Which VPN providers offer Asuswrt-Merlin applet?

[psychopomp1]

Currently using Astrill VPN on 7 day trial which works very well in Merlin's 376.49 fw on my RT-AC87R. I'm getting around 70/17 speeds using Astrill's own RouterPro UDP protocol (customized OpenVPN)...unfortunately using ANY other VPN service (including Astrill) in pure OpenVPN mode only yields speeds of 20/15 on my 80/20 mbps connection. So before i sign up to Astrill, are there any other VPn services which allow you to install their own app within Merlin's fw?

A screenshot of Astrill VPN settings in Merlin 376.49 fw:

 

[CaptainSTX]

I am not aware of any. Astrill's add on is nice in that it makes routing connections from only certain devices and or connections to certain sites using VPN or local simple.

While you can run most any VPN on your router the speeds probably won't be significantly better though the speeds you are reporting are somewhat lower than some others have reported whn running a VPN. A SOHO router just doesn't have the processing power needed.

I currently use Astrill and connect to a server 1,200 miles away and consistently get speeds as good as or better than shown below on my FIOS 75/75 connection, but in order to do so I have to use an auxiliary processor with a 1.8 Ghz processor and 4 gigs or Ram.


http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/4001550955

 

[RMerlin]

You could try lowering your encryption strength. See if it offers AES-128-CBC - this will be secure enough for a home user, and should help with performance.

Astril's plugin makes it one of the best tunnel providers at this time for Asuswrt-Merlin. I can't comment on their performance however, as I've never tried any of the tunnel providers (I only use the free VPNBook account for when I need to test OpenVPN client functionality).

 

[cosmoxl]

Currently using Astrill VPN on 7 day trial which works very well in Merlin's 376.49 fw on my RT-AC87R. I'm getting around 70/17 speeds using Astrill's own RouterPro UDP protocol (customized OpenVPN)...unfortunately using ANY other VPN service (including Astrill) in pure OpenVPN mode only yields speeds of 20/15 on my 80/20 mbps connection. So before i sign up to Astrill, are there any other VPn services which allow you to install their own app within Merlin's fw?

A screenshot of Astrill VPN settings in Merlin 376.49 fw:

how are you testing speeds?

I get 35/5 on my AC68 using the regular openvpn client. I just can't usually get that by testing with speedtest.net and the like. I can get that with a multi part download or a torrent.

What providers have you tried while using the openvpn client? Not all VPN providers are equal.

Finally, I'm actually a little surprised at the speeds you are getting while connected to Astrill. I trust you have confirmed by other web sites that you are indeed connected to Astrill? At that speed the CPU must be near maxed out. What does CPU usage look like?

 

[psychopomp1]

I'm using speedtest.net to test speeds & the speeds from there are confirmed if i download some 1GB test files.

I've took out some trial subs with top rated VPNs suppliers such AirVPN, VPN AC, IVPN and i never get more than ~ 18 meg in speedtests. All of their support teams say standard consumer routers (incl RT-AC87R) are unable to support speeds higher than 10-20 mbps when using the built-in OpenVPN client. This is apparently due to router hardware limiltations and apparently many smartphones possess higher specs than routers!!

Are you getting 35/5 speeds using the built-in openvpn client on the AC68 or using the openvpn app on your pc?

 

[cosmoxl]

yeah, just the built in openvpn client and I use AirVPN.

I am currently living in Thailand and connect to VPN in Singapore.

AC68 overclocked to 1200mhz

do you know more technical details of the routerpro option? do you get the same speeds if you use openvpn udp option vs routerpro udp?

 

[psychopomp1]

If i use any openvpn option in the astrill applet then speeds drop to less than 20 mbps. Using RouterPro UDP or TCP gives me around 70 mbps. I believe RouterPro uses double layer encryption and i think double hops as well so harder to crack. Astrill offer a free 7 day trial (no payment details taken) which includes access to RouterPro VPN UDP. Just be aware than RouterPro costs an additional $5 per month (not $10 pm as stated on their website) but this fee also allows you to use an additional device on the VPN ie 2 simultaneous devices allowed. I signed up yesterday for 12 months. IMHO Astrill is good as the likes of AirVPN but with far, far more options.

As a response to Great Firewall of China VPN blocking events, we decided to create a new VPN protocol that is not detectable as VPN protocol and which works in China. We named those new protocols StealthVPN and RouterPro VPN.

StealthVPN and RouterPro VPN is our customized version of OpenVPN, and is our solution which works in China. StealthVPN add-on is for computers only (Windows, Mac OSX and Linux), and RouterPro VPN add-on is for routers only (DD-WRT, Tomato, TomatoUSB, ASUS Merlin, RMerl/asuswrt-merlin). While both StealthVPN and RouterPro VPN protocols were originally designed for China users, anyone can use this protocols as means to prevent your ISP Throttling Your Internet Connection.

The new protocols StealthVPN and RouterPro VPN are designed to make it really hard to detect and block. The new protocol has 2-layers of encryption for even better security. Standard price for StealthVPN add-on is $5/month and $10/month for RouterPro VPN add-on. This fee is necessary to cover development and maintenance costs and server expenses, as this new protocol uses much more system resources due to two layers of encryption.

https://www.astrill.com/addons.php

 

[cosmoxl]

It sounds to me like your ISP may be throttling openvpn and the routerpro defeats the throttling.

