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davidr
join:2015-02-07

davidr

Member

[Networking] ASUS RT-N66U Ethernet from ONT dropped packets

I just switched my ONT/router connection from coax to ethernet today. Works perfectly when I connect the ONT to the Verizon Actiontec WAN port but I have issues when I plug that same cable into my ASUS WAN port. The ASUS is flashed with the latest Tomato Shibby firmware and works perfectly when connected as a secondary (ASUS WAN to Actiontec LAN). If I turn off the Actiontec and plug the ethernet from the ONT into the ASUS I got a lot of dropped packets, probably close to 50%, when pinging out to the internet. When connected as secondary to the Actiontec there are no dropped packets (ran over 4000 with no loss, forgot I'd left ping running).

Any ideas? I've verified that I've got a good DHCP lease and that the ASUS WAN port runs at 100Mbps full just like the Actiontec.

Chris123NT
join:2001-11-24
Palm Bay, FL

Chris123NT

Member

Try the merlin ASUSWRT firmware on that router, tomato doesn't support the hardware acceleration and a few other things. Not saying Tomato is to blame here but I would do that to rule it out.

guppy_fish
Premium Member
join:2003-12-09
Palm Harbor, FL

guppy_fish to davidr

Premium Member

to davidr
Along the same line, use the stock firmware and test and work from there to find the cause of your issue.
davidr
join:2015-02-07

davidr

Member

Sounds good. I've loaded up a spare N16 I have with Merlin and am going to give it a shot. If it doesn't drop any packets I'll use it to experiment. Boy I'd really hate to not be able to use Tomato. I just got it working exactly like I'd wanted it...guest wireless vlan'd from the main network, QoS, and tapped VPN.
davidr

davidr

Member

Okay, just finished testing with the N16 and no joy. Basically did the same thing under Merlin as Tomato on the 66. Nice firmware though.

Here's a snippet from the router log and the output of a ping from the router to google DNS. Looks like the port winds up in error disabled, the port is reset, goes error disabled, reset, etc. Could it be a wiring issue (I'm grasping) or a routing protocol that the Asus routers are configured for (totally grasping)?

eb 8 18:37:40 kernel: br0: port 1(vlan1) entering disabled state
Feb 8 18:37:40 kernel: br0: port 1(vlan1) entering listening state
Feb 8 18:37:40 kernel: br0: port 1(vlan1) entering learning state
Feb 8 18:37:40 kernel: br0: topology change detected, propagating
Feb 8 18:37:40 kernel: br0: port 1(vlan1) entering forwarding state
Feb 8 18:37:42 dnsmasq[1026]: read /etc/hosts - 5 addresses
Feb 8 18:37:48 WAN Connection: ISP's DHCP did not function properly.

PING 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: seq=0 ttl=251 time=162.332 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: seq=1 ttl=251 time=14.117 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: seq=2 ttl=251 time=14.132 ms

--- 8.8.8.8 ping statistics ---
5 packets transmitted, 3 packets received, 40% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 14.117/63.527/162.332 ms

guppy_fish
Premium Member
join:2003-12-09
Palm Harbor, FL

guppy_fish to davidr

Premium Member

to davidr
said by davidr:

.guest wireless vlan'd from the main network, QoS, and tapped VPN

Vlan is likely your issue, The ont will see that as packet errors. When the Actiontech is in front, the Vlan doesn't get forwarded to the WAN
davidr
join:2015-02-07

davidr

Member

Any idea why it would be an issue with the stock Merlin firmware on the Asus N16? I didn't do any configuration on that one other than the default setup wizard stuff - password, DHCP WAN, and wireless (wasn't obvious how to just disable that). That said any ideas on how to remove it from the equation on either router?
davidr

davidr

Member

Had some time to experiment more today. I rechecked all the cabling and it seems to be wired fine all the way to the ONT. Cat6 or Cat5e the whole way. I also turned off the devices for a considerable time 30+ minutes before putting them back on to the network. In addition I made sure that all the router's WAN ports were cloned to the same MAC address as the Verizon router.

