Question 1GB ISP - Wired Streaming Only Pulls 50mbps

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sdph536

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I recently upgraded with my ISP from 200mbps to 1GB. In doing so I installed a new Motorola MB8600 DOCIS 3.1 cable modem.

I am a networking illiterate - don't fully understand internet speed tests - and what a person should really expect when on a 1GB service.

My issue is that even on the 1GB service my main streaming tv on a Firestick 4k with the network adapter barely pulls 50mbps when running a speed test on it. Many times it buffers or more so the playback quality is not crystal clear.

My other wifi devices, I.e. cell phones pull around 30mbps.

I am guessing my network is more so a mess than an average homeowners - so I am not 100% sure how to troubleshoot and/or optimize what I have in place.

There are devices on my network that I want to have the most bandwidth at all times and some the least or have no priority at all.

I do have a 4G LTE modem in front of my router and that is there for a failover in the event my ISP goes down - not that its saving grace but it will keep my security system alive (at least I think so...)

Here is a diagram of my network if that helps anyone who can lend assistance on what I can do to troubleshoot and/or optimize to get the best performance within reason.

network-1.jpg
 
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SamirD

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You can't cascade different Internet accounts like that--you're getting slower speeds because it's probably using your LTE and not your cable modem at all.

You need a multi-wan router to have automatic failover--or you can just plug and unplug the cables to the wan or get an AB switch for that.
 
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sdph536

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I appreciate your feedback but....

I am not using 4G LTE service when doing these tests. The Netgear 4G LTE modem has automatic fail over and that is why it's front of my router.

When it does fail over this dashboard will flip to the AT&T 4G and I am alerted by text message.

See:
Image-4.jpg



Looking at my network diagram this is my speed test off of the MAIN WORK STATION

Image-5.jpg



This is the test removing the Netgear 4G LTE so going from the Motorola Modem >> ASUS Router >> MAIN WORK STATION
Image-6.jpg



I am now thinking after this test the Netgear is causing a slow down and wondering if its something to do with the DOCIS 3.0 vs 3.1, etc.
 
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SamirD

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Hmmm...interesting device. Yes, I believe that it may still be the culprit. I would connect your cable modem directly to your router bypassing the netgear and see what happens.

Oops, I didn't see that you've done that. Okay, well, the Netgear is definitely limiting your wired connection. Next test is to connect the modem directly to your workstation and see what speeds you get.
 
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bill001g

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It is not uncommon for a router to limit a very fast connection. They do not have very big cpu. Most use a special function to bypass the cpu and do NAT in hardware. Many times if you use even simple feature the traffic must go via the cpu and you get a bottleneck.

I don't know much about the netgear but what I would do is factory reset it. Only set the admin password and you can likely disable the wifi since you have the asus in front. My guess would be the software that is detecting if the connection is up in the router is not allowing it to use the nat acceleration feature. After this I would turn on the backup feature and see if you suddenly get a speed drop.

I am going to bet the best solution in your case to get both the speed and the backup is to use a manual switch where you switch it over. Even on the automatic one you are going to get all kinds of strangeness. Most web pages will require reloads and you will very likely get those stupid captcha things.


......as a extra thought the asus router I think has a dual wan option also. Maybe you could cable directly to both internet connection form the asus and let it switch to the backup.
 
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sdph536

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bill001g said:
It is not uncommon for a router to limit a very fast connection. They do not have very big cpu. Most use a special function to bypass the cpu and do NAT in hardware. Many times if you use even simple feature the traffic must go via the cpu and you get a bottleneck.

I don't know much about the netgear but what I would do is factory reset it. Only set the admin password and you can likely disable the wifi since you have the asus in front. My guess would be the software that is detecting if the connection is up in the router is not allowing it to use the nat acceleration feature. After this I would turn on the backup feature and see if you suddenly get a speed drop.

I am going to bet the best solution in your case to get both the speed and the backup is to use a manual switch where you switch it over. Even on the automatic one you are going to get all kinds of strangeness. Most web pages will require reloads and you will very likely get those stupid captcha things.


......as a extra thought the asus router I think has a dual wan option also. Maybe you could cable directly to both internet connection form the asus and let it switch to the backup.
Click to expand...

I have run tests with and without the Netgear 4G LTE and I get the same results off of my Main Work Station.

After that second speed test in the prior post... that was without the Netgear in place, as soon as I put it back in place and re-ran the test I had about the same results in that 600-800 range.

You are correct the ASUS does have dual WAN and I probably should take that route.

However, let me ask one more question in regards to CAT cable...... I don't know exactly what cable I have strung all throughout my house ... its blue thats all I can say and its several years old. I am wondering if the cable has anything to do with the slow down at the streaming TV?

Just for kicks I ordered a 50ft Cat8 and a 50ft CAT7 cable to see if my streaming TV has any improvement.

Like I said I am very network illiterate so trying to learn as I try to troubleshoot this. Keep in mind I can still stream..... I am just ADHD OCD about the fact have 1GB yet my streaming is not crystal clear and at times it buffers...... One day I'll learn to just get over it : )
 
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SamirD

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Yes, I would bypass any jacks as they could be the culprit--go straight from your gigabit to your workstation and see what your results are.

The cat8 stuff is unnecessary and is more than likely fake. Genuine 5e cables are more than enough.

As far as having stuttering and it not being clear, you shouldn't have to put up with that at all. I have only 500/50 and my wired roku is instant and 4k all the time without any issues. You shouldn't have any issues for sure if everything is set up right.
 
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