RT-AC68U *terrible* transfer speeds - wireless to USB3.0 drive

[Lazz]

In reading about the AC68U, it seems there are numerous issues that could affect the usage of an external HDD.

Last night, I picked up a brand new 3TB WD MyBook, and formatted it to ext4.

I've got it plugged into the USB3 port on the router, and I've got Samba working great; The drive shows up no problem.

The issue comes with transfer speeds. Right now, from my laptop (dual-band N connection) I'm getting transfer rates somewhere around 1.5MB/s. This is from the same room with full bars. Speed tests show the net speeds are just fine, but for some reason data transfers to the external HDD are just painfully slow.

Can anyone help shed some light on why this might be?

 

[GoNz0]

check "Reducing USB 3.0 interference" is disabled under the professional tab in the 2.4ghz wireless page.

 

[Lazz]

Yeah, I've got that option off, and I'm running the latest firmware.

Authentication is off too, i.e. the drive is shared to anyone on the network.

 

[Lazz]

Ok, I actually got it wrong too.. the adapter in this laptop is a Qualcomm AR9002WB-1NGCD. Apparently it's not dual-band, it only operates on the 2.4GHz spectrum..

Not sure if there's anything I need to do to optimize for that?

 

[theveterans]

Ok, I actually got it wrong too.. the adapter in this laptop is a Qualcomm AR9002WB-1NGCD. Apparently it's not dual-band, it only operates on the 2.4GHz spectrum..

Not sure if there's anything I need to do to optimize for that?

Swap your Atheros to Intel 7260 and enjoy 60 MB/s speeds.

 

[radeon7750]

have you tried different channels? see my post here

 

[Lazz]

Swap your Atheros to Intel 7260 and enjoy 60 MB/s speeds.

Cool! Is that just a drop-in part? I'll have to see if the atheros card is onboard or not.

have you tried different channels? see my post here

I'll try this out when I get back home tonight.. I've been using channel 6, in inSSIDer was showing as optimal around the house. I didn't realize selecting different channels could have a drastic effect on transfer speeds to/from a networked USB drive! Also, note that the WAN speeds are just fine, no issues there at all.

 

[TonyH]

Ok, I actually got it wrong too.. the adapter in this laptop is a Qualcomm AR9002WB-1NGCD. Apparently it's not dual-band, it only operates on the 2.4GHz spectrum..

Not sure if there's anything I need to do to optimize for that?

Hi,
If you want dual band Atheros Killer 1202 or 1103(if you can have 3rd antenna) I prefer stable -N mode going at full speed than unstable -AC mode card. I tried Intel 7250, 7260, 7300, and those two Atheros cards.
Our wireless connected HTPC(laptop) has Killer 1103 which works very well.

 

[KGB7]

Ok, I actually got it wrong too.. the adapter in this laptop is a Qualcomm AR9002WB-1NGCD. Apparently it's not dual-band, it only operates on the 2.4GHz spectrum..

Not sure if there's anything I need to do to optimize for that?

Update drivers from Atheros site.

Disable power management for Wifi nic.


If your wan speed test over wifi are better then speeds from USB drive, then i can only blame the usb hdd. Could be faulty, could be the cable is not properly shielded, could be the internal chipset is not compatible.

Try a different USB 3 cable, that is much thicker and better shielded.

Have you tested the USB 2 port on the router?

 

[Lazz]

Update drivers from Atheros site.

Disable power management for Wifi nic.


If your wan speed test over wifi are better then speeds from USB drive, then i can only blame the usb hdd. Could be faulty, could be the cable is not properly shielded, could be the internal chipset is not compatible.

Try a different USB 3 cable, that is much thicker and better shielded.

Have you tested the USB 2 port on the router?

I thought I'd update here. To be clear, the devices in question being tested are:
Asus RT-AC68U running latest official firmware (3.0.0.4.376.1663)
Western Digital MyBook 3TB USB3.0 external HDD, part # WDBFJK0030HBK-NESN, formatted in one partition as EXT4
Qualcomm AR9002WB-1NGCD in an Asus N53SV laptop (2.4GHz)


I've tested the following configs:

HDD in USB3.0 port, Reduce USB Interference ON
HDD in USB3.0 port, Reduce USB Interference OFF
HDD in USB2 port, Reduce USB Interference ON
HDD in USB2 port, Reduce USB Interference OFF

In all cases and configurations, I can't get the transfer speed above 3 MB/s. Further, the drive *never* spins down while attached to the router, and I don't know what to do about that. The laptop is being tested from about ten feet away with nothing but air in between and perfect signal strength.

I am looking for any kind of testing or advice that could a) let the drive spin down when not being accessed, and b) improve transfer speeds to anything even close to decent.

I understand these issues are all over the place, but I'm beyond frustrated that a router that is almost a year old and has had many firmware updates still can't handle a USB3.0 HDD with anything that could reasonably be called functional.

Thanks again all for your input, I'm willing to try anything at this point that doesn't involve spending lots of money.

 

[KGB7]

Connect the HDD directly in to the laptop USB 3 port and transfer a single large file (+500mbs) in both directions.


Hardwire the laptop in to the router using cat5e or cat6 cable. Run the test again. Make sure you turn off the wifi on the laptop before doing any kind of testing.