Media Bridge Performance

[mrkaffee]

Hi all,
First of all, this is a great board and I have read a lot. Thank you all for the information, tips and your opinions.
I bought two of these RT-AC66U boxes recently to build up a wlan bridge. The seller’s factsheet and review comments were very promising with real data rates seen up to 500mbps.
After hours of testing and reading I have got out 150mbps at maximum upload or download rate. Now I wonder how I can get out better performance. I would have expected to see at least 300mbps. inssider shows only two other 5G wlans, where one is in the lower channels (36+40) and the other in the upper (100+104).

Well, my test setup looks like this:
PC <- - > RT-AC66U (1) (router mode) ………. RT-AC66U (2) (media bridge mode) <---> disc-system

all cabling is at least cat 6. I use iperf to measure the speed.
PC ist connected to the WAN port of RT-AC66U (1), disc-system to the LAN port of RT-AC66U (2).
no other WLAN clients connected to the router.
RT-AC66U (1) is configured with standard settings, but
- disabled firewall, disabled NAT
- static WAN and LAN IP addresses
RT-AC66U (2) is configured with standard settings, but
- static LAN IP address
both RT-AC66U are placed side-by-side in 2 feet distance.

I have tried various firmware releases:
- Asus-Wrt .260 and .270
- Merlin .354
however there is not much difference in performance, maybe .354 is a bit slower. Further with the .354 release I could only test in one direction, from LAN to WAN. I assume even I have disabled the firewall it is not and blocks traffic.
I have cleared nvram and have reset the boxes to facory defaults after each firmware upload. both RT-AC66U’s have country code “EU”.

testing the performance with difference WLAN settings, iperf prints following rates:
RT-AC66U (2) connected to 2.4G to the router box, mode auto, 20M/40M, Ch auto: 37mbps
RT-AC66U (2) connected to 2.4G to the router box, mode auto, 40M, Ch auto: 72mbps
RT-AC66U (2) connected to 2.4G to the router box, mode N-only, 40M, Ch auto: 70-100mbps

RT-AC66U (2) connected to 5G to the router box, mode auto, 20M/40M/80M, Ch auto: 108mbps
RT-AC66U (2) connected to 5G to the router box, mode auto, 80M, Ch auto: 107mbps
RT-AC66U (2) connected to 5G to the router box, mode auto, 80M, Ch 36: 108mbps

as you can see these figures a far away from the measured rates of about 500mbps in the reviews.

I would very much appreciate your help in improving my bridge performance as I am at my wits’ end.

Thank you
Stefan

 

[mrkaffee]

just a short update to my previous post ...

in the meantime i can get 400-450mbps in both directions.
i have reconfigured the RT-AC66U from router mode to AP mode. this change gives the throughput a boost.

currently i am running asus f/w ..270 on the first box (AP mode) and merlin f/w .270 on the second box (media bridge mode).

i would like to run merlin's f/w on the AP but still have an issue that packets do not pass from WiFi to LAN. reverting back to stock asus f/w the issue is gone.

could someone confirm that he is running a media bridge with merlin firmware and release version?

 

[smithft]

Same problem

Stephan I am seeing the same problem of throughput of around 150 Mbps when the 2 RT-AC66Us are several feet apart. My setup is similar to yours with one router set to router mode and the other to media bridge. I am playing with this to see if anything works and if I stumble on to anything I will let you know. Thanks.

 

[smithft]

One thing I notice is in the GUI to the media bridge under Network Map and system status there is the SSID name for the wireless network and this is listed only under the 2.4 GHz tab. When I switch to the 5GHz tab it says Change the network the RT-AC66R will connect to. And it has a GO button. I have clicked on this and put in the 5GHz network but it still pops up and shows under the 2.4 GHz tab. I am using merlins FW 354 in both the router and the bridge as I believe you said you were. I was just wondering if perhaps the media bridge could be connecting to the router at 2.4 GHz and that would be expected to give throughput numbers similar to what you and I seem to be seeing. Would this not show up in the iperf analysis. Sorry but I am kind of a newbie at this stuff.

