SXS80 2.5G LAN Ethernet Port 1 - Link speed limited to 1000 Mbps?

[orbi-LAN-issues]

Hi, I am using a NAS (Synology DS1823xs+) that is connected via a CAT8 ethernet cable, from the NAS’ LAN 3 port (10GbE) to the LAN 1 port (2.5GbE) on a Netgear Orbi Pro 6 Satellite (SXS80) with the latest firmware (V4.2.3.102).

The link speed is reported as 1000 Mbps (rather than 2500, which is what I would expect to see) on both the NAS side (DSM network status), and on the Netgear Orbi Satellite side (when looking at the Insight page and hovering the mouse over the LAN 1 port for the satellite). I have tried using a different ethernet cable (CAT7), but get the same results - so I assume the cables aren't causing the 'problem'. 

I cannot seem to find any settings in either Insight, or the "orbilogin.com" settings page that relates to the satellite LAN 1 speed. When chatting with Synology support, they suggested that I reach out to Netgear to see if there is a way to “force the 2.5gbps on the port” (referring to the LAN 1 port on the satellite). I have spent a couple of hours trying to troubleshoot this with Netgear over the phone - but so far I haven't made any progress.

Anyone here that have had similar problems with the 2.5GbE LAN Port 1 on the Orbi Pro 6 Satellite, and/or know how to fix it? I don't suppose trying the BETA firmware (4.2.1.106) might help? Thanks 

EDIT: I just realised that the latest BETA firmware (4.2.1.106) seems to be older than the latest stable release (V4.2.3.102), so I doubt trying the BETA firmware would work. Unless the developers have a later BETA/NIGHTLY firmware release for SXR80/SXS80 that they would be able to share? @DavidGo @hnagaraju @BruceGuo 

[schumaku]

According to the information in the field and the Syno marketing and documentation, the 10 GbE copper port is a 10GbE or 1 GbE port only, no indications from having MultiGig (2.5GbE and 5GbE) support. If in doubt, challenge Synology (often a little bit behind in hardware and networking when used to QNAP 8-) ).

[orbi-LAN-issues]

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated. I had the same idea as you - but when I asked Synology tech support about this yesterday, I was informed that this particular model should also support 2.5G and 5G (despite those not being mentioned in the product documentation), which leads me to believe that the problem might have to do with the Orbi Satellite (rather than the Synology NAS, or the two CAT7/8 ethernet cables that I have tested)

[orbi-LAN-issues]

Just to add to my previous reply - I had a quick look though the product manual (DS1823xs+) and found a table that would seem to indicate that 2.5G is supported (screenshot attached). So if the manual and Synology tech support are correct, then again I think the problem might be with the Orbi Satellite.

When I chatted with Netgear support earlier today, I was asked "What is a NAS?", and "How fast is your Internet speed?", so I am not sure I was connected to someone with a lot of expertise in the field. Hopefully some of the developers on the community forums can help figure out what is limiting the 2.5G LAN Ethernet Port 1 on SXS80 with my current setup. I would also be interested to hear from anyone that has actually managed to get Port 1 to work at 2.5G (this can be checked at https://insight.netgear.com/#/devices/orbi/summary, by hovering with your mouse over the LAN ports). 

[schumaku]

For link speeds higher than 1000BaseT, auto-negotiation is mandatory. Or does Syno break this standard and has an option to select a fixed link speed like 2.5G or 5G on these adapters? That much about the ***** idea to ask if Netgear has a way to force 2.5G on the port 8-)

[orbi-LAN-issues]

No, you do not need to manually set the link speed on the Synology NAS. I think you are focusing too much on the NAS though, at the moment the few pieces of evidence that I've gathered would point to the Orbi Satellite being at fault, not the NAS. I would put my faith in the $2000 enterprise-grade NAS which is capable of 10/5/2.5/1GbE LAN (released 2023), rather than the $200 Orbi Satellite which is capable of 2.5/1GbE LAN (released 2020).

