R7000 VPN

[desert]

I have been searching for for a few weeks. I am frustrated so hopefully someone can answer this for me once and for all.

If I am running a VPN (OpenVpn) with the R7000 - what kind of speeds should I be getting? Does 25Mbps down max sound normal?

Thank you.

[TheEther · Accepted solution]

Yup.

[TheEther]

I didn't find any consistent numbers doing a Google search, but smallnetbuilder.com measured about 43 Mbps using a Windows file transfer (link).  I kinda expected higher numbers but OpenVPN is a CPU intensive activity.  If you have QoS enabled, try disabling it.  QoS is another CPU intensive feature.

[desert]

Thank you for your response.

I already disabled QoS. I am just trying to get a baseline of what it should be or how to improve VPN performance.

[TheEther]

You could always try 3rd party firmware, like DD-WRT, Asuswrt-Merlin, or any of the Tomato releases.  They should all support OpenVPN server mode and, maybe, are faster than stock.

[desert]

I am running DD-WRT (Kong) already. I am at a loss what to do at this point.

[TheEther]

What are the CPU load averages when the OpenVPN session is up and saturated with traffic?  You can see the load averages at the top right corner.

[desert]

I am downloading three 2GB test files at the same time. This is what I get.

load average: 0.61, 0.47, 0.29

edit: I have seen it hit 1.00 then drop right back down to 0.71. The first number always stays around 0.61-0.71

[TheEther]

How long did you wait before checking the load?  The first load number is averaged over 1 minute, so you'll have to wait at least 1 minute to get the true measurement.

[desert]

I did it again - used an online timer. This is after five minutes. 

19:43:50 up 3:11, load average: 0.73, 0.70, 0.59

[TheEther]

Well, you're not CPU-bound.  Could it be the client?

[desert]

You're speaking of the VPN company? (PIA)

I have tried on two different computers - ethernet.

[TheEther]

Have you tried a speed test to their network?  Check out their Knowledge Base article (link).

[desert]

Yes, I talked with support last month. We went back and forth about twenty emails including the MTU tests and pings. I tested to all servers then and a few right now. It's the same results. I get about 100Mpbs down without the VPN to the closest server to me they have. Then with the VPN I get about 20-25.

They blame this on throttling by TWC. I talked to about ten people at TWC. I have spoken to several Tier-3 people who said they are not throttling anything. Everyone is pointing fingers on this. It's frustrating.

[TheEther]

Try running OpenVPN on a home computer and see if it's any faster. This will help determine if the OpenVPN attack on the router is the bottleneck.

[desert]

The windows client performs (without the router) at the same the router does. I guess that would eliminate the router.

[TheEther · Accepted solution]

Yup.

[desert]

Thank you for your time and blessings to you 🙂