AirVPN offers openvpn through SSL and SSH tunnels and many people seem to find that using those options also bypasses throttling. Perhaps their routerpro option is doing something similar.

I use the SSH tunnel with Air not to defeat throttling but just for more anonymity and because Thailand as technically made using a VPN illegal. It's pretty easy to do with optware installed.

 

[aventus]

Hmm Sounds strange how can this routerpro option give you that speed are you sure your connected to the vpn? Check your ip

 

[Deanoz_uk]

Currently looking at doing this myself and noticed this comment yesterday when reading the sales blurb.

RouterPro VPN: Brings better security with 2-layer encryption. Supports Fast mode - allows speed on your router from 20 mbit/sec or more. Standard OpenVPN solution is limited to about 8-10 mbit because of slow CPU in your router. Works even in countries with high censorship, like China, UAE, Syria, etc.

 

[cosmoxl]

with the good CPU that are in the AC56, AC68, AC87 and the like openvpn speeds are getting quite nice. it's wrong for somebody to say routers can't do more than 10mb/s these days. granted, you have to spend money for a good router.

it's long been reported that the AC68 can do 50mb/s with openvpn. I'm doing 35mb/s which is my line speed max. CPU usage indicates I could go significantly faster if my ISP allowed.

I'm not sure why the OP is having trouble getting good speed with regular openvpn. That said, his speeds of 70/17 (routerpro option) with the AC87 don't surprise me.

 

[aventus]

I have 50mb DSL but with openvpn on router i get 20-30mb speed

 

[oric1]

Sharing my test results on Singapore server :

On Fibre 200Mbps (symmetrical)

Without activating VPN on Windows 8.1 desktop down / up (Mbps) : 205 / 203

via Astrill VPN client on Windows 8.1 desktop down / up (Mbps) : 190 / 189

via Astrill Applet OpenVPN UDP on Asuswrt-Merlin 376.49 (AC87U) : 42 / 38

via Astrill Applet RouterPro UDP on Asuswrt-Merlin 376.49 (AC87U) : 56 / 53

CPU Core 1 / 2 (%) on AC87U : 99 / 8 during test on Speedtest.net

 

[psychopomp1]

Hmm Sounds strange how can this routerpro option give you that speed are you sure your connected to the vpn? Check your ip

Definitely connected to Astrill VPN, latest RouterPro VPN speedtest:

 

[aventus]

Wow awesome

 

[Eet_46]

I'm going with Astrill, tried PIA and Ipvanish too, but could only get just above half my speed with them, no matter how i tweaked.

Paying for a 60/12 line.. But get almost 70/15 in reality..
With Astrills routerpro:


Without VPN


Just standard setup, no OC. 128bit encryption. With an AC56U router, on latest Merlin firmware.

 

[aventus]

Maybe someone know what this routerpro addon really do?

 

[primitivo]

RouterPro is just an optimized version of OpenVPN. It is Astrill's proprietary protocol with Blowish 128-bit encryption. Apparently it is also good for countries where OpenVPN protocol traffic might be shaped. I can confirm it works better in UAE than standard OpenVPN.

I have been looking for alternative backup to Astrill but all of others VPN just don't come close. Also it's funny how negative press Astrill got recently, have you noticed they are not listed as a top VPN providers on "affiliate" based websites? The reason for this is that Astrill dropped their affiliate program and hence the recommendations disappeared lol.

Anyway, when I lived in Singapore:

RouterPro UDP on Singapore 1 (USA):

CPU 100% bottleneck.

OpenVPN on my Mac Pro on Singapore 1 (USA) server:

My ISP speed 200/100 was bottleneck here Later my ISP upgraded everyone to 300/300 symmetrical and believe it or not, I was maxing this out via Astrill. I could actually download files with speed of 36 MB/s, something I wasn't even able to hit with direct connection.

I have noticed that RouterPro speeds via router obviously depend on the location and latency of the server. Normally it doesn't make much sense for Singapore based customer to use Singapore based VPN server, as the VPN is mostly used to obey geo-restrictions to watch UK/US television. Why it did make sense is that Astrill has server in Singapore with virtual US IP address, which means you connect to the local server and get US IP which allows you to watch US Netflix etc.

Don't expect the same speeds on RouterPro where the latency is higher. I am in UAE now, connecting to UK servers which are the closest, most sensible options to use. With latencies of 120ms I am getting around 45 down / 15 up using RouterPro on Merlin 378.50 and my ISP speed is 100/20. I still think it's great.

Based on my research the only other VPN service with proprietary protocol is VyprVPN but haven't tested them.

 

[ASadani]

Any update on this old thread if there are any more players besides astrill with merlin?

 

[joegreat]

Any update on this old thread if there are any more players besides astrill with merlin?

Nope, as it's simply not needed: Go to your VPN provider and ask for the Router or Andorid .ovpn config file and load it to the router - add Login/PW and you are done!