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Forum Discussion
Video call jitters / latency
My config Cable modem Router RBR750 / 4.6.14.3 2x Satellites, both RBS750 / 4.6.9.11 Cat5 backhaul WMM enabled for both bands CTS/RTS 64 for both bands Distance of iMac from satellite — 7m Co...
Hi CrimpOn, thanks for jumping in here.
I agree with you ... I don't think the backhaul cable is the cause here for the reason you present (see reply to FURRYe38).
I have no switches.
My first time looking at statistics. Interesting ... well I say that, I don't really know what I'm looking at!
I'm guessing it's showing three LANs because it's including our doorbell as well as the two satellites.
You ask if the LANs are 1000M/Full, and clearly one of them is 100M/Full. Does this relate to the cat5e backhaul to the satellite on floor 4?
I should note that I've just learned on closer inspection that the cabling to the satellite on floor 3 is in fact cat6. So that's nice!
And to your question about concrete, every wall and every floor / ceiling in this place is solid concrete. This is why I was so keen to invest in an Orbi mesh as you might imagine. There is a concrete stairwell between the iMac at the front of floor 4 and the satellite at the rear of floor 4, but the computer reports c. 117 Mbps connection, which is greater than the backhaul so that's OK I think. There is no way to move the satellite to the front (we didn't install the sockets in this place).
Thanks again.
psheld wrote:
I'm guessing it's showing three LANs because it's including our doorbell as well as the two satellites.
You ask if the LANs are 1000M/Full, and clearly one of them is 100M/Full. Does this relate to the cat5e backhaul to the satellite on floor 4?
I should note that I've just learned on closer inspection that the cabling to the satellite on floor 3 is in fact cat6. So that's nice!
If the link between router and satellite should be 100 Mb/s only, common cause is not the CAT5e label on the cable. In general, a Gigabit Ethernet link requires for correct wired pairs. Impossible to say what is connected, you are much nearer to your installation - briefly disconnecting the link in question would answer what is connected.
Good point schumaku ... there's no need for guessing. I can find out.
And I have. LAN1 (the 100M/Full one) is the doorbell.
Since the Macbook that is 3 meters from a satellite suffers only when using WiFi, my sense is that the router-satellite backhaul links are not relevant. "It's the WiFi." (Concrete walls indeed present horrible problems for WiFi, but this Macbook is not affected by concrete walls.)
So what could affect Facetime performance over WiFi?
- Perhaps the WiFi channel is heavily congested by too many neighbor WiFi systems?
- Perhaps RTS/CTS is slowing performance?
This article complains about Apple devices and RTS/CTS:
https://www.sniffwifi.com/2014/05/why-are-you-slowing-down-my-wifi-apple.html
There have been interesting discussions* on the forum regarding RTS/CTS
The original Orbi (RBR50) shipped with RTS/CTS set to 2347, and has remained at this default setting through every firmware update to the present. With AX systems, Netgear changed the default RTS/CTS to 64. (I have no personal knowledge as to whether the initial AX firmware defaulted to 64 or Netgear changed the default to 64 in a firmware update.)
*Internet searches also reveal a lack of consensus as to the "correct" or most appropriate value for RTS/CTS.
Apple recommends WiFi settings for home routers, but does not mention RTS/CTS:
https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT202068
Can you try changing the RTS/CTS setting from 64 to a higher number? (I would start at 2347)
It would be delightful if you could also change the RTS/CTS setting on the Macbook, but I have yet to find a setting for that. (Intel adapters have a setting called "Mixed mode protection that turns RTS/CTS on or off. I could swear that one of my laptops had a method to set the actual value specifically. - sucks getting old.)
p.s. Regardless of how one reads all those articles about RTS/CTS, it certainly should do no harm to experiment.
Thanks CrimpOn.
Scanning the wi-fi congestion with Apple's Wireless Diagnostics shows it to be reasonably but not overly busy. Thirty two SSIDs, so far from the busiest I've seen.
The scan suggests channels 11 and 161 for 2.5GHz and 5GHz respectively, but of course the Orbi never gives the option of the 100+ range. I believe these higher channels may be reserved for its wireless backhaul communication even though my backhaul is wired. It's a shame they aren't made available when backhaul is wired.
I have no experience of twiddling with RTS/CTS, and it appears from what you say that it's far from a science! That does seem very weird. One would expect quite the opposite from technology vendors given the expected precision of 'the digital', but c'est la vie.
A quick web search appears to confirm your assertion that RTS/CTS is not configurable on Apple devices. So that leaves the option of trying different numbers in the Orbi configuration.
But really? I can't believe it! I have a Macbook two metres from an Orbi satellite with cat6 backhaul, and while Waveform awards both the satellite and router an A grade in its bufferbloat analysis when I have a wired connection to them, the only way to get higher than a C grade with a wireless connection is to 'play around' with some numbers that appear, solely from your description, to leave Netgear itself somewhat confused! There is surely something else going on? Some other configuration problem?
Just for completeness, I will experiment with 2347 and report back. Thanks again.