I can also add that the 2.5G WAN Port 1 on my router (SXR80) is correctly showing "Link Speed: 2500M/Full" in Insight, so at least I know that Insight is able to show numbers higher than 1000. But again, I am a bit curious to hear if anyone has ever managed to get the 2.5G LAN Port 1 on SXS80 to show as "Link Speed: 2500M/Full". Or perhaps everyone that has ever used Orbi Pro 6 since it was released in 2020 has unknowingly only been getting 1G speeds on that port. I might be the first person who has ever reported this issue in the past 3 years...?

[orbi-LAN-issues]

FYI there is in fact a setting to change the WAN port speed (for the router, by switching between port 1-2), so it wouldn't be too farfetched to imagine there being a similar setting for the satellite. But as you point out, the link speed would normally be determined by auto-negotiation. So I am guessing the auto-negotiation on the Orbi simply doesn't work. Or perhaps the 2.5G LAN Port 1 on the Satellite was never capable of 2.5G to begin with (despite the documentation claiming that it is). UntilI I see someone show that their Insight device management page is actually reporting that port as "Link Speed: 2500M/Full" then I have my doubts 🙂

[BruceGuo]

Hi 

We are checking this issue internally. will get back to you soon.

Bruce

[orbi-LAN-issues]

Many thanks, Bruce. Much appreciated!

[schumaku]

Connect the SXS satellite direct to the SXR router port - and you will see the 2500mbps link speed. Of course, you might state the indication is fake.

This is not the first and not the last interoperability issue you will experience in your life.

No idea why some people bring in such a negative attitude here ...

With about a decade the Marvell Aquantia AQC-107 NIC is in the field, there had been many interop and reliability issues

[orbi-LAN-issues]

Which ports are you suggesting to connect? Port 1 on the satellite (2.5G LAN), to port 1 on the router (2.5g WAN)? Or do you mean port 1 on the satellite (2.5G LAN) to port 2-5 on the router (1G LAN)?

In either case, I don’t see how doing either of those things would help address the issue. I only feel your odd negativity towards Synology, I don’t mean to bring any negativity here. I’ve been a fan of NETGEAR for years, and I’m just a bit surprised that the port 1 on the satellite is not working as I expected. Other than that, the Orbi Pro 6 has been working amazingly for several month, so I’m happy with the purchase (and NETGEAR in general). 🙂

I might either be doing something very wrong, or as mentioned perhaps this issue has gone unnoticed for some 3 years without anyone reporting it. If someone comes forward and shares that they have a similar setup, and that they are getting the full link speed (2500), then that might help in troubleshooting what I’m doing wrong. But so far your only suggestion has been that the NAS is probably not functioning, or that I should connect the satellite to the router (which again I have no idea what that would aim to accomplish?).

I’ll wait for Bruce and the team to have a look at this. Hopefully we can find out what the cause of the issue is and how to solve it

[schumaku]

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@orbi-LAN-issues wrote:
Which ports are you suggesting to connect? Port 1 on the satellite (2.5G LAN), to port 1 on the router (2.5g WAN)? Or do you mean port 1 on the satellite (2.5G LAN) to port 2-5 on the router (1G LAN)?

There are not that many 2.5G available. And you clearly know how to assign the 2.5G WAN port to be used as a LAN port.

Said this, I'm not a big fan of these hard labels. The industry would do much better just putting numbers 1..5.

[BruceGuo]

2.5G port is left one in satellite as same as 2.5G port in router. The GUI only allows you to configure WAN port in router to 1G WAN port. It is not related to Satellite. 

[orbi-LAN-issues]

@schumaku Thanks for elaborating. To your point - if I assign the WAN to Port 2 (which would limit the internet speed to 1G), then yes; I could most likely connect Port 1 on the router (2.5G LAN) and Port 1 on the satellite (2.5G LAN), and it wouldn’t surprise me if the link speed is then reported as 2500 for both devices.

