Set up New ROG AX6000 (w/ RMerlin) but Not Getting Fast Wi-Fi Speeds. (Please Help)

[lilstone87]

Hey everyone, as I said in my last post. I wasn't here to drive the topic in hand off the rails. I was just curious what kind of cost would it be to start from scratch building a powerful wired router. I totally understand wifi will require adding a AP device.

Ultimately for someone who has just used standard ASUS type GUI interface for setting things up. What type of free software would be easiest to install, and use? I find myself more than capable of reading, and learning, how to set something up. Just seems DIY router, some of the software can be tricky to use, in the sense of needing an advanced understanding of how to set things up. As it can require more than selecting an option, and hitting apply.

 

[Maverick009]

So, for $400 you can build something better?

$200 for the used PC / NIC
Leaves $200 for an AX AP

Seems like you can.

$200 for the access point would still leave you with a weaker access point/features. That is part of what you pay for in these routers. As far as possibly more powerful hardware to start, you may be able to get within that realm. Honestly though you truly would be looking at around $800-1000.00 for all the proper hardware needs, if truly looking to go custom. There is trade offs to going both routes. For me, I have migrated over to the custom route for more freedom. The current hardware using an Intel Q6600 is old and does not have some features including crypto security, but gets the job done well for what I am doing right now. That cost about $350-$400 just for the router box with purchasing a rack mount case plus Power Supply to place the mATX board/CPU/Memory I already had, plus a Quad 1G I350 Intel NIC and Dual 2.5Ghz NIC. The benefit is upgradability and more control. I do plan to upgrade the hardware at some point but looking towards possibly $680 due to going to a Ryzen 5 5600G/Asus B550M TUF/16GB DDR4 memory upgrade and adding a X550 Intel Dual 10G card to the mix. I am just saying not everything is a straight and simple process and there is always some additional costs that may not be mentioned here in custom vs. OEM/hardware specific designs.

With that said, let's keep with topic here, which was someone needed assistance with figuring out the ASUS RX6000 and optimal settings.

 

[Joyz]

I wasn't here to drive the topic in hand off the rails. I was just curious what kind of cost would it be to start from scratch building a powerful wired router. I totally understand wifi will require adding a AP device.

If you want to customize everything and set it up yourself, then it makes sense to look at MikroTik RB5009

 

[Tech Junky]

$200 for the access point would still leave you with a weaker access point/features.

How so? I haven't run into any of this. I get coverage corner to corner in 1300sq ft and exceed 1gbps over wifi.

. Honestly though you truly would be looking at around $800-1000.00 for all the proper hardware needs, if truly looking to go custom.

No, for ~$400 you can grab a PC + AP as mentioned before. It doesn't need to be high end but capable of running Linux and a 2-4 port NIC for the routing portion.

The benefit is upgradability and more control.

That's the point in taking control over your network needs / desires and not messing around with amateur hour firmware issues daily/weekly.

The current hardware using an Intel Q6600 is old and does not have some features including crypto security, but gets the job done well for what I am doing right now. That cost about $350-$400 just for the router box with purchasing a rack mount case plus Power Supply to place the mATX board/CPU/Memory I already had, plus a Quad 1G I350 Intel NIC and Dual 2.5Ghz NIC. The benefit is upgradability and more control. I do plan to upgrade the hardware at some point but looking towards possibly $680 due to going to a Ryzen 5 5600G/Asus B550M TUF/16GB DDR4 memory upgrade and adding a X550 Intel Dual 10G card to the mix.

This sounds like you're doing more than just R/S Security / WIFI. I had a I350 in my prior build before upping it to a QNAP 5GE 4-port. That's the card I was mentioning for $50 and the 5GE is $200. If all someone wants though is something that routes / switches / firewall it doesn't need to be high end Ryzen or ADL as even old Pentium class CPU's will get the job done w/ 10X the HP of the RISC chips in routers.

With that said, let's keep with topic here, which was someone needed assistance with figuring out the ASUS RX6000 and optimal settings.

That someone already sent the box back for a refund.

 

[Crimliar]

I have my GT-AX6000 but I almost went for the Mikrotik RB5009UG+S+IN and AP/Mesh. If that AP/Mesh were AX6000 then it'd be more expensive initially and probably cost more in energy per year.
To be honest, the GT-AX6000 is enough for my needs, something which ISP supplied routers have never been and going more complex is probably unnecessary - it's a good balance for me!

 

[GHammer]

That is nowhere in line with consumer options.

While the GT-AX6000 is expensive, nothing similar can be built for the same or less with the features it offers and the performance on tap it has.

I'll agree. Though having a separate box for your router and adding APs does give you better performance from your router. When technology changes, you can replace your radio (AP) much easier than the entire all-in-one as I used to do. You can put the router and cable modem where you like and APs at the best location.
I wouldn't get an old PC/Server for this either. Too big, too much power used, can run hot. I run a small device with 4Gb RAM, 2 ethernet ports, 32Gb SD card. It draws around 10W and can do line speed encryption, run docker, etc. I paid around $120 at covid pricing for it. Using my AX-86U as an AP for months now. Works a treat.

