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    gigabit wan download speed much lower than upload

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
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    • T
      tman222
      last edited by

      Agree with @stephenw10 - if you connect directly to the ONT, do you see full up and down speeds? That would be the first thing to check to make sure it isn't a provisioning or other issue on Verizon's end.

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      • A
        akuma1x @stephenw10
        last edited by akuma1x

        @stephenw10 said in gigabit wan download speed much lower than upload:

        What CPU is in that?

        It's most likely an AMD GX-217GA or GX-415GA or GX-420CA processor in that box:
        https://www8.hp.com/us/en/thin-clients/t620-zero.html
        https://www.servethehome.com/hp-t620-plus-thin-client-and-firewall-vpn-appliance/

        Jeff

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        • L
          lasermole
          last edited by

          The HP T620 Plus is a thin client PC I've been told was great for a small, low cost, low power, silent pfsense box.
          CPU Type AMD GX-420CA SOC with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics
          4 CPUs: 1 package(s) x 4 core(s)
          AES-NI CPU Crypto: Yes (active)

          2Ghz

          I tried a speed test with 2 different laptops gigabit Ethernet directly to the ONT and unexpectedly still got the same speeds, worse on subsequent tests.

          Now I'm questioning my fios service quality.

          Before I used the T620 I'd been using a virtualized pfsense install on esxi but wasn't satisfied with speeds.
          And I'd been using the WAN nic with MAC clone of the Verizon provided Wi-Fi box I don't use anymore.

          Do you think that MAC could impact speeds at all? With provisioning?

          Thanks for the input everyone.

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          • stephenw10S
            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
            last edited by

            Some providers will massively limit the speeds you can get if you are not connected "properly". Such as having to use the vlan or priority tags on outgoing packets. Though I didn't think FiOS did that.

            I would have them reset the ONT or at least check the connection, there's clearly something wrong there if a laptop sees the same speeds.

            Steve

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            • T
              tman222
              last edited by tman222

              I assume you also tried a different cable just in case? Since you can't get full speed connected directly to the ONT, I think you should call Verizon as something doesn't seem be configured properly on their end, or maybe there is an issue with your fiber signal level/quality, etc.

              I have been using Verizon FIOS gigabit service together w/pfSense for over two years and have always gotten full speeds - there is really nothing special you have to do to set it up (e.g. no VLAN's, priority tags, gateway bridging, MAC cloning, etc.) besides maybe a bit of network hardware tuning for high speeds.

              Hope this helps.

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              • stephenw10S
                stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                last edited by

                Worth checking if your WAN connection linked at 1Gb full duplex. Check the Status > Interfaces page for errors.

                Steve

                JKnottJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • JKnottJ
                  JKnott @stephenw10
                  last edited by

                  @stephenw10 said in gigabit wan download speed much lower than upload:

                  Worth checking if your WAN connection linked at 1Gb full duplex.

                  Given he's seeing 800-800 Mb in one direction, the interface is definitely running at 1 Gb. Also, Gb is always full duplex.

                  PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
                  i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
                  UniFi AC-Lite access point

                  I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

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                  • stephenw10S
                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                    last edited by

                    Yup it should always be full duplex and it should always be autonegotiate. But we have seen equipment that doesn't stick to that. Though I agree it would have to be something more like a hardware issue to get such asymmetric speeds.

                    Steve

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                    • L
                      lasermole
                      last edited by

                      Well I've taken another look at speeds directly to the ONT
                      Started with a power reset of the ONT.
                      Then with a new cable and laptop, verified I got 1 Gbps Full Duplex link up.
                      Ran speed test through speedtest.net
                      Got back PING ms
                      7
                      DOWNLOAD Mbps
                      141.84
                      UPLOAD Mbps
                      242.88

                      Then on verizon.com/speedtest
                      DOWNLOAD
                      405
                      Mbps

                      UPLOAD
                      476
                      Mbps

                      both of these are terrible, and indicate something still ins't right hardware wise or provisioning?

                      I guess I need to call Verizon now.

                      JKnottJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • stephenw10S
                        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                        last edited by

                        Um, yeah that looks.... sub-optimal!

                        Seems like an upstream issue.

