Slow wired speed (Ethernet Backhaul)

[NetCoffee]

Hello new here! 🙂

Hello I have Orbi Mesh system and running Cat6 ethernet from Router to the Satellite as a wired backhaul.

When I run speed test on my PC/Desktop, which is wired Cat6 from the satellite, i get speed between 110-220mbps.

I have gigabit internet, so if I run speed test on the Orbi app, I get 800+ mbps.

is this bottlenecking or something else going on?

Note: ISP Modem (Bridge mode) -> Router -> Satellite 

Could it be the Cat6 from Router to Satellite is 25ft? I wouldn't think that would make a difference. It's not that long. Right? 

Firmware Version V2.5.2.4

[CrimpOn]

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@NetCoffee wrote:

Hello I have Orbi Mesh system and running Cat6 ethernet from Router to the Satellite as a wired backhaul.

When I run speed test on my PC/Desktop, which is wired Cat6 from the satellite, i get speed between 110-220mbps.

I have gigabit internet, so if I run speed test on the Orbi app, I get 800+ mbps.

is this bottlenecking or something else going on?

Note: ISP Modem (Bridge mode) -> Router -> Satellite 

Could it be the Cat6 from Router to Satellite is 25ft? I wouldn't think that would make a difference. It's not that long. Right? 

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If properly terminated, Cat6 cable is rated for gigabit at just over 90 meters (328ft. including patch cables at each end).

25' is like a medium length patch cable.

It might be worth a minute to confirm (a) that the satellite is actually using the ethernet backhaul and (b) that the Orbi is connected at gigabit speed.

a. The Orbi web interface Attached Devices display should show the satellite as "Wired"

b. The Orbi web interface, Advanced Tab, click on the blue box "Show Statistics" in the Internet Port box.

MIght be worth connecting the PC directly to the Cat6 cable that is coming from the router and testing speed that way.

[NetCoffee]

Quick reference on how I access Web interface? I thought the app was the only way to see stuff.

I can definitely run the cable directly to PC from the Orbi router to see if that is the issue.

On the app, the Satellite connection type shows as WIRED with ethernet port icon beside it. (RBS50)

Firmware version V2.5.2.4

Anyway to test the speed of the Satellite only?

I'll have to figure out this web interface you mentioned.

[CrimpOn]

The Orbi web interface is described starting on page 20 of the Orbi User Manual:

http://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/RBK50/Orbi_UM_EN.pdf 

As far as I am aware, the satellite does not have built-in SpeedTest capability.

Measuring speed on the Orbi router is "interesting". What matters, of course, is what speed attached devices achieve.

[NetCoffee]

I mean it's running Ookla speedtest. So it's practically fluff. Not real in my opinion.

I got as far as getting to admin/password. But apparently I set up secret questions. Can't get past that, which means total reset.

Which is going to suck, given I have 30+ smart devices that I really don't want to go through set up again (Wifi enabled switches and peripherals).

*sigh* 

Perhaps testing out the Cat6 cable to PC would lead a solution.

[FURRYe38]

There are known problems with v4 FW and ethernet connected RBS, I recommend you downgrade the RBS first then the RBR lastly to v16 which doesn't have ethernet problems with ethernet connected RBS:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/RBR50-RBS50-Firmware-2-5-1-16-Update/m-p/1897955/highlight/tru...

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@NetCoffee wrote:

Hello new here! 🙂

Hello I have Orbi Mesh system and running Cat6 ethernet from Router to the Satellite as a wired backhaul.

When I run speed test on my PC/Desktop, which is wired Cat6 from the satellite, i get speed between 110-220mbps.

I have gigabit internet, so if I run speed test on the Orbi app, I get 800+ mbps.

is this bottlenecking or something else going on?

Note: ISP Modem (Bridge mode) -> Router -> Satellite 

Could it be the Cat6 from Router to Satellite is 25ft? I wouldn't think that would make a difference. It's not that long. Right? 

Firmware Version V2.5.2.4

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[jamessnell]

I too have this issue. I observed it on Firmware V2.5.2.4. I've since upgraded to V2.7.2.104 and the issue remains. If I speed test my laptop off the CAT6 backhaul ethernet cable going in to my Orbi Satellite, I see transfer rates around 900mbps up and down. Without the ethernet backhaul, I get 400mbps down/ 250mbps up right beside my satellite, but with the backhaul ethernet cable in (and once the device status in the Orbi WebUI indicates the backhaul's in ethernet mode) then I observe around 80mbps down / 80mbps up. Fascinatingly, I noticed that if I plug my RBS50 satellite directly in to my gigabit ethernet switch (as opposed to the switch built in to in to my RBR50), the switch's LEDs indicate that the RBS50 connection is 100Mbit, which is totally reflected by the performace I'm setting.

I'm pretty stunned by this. Kind of ruins the value of an ethernet backhaul, which is actually why I specifically selected the Orbi for use in my home, my parents house, my brothers house and our family's cabin. I hope a future firmware update actually fixes this. Geez.

[jamessnell]

Ah, it does work! I figure it out. The problem was that something with my ethernet environment was forcing the connection to run at 100Mbit. The Orbi WebUI doesn't indicate if the backhaul's using 100Mbit or 1000Mbit (I wish it did). To get it going I decided to move the backhaul ethernet cable to my Netgear gigabit switch rather than the built-in switch on my main Orbi (which has no ethernet LEDs). My main switche's LEDs indicated that the connection was 100Mbit, not gigabit. I then facetimed myself with my iPad and left it aimed at the switches LEDs. I then giggled the cable on the Orbi satellite and the LED switched to indicate the connection has changed to gigabit. So this tells me I have an intermittent cable problem (pretty sure it's my RJ-45 wall receptacle). This would be why I could connect a laptop to the same ethenet connection used by my Orbi and then test way better speeds. Since my Orbi satellite is up away on a custom shelf the chances the cable will get bumped and drop down to 100Mbit is low, but I'll still look to refine that. Also, I'll just leave my Satellite plugged directly in to my Switch rather than in to the Switch on my main Orbi.

Anyway, now I can see the backhaul working roughly like I'd hoped. My ISP delivers about 920 down and 940 up (mbps) to my ethernet connected machines.

Here are speeds I had observed:

Backhaul Connection type	mbps down	mbps up
5G Wireless	400	250
100Mbit Ethernet	90	90
1000Mbit Ethernet	450	250

My house is only 1000sqft, so having my AC3000's is a bit overkill in here. But, I also have lots of lathe and plaster walls (old house). The tests were run on an Apple TV 4K running the Speed Test app. The Apple TV was on the other side of a wall that my Orbi satellite is on, there's maybe 5ft from the Apple TV to the Orbi, but the wall probably hinders the signal notably.

Feature Request to Netgear

Please update the Orbi firmware to indicate in the WebUI what the Ethernet backhaul connection type is; 100MBit versus 1000Mbit. I'm assuming that your ethernet phy can tell you this. This would make it much easier for us to check the backhaul status in the future and know if it's getting poor quality connectivity. Even better would be if there was a benchmark routine that could occasionally test the transmission rate between a satellite and the main Orbi unit.

Here's a screenshot of what the WebUI could potentially look like to indicate the backhaul ethernet link type below:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/slash_b/OrbiAC300IndicateEthLinkType.png

[jamessnell]

My feature request mentioned here is now represented over here, feel free to go give it a thumbs-up if you want the WebUI to tell you that your backhaul is running at 100Mbit or 1000Mbit:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Idea-Exchange-For-Home/Orbi-WebUI-add-ethernet-backhaul-link-type-1...