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    Not getting properthroughput on gigabit devices. 200mbps when it should be at least 600mbps

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
    gigabitthroughputcore 2 duohp laptop
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    • BerzerkB
      Berzerk @johnpoz
      last edited by

      @johnpoz So what kind of hardware do I need to get those speeds?
      Got to scrap the realtek, anything else I need to avoid?

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • BerzerkB
        Berzerk @stephenw10
        last edited by

        @stephenw10 Highest I've seen cpu usage is 25% while running the test.

        So no way of getting better results from realtek?

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        • johnpozJ
          johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
          last edited by johnpoz

          Something that has not been EOL for 10 years already would be a good start ;)

          As to min you can get by with and do 600mbps - that would be a question for someone that deals with old stuff.. @stephenw10 would be my go to guy for such a question.. He plays with all kinds of hardware..

          If it was me, I would get a sg3100, or 5100 and be done with it.

          An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
          If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
          Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
          SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

          BerzerkB 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • BerzerkB
            Berzerk
            last edited by

            You have no idea just how cheap I am.

            ...plus, I've got a warehouse of old stuff.

            It really baffles me that the network tech manufacturers got away with selling stuff as Xbps, and actually providing only 20% of what they say. I bought my first realtek gigabit cards in 2005. I know those are based on 'perfect' environments, but it crosses from 'reasonable' drops to ... well lies.
            Don't get me started on wireless speeds.

            A DerelictD 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • A
              akuma1x @Berzerk
              last edited by akuma1x

              @Berzerk Realtek gigabit cards can hit theoretical gigabit speeds, but with FreeBSD they aren't fully supported.

              What kinds of "warehouse of old stuff" are we talking about here? You might have something better that can solve this problem you're having. I also find it kind of ironic that you're trying to route and hit today's high internet speeds with "old stuff" you've got sitting around...

              Jeff

              BerzerkB 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • BerzerkB
                Berzerk @johnpoz
                last edited by

                @akuma1x @johnpoz I have another question, if you'll humor me.

                I have several realtek onboard ports, on about 30% of my network. A few D-Link brand, but are just Realtek. Some broadcom chips, but mostly intel. I'm able to transfer on the lan at about 920mbps between them. The CPUs vary from core 2 duos to I7s. Is it all in the FreeBSD drivers that the issue rests?

                A 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • BerzerkB
                  Berzerk @akuma1x
                  last edited by

                  @akuma1x The Core 2 Duos are the oldest ones I have. (At least on the network. I have a few Athlons, and some x86 single cores, but I've put them out to pasture.)

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                  • A
                    akuma1x @Berzerk
                    last edited by akuma1x

                    @Berzerk Yes, that's the problem.

                    There has been some work for a driver, see here:
                    https://forum.netgate.com/topic/135850/official-realtek-driver-binary-1-95-for-2-4-4-release

                    I apologize, I haven't been following it all too closely, and I don't use any of it since I don't have any Realtek-equipped machines.

                    Jeff

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                    • DerelictD
                      Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                      last edited by

                      Get something with two intel PCIe NICs, idk, a lower-power Core i3 maybe. Might as well get something that has AES-NI going. An Atom C2000 maybe. You'll get 600 down or it's not the firewall.

                      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
                      • DerelictD
                        Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate @Berzerk
                        last edited by

                        @Berzerk said in Not getting properthroughput on gigabit devices. 200mbps when it should be at least 600mbps:

                        You have no idea just how cheap I am.

                        Good, Cheap, Fast. Pick two.

                        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)

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                        • BerzerkB
                          Berzerk
                          last edited by

                          I choose cheap and fast? :)

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

                            It won't be good.

                            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 stephenw10

                              You can try the alternate Realtek driver, nothing much to lose by doing so.

                              Yeah some of it is clearly in the FreeBSD default driver. There were also a lot of different models supported by that driver with different levels of crappyness!
                              Disable all the hardware off-loading, often broken for Realtek.

                              A device needs to have Gigabit NICs if it needs to pass more then 100Mbps. That doesn't mean it can pass 1Gbps. The same is true for 10GbE ports currently.

                              I would think you could well be hitting some limitation in the PCMCIA there if it's actually that and not cardbus or whatever was after that.

                              Actually passing 600Mbps of just firewall & NAT doesn't require much CPU power. As I said I could do it with a C2D E4500 quite easily. An old school Atom D525 will pass ~500Mbps.

                              Steve

                              JKnottJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • johnpozJ
                                johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                                last edited by

                                @stephenw10 said in Not getting properthroughput on gigabit devices. 200mbps when it should be at least 600mbps:

                                some limitation in the PCMCIA

                                I haven't even seen a laptop with pcmcia in over 10 years for sure.. Use to be for like a modem, or a 10/100 ethernet.. Use to have some G wifi cards, etc.. I find it highly highly unlikely that anything pcmcia could push anything close to gig.. That your seeing even 200 surprises me.

                                An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                                If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                                Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                                SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

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                                • DerelictD
                                  Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                                  last edited by

                                  I threw away a PCMCIA bluetooth adapter yesterday.

                                  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)

                                  johnpozJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • BerzerkB
                                    Berzerk
                                    last edited by

                                    @Derelict I've got a core 2 quad with an onboard intel, and I'm ordering an intel pcie now. 6gb ram as well. Should work.

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                                    • JKnottJ
                                      JKnott @stephenw10
                                      last edited by

                                      @stephenw10

                                      All this talk about interfaces and brands has me wondering about my system.

                                      Here's what I have
                                      LAN bge0 (Broadcom?)
                                      WAN re0 (Realtek?)
                                      Test em0 (Intel?)

                                      Perhaps I should swap WAN and Test. LAN is the mom board interface, which I'd rather have connected to the LAN.

                                      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...

                                      stephenw10S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • johnpozJ
                                        johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @Derelict
                                        last edited by

                                        @Derelict said in Not getting properthroughput on gigabit devices. 200mbps when it should be at least 600mbps:

                                        I threw away a PCMCIA bluetooth adapter yesterday.

                                        Look what I just found on one of my shelves - yeah this is going in the trash ;)

                                        IMG_1187.jpg

                                        An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                                        If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                                        Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                                        SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

                                        BerzerkB JKnottJ 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • BerzerkB
                                          Berzerk @johnpoz
                                          last edited by

                                          @johnpoz
                                          You guys would have a meltdown if you saw the Hardware I had lying around.

                                          I had a 1/2speed cdrom that you loaded with a caddy for the longest time.

                                          There was a 10MB 50lb MFM HD around here somewhere . . . I could open a museum.

                                          Be thankful I set core 2 duos as the oldest I would let on the network.

                                          A 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • johnpozJ
                                            johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                                            last edited by

                                            @Derelict So you drove/shipped that all the way to TN, just to throw it away - hehehhe

                                            An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                                            If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                                            Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                                            SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

                                            DerelictD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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