OpenVPN performance of the RT-AC86U

[Xentrk]

I helped a friend configure their RT-AC86U last night. FW version is 384.3. I did not see the NAT Acceleration option on the LAN-Switch Control page like I have on my AC88U. I have NAT Acceleration on the AC88U enabled to help with OpenVPN performance. Is there a configuration I need to set on the AC86U to make sure the OpenVPN client is taking advantage of the AES-NI feature of the CPU on the AC86U? Want to make sure I'm not missing anything.

Edit: I did some more searching and saw @RMerlin post that the feature does not exist on the AC86U.

 

[Xentrk]

Unfortunately, I am not experiencing the faster OpenVPN speed on the AC86U when compared to the AC88U others have reported. I am using AES-128-GCM cipher. Makes me wonder if there is another setting I need to make.

 

[doczenith1]

Both Runner (the new FA) and Flow Cache (the new CTF) were enabled on my 86U by default. Similar to the behavior with my 68U when I turned on the AiProtection features the Runner became disabled. You can check the state of NAT acceleration on the Tools tab.

I was just checking my speeds and set a new record. I'm not sure how accurate their Win 10 app is but this just happened. Data encryption: AES-128-CBC | Data authentication: SHA1 | Connection type: UDP | Custom Configuration: rcvbuf 524288 fast-io

I took out the rcvbuf 524288 entry and the D/L speeds dropped to around 130 Mbps. During the tests core 2 was at 65% during D/L and 85-90% during U/L.

 

[Xentrk]

Both Runner (the new FA) and Flow Cache (the new CTF) were enabled on my 86U by default. Similar to the behavior with my 68U when I turned on the AiProtection features the Runner became disabled. You can check the state of NAT acceleration on the Tools tab.

I was just checking my speeds and set a new record. I'm not sure how accurate their Win 10 app is but this just happened. Data encryption: AES-128-CBC | Data authentication: SHA1 | Connection type: UDP | Custom Configuration: rcvbuf 524288 fast-io

View attachment 12150

Thank you! I see that Runner is disabled. Ugh, I can't find the page to turn it on. What page do I need to go to? Thanks!

 

[doczenith1]

There is no way to turn the NAT acceleration on or off from what I understand. I believe they are both enabled by default and will turn off depending on how the router is configured. Similar to the "Auto" setting on previous models. I flashed Asuswrt-Merlin the day I got my 86U so I'm not sure if there is a setting in the stock fw but I doubt it as that's not something Merlin would get rid of assuming he even could. #closedsource

 

[Xentrk]

There is no way to turn the NAT acceleration on or off from what I understand. I believe they are both enabled by default and will turn off depending on how the router is configured. Similar to the "Auto" setting on previous models. I flashed Asuswrt-Merlin the day I got my 86U so I'm not sure if there is a setting in the stock fw but I doubt it as that's not something Merlin would get rid of assuming he even could. #closedsource

I enable it via the command line SSH session:

nvram set runner_disable=0
 nvram commit

I am now getting 3x the speed I was getting. I have AirProtection enabled. I turned it off and saw that Runner was still disabled. So, I turned it back on. I'll search the forum some more when I get home about Runner. This is a new one for me.​

 

[doczenith1]

Did you reboot after turning off AiProtection? I have found that the NAT acceleration settings don't update until after a forced reboot after making changes in the fw. Just in case I wasn't clear above, runner is disabled on my 86U. Good luck on finding info on Runner. I haven't saw much about it on this site which I believe is due to the closed source nature of it. I'd be interested though in what you find.

 

[Xentrk]

Thanks

Did you reboot after turning off AiProtection? I have found that the NAT acceleration settings don't update until after a forced reboot after making changes in the fw. Just in case I wasn't clear above, runner is disabled on my 86U. Good luck on finding info on Runner. I haven't saw much about it on this site which I believe is due to the closed source nature of it. I'd be interested though in what you find.

Thanks for clarifying. Strange, The speed was better over the vpn when I enabled Runner via command line. I did not reboot after turning off AiProtection. Is the recommendation to turn off AiProtection to enhance OpenVPN performance?
I was working with some time constraints. I did several reboots after turning it back on though. Anyway, the guy is so happy with the bump in WiFi performance and can now stream content using VPN client on router. I still got better vpn speedswith my i5 cpu pfSense build. I was expecting better based on the reviews I have seen posted here. I’ll dig around some more.

