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Processing overhead on a large number of torrent connections will overwhelm most consumer routers before they get anywhere near their theoretical max connection

by 7804704 12y ago

Processing overhead on a large number of torrent connections will overwhelm most consumer routers before they get anywhere near their theoretical max connection speed. Unless OP has a very high-end router, the best test would be a 1-to-1 connection. However, even a 1-to-1 connection (like a rented Linode VPS) will still likely be too much for a consumer router. See the rankings at smallnetbuilder for more info. For example, the fastest AC1750 router can only do 850Mbps from WAN to LAN: http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/32196-tp-link-archer-c7-ac1750-wireless-dual-band-gigabit-router-reviewed?showall=&start=2 http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/321...

tombrossman 12y ago
My router is a Billion 7800DXL, but unfortunately the linked website has zero reviews for that brand. Based on the specs (plus reviews elsewhere and it's higher cost) I expect it will handle a gigabit connection. LAN transfers are crazy fast and torrents hit very high speeds. I'm just looking for something a little more scientific or standardised.
- 7804704 12y ago
  Keep in mind that LAN transfers only have to do switching, not routing. Packet switching is easy; routing is a bit harder. I did some research. It appears the 7800DXL uses a Broadcom 6361 (http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/bc/hardware/?action=h_view&model_id=1429 http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/bc/hardware/?action=h_view&model_...). According to the OpenWRT wiki, this is a 400MHz dual-core chip (http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/hardware/soc/soc.broadcom.bcm63xx http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/hardware/soc/soc.broadcom.bcm63x...). I would not expect you to get full gigabit WAN-to-LAN. The highest end routers these days are running dual-cores at 800MHz-1GHz and they are barely up to 1Gbps. For example, the Netgear R7000 runs a dual-core CPU at 1GHz and only makes it up to 930Mbps (http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/32239-ac1900-first-look-netgear-r7000-a-asus-rt-ac68u?showall=&start=1 http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/322...). Also, maybe an easy way to test this would be to disconnect your router and put another PC on the WAN port. You can then run iperf between the WAN port and another computer on a LAN port. That should show you the theoretical peak performance doing WAN-to-LAN. Doesn't help you prove your actual connection speeds, but it will give you an idea of what the router is actually capable of.
  - tombrossman 12y ago
    Sorry, I didn't see this comment earlier. That is some very helpful info so thanks for replying. I may switch to that R7000 if only because I can load different firmware.

by 7804704 12y ago

tombrossman 12y ago

My router is a Billion 7800DXL, but unfortunately the linked website has zero reviews for that brand. Based on the specs (plus reviews elsewhere and it's higher cost) I expect it will handle a gigabit connection. LAN transfers are crazy fast and torrents hit very high speeds. I'm just looking for something a little more scientific or standardised.

7804704 12y ago
Keep in mind that LAN transfers only have to do switching, not routing. Packet switching is easy; routing is a bit harder. I did some research. It appears the 7800DXL uses a Broadcom 6361 (http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/bc/hardware/?action=h_view&model_id=1429 http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/bc/hardware/?action=h_view&model_...). According to the OpenWRT wiki, this is a 400MHz dual-core chip (http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/hardware/soc/soc.broadcom.bcm63xx http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/hardware/soc/soc.broadcom.bcm63x...). I would not expect you to get full gigabit WAN-to-LAN. The highest end routers these days are running dual-cores at 800MHz-1GHz and they are barely up to 1Gbps. For example, the Netgear R7000 runs a dual-core CPU at 1GHz and only makes it up to 930Mbps (http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/32239-ac1900-first-look-netgear-r7000-a-asus-rt-ac68u?showall=&start=1 http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/322...). Also, maybe an easy way to test this would be to disconnect your router and put another PC on the WAN port. You can then run iperf between the WAN port and another computer on a LAN port. That should show you the theoretical peak performance doing WAN-to-LAN. Doesn't help you prove your actual connection speeds, but it will give you an idea of what the router is actually capable of.
- tombrossman 12y ago
  Sorry, I didn't see this comment earlier. That is some very helpful info so thanks for replying. I may switch to that R7000 if only because I can load different firmware.