Netgate Discussion Forum
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Search
    • Register
    • Login

    gigabit wan download speed much lower than upload

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
    27 Posts 6 Posters 3.6k Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • 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...

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • 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

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • 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

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • 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...

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • 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...

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • L
                      lasermole
                      last edited by

                      Yup, good times with ol Verizon....

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • 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.

                        T 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • 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.

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • 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.

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • 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.

                              T 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • 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?

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • 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.

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • L
                                    lasermole
                                    last edited by

                                    So I got Verizon on the phone yesterday morning.
                                    I explained I was experiencing poor speeds on my Gigabit service.

                                    The tech immediately asked if I was using my own router, and explained they can't guarantee speeds to any device but theirs. I continue appeasing them and attach the Verizon router to the ONT, then my Dell laptop wired to the router directly, and we proceed to verizon.net/speedtest to do their speed test and get:

                                    Device (check)
                                    DOWNLOAD
                                    642
                                    Mbps

                                    UPLOAD
                                    767
                                    Mbps

                                    Router
                                    DOWNLOAD
                                    947
                                    Mbps

                                    UPLOAD
                                    911
                                    Mbps

                                    This still seemed kinda crappy, but I realized since they only care about the "router" speeds, and that absolves them of all wrongdoing with network on their side I accepted it and said "you can't help me any further thank you"

                                    Now I plugged my pfSense box back up as I normally have it direct to the ONT.
                                    And I did another speed test with the Dell laptop again...and mysteriously I got the best speed test I've got yet from Verizon's site with normal network hookup for me:

                                    Device (good)
                                    Download
                                    866

                                    Upload
                                    766

                                    So now I'm leaving things as they are. To note I do have pfsense WAN interface cloning the Verizon router MAC, but I already had that before. So I wonder if something just "clicked" into place now, or if Verizon changed anything silently? I made no new configuration changes to pfsense during this process.

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

                                      Would not be the first time a connection mysteriously started working after the ISP claimed to have found no fault. 🙄

                                      Steve

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • L
                                        lasermole
                                        last edited by

                                        Funny now my speeds are crap on download again.
                                        And I'm sure nothing is eating all the bandwidth during my test.
                                        (tested through pfsense router )

                                        Is there anything that could "degrade" speeds over time in pfsense? anything that builds up or needs cleaning? buffers?

                                        Verizon speed test shows:
                                        DOWNLOAD
                                        18
                                        Mbps

                                        UPLOAD
                                        816
                                        Mbps

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • DerelictD
                                          Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                                          last edited by

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

                                          Is there anything that could "degrade" speeds over time in pfsense? anything that builds up or needs cleaning? buffers?

                                          Nope.

                                          Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
                                          A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
                                          DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
                                          Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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

                                            And still bad when putting the Verizon router back in line? Or testing directly with a single client?

                                            Steve

                                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                            • First post
                                              Last post
                                            Copyright 2025 Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate). All rights reserved.