EDIT: Rebooted the router so Runner is now disabled again. I am not onsite to perform a speed test to determine impact.

 

[jasonho]

For speed over 200M, do you run as client or server? Thanks.

 

[doczenith1]

Just to clarify, all of the speedtest values that I have posted with the 86U have been with Runner disabled, Flow Cache enabled with all of the AiProtection features turned on. Other than some port forwarding all other non-wifi related options are the default settings. And I am using the OpenVPN client.

 

[jasonho]

can some help to test the openv server speed. Thanks

 

[FlyByWire]

I'm not very expirienced with the technical details so maybe someone could give a short summary what to configure?!

I'm using the 86U (with Merlin) for two weeks now an beside of an WLAN issue (other thread) everything is working fine. My ISP is providing stable 200/200 Mbit. When using AirVPN with the desktop client on my PC I'm getting 200 Mbit download on VPN. With the Router acting as VPN client I only reach 8-10 Mbit.

Formerly I had an RT-AC68U. As I understand this one should reach 50-06 Mbit?! In my case I got 5-6 Mbit-

Any ideas?

thanks!

 

[doczenith1]

Does AirVPN provide an ovpn file that you can import? I just did some googling and it looks like AirVPN has a "Config Generator" that can generate an opvn file that you can import. Typically you'll get the best speeds with:
UDP vs TCP
AES-128 vs AES-256
SHA1 vs SHA256

 

[FlyByWire]

Yes, they have a config generator that provides oven files. I'll have a look if I can choose the options you mentioned.

Thanks!

 

[Stevie]

Which vpn have the fastest speeds. Everyone seems to prefer Vyprvpn and PIA. Are they really that fast then Nord, Express, Air, etc.

I've recently got myself the ac86u also and I love it, but looking for the fastest vpn

 

[Butterfly Bones]

Which vpn have the fastest speeds. Everyone seems to prefer Vyprvpn and PIA. Are they really that fast then Nord, Express, Air, etc.

I've recently got myself the ac86u also and I love it, but looking for the fastest vpn

I have Pure VPN but I find it no faster than VPN Unlimited that I also use.

I found this but don't agree.
https://www.pcmag.com/roundup/354222/the-best-vpns-for-gaming

However where I live is far less populated and the closest servers are 200+ miles from me. VPN speed reports vary widely and there are way too many sites that get money from linking to VPN suppliers from their "review" pages.

 

[Xentrk]

Which vpn have the fastest speeds. Everyone seems to prefer Vyprvpn and PIA. Are they really that fast then Nord, Express, Air, etc.

I've recently got myself the ac86u also and I love it, but looking for the fastest vpn

Navigate to Tools > Sysinfo. What is the status of Runner? If it is disabled. Take a speedtest. Then, try to enable it by turning off AiProtection. Not sure what settings are responsible for enabling Runner. But you need to find it as Runner may give you better VPN performance. I was not in possession of one long enough to test properly. But when I enabled Runner via nvram, I saw an increase in speed.

My VPN provider offers a premium 10Gbit Network. Never had a need to use it though. My pfSense build has given me a huge improvement in speed since it has an Intel i5 with AES-NI enabled.

 

[Stevie]

Navigate to Tools > Sysinfo. What is the status of Runner? If it is disabled. Take a speedtest. Then, try to enable it by turning off AiProtection. Not sure what settings are responsible for enabling Runner. But you need to find it as Runner may give you better VPN performance. I was not in possession of one long enough to test properly. But when I enabled Runner via nvram, I saw an increase in speed.

My VPN provider offers a premium 10Gbit Network. Never had a need to use it though. My pfSense build has given me a huge improvement in speed since it has an Intel i5 with AES-NI enabled.
View attachment 12363

Runner and Flow Cache are enabled though

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[Xentrk]

Runner and Flow Cache are enabled though

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The AES-128-GCM cipher followed by the AES-256-GCM coupled with SHA1 should give you the best performance. Do you have AiProtection disabled? I am curious to know the settings that enable/disable Runner.

 

[Stevie]

The AES-128-GCM cipher followed by the AES-256-GCM coupled with SHA1 should give you the best performance. Do you have AiProtection disabled? I am curious to know the settings that enable/disable Runner.

AiProtection is disabled. My speeds are not that great though. I have a 40meg line and used express, Nord and PIA. Wanna try Torguard and see which one performs the best. I also have a 68u running in Aimesh with my 86u

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