2.4 ghz connection speed and virtual interface questions

Post new topic   Reply to topic    DD-WRT Forum Index -> Broadcom SoC based Hardware
Author Message
jhaverbs
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 31 Dec 2008
Posts: 24

PostPosted: Tue Dec 26, 2017 8:23    Post subject: 2.4 ghz connection speed and virtual interface questions Reply with quote
I have wrt610n v1 with dd-wrt.v24_mega_wrt610n_r19519.bin firmware. It seems to work fine in a repeater bridge mode. On 5 ghz repeater bridge mode, it connects wireless to my main Netgear R7900 router. I also used 2.4 ghz radio in AP mode that with different ssid then in the Netgear router. I have 2 questions.

1) If I connect to the 2.4 ghz Netgear router from my cellphone standing close to the wrt610n router (about 60 ft with several walls in between), I get connection speed of 50 Mbps. However if I connect the cell to the wrt610n 2.4ghz ssid, I get connection speed of only 18 Mbps.

I did check that my hp chromebox connected by lan on wrt610n though it's 5 ghz repeater bridge mode, gets connection speed of 100 Mbps. So why does the 2.4 ghz AP mode to which my cell connects give a lower speed. My understanding is that the 2.4 ghz radio on wrt610n should be communicating with the netgear router through the 5 ghz repeater bridge mode with very high connection speed. So I should get about the same connection speed of 50 Mbps that the cellphone gets when used the netgear 2.4 ghz radio.

2) I am unable to use the 5 ghz virtual inteface for direct connection. When I try to connect my cellphone with the virtual interface ssid, the connection is made and then disconnects immediately. I did check the security, WPA2-AES is okay. Is that because the netgear 5 ghz radio is using wide channels at 40 mhz that dd-wrt does not support?
Sponsor
ian5142
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 23 Oct 2013
Posts: 2318
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Tue Dec 26, 2017 15:40    Post subject: Connection speed Reply with quote
There is not much you can do to change connection speed. See recommended settings here:
https://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Basic_Wireless_Settings
https://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Advanced_wireless_settings

I would suggest trying to flash the Netgear R7900 with the R8000 dd-wrt factory image. The hardware is almost identical (just missing USB 2.0 port). If both routers are running dd-wrt than you can use WDS, which is much more stable than Repeater Bridge. https://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/WDS_Linked_router_network

2. No, Wide HT40 channels are supported by dd-wrt. The connection is being dropped for some other reason.

_________________
Before asking a question on the forums, update dd-wrt: Where do I download firmware? I suggest reading it all.
QCA Best WiFi Settings


Some dd-wrt wiki pages are up to date, others are not. PM me if you find an old one.

Atheros:
Netgear R7800 x3 - WDS AP / station, gateway, QoS
TP-Link Archer C7 v2 x2 - WDS Station
TP-Link TL-WDR3600 v1 - WDS Station
TP-Link 841nd v8 - NU
D-Link 615 C1/E3/I1 x 7 - 1 WDS station
D-Link 825 B1 - NU
D-Link 862L A1 x2 - WDS Station
Netgear WNDR3700v2 - NU
UBNT loco M2 x2 - airOS

Broadcom
Linksys EA6400 - Gateway, QoS
Asus N66U - AP
Netgear WNDR3700v3 - not used
MediaTek
UBNT EdgeRouter X - switch
jhaverbs
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 31 Dec 2008
Posts: 24

PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 8:35    Post subject: Still no change Reply with quote
ian5142: I spend quite some time today following your recommendations. Updated the firmware to latest dd-wrt.v24_mega_wrt610n.bin from r33257 build. Tried several different parameters in the wireless setup, both basic and advance. The 2.4 ghz AP connections is still around 20 mbps, compared to direct to router of about 50 to 90 mbps. The worst thing though is that the router is unstable if I add virtual interface to the bridge mode in wl1. So I removed it. So basically I am at square one.

This is version 1 of wrt610n. I read on a post by frozenstiff that I have to do either clear nvram, or erase nvram in command line after telneting to the router. I tried both clear and erase, but none of them made any difference.

Any other recommedations before I give up on 2.4 ghz AP connection, and just live with 5 gzh bridge mode, which does have decent connection speed, about 120 mbps with this new firmware. Thanks.
ian5142
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 23 Oct 2013
Posts: 2318
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 14:39    Post subject: Factory reset Reply with quote
Did you do a factory reset? (Admin - Factory Default tab).

I would suggest doing that first.

It would still be best if you used WDS instead of repeater bridge. The issue of course is that the R7900 is not yet supported officially (limited market, only sold at Costco). If you buy a serial device such as this: https://www.adafruit.com/product/954

You can probably debrick the router if you accidentally brick it.