But even if that is the case, then wouldn’t that mean that Port 1 on satellite is somehow limited to 2.5G when directly connected to the router? Am I the only one that expects Port 1 on the satellite to function as a general LAN port that can be linked to other devices than the router?

[orbi-LAN-issues]

I think it is fairly clear what I am trying to achieve at this point, but just to clarify, at the moment I am focused on achieving 2500M speeds on Port 1 of the Satellite, when connected to anything other than the router.

In my current setup, port 1 of the router is connected to a modem (with 1200 down, and 110 up, if that matters at all), and the link speed for that port is showing as 2500. In my mind, the router has little if anything at all to do with whether port 1 on the satellite can support up to 2.5G link speeds or not. To start, I am simply trying to make sure that the NAS (10/5/2.5GbE) can link optimally to port 1 (2.5GbE) on the satellite. If that isn’t possible for any reason then I might give up and switch to using the other ports and bind two ports in LAG.

Or if this is a “bug” that affects all users (as in, no one in the world is currently able to achieve 2500 link speeds on the satellite port 1), then it would be great if this could be fixed in the next firmware for SXR/SXS80 that seems to be scheduled for mid August

[schumaku]

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@orbi-LAN-issues wrote:
....if I assign the WAN to Port 2 (which would limit the internet speed to 1G), then yes;

I could most likely connect Port 1 on the router (2.5G LAN) and Port 1 on the satellite (2.5G LAN), and it wouldn’t surprise me if the link speed is then reported as 2500 for both devices.

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And no, it won't limit the Internet speed to 1G, check the wonders of a LAG.:

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@orbi-LAN-issues wrote:
But even if that is the case, then wouldn’t that mean that Port 1 on satellite is somehow limited to 2.5G when directly connected to the router? Am I the only one that expects Port 1 on the satellite to function as a general LAN port that can be linked to other devices than the router?

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All ports as well as the LAG assigned to the LAN (read not assigned to WAN usage) are universal ports

To understand where the development is going to, look at the consumer Orbi Quad-Band Mesh WiFi 6E system network ports. I admit (to avoid wrong expectations) it's by far not as flexible as I would prefer: Unless I'm wrong, the 10 GbE port can not be re-assigned to LAN usage.

[orbi-LAN-issues]

For the router, if port 2 is set to WAN (which is limited to 1G), and you connect your modem to that port, then I don’t see how your internet speed would not be limited to 1G…? I know what LAG is, but I don’t see how that would come into play. Or do you mean that you would have your modem connected via two Ethernet cables to port 2 and 3 on the router, and then bind those ports? But even if you do that (which I don’t think would work), then LAG doesn’t increase speed for a single device (and doesn’t work with WAN?), it only increases the throughput when using multiple simultaneous connections/devices. So you would still be limited to 1G in either case..?

But this is getting a bit off topic. Let’s completely forget about the router for a moment and focus on the satellite. This thread is solely about the port 1 (2.5G LAN) of the satellite not providing 2.5G speeds in my testing. The router and internet speeds etc are completely unrelated as far as I’m aware

[orbi-LAN-issues]

By the way the SXR/SXS80 quick start guide labels the ports a bit differently. The text description talks about port 2-5 being 1G, and the image shows that the ports are numbered in reverse order (from 5 to 1). To clarify though, I am trying to connect the NAS (10/5/2.5 GbE) to the port on the left side (which I have been referring to as "Port 1" in this thread), which is labeled as "2.5G/1G". So the port highlighted in red in the attached screenshot is only providing a link speed of 1000M in my case. 

[schumaku]

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@orbi-LAN-issues wrote:

 So you would still be limited to 1G in either case..? 

