TomatoUSB

Hi Gang,

Something happened to my RT-N16 out of the blue it seems. Up until last Sunday, I was able to get the speed I'm paying for (10Mbps) when I ran a speedtest from a wifi device, or wired device connected through this router.

I have a TP-Link DSL modem, TD-8616

Downstream / Upstream
SNR Margin
10.9 / 6.8db
Line Attenuation
25.0 / 13.2db
Data Rate
10304 / 792kbps

and the RT-N16 plugged into it, with various wired and wireless clients.

Last Sunday, I noticed the internet was slow and when performing the speedtests all I would get was 1Mbps from all clients (wireless or wired). I connected my laptop directly to the DSL modem and my speed test was near 10Mbps. Connected the RT-N16 back, and 1Mbps, from wired and wireless clients again.

Within the network (wireless/wired clients), I get normal speed (laptop to NAS, NAS to media player, etc), this doesn't look like it affected.

It seems there is an issue on how the RT-N16 deals with the speed from the DSL modem…

I've tried several firmware (Asus, Easytomato, TomatoUSB, and clearing NVRAM each time). The best I could get is a spike to 5Mbps when the sped test starts, then just slows to to 1Mbps.

I have tried since Sunday to try and isolate this issue further without any luck.

I tried my portable Linksys router WRT54GC, and a friend's Dl-604. In both cases I wanted to connect those to the TP-Link modem and see if I can get the 10Mbps to the endpoints; however, neither of those routers could authenticate on PPoE to the DSL modem; very, very strange. These of course are very old routers, could the PPoE code on these routers be faulty? I think not, this is a standard handshake, it's questionable why neither could connect over PPoE and I confirmed the correct login/pwd combination several times.

Again, if I connect my laptop to the TP-Link modem I can connect over PPoE and when I run a speed test, I get near 10Mbps.

One thing to note, is that when I plug in my laptop to the DSL modem, I need to MANUALLY set the speed of the NIC to 10 Half Duplex, otherwise it won't auto negotiate properly (perhaps this could be the reason why neither of the routers can authenticate and connect via PPoE - as the LAN light on the DSL modem never light ups for these, but on the RT-N16 it does light up).

This is driving me nuts, short of buying a new router… does anyone have a suggestion please??

Could it be the DSL modem??

Hi there,

The solution is very simple. Let me write back to you when i go home. Driving at the moment :-)

Edit: Ok so I have landed and here is the simple solution. Just get rid of the bridge mode on that Tp-link ADSL2+ router and have it take care of PPPoE/PPPoA . The issue lies with incorrect dial stack sometimes and its hard to differentiate between A and E by the dial out device. There is nothing wrong with the PPPoE on the RT-N16 though. This is what you should do. Just follow this :

This will make your ADSL2+ modem do the dialling and handshakes for you. The VPI / VCI values should be correct but just in case, call up your ISP and ask them about the type of Encapsulation they use. Is it LLC or Mux? Do they use PPPoA or PPPoE . If they use PPPoE then is it PPPoE-LLC or PPPoE-Mux. Get it? :)

After you enter the correct values, just save and reboot your Tp-link ADSP2+ device. Set your computer LAN to DHCP and connect it directly with the ADSL2+ router to check for connectivity and stuff. If you get it working ( which I am sure you will) then just select WAN type to Auto on your Asus RT-N16. Please revert after you perform these tasks.

Have a good day!

P.S: Out of discussion, your ADSL line parameters are not so healthy looks like. You must be getting CRC errors?? Have your line checked too.

Here are values for my secondary internet connection and I happen to use the similar ADSL2+ modem/router.

Downstream Upstream
SNR Margin
20.7 19.7 db

Line Attenuation
:
35.1 20.5 db
Data Rate
:
8048 512 kbps
Max Rate
:
11172 1226 kbps