_________________
Before asking a question on the forums, update dd-wrt: Where do I download firmware? I suggest reading it all.
QCA Best WiFi Settings


Some dd-wrt wiki pages are up to date, others are not. PM me if you find an old one.

Atheros:
Netgear R7800 x3 - WDS AP / station, gateway, QoS
TP-Link Archer C7 v2 x2 - WDS Station
TP-Link TL-WDR3600 v1 - WDS Station
TP-Link 841nd v8 - NU
D-Link 615 C1/E3/I1 x 7 - 1 WDS station
D-Link 825 B1 - NU
D-Link 862L A1 x2 - WDS Station
Netgear WNDR3700v2 - NU
UBNT loco M2 x2 - airOS

Broadcom
Linksys EA6400 - Gateway, QoS
Asus N66U - AP
Netgear WNDR3700v3 - not used
MediaTek
UBNT EdgeRouter X - switch
jhaverbs
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 31 Dec 2008
Posts: 24

PostPosted: Thu Dec 28, 2017 9:32    Post subject: factory default Reply with quote
I did factory default and configured everything again, both in repeater bridge and client bridge mode for 5 ghz radio, but 2.4 ghz radio configured as AP had no impact, still the same speed, about 15 to 20 mbps compared to direct connection to netgear of 90 mbps.

I want to explore this little more before I get into netgear router tweaking. That router is my only connection to internet, I can not have any downtime on that because many other folks use it besides me ( connected to voip devices, so can not have phone out of service ).

I can try any other suggestion, such as using unbridge rather than bridge mode for AP in 2.4 ghz. I am still baffled why 2.4 ghz connection is so slow. One thing I will try tomorrow is to use 2.4 ghz in the client bridge mode and see if that gives me expected speed of about 50 mpbs. If it does, than it means that somewhere between routing of traffic from 2.4 ghz connection to 5 ghz bridge (to main netgear) is sacrificing half the speed.
ian5142
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 23 Oct 2013
Posts: 2318
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Thu Dec 28, 2017 14:28    Post subject: Upgrade Reply with quote
Just so you know 33257 is no where near the latest build. Currently 34080 is the latest. See my signature for the link.

As for the problem at hand. Dual-band routers do not like dual-band connections to the same hardware. In other words, to connect two dual-band routers together, only use one band (5GHz or 2.4GHz) not both. Use the other band in AP mode. See recommended settings here:
https://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Basic_Wireless_Settings
https://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Advanced_wireless_settings

_________________
Before asking a question on the forums, update dd-wrt: Where do I download firmware? I suggest reading it all.
QCA Best WiFi Settings


Some dd-wrt wiki pages are up to date, others are not. PM me if you find an old one.

Atheros:
Netgear R7800 x3 - WDS AP / station, gateway, QoS
TP-Link Archer C7 v2 x2 - WDS Station
TP-Link TL-WDR3600 v1 - WDS Station
TP-Link 841nd v8 - NU
D-Link 615 C1/E3/I1 x 7 - 1 WDS station
D-Link 825 B1 - NU
D-Link 862L A1 x2 - WDS Station
Netgear WNDR3700v2 - NU
UBNT loco M2 x2 - airOS

Broadcom
Linksys EA6400 - Gateway, QoS
Asus N66U - AP
Netgear WNDR3700v3 - not used
MediaTek
UBNT EdgeRouter X - switch
jhaverbs
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 31 Dec 2008
Posts: 24

PostPosted: Fri Dec 29, 2017 9:09    Post subject: virtual interface working with k26 build r15962 Reply with quote
Ian5142:
As you suggested, I did extensive review of posts in the forum, and found that 15962 build with k26 kernel was stable with least problems.

Well, I can confirm that. After trying the latest build and going back to 15962, I found 15962 quite stable. The virtual interface works on the 5 Ghz radio that is used for the repeater bridge. I also disabled the 2.4 ghz radio, since I can get wireless clients with the virtual interface on 5 ghz.

Good News: The speed for my chromebox connected through lan cable, actually increase with this build, from 100 to 130 mbps. However, the cellphone connected through virtual interface still only 15 mbps, which is about 15% of the lan cable connected chromebox. Since the 2.4 ghz is disabled, your point on 2 radio communicating simultaneously to the same router is not an issue. So the issue is the virtual interface connection.

I will appreciate if others can share their experience of what percent of the connection speed the virtual interface gets? I thought it should be atleast 50% since the radio is sharing two connections, one to the router and other to the cellphone.

Thanks for the any input.
ian5142
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 23 Oct 2013
Posts: 2318
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Fri Dec 29, 2017 14:51    Post subject: Old Build Reply with quote
I am not providing help for you, when you are using an ancient build. If you encounter any issues in that build, don't expect help from other members. Most likely they will tell you to update. I would still suggest staying with 34080 at least. I have not tested the latest, 34311, yet.

