RT-AC86U - 3.0.0.4.382.16466 - CTF and FA missing?

[fryrpc]

Have the NAT acceleration options been removed from this new firmware?
I do not see them in LAN - Switch Config - only Jumbo Frames is shown. I thought it was because AI / QOS / Traffic Monitor were enabled but the options did not appear when they were all disabled.
I checked SSH - show nvram|grep ctf - but that returned nothing so it looks like they do not exist in either enabled or disabled states.
The parental time control still says to disable it to get more reliable control and provides a link that goes to the LAN - Switch Config page but again only Jumbo Frames is shown as an option.
Just wondered if this has been temporarily removed from this new firmware line - at the moment it is not an issue for me as the 2 x 1.8 cores should be fine on my 250/30 service even without the NAT acceleration.

 

[RMerlin]

FA and CTF do not exist on the RT-AC86U. They are replaced by Packet Runner and Flow Cache.

 

[fryrpc]

Ah OK - so that will be for me:

Packet Runner - runner_disable=1
Flow Cache - fc_disable=0

So is Packet Runner what we know as CTF (Cut Through Forwarding) and Flow Cache what we know as FA (Flow Accelerator)?

 

[RMerlin]

Ah OK - so that will be for me:

Packet Runner - runner_disable=1
Flow Cache - fc_disable=0

So is Packet Runner what we know as CTF (Cut Through Forwarding) and Flow Cache what we know as FA (Flow Accelerator)?

More or less. They weren't just renamed, they are entirely new implementations. One of the differences that I can see is runner can be enabled/disabled without requiring a router reboot.

 

[Vexira]

are they better than the old implemntations or is it about the same in functionality

 

[Vexira]

before i forget has the gt5300 replaced FA and CTF with the new settings

 

[RMerlin]

are they better than the old implemntations or is it about the same in functionality

Nobody knows. Broadcom secret sauce.

 

[RMerlin]

before i forget has the gt5300 replaced FA and CTF with the new settings

All HND models are the same.

 

[Vexira]

Great more smoke and mirrors from broadcom, all this cloak and dagger stuff is getting tiresome. I read some where that the HND units had better adaptive qos, so I'd assume the same thing with this.

 

[RMerlin]

The fact that runner can be enabled/disabled without a reboot is progress. It requires less kernel level hacking than CTF too from what I can see.

 

[Vexira]

How does it handle port forwarding and upnp compared to CTF and fa

 

[Vexira]

And also would the 88u support it or is the kernel to old and I should get a HND router, and beg some one to support it.

 

[RMerlin]

How does it handle port forwarding and upnp compared to CTF and fa

Again, I don't know, all the internals are only known to Broadcom.

And also would the 88u support it or is the kernel to old and I should get a HND router, and beg some one to support it.

The RT-AC88U cannot run runner and flow cache, no more than an RT-N66U could run Flow Accelerator. These are all tied to the hardware.

Why is it so important to you anyway? You still don't know any details as to what is different between the two technologies, yet you are already considering changing router just so you can change to a different technology on which you don't know anything, beside "it's different"?

 

[Vexira]

I'm giving my router to my relatives, looking at a replacement for after I hand it over to them, just trying to decide on a decent model, since the gt-5300 atm is off the cards sadly. I was looking forward to the possibility of buying one. Ive decided to buy a new model first then give my 88u to my family. Also i friends have been asking what router they should get keep in mind their all gamers and tinker nuts.

 

[scajjr2]

I'm giving my router to my relatives, looking at a replacement for after I hand it over to them, just trying to decide on a decent model, since the gt-5300 atm is off the cards sadly. I was looking forward to the possibility of buying one. Ive decided to buy a new model first then give my 88u to my family. Also i friends have been asking what router they should get keep in mind their all gamers and tinker nuts.

I've had my two 86Us running for a few weeks now (one as an access point, both running Asus' 382.16466 firmware) and have had no issues. Compared to the 68P & AC1900 they replaced I'd say the 2.4Ghz is a tad weaker but the 5Ghz has a strong signal and slightly better signal quality as my links speeds and data throughput are better. Haven't run any tests just what I see. At any one time in our house there are 2 or 3 wired PCs, 3 Android phones, Xbox1 or PS3, Brother MFC9330CDW printer, 3 smart TVs and an iPad all connected to the network. Don't notice any slowdown at all.

Sam

 

[Vexira]

i was intrested in full cone nat and the features since my 88u will be goong to a good cause

 

[Vexira]

I've had my two 86Us running for a few weeks now (one as an access point, both running Asus' 382.16466 firmware) and have had no issues. Compared to the 68P & AC1900 they replaced I'd say the 2.4Ghz is a tad weaker but the 5Ghz has a strong signal and slightly better signal quality as my links speeds and data throughput are better. Haven't run any tests just what I see. At any one time in our house there are 2 or 3 wired PCs, 3 Android phones, Xbox1 or PS3, Brother MFC9330CDW printer, 3 smart TVs and an iPad all connected to the network. Don't notice any slowdown at all.

Sam

my second curiosity would be in regards to open nat with 2 xbox ones, I know merlin enabled full cone in his firmware, though I wish it was enabled by default in stock asus firmware.

 

[Sean]

More or less. They weren't just renamed, they are entirely new implementations. One of the differences that I can see is runner can be enabled/disabled without requiring a router reboot.

I was able to disable HW acceleration on my AC68U, and I needed to do this on occasion for WAN --> LAN to work. Is there a way to similarly do this on the AC86U? I tried "fc_disable=0", but that doesn't seem to work. It also says that it's "Enabled" under Tools regardless of toggling it via SSH. Any help is appreciated, thanks.

 

[RMerlin]

fc_disable=0 would actually enable it. You need to set it to 1 to disable (re-read the variable name )

 

[Sean]

fc_disable=0 would actually enable it. You need to set it to 1 to disable (re-read the variable name )

Thank you for the clarification. I tried fc_disable=1, and I am not seeing it listed as disabled under Tools in the GUI. Am I to assume that is is, though? Runner says it's already disabled because I have QoS on. I liked knowing that HW Acceleration was off on my old router, the AC86U does not give me that assurance or a simple way to turn it off. Thanks in advance!