Internet divided by 3 by GL-INET

Menard · 2025-03-12T16:26:32.790Z

I posted a topic about my phone disconnecting frequently in ethernet but I ve just discovered that the internet on my PC, also by ethernet cable, was divided by 3. (the test was done by connecting the PC directly to the ISP's box and speedtest.net)

Firmware 4.7.2 but I guess it is the same problem with 4.3.21. 4.3.24

Ooops , speed from 500 to 140 Mbps

TomKatt · 2025-03-12T16:53:20.467Z

Menard:

(the test was done by connecting the PC directly to the ISP's box and speedtest.net)

Shouldn't your pc be connected to the GL router instead of ISP box?

Most 'normal' setups are similar to Cable/Fiber -> Modem -> Router -> LAN / WiFi -> pc / mobile device

Menard · 2025-03-12T16:55:35.174Z

Yes, sure, but it was only for a test, as I said

TomKatt · 2025-03-12T17:04:09.148Z

Provided you don't have any wired network issues (bad cables, wrong NIC interface settings, network loops, duplicate names etc), other features like AdGuard filters, DNS configuration etc that consume additional resources or routing rules can affect speed.

When I troubleshoot, I always start with the basics and disable all optional features to get a baseline.

Do you have any custom settings or features enabled?

EDIT - I looked through your earlier thread and it does seem like you've got a somewhat complicated setup... Plenty of variables to check. Also, you mention that you are using your ISP's box in your setup as both modem and bridge relaying to your Opal? I am not familiar with UK internet providers, but in the US they are not known for providing the best devices that plays nice with 3rd party equipment...

EDIT 2 - If I understand correctly, your Opal is in Bridge Mode with your ISP's box as the source. I would enable WiFi on the ISP box and test speed from that connection while standing in the same location that the Opal is placed. I would want to confirm that the Opal itself can get good speed from the ISP box. Because if it has trouble there, obviously everything else downstream will suffer as well.

Menard · 2025-03-12T17:54:50.524Z

I did a hard reset yesterday, and then I only did three things once I set the password:

Disable Wi-Fi
Add 9.9.9.9 as DNS
Enable anti-DNS rebinding

Then I use the same cable for testing and non-testing, cat 5 cable but it was also the same with a cat 8 that I tested, and you should know that this assembly gave me all the speed before so if it comes from the box you would have to imagine that it recently started to mismanage the router whereas before it was going very well.

The box in bridge mode doesn't have Wi-Fi, I think. I didn't understand, do you want to connect the box to the router via Wi-Fi? Because I don't have a Wi-Fi card on the PC side.

TomKatt · 2025-03-12T18:09:27.145Z

Typically, 'Bridge Mode' refers to bridging two devices together via a WiFi connection. So your ISP box would send out WiFi and your Opal would take that WiFi signal and turn it back into a wired network like a 'backwards' AP. You can connect them via ethernet cable, but either way, Bridge Mode disables all the routing logic and other features and basically turns your Opal into a basic ethernet switch. I'm guessing there must be more to it than that, otherwise why use a router for such a simple task?

Again, I am not familiar with UK ISP's. But if your ISP box is still doing the routing then what I think you may want is the Drop-In Gateway feature instead.

Menard · 2025-03-12T20:09:11.173Z

The box in bridge mode doesn't have Wi-Fi, that's all. I ve allready tried to connect to it with my phone.

Menard · 2025-03-24T09:13:57.845Z

So, my internet stays divided by 3 and it s normal ?
Notice that when I set the routeur on bridge mode, my internet is back with full speed... what proves it is not cables, connections, computer, speedtest in cause...

bpwl1 · 2025-03-24T21:57:28.401Z

Menard:

when I set the routeur on bridge mode, my internet is back with full speed

Trying to understand your different setups. But I'm still confused.
Setup 1: ISP box -ethernet- PC => full speed 500Mbps
Setup2 : ISP box - ethernet to OPAL WAN - OPAL in repeater mode - OPAL LAN - ethernet - PC => speed 140Mbps

OPAL is in Network mode router, access point or extender and has 2 clients : PC via ethernet LAN, and phone via wifi (I assume this , or does phone also have ethernet?)

I assume "Network mode = extender", because the OPAL has no "Network mode = bridge"
"Extender" and "Access point" are similar to "bridge", but not exactly the same as "bridge".
The "repeater" itself (wifi uplink) is NOT used in your setup.

If you want pure bridge function, then a tweak is needed for the OPAL.

Start from network mode "router" (convenient for access from PC)
Disable the DHCP server on the LAN side (Set interface IP as a static client IP address in the ISP-box range only for later admin access)
The 2 LAN ethernet ports are in the same switch VLAN eth0.1 and are bridged via the LAN-bridge with both Home wifi radio's wlan0 and wlan1 (Not the Guest wifi, and for sure not the WAN ethernet)
See LUCI -> Network -> Interfaces-> LAN

image389×111 9.36 KB

This tweak (=stop DHCP server) and using a LAN ethernet port as uplink, makes the OPAL just a switched/bridged ethernet-wifi converter.
Oooh well, this might be very close to the Network mode = access point, but this mode uses the WAN ethernet port AFAIK.

Menard · 2025-03-28T10:37:29.578Z

Anyway I get pure bridge function because I have my internet speed back at 500
And more of this, if doubts, it stops the connection on my PC and so I must create a new connection for the ISPs box... and then I lose all access to the Web interface, and there is even a special way to restore the Router Mode with the reset button.

So all that is specific of a bridge mode.

To be clearer, the setup used to get back 500 Mbps and of which I am talking here was
ISP's Box > ethernet > WAN OPAL (Bridged) > LAN OPAL > ethernet > PC

NB : my phone is also connected to opal by ethernet and an USB-A adapter + an OTG adapter.

bpwl1 · 2025-03-28T19:26:59.222Z

Menard:

and then I lose all access to the Web interface

This Access can be solved with a fixed IP address on the WAN interface (and setting allowed remote access) , or with a fixed address on the LAN side (with DHCP server disabled), or by using Goodcloud.
The fixed IP address must be in the ISP box range to be reachable.
This avoids the needed configuration restore, and allows to have a look at the settings used (eg LOG or