But, for the money, an all-in-one is ok if you want to have a single box.

 

[Tech Junky]

@Crimliar

Unless you have a need for the variety of ports on that thing you don't need it. That's more for labbing things for Cisco exams than practical use in a home network. Although for the wired side it blows away anything mentioned on the consumer side in this thread. ISP CPE usually lack what power users are looking for as they're meant to cover the majority of what's current but, not splurge on bleeding edge tech. Some CPE's are better than others but, they all come with a monthly fee.

Cable Modem's are easier to supplement than others in the high speed WAN territory we're in these days. Fiber can be just as easy but, it's not as predominate in the market for bypassing CPE devices but, can be done just as easily with a DIY setup. Fiber can be done cheaper than cable since you don't need to get a modem to terminate the coax with fiber.

There's always a pro/con scenario when it comes to getting more out of your service when it comes to bypassing ISP CPE devices. Taking some of the responsibility for your connection allows you more privacy and tighter security if you so choose to do so.

@GHammer
I'm sure you're using a PI or a derivative to act as the router. It will suffice for simple connectivity but, beyond that it's goin to be hobbled and hit a ceiling for throughput.

10W vs 100W or more if you consolidate all of the little gadgets lying around into a centrally managed box it makes sense. If you want to throttle things and power draw you can in a "PC" by setting the variables as you want them. Having the option to do so is nice but, also not getting kicked in the nuts when trying to max your bandwidth by a cheap CPU running at 10W is nice too.

Energy costs vary worldwide and where I'm at in an energy capitol it's ~$0.08/KW. Even running my server / nas / router / etc. with an ADL 12700K and everything else monthly only runs about $70/mo on average. What exactly the server draws for power monthly? Can't say as I'm always running 24/7 and adding / removing devices from the power source. For instance upgraded my laptop from a 120W model to ADL / 3060 that maxes out at 180W but, unless the GPU is engaged on either they typically sit between 45-60W. Same goes for the server but at full power it could be as high as ~400-450W.

There's a lot of variables in calculating power draw averages vs on demand power readings. Picking up a new SFF PC though would be energy efficient enough and if it's not you could spend more money now for a better PSU but, over the life of the PC the penny or two you save is amortized by the upfront cost of the efficient PSU.

Putting more effort into designing the system beforehand and using some strategy makes for a better setup in the long run. I prefer to design my PC / router but, that means spending a bit more than something prepackaged. As for the used PC it doesn't have to be ancient in terms of the tech. There's plenty of cheap systems as people upgrading just want to get rid of things and move on. Just sifting through listings with an eye on what you're looking for makes for an easy purchase. Since the system is running Linux and can run from a USB drive there's no need to load it up like a gaming rig or some power house system. We're talking packets not something that needs an RTX3090 in it.