 

[mrkaffee]

smithft, i see the same with merlin build 270.26. my interpretation is that the bridge is connected to the router with the 5G band. the 2.4G band on the bridge can be used as access point.

try converting the box yet in router-mode to AP-mode. that has increased my throughput up to 480mbps.

however i am still struggling with the packets that do not pass from PC's connected to the LAN of the media bridge. i.e. i can not ping the media bridge from the connected PC and vica versa. even though both have an IP on the same subnet .

 

[mrkaffee]

just tried again with the LAN issue and found out using the default subnet 192.168.1.x works.

but as soon as i change the IP's of both RT-AC66U's and my PC to another subnet, e.g. 192.168.0.x i can no longer talk to the media bridge.

smithft, what subnet are you using?

 

[smithft]

Stefan I am away from home and can cant look at things for a couple of days. I realized the 2.4 tab on the media bridge is as you said broadcasting its own network and it does appear that the bridge is connecting at 5Gz. Since I am away I can't really play with things but the subnet should of just been the default. I didn't change it. So you switched the router over to AP mode and got the throughput you should get so I will have to try that.

 

[mrkaffee]

i have found a workaround for my issue.
it looks like the RT-AC66U does not like the subnet 192.168.0.x. i tried with 192.168.1.x and 192.168.2.x and these works just fine.
if someone can reproduce the problem i'll open a change request at asus.

smithft, check the 5G settings on your access point. you have to configure channel width to 80MHz and a fixed channel, e.g. 36 - auto does not give the high throughput.

 

[ichon]

Bridgemode == no problem

Hi All,

just wanted to inform you guys, on my expirience with bridging two AC66U's (AP and Bridge mode).

Enabled bridging > Entered SSID for main AP > Entered encryption key and voila' all done!

Adjacent rooms with approximately 10m and one wall between the two routers.
RESULTS: DOWNLINK 224mbps-272mbps (28-34mb/s) / UPLINK 192-224 (24-28mb/s)
Great performance, considering the 5ghz band generally has a hard time making its way around my flat.

Sidenote: The router in 5ghz Bridge mode enables the 2.4ghz band for normal AP work.

Versions: 3.0.0.4.372.31 (Merlin Build) & 3.0.0.4.374_130 (ASUSWRT)

 

[Junky321]

Media Bridge Issue

All,
Are your Router/AP to Media Bridge stable? My Media Bridge randomly drops its clients (wired LAN). I have two PCs wired to the Media Bridge and suddenly one gets dropped off (no IP). Power Off/On would fix the problem. This happens at least once a day if not more.

Any advice would be greatly appreciative.

My Set-up:
(1) RT-AC66 Router (Behind ATT Uverse)
(1) RT-AC66 Media Bridge
Both have the latest Asus firmware version 374.130

Everything connected to the Router wire or wireless is stable. It seems that I only have issues with the Media Bridge with its clients.

Thanks

 

[ichon]

All,
Are your Router/AP to Media Bridge stable? My Media Bridge randomly drops its clients (wired LAN). I have two PCs wired to the Media Bridge and suddenly one gets dropped off (no IP). Power Off/On would fix the problem. This happens at least once a day if not more.

Any advice would be greatly appreciative.

My Set-up:
(1) RT-AC66 Router (Behind ATT Uverse)
(1) RT-AC66 Media Bridge
Both have the latest Asus firmware version 374.130

Everything connected to the Router wire or wireless is stable. It seems that I only have issues with the Media Bridge with its clients.

Thanks

I haven't been running Bridge mode more than a day or so, but so far very stable. I'll get back to you when the setup has been running a bit longer

 

[mrkaffee]

my AP / media bridge link is stable, up for 18 days now. however i transparentely interconnect two LANs, no direct attached clients.