                        Steve

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                        • JKnottJ
                          JKnott @lasermole
                          last edited by

                          @lasermole said in gigabit wan download speed much lower than upload:

                          Then with a new cable and laptop, verified I got 1 Gbps Full Duplex link up.

                          Was that with the computer by itself? Or through pfSense? Try the computer connected directly, to see if the problem is with pfSense or the ISP. It's best to keep things simple while testing.

                          PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
                          i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
                          UniFi AC-Lite access point

                          I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

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                          • L
                            lasermole
                            last edited by

                            Yes the tests were with the laptop directly connected to the ONT with new cable and I got those results...

                            JKnottJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • JKnottJ
                              JKnott @lasermole
                              last edited by

                              @lasermole said in gigabit wan download speed much lower than upload:

                              Yes the tests were with the laptop directly connected to the ONT with new cable and I got those results...

                              Then it's not a pfSense issue. Call your ISP.

                              PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
                              i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
                              UniFi AC-Lite access point

                              I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

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                              • L
                                lasermole
                                last edited by

                                Yup, good times with ol Verizon....

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                                • L
                                  lasermole
                                  last edited by

                                  Just curious what you guys think, but do you think Verizon has reason to dismiss a speed test done directly to their equipment? Dismissing your results, pointing blame at your device. Hence why I'm sure verizon's own speed test is the only one they officially recognize, as it separates "Device" and "Router" in its test. FYI, I don't expect to get 1000/1000, even 800/800 would be fine by me to device.

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                                  • T
                                    tman222 @lasermole
                                    last edited by

                                    @lasermole - do you still have Verizon router/gateway? If yes, it might be worth plugging it in temporarily and run the Verizon speed test to the router. Given what you have described so far, I doubt that even that test will actually see full speed. If it doesn't, I expect them to help your further since the issue is then more clearly somewhere with their equipment.

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                                    • L
                                      lasermole
                                      last edited by

                                      Yes I do still have the router/gateway device. I could hook it up again and try through that to see what speeds I get. I'll let you know what comes of that test.

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                                      • L
                                        lasermole
                                        last edited by

                                        Tried the speed tests again with the Verizon router in place between the laptop and the ONT.

                                        Laptop > Verizon router > ONT
                                        Speedtest.net
                                        PING ms
                                        7
                                        DOWNLOAD Mbps
                                        256.93
                                        UPLOAD Mbps
                                        207.28

                                        Verizon speed test
                                        "Device"
                                        DOWNLOAD
                                        568
                                        Mbps

                                        UPLOAD
                                        382
                                        Mbps

                                        "Router"
                                        DOWNLOAD
                                        949
                                        Mbps

                                        UPLOAD
                                        912
                                        Mbps

                                        I really feel that "router" test is bull. I mean I don't pay Verizon each month to read how fast their devices are, to their network, on a screen...
                                        That is not end user usable bandwidth. And I'm sure they will use that result to silence my complaints and shift the blame to me any way they see fit.

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                                        • T
                                          tman222 @lasermole
                                          last edited by

                                          @lasermole - do you have any other device (besides the laptop) you can test with? What are the specs of the device (laptop) you are testing with? Any third party firewall / AV etc. software running in the background which may be slowing things down?

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                                          • L
                                            lasermole
                                            last edited by

                                            I've tested with two laptops, a Lenovo T520 i5 with 16GB of RAM, and 120GB SSD and onboard intel gigabit nic.
                                            And a Dell Precision 5530 with an i7 8850H 6 Core with hyper threading. Used a USB 3 Gigabit nic, as it doesn't have onboard.
                                            Both of which I went through thorough checking to kill anything running that would use CPU power, or bandwidth.
                                            The T520 had no firewall, or AV running during the test.
                                            The Dell has Carbon Black AV/Firewall on, its my work laptop.
                                            And each test the laptop was the only thing connected to the ONT, or the Verizon router.
                                            And to note I disabled the Wi-Fi on the laptops, and on the Verizon router from day 1. And I don't ever use the Verizon router. I only brought it in to test everything after i setup pfSense.

                                            Both laptops tested poorly in speed tests. as shown above.
                                            I have contacted Verzion, and will add another post with those results.

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