 sudo inxi -F

System:    Host: server Kernel: 5.17.5-051705-generic x86_64 bits: 64 Console: tty pts/11
           Distro: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish)
Machine:   Type: Desktop Mobo: ASRock model: Z690 Steel Legend serial: *************** UEFI: American Megatrends LLC. v: 2.02
           date: 10/01/2021
CPU:       Info: 10-Core model: 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700K bits: 64 type: MT MCP cache: L2: 25 MiB
           Speed: 600 MHz min/max: 800/6300 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 600 2: 599 3: 600 4: 760 5: 2457 6: 4882 7: 1039 8: 824
           9: 800 10: 800 11: 800 12: 797 13: 600 14: 601 15: 731 16: 601 17: 598 18: 601 19: 2526 20: 601
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel AlderLake-S GT1 driver: i915 v: kernel
           Display: server: N/A driver: loaded: fbdev unloaded: modesetting,vesa tty: 147x49
           Message: Unable to show advanced data. Required tool glxinfo missing.
Audio:     Device-1: Intel driver: snd_hda_intel
           Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k5.17.5-051705-generic running: yes
           Sound Server-2: PipeWire v: 0.3.48 running: yes
Network:   Device-1: Realtek RTL8125 2.5GbE driver: r8169
           IF: enp2s0 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: a8:a1:59:7a:82:f0
           Device-2: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX210/AX211/AX411 160MHz driver: iwlwifi
           IF: wlp3s0 state: down mac: d8:f8:83:d8:8e:c0
           Device-3: Aquantia AQC111 NBase-T/IEEE 802.3bz Ethernet [AQtion] driver: atlantic
           IF: enp7s0 state: down mac: 24:5e:be:4d:c4:53
           Device-4: Aquantia AQC111 NBase-T/IEEE 802.3bz Ethernet [AQtion] driver: atlantic
           IF: enp8s0 state: up speed: 2500 Mbps duplex: full mac: 24:5e:be:4d:c4:54
           Device-5: Aquantia AQC111 NBase-T/IEEE 802.3bz Ethernet [AQtion] driver: atlantic
           IF: enp10s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: 06:7e:4e:62:3b:e3
           Device-6: Aquantia AQC111 NBase-T/IEEE 802.3bz Ethernet [AQtion] driver: atlantic
           IF: enp11s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: 06:7e:4e:62:3b:e3
           IF-ID-1: bo0 state: up speed: 2000 Mbps duplex: full mac: 06:7e:4e:62:3b:e3
           IF-ID-2: bonding_masters state: N/A speed: N/A duplex: N/A mac: N/A
           IF-ID-3: br0 state: up speed: 2500 Mbps duplex: unknown mac: 5a:ea:69:a9:d9:fb
           IF-ID-4: nordlynx state: unknown speed: N/A duplex: N/A mac: N/A
Bluetooth: Device-1: Intel AX210 Bluetooth type: USB driver: btusb
           Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 state: up address: D8:F8:83:D8:8E:C4
RAID:      Device-1: md0 type: mdraid level: raid-10 status: active size: 18.19 TiB report: 5/5 UUUUU
           Components: Online: 2: sdb1 3: sdd1 4: sda1 5: sde1 6: sdc1
Drives:    Local Storage: total: raw: 37.3 TiB usable: 19.1 TiB used: 8.22 TiB (43.0%)
           ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Western Digital model: WDS100T1X0E-00AFY0 size: 931.51 GiB
           ID-2: /dev/sda vendor: Western Digital model: WD80EZAZ-11TDBA0 size: 7.28 TiB
           ID-3: /dev/sdb vendor: Western Digital model: WD80EZAZ-11TDBA0 size: 7.28 TiB
           ID-4: /dev/sdc vendor: Western Digital model: WD80EZAZ-11TDBA0 size: 7.28 TiB
           ID-5: /dev/sdd vendor: Western Digital model: WD80EZAZ-11TDBA0 size: 7.28 TiB
           ID-6: /dev/sde vendor: Western Digital model: WD80EZAZ-11TDBA0 size: 7.28 TiB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 915.78 GiB used: 107.23 GiB (11.7%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2
           ID-2: /boot/efi size: 48.9 MiB used: 8.2 MiB (16.8%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1
Swap:      Alert: No swap data was found.
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 24.0 C mobo: 35.0 C
           Fan Speeds (RPM): fan-1: 674 fan-2: 782 fan-3: 0 fan-4: 692 fan-5: 0 fan-6: 0 fan-7: 662
Info:      Processes: 399 Uptime: 8d 20h 3m Memory: 15.39 GiB used: 4.45 GiB (28.9%) Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Shell: Bash
           inxi: 3.3.06

 

[Crimliar]

Unless you have a need for the variety of ports on that thing you don't need it. That's more for labbing things for Cisco exams than practical use in a home network. Although for the wired side it blows away anything mentioned on the consumer side in this thread. ISP CPE usually lack what power users are looking for as they're meant to cover the majority of what's current but, not splurge on bleeding edge tech. Some CPE's are better than others but, they all come with a monthly fee.

My needing it is not the same as my wanting it So far my GT-AX6000 meets my needs and then some. And if I do need something more, there's always a raspberry pi for that

 

[GHammer]

I'm sure you're using a PI or a derivative to act as the router. It will suffice for simple connectivity but, beyond that it's goin to be hobbled and hit a ceiling for throughput.

Never assume, because this sounds like someone who has not kept up with the times.
I'm using this; R4S
Including a screenshot of the status page. Note the CPU usage.
In the old days, an x86 was probably needed for VPN/encryption. Today, not at all. I run a tiny box that sips power, needs no rack, and performs as well as/ better than your homespun goliath. You may want to brush up on what's current.
Thanks for the walk down memory lane though.

 

[Tech Junky]

If I was using it just the same as you I would have went with a simple solution as yours. I run multiple functions on it that require more than a pi.

 

[GHammer]

If I was using it just the same as you I would have went with a simple solution as yours. I run multiple functions on it that require more than a pi.

Me too. It's why it's not a pi.

 

[Tech Junky]

@GHammer

I think what triggered the PI comment is the name of it being nanopi

I was looking from my phone before and didn't see the pics of it.

My need exceeds 1gbps and there isn't much you can do in the micro space to get 2.5GE / 5GE speeds.

I would probably say for "most" that would work well for splitting up routing / WIFI. Not sure what kind of throughput you would get compared to a OTS router that maxes out over VPN typically at 300mbps even on a higher end ISP plan. With Goliath I'm able to maintain line speed w/ VPN enabled and minimal CPU engagement.

Since moving from 8700K to 12700K there's been a slight drop when testing but, I suspect that will be resolved when the kernel fixes are applied for hybrid CPU's. There was an issue with some of the packages just updating to 22.04 from 21.10 that are needed for bridging / bonding to work that required manual updates. It's always a moving target when dealing with networking. Which is probably why I have different adapters lying around for when things don't work as expected.