Still no love with the ASUS routers. The N66 behaved pretty much as before with no significant change. The N16 failed even worse with the port not even staying up long enough to get a DHCP address. Interestingly I had an ancient Linksys/Cisco RVL200 laying around and I hooked it up. Didn't do any configuration other than to clone the MAC. It worked perfectly. Grabbed an address and pings went through without issue...it's so old though that running speedtest caused it to drop a couple of packets but that was it.

So I'm stumped. Still feels like something related to the port or VLAN's or routing strangeness. I've double checked tomato (N66), Merlin (N16), the ActionTEC, and the Linksys and the WAN port is untagged in all of them.

Any other ideas of what to look at or do? I'd consider buying a new (non-ASUS) router if that might make a difference (ie. Linksys/Cisco and ActionTEC work).

dev_null
Pithy tag line goes here.
join:2002-08-14
New England
ARRIS S33
Asus RT-AC66U B1

dev_null

Member

I have an N66 with Shibby and do not have the problems you have experienced.

Firstly, I'm sure you're aware that it can take up to 2 hours to release the IP from the previous device; rebooting the ONT sometimes helps, or contacting CS to release the IP. Are you sure that your N66/N16 are pulling an IP address at all?

It also could be your ONT having a defective port, perhaps the RVL200 is only connecting at 10 megabit, as opposed to the 100 megabit (or 1 gigabit) that newer routers connect.

Since there are only relatively small improvements in performance going to ethernet, I'd suggested going back to COAX with the Actiontec and putting it in bridge mode.

Or you could ask VZ to replace the ONT (tho they may charge for that).

Good luck.

DN
davidr
join:2015-02-07

davidr

Member

Yup, I'm sure that I'm getting an address. Pings to the default gateway supplied to the WAN get the same 40+% failure rate. I've checked the settings on all the ports and each router connects to the ONT at 100Mbps Full with auto negotiate turned on. Turning that off and specifying 100full didn't make any difference.

Appreciate the reply and it's good to know that there is an N66 working with FIOS. I think my next step will be to find some no-internet time and wait out a two hour interval. At this point running out of straw's to grasp at...

dev_null
Pithy tag line goes here.
join:2002-08-14
New England
ARRIS S33
Asus RT-AC66U B1

dev_null

Member

I've run various Tomato versions on FIOS. First on an E3K and then on the N66. Switched to the N66 get better coverage (external antenna vs internal on the E3K).

FWIW, I used the N66 with the original FW and with Merlin and never had an issue with either (other than getting an IP addy within 2 hours).

It does sound like a defective port on the ONT. But others with more technical savvy can probably weigh in on that.

I had asked about the advantages of the ethernet port here: »[Northeast] Any advantage using RJ port on ONT vs router in brid

My earlier point about sticking with MOCA was based on this comment:

"Moca has about 3.5ms of latency compared with 1ms for twisted pair Ethernet. Not a big difference but if you don't have TV service then I'd remove the Actiontec to simplify things. If you upgrade to 75/35 Moca may bottleneck at 70Mbps without multiple TCP connections."

I can confirm that unless you need the extra 2ms of latency back, you'll not notice the difference. I use the line for VOIP and didn't notice any difference.

Good luck.
davidr
join:2015-02-07

davidr

Member

"dev_null" you nailed it. Verizon tech came out yesterday and replaced the ONT. Once he did that I could connect my laptop directly to the ONT and ping the default gateway without packet loss. Later in the evening I hooked my N66 with Tomato up to it and after a reboot it worked perfectly.

Really appreciate all the help from the forum!
davidr

davidr

Member

Oh, one more note on this. Working with Verizon through the "Verizon Direct" forum on this site was great. They were very responsive and we worked through quite a few trouble shooting steps there. Highly recommend and very effective.