Strange problem with slow download speed on WAN
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Hi guys,
feel free to ask anything! :)So my pfSense box is an embedded board (net6501-50: http://soekris.com/products/net6501.html) with 4x Intel 82574L Gigabit Ethernet ports. Yes my computer connected to pfSense has also a Gigabit interface. Unfortunately I cannot define the interface speed on the specific modem but the problem is more generic affecting LAN interfaces too.
I agree that it seems to be something related to the interfaces and not the cables, since I used around 5 different cables! With the same cable connected to the modem I have normal speed. ;)
I get the same weird behavior trying 3 different LAN ports of the board! When the "autoselect" doesn't work, I need to define the speed and then I get errors. I am afraid the issue is a hardware failure of the board…but I cannot understand what happened and messed the interfaces. Right now the WAN with "autoselect" works without any errors/collisions and there is a problem with the LAN ifaces.
I do not install any updates automatically and nothing has been changed.
The condition of the interfaces/pins is perfect and the box is located in a protected area indoors. The is no physical damage and the age of the box is around 10 months.
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Ah, a Soekris box. That's a pretty popular board, so certainly not an uncommon configuration by any means. I'll admit I don't have much exposure to the Soekris products, other than what I've read here and other places on the Interwebs. I do run a little Atom board with pfSense using the same Intel nics and they've performed admirably.
Are the nics on your Soekris box connected to an expansion card that perhaps needs to be reseated? If your firewall is anything like mine, then it's tucked away behind a media center collecting more than it's fair share of dust and dirt. Are you running the embedded (nanobsd) of pfSense or the full version? On a CF card or other storage device?
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@/CS:
I noticed that sometimes a restart of the pfSense box has a real impact on issues related to the interfaces. So after a reboot, "autoselect" works fine again: full duplex, no errors, no collisions.
When you did the above was the speed still limited?
One thing I have seen in the past that resulted in similarly flaky network connections is a dying power supply. Especially an external power brick. Does it run hot? Do you have anything you could replace it with for a test?
As Trunix said that is a popular board. If it is a PSU failure someone will have seen that before.Oh and what modem do you have?
Steve
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Yeah, after looking at the pics of your Soekris and realizing all the nics are mounted directly to the board, I was thinking psu as a possible culprit as well…but Steve beat me to it! My other thoughts were your storage device, but of the two, I think a failing psu aligns better with the problems you're experiencing.
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PSU? Never thought about that but it makes sense!
Just to mention that during ALL kind of tests behind pfSense mentioned above the speed was limited. Even when I have no errors/collisions on the interfaces the speed is limited.I have installed nanobsd version of pfSense on an external 2.5" Fujitsu SATA disk.
Modem: DSL-EasyBOX 803 A by Astoria Networks/TWONKY. -
I would swap the psu and see if that fixes things. In any case, it's probably a good idea to have a spare one on-hand. Let us know if that's the solution so others can benefit!
I wonder if your external hdd is increasing your power draw enough that it's shortening your overall psu lifetime. If the psu is indeed the problem, and the replacement fails in a similar time period, you may want to consider a mSATA ssd.
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Thanks for your support guys.
I will check with a new PSU and let you know. :) -
I contacted Soekris and they also suggested to use a new PSU.
I just did and … the same problem! :(
What else could be? ??? -
Hmm. What did you replace the PSU with? Was it of sufficient amperage?
Hard to say what else could be causing the negotiation problems, or even if that is a symptom rather than a cause.
You could try putting a switch/hub in between the modem and pfSense box if you have one to hand.Steve
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What did you replace the PSU with? Was it of sufficient amperage?
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You could try putting a switch/hub in between the modem and pfSense box if you have one to hand.My first and my second PSU were the recommended parts by Soekris for this board (12V, 3A).
I will use a hub between pfSense and the modem and will update this post within half an hour.-
UPDATE1:
I used a hub between :
>pfSense WAN iface and the modem…same problem.
[PC–(1000baseT<full-duplex>)--pfSenseLAN--pfSenseWAN--(100baseTX<full-duplex>)--Modem], 0 errors, 0 collisions
>pfSense LAN iface and the PC…same problem. -
UPDATE2:
Downloading (Copy-Paste large file) from the LAN PC to a WLAN PC over RDP through pfsense box gives me around 15+ Mbps...not bad and with low CPU/Memory usage.</full-duplex></full-duplex>
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Huh. I figured a new psu would fix you up. You might want to try running iperf from one wired pc on one interface to another wired pc on another interface and see what results you get. Jperf provides a nice little gui for running under Windows, it can be a little finicky to get working, but I've used it many times with good results.
I wonder if your pcb got zapped somehow, affecting all your onboard nics, the controller or something else.
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It may also be worthwhile to reinstall pfsense to ensure it's a definitely hardware issue and not bad behavior from an add-on package.
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If I finally reinstall pfSense nanobsd version in a new HDD which one would you recommend for Soekris board net6501-50?
mSATA SSD maybe? Any recommended vendor/product?I'm not yet convinced to reinstall the system from scratch but I'm asking in case I will do so.
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I would think any of the Transcend mSATA SSDs that are listed on the product page of your 6501 would be great choices. I've even bought ones off eBay like the one below. I think any of these are reliable enough that you could run the full version of pfSense instead of the nanobsd image if you wished.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=221163403530
Can your Soekris board boot off usb? That would be a non-destructive way to temporarily run another image to see if that improves your situation.
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Can your Soekris board boot off usb? That would be a non-destructive way to temporarily run another image to see if that improves your situation.
Yes it can, so I will try to boot from USB and test before any hardware replacement or complete reinstallation.
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I'd be interested to see if that changes things. Definitely don't want to put you through a spending spree and not have it fix anything, though I don't mind spending other people's $$ :D
When you accomplished the large file transfer from your the LAN PC to your WLAN PC over RDP were both machines wired directly to the GE interfaces?
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I'd be interested to see if that changes things. Definitely don't want to put you through a spending spree and not have it fix anything, though I don't mind spending other people's $$ :D
Lol, don't worry trunix, if I would think your recommendation doesn't make sense I wouldn't follow it. ;)
The whole troubleshooting didn't cost me anything till now.When you accomplished the large file transfer from your the LAN PC to your WLAN PC over RDP were both machines wired directly to the GE interfaces?
The LAN PC was on GE interface and the WLAN PC on wireless 11g. Both connected to pfSense box.
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Is your wireless connection a separate access point, or is it integrated in either the modem or the 6501? What was different from this PC transfer test that netted 15+ Mbps than the earlier one you conducted that only resulted in 7-10 Mbps?
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Is your wireless connection a separate access point, or is it integrated in either the modem or the 6501? What was different from this PC transfer test that netted 15+ Mbps than the earlier one you conducted that only resulted in 7-10 Mbps?
Wireless integrated on 6501 board.
The difference is that before there were problems with the interfaces causing errors and collisions. These problems were resolved by themselves by rebooting the board and setting the interfaces to specific speed and then back to auto. Right now they are all to "auto" without errors. -
Got it. Previously you had a PC connected to the LAN port of your DSL modem, so I guess that was a small config difference as well. Hmmm, having to fiddle with the interface settings to get things stabilized isn't good. Hardware checksum offload is back to enabled (checkbox cleared), correct? Technically your nics are capable of hardware TCP segmentation offload, but I'd leave that off for now and it may be something to optimize later when everything is back to working okay.
Hardware large receive offload and device polling are disabled are well, correct? Disabled for LRO means the checkbox is marked and disabled for device polling means the checkbox is cleared. I mention that only because I get turned around and flip-flop the setting from time to time when I'm making adjustments.
Any improvement running booting off usb?