As for connection speed. Please realize that most cellphones only have a 1x1 (1 antenna) wifi chip in them. This means that they max out at a connection speed (not Internet speed) of 65Mbps, Wireless N. Wireless AC that jumps up to 433Mbps but that is only on the 5GHz band, which has very short range. Most laptops, on the other hand, have 2x2 or even 3x3 wireless chips. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11ac#Example_configurations

What I am getting at is that 15Mbps Internet download speed, from a cellphone, is not the worst.

_________________
Before asking a question on the forums, update dd-wrt: Where do I download firmware? I suggest reading it all.
QCA Best WiFi Settings


Some dd-wrt wiki pages are up to date, others are not. PM me if you find an old one.

Atheros:
Netgear R7800 x3 - WDS AP / station, gateway, QoS
TP-Link Archer C7 v2 x2 - WDS Station
TP-Link TL-WDR3600 v1 - WDS Station
TP-Link 841nd v8 - NU
D-Link 615 C1/E3/I1 x 7 - 1 WDS station
D-Link 825 B1 - NU
D-Link 862L A1 x2 - WDS Station
Netgear WNDR3700v2 - NU
UBNT loco M2 x2 - airOS

Broadcom
Linksys EA6400 - Gateway, QoS
Asus N66U - AP
Netgear WNDR3700v3 - not used
MediaTek
UBNT EdgeRouter X - switch
jhaverbs
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 31 Dec 2008
Posts: 24

PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 0:33    Post subject: trying 34311 build today Reply with quote
Ok ian5142, I will try the 34311 build today.
jhaverbs
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 31 Dec 2008
Posts: 24

PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 2:48    Post subject: good news with build 34311 Reply with quote
ian5142:
Good news. Flashed the build 34311 a while ago. Here is the good news.
1) 5 ghz radio in repeater mode,chromebox connected by lan cable gives the fastet connection speed, 141 mbps..
2) 2.4 ghz radio in AP mode, the fastes connection speed from my cell phone, 66 mbps, much faster than the 15 mbps i was getting earlier.

Bad news: virtual interface on 5 ghz radio makes the whole system unstable. Only after removing the virtual interface and rebooting that i got any stability. It is at least stable for 16 minutes.

So, this will work for me, since I do not care about the virtual interface on the repeater bridge on 5 ghz radio anyway.

By the way, the exact build I falshed was
dd-wrt.v24-34311_NEWD-2_K2.6_mega.bin.

my router is wrt610n v1.
jhaverbs
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 31 Dec 2008
Posts: 24

PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 2:54    Post subject: Reply with quote
rizla7 wrote:
18 x 8 = 144 Mbps. 20MHz bandwidth I presume?

It was probably taken as a measurement in Bytes. Embarassed

[/quote]

It was bits not byte, rizla7. Anyway, with the latest build I do get 66 mpbps, which is close to 70-80 mbps i get, when i connect the phone directly to the main router.

Thanks for other info. Now that I can finally use wrt610n in a productive mode, I will take time to read some of the material you posted, thanks.

Jhaverbs
jhaverbs
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 31 Dec 2008
Posts: 24

PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2018 7:38    Post subject: Reply with quote
Switched to r34080 mega build based on 2.6 kernel. Stable for 1 day. Did not use virtual interface. 5 ghz as repeater bridge, and 2.4 gzh as AP with Guest ssid on a different subnet for net isolation. NO problem so far, both connection stable with reasonable speed.

Giving up testing for virtual inteface, since I see no need for it.

I do have a quick question though, although not sure if this is the right place to ask.

My lan devices like chromebox, smart tv, and blue ray player connect on 5 ghz repeater bridge to take advantage of the high connection speed of 100+ mbps. The 2.4 ghz on a different subnet takes wireless guest connections and are isolated form my main home network with NAS and PC. So lan is on bro bridge, and wl0 is br1 with only internet access.

Question: Is it possible in the network settings, to assign some of the ports to br1? That way say ports 1 and 2 on lan cables on back of the router can be connected to the br1, and thus can have different subnet (like the one in wl0), and thus will not be able to see my secure network. I can not take the cable out and connect them wirelessly, since they are older devices with only ethernet connection.

Thanks for any suggetion.
Per Yngve Berg
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 13 Aug 2013
Posts: 6855
Location: Romerike, Norway

PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2018 10:37    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yes, create a new VLAN. Move a port over to this new VLAN. Bridge VLAN to br1.

https://www.flashrouters.com/blog/2015/04/06/what-is-a-vlan-how-to-setup-vlan-ddwrt/
jhaverbs
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 31 Dec 2008
Posts: 24

PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2018 23:52    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thank you Per Yngve Berg,that did work out.
Display posts from previous:    Page 1 of 1
Post new topic   Reply to topic    DD-WRT Forum Index -> Broadcom SoC based Hardware All times are GMT

Navigation

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You can attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum