Internet speeds throttled
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Hi all,
I have researched this for days and cannot find a fix.
I upgraded my small production company's internet from a 100Mbps line to a 200Mbps (up & down). After the upgrade, we were still getting 100Mbps. I looked at the pfSense firewall box and noticed the onboard WAN ethernet port was an older 10/100 port. I bought a TP-Link 1000Tbase adapter thinking I was clever only to have the speed remain the same.
- Machine is an HP Compaq DX2200 per these specs: https://support.hp.com/za-en/document/c00649834 but with a 2.5" SSD that the OS is on
- pfSense v2.5.1
- Recently set pfSense to default settings and then started to re-configure so there aren't any surprises but admittedly I am absolutely no firewall expert
This is what I have checked/done so far:
- Brand new TP-Link 1000TBase adapter on the WAN side in a PCIe 3.0 x1 slot (I thought the actual slots could be limiting but I believe they are 3.0 which makes that a non-issue)
- 1000TBase adapter on the LAN side in a PCIe 3.0 x16 slot
- WAN cable is a Cat5e directly from CPE fiber router to pfSense machine
- LAN cable is a Cat7 going into a Tenda 16-port Gigabit switch (TEG1016D specifically, all 16 ports of which are 1000Mbps capable)
- No limiters set up in pfSense
- WAN & LAN adapters both set to "automatic" throughput for speed & duplex in Assignments which is showing both as 1000 capable on the GUI dash
Appreciate any suggestions!
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If you see this :
then you'll know that the negotiated speed is "1000" full duplex, not 100 or 10.
That part of the (wired) network isn't your bottleneck.
I presume the "DX2200" could also handle more then 100 Mbit/sec -
@habitat said in Internet speeds throttled:
After the upgrade, we were still getting 100Mbps.
How is the WAN cable? A defective cable might work at 100 Mb, but not Gb. Also, CAT 7 is a waste of money. Gb Ethernet was designed for plain CAT5 and predates even 5e.
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First thing I would do... is exchange that TP-Link for an intel NIC. Then, I'd re-verify that all connections in the path are connected at 1 Gbit.
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Thanks for the responses, @Gertjan, @JKnott & @marvosa
@JKnott - you were on the money. Turns out all of my Cat6 cables were defective in that they must not have been terminated correctly. I tried 4 different Cat 6 cables so I thought I had eliminated that possibility, but then tried a Cat 5e and a Cat 7, both of which worked. Seems all 4 of those Cat 6s, all created by the same person, were not terminated correctly.
The system now works at 200+Mbps! Stoked!
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@habitat said in Internet speeds throttled:
Seems all 4 of those Cat 6s, all created by the same person, were not terminated correctly.
So, those were made by someone you know? I've long taken the position that it's not worth the effort to make up cables, except when there's a special requirement. When I'm on a job, the cost of my time exceeds the cost of buying a cable. At home, I have so many cables I've acquired along the way that I have a large supply.
BTW, I keep a continuity tester for checking Ethernet cables in my computer bag. It's come in handy on many occasions.
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@jknott said in Internet speeds throttled:
@habitat said in Internet speeds throttled:
Seems all 4 of those Cat 6s, all created by the same person, were not terminated correctly.
So, those were made by someone you know? I've long taken the position that it's not worth the effort to make up cables, except when there's a special requirement. When I'm on a job, the cost of my time exceeds the cost of buying a cable. At home, I have so many cables I've acquired along the way that I have a large supply.
BTW, I keep a continuity tester for checking Ethernet cables in my computer bag. It's come in handy on many occasions.
Indeed, made by someone I know -- which was originally for a very specialized immersive art installation and have sat here for 4 years. I agree with all of what you've said above - next time will just buy cables somewhere.
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@habitat said in Internet speeds throttled:
very specialized immersive art installation
Is that a description of your network ?
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@gertjan said in Internet speeds throttled:
@habitat said in Internet speeds throttled:
very specialized immersive art installation
Is that a description of your network ?
Haha, after I lay into it with a machete, I suppose, yes :)
This is what they were created for, FYI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAzf7_V70e8
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@habitat said in Internet speeds throttled:
which was originally for a very specialized immersive art installation
Yeah, I guess you'd need CAT 6 for that.
