 

[ColinTaylor]

You said in your other thread that you couldn't get your router to work in Level 2 CTF mode anyway. So the question seems academic.

 

[atkinsom]

You said in your other thread that you couldn't get your router to work in Level 2 CTF mode anyway. So the question seems academic.

Well as you have it I did finally get it to take after shutting down transmission so the question now has some relevance. I'll update the other thread. Thanks very much.

 

[ColinTaylor]

What speeds do you get with CTF 1 vs. CTF 2?

 

[john9527]

You should be able to max out your Gb connection with either Level1 or Level2. With Level1 your CPU utilitzation will probably be close to 100%, Level 2 less (I see to remember a number like 80%, but don't quote me). The impact on available router features is the same for both (I'm surprised transmission made a difference), so if Level2 is working, I'd use it.

 

[atkinsom]

What speeds do you get with CTF 1 vs. CTF 2?

The speeds weren't huge. Bell is playing with PPPOE connections and throttling speeds with me when using PPPOE login on the router. I went from 350Mbps level 1 to 390Mbps level2. I have a gig connection and if I connect my laptop directly to the Bell HH3000 I get 950 down and 940 up. The short story of the whole process is that I'm not willing to give up my ASUS and was trying to squeeze out every last drop of speed while using PPPOE. Just as an FYI when I use my laptop and create a PPPOE connection it does the same thing and throttles my speed on my laptop as well. I've talked to Bell and they don't support PPPOE connections with home connections...I would have to upgrade to business class to get guaranteed PPPOE connection speeds LOL!!! I'm going to use a media converter from work and put the SPF from the BELL router into the media converter and VLAN 35 on the ASUS to see what happens. Just moved so that's a couple of weeks away.

 

[john9527]

Bell is playing with PPPOE connections

Ahhh....I spaced on the PPOE connections. Yes, that can limit your speed.

 

[atkinsom]

You should be able to max out your Gb connection with either Level1 or Level2. With Level1 your CPU utilitzation will probably be close to 100%, Level 2 less (I see to remember a number like 80%, but don't quote me). The impact on available router features is the same for both (I'm surprised transmission made a difference), so if Level2 is working, I'd use it.

I found it weird as well that disabling transmission and then enabling again after level 2 was applied correctly made the difference. It's the only extra entware package that I run. I'm not convinced that was what it was but right now I'm happy and will leave it as is. When I do a factory reset later on down the road I can do a better test. Thanks again for your help.

 

[L&LD]

@atkinsom, you haven't tested yet with a full reset to factory defaults?

Depending on how many 'dirty' upgrades you've done to this router, this could be pivotal to your observed problems.

 

[atkinsom]

@atkinsom, you haven't tested yet with a full reset to factory defaults?

Depending on how many 'dirty' upgrades you've done to this router, this could be pivotal to your observed problems.

Absolutely agree with you. Just need to find the time. Hopefully my odd observations go away but either way I start fresh.

 

[Makaveli]

I don't know if John fork is different but on merlin.

i'm also a bell user on PPPOE.

Level 1 CTF would allow you to hit Gbps speeds but high cpu usage.

Level 2 CTF+FA would allow you to hit Gbps speeds and low cpu because it was hardware accelerated.

with a PPP0E connection Level 2 was never available because it doesn't do Hardware acceleration on PPP0E connections.

on DHCP both are available.

I'm since upgraded to a AX88U to get around this since it allows hardware accelerations on PPP0E connections.

 

[atkinsom]

Went back to CTF 1 after a reboot and can't get it back while on PPOE as described by Makaveli. I think L&LD might be right as the router is starting to show the need for a freshening...hung up bad today twice while creating static routes...time to pull out the NVRAM backup utility and have some fun tomorrow. I love this router and I refuse to bend to Bell and their HH3000! If I have to I'll install my media converter, pull the spf from the Bell modem and use the media converter with my Asus. What's life without a few brick walls Family will be out for a few hours so I'll have plenty of time to troubleshoot.

 

[atkinsom]

Just to follow up and close this thread. As I mentioned my AC-68U started doing some silly things that made no sense even to the experts on this forum. I went ahead and did a firmware update to the latest John Fork. I then did an NVRAM backup using the latest version of the utility to ensure I had everything I needed...FYI the latest version is FORK aware and grabs those unique entries as well. Sweeet work by the current developer!!! Did a factory reset TWICE just to be sure although not likely needed. Restored all the nvram values using the clean option and let me tell you I have a whole new router. This baby acts like an overclocked AC-68U like it did a few months ago before it started going silly. I'm getting full gig speeds now on Bell PPPOE and the CPU is quite happy with the fan cooling her off. Also running CTF 1 with no issues alongside the running builtin VPN server on the router. I guess the lesson is I shouldn't be lazy and take the time to do the steps above to start from a known variable and then move forward. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and assistance. Cheers.