 

[llc00ljoel]

I have a similar bridge disconnection issue. It seems most acute with Xbox live behind the Media bridge. Also, it appears that the protocol for Airplay does not pass through correctly via the Media bridge (my receiver is unable to be detected behind the bridge via Airplay, but just fine when wired directly to the router).

Both have the latest Asus firmware version 374.130

 

[ichon]

Hi All,

just wanted to inform you guys, on my expirience with bridging two AC66U's (AP and Bridge mode).

Enabled bridging > Entered SSID for main AP > Entered encryption key and voila' all done!

Adjacent rooms with approximately 10m and one wall between the two routers.
RESULTS: DOWNLINK 224mbps-272mbps (28-34mb/s) / UPLINK 192-224 (24-28mb/s)
Great performance, considering the 5ghz band generally has a hard time making its way around my flat.

Sidenote: The router in 5ghz Bridge mode enables the 2.4ghz band for normal AP work.

Versions: 3.0.0.4.372.31 (Merlin Build) & 3.0.0.4.374_130 (ASUSWRT)

After a bit of tinkering, I'm now getting Bridge interconnects 702/263 (Rx/Tx). Also maxing out my HTPC harddrive during DOWNLINK tests (maxes out around 35-40 megabyte/sec.)

Both routers are now running Merlin Build 3.0.0.4.372.31 (10hrs. stable at test).

 

[jonstatt]

I have a similar bridge disconnection issue. It seems most acute with Xbox live behind the Media bridge. Also, it appears that the protocol for Airplay does not pass through correctly via the Media bridge (my receiver is unable to be detected behind the bridge via Airplay, but just fine when wired directly to the router).

Both have the latest Asus firmware version 374.130

I found the disconnection issue related to the number of devices behind the media bridge. I thought it started to play-up once you got around 8 or more things behind it but maybe its even less than that.

 

[llc00ljoel]

That's consistent with what I'm seeing. I have 4 wired devices attached to the bridge itself and only 1 wired device connected to the router. That said, I have 7 other devices (phones, tablets, laptops) that connect wirelessly in the house....so I'm definitely over the magic number of 8. The interesting thing is the performance is spectacular...I just need the connections to be stable and pass through as you'd expect on a bridge.

I assumed the xbox live disconnects were related to DHCP and the airplay issues were IGMP setting related...but after monkeying around with various settings and updating firmware and clearing nvram over and over again, I'm not sure what's my next step.

If any one has any suggestions, I"m all ears.

 

[Junky321]

My bridge has only two wired pc clients and one printer but they still randomly get disconnected.

 

[ichon]

Merlin Build 3.0.0.4.372.31?

My bridge has only two wired pc clients and one printer but they still randomly get disconnected.

That's consistent with what I'm seeing. I have 4 wired devices attached to the bridge itself and only 1 wired device connected to the router. That said, I have 7 other devices (phones, tablets, laptops) that connect wirelessly in the house....so I'm definitely over the magic number of 8. The interesting thing is the performance is spectacular...I just need the connections to be stable and pass through as you'd expect on a bridge.

I assumed the xbox live disconnects were related to DHCP and the airplay issues were IGMP setting related...but after monkeying around with various settings and updating firmware and clearing nvram over and over again, I'm not sure what's my next step.

If any one has any suggestions, I"m all ears.

Have you guys tried Merlin Build 3.0.0.4.372.31?

 

[llc00ljoel]

Have you guys tried Merlin Build 3.0.0.4.372.31?

Yes - was really hoping that version would do the trick and ran it for roughly a week but still had the same issue. I've also tried with a downgrade to merlin's 270 (with nvram clear) but no dice either.

 

[ichon]

Yes - was really hoping that version would do the trick and ran it for roughly a week but still had the same issue. I've also tried with a downgrade to merlin's 270 (with nvram clear) but no dice either.

Tough. Do you connect wireless clients to the Bridge' 2.4ghz SSID, or only wired clients?

I'm only running wired clients on the Bridge-side. All wireless clients connect directly to the main AC66U in AP-mode.