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no, of course not. Major ISP (CPE manufacturer) as well as Netgear are have devices - cable modems and routers - in the market allowing to use two GbE links in a LAG providing aggregated bandwidth to the Internet router >> 1 Gb.  It's just a question on how the LAG members are distributing the traffic over the ports. There a no algorithms defined in the "IEEE 802.1AX-2008 IEEE Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks – Link Aggregation", all it say is:

This standard does not mandate any particular distribution algorithm(s); however, any distribution algorithm shall ensure that, when frames are received by a Frame Collector as specified in 5.2.3, the algorithm shall not cause
a) Misordering of frames that are part of any given conversation, or
b) Duplication of frames.

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@orbi-LAN-issues wrote:

This thread is solely about the port 1 (2.5G LAN) of the satellite not providing 2.5G speeds in my testing. 

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This seems to be specific to the interoperability of the Orbi Pro 6 2.5 GbE port (satellite or router is irrelevant) with the Multi Gig port - the only one you are testing with - on your NAS.

[orbi-LAN-issues]

I’m not really getting why you are focusing on the theoretical capability of setting up a WAN LAG with ports 2 and 3 for a modem (which I doubt would even work as you describe - but that is besides the point) and the SXR80 router. It really is completely unrelated to the issue I am facing. Let’s please stay on topic

To simplify the issue, I would just like to know how someone would be able to use the full 2500 link speed on port 1 (2.5GbE) of the SXS80 satellite, as I seem to only be getting 1000M when connecting to a device that should support 10/5/2.5/1G, using a CAT7/8 Ethernet cable. That is all…

[schumaku]

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@orbi-LAN-issues wrote:
I would just like to know how someone would be able to use the full 2500 link speed on port 1 (2.5GbE) of the SXS80 satellite,

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Someone is using different network adapters, other network switches, ... you are not the first user in the field connecting a 2.5 GbE or another Multi Gig capable device to an Orbi Pro WiFi 6 or a consumer Orbi WiFi 6 (AX6000) System (RBR850, RBS850) - matter of fact the same hardware platform. 

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@orbi-LAN-issues wrote:
as I seem to only be getting 1000M when connecting to a device that should support 10/5/2.5/1G, ...

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But it does not. This is why we face an interoperability issue, and this is why @BruceGuo agreed to look into it.

[orbi-LAN-issues]

I might be wrong, but from looking at the consumer Orbi WiFi 6 (AX6000) System (850 and 860 series) my understanding is that neither of those models have satellites with anything above 1GbE LAN ports. 

It seems as if the only AX6000 variant with a 2.5GbE LAN Port on the satellite is the Orbi Pro 6 (SXR/SXS80). If so the SXS80 is unique in that regard.

I think the only consumer model with a 2.5GbE LAN port (satellite) might be the WiFi 6E (AXE11000) / 960 Series (?)

[schumaku]

Sorry, my bad: Had the RBSE950 and 960 satellites with the 2.5 GbE in mind.

[orbi-LAN-issues]

@BruceGuo After contacting Synology again, I have received conflicting information regarding whether the NAS supports 2.5G or not. The first support agent supposedly quoted the network configuration file for the exact model that I am using, which states that 2500baseT/Full (and 5000baseT/Full) is supported. But the second support agent is telling me that it isn't, and that he has no idea where the first support agent managed to find that information. That being said, the fault may be due to the NAS, rather than the Orbi Pro 6 Satellite. I will continue trying to press Synology for a definitive answer regarding this and post an update once I have confirmed that the NAS is working as expected or not 

[schumaku]

Amazing support cultures in this industry 8-)

Unless my evaluation is fundamentally wrong, and we don't face a dual network adapter designated E10G18-T2 with two Marvell Aquantia AQC 107 here, there should be no systematic reason to fail Multi Gig link speeds. Things can differ based in the adapter chip firmware on-board in a Flash, set un place during the adapter manufacturing. Read there are more factors than just the driver implemented in the Syno OS. Just read-out the theoretical possible link speeds isn't really useful...

Granted, there are adapters built on the more reliable Inhell X550 or decent x710 chipset, also supported by Syno - but much more expensive (about 100 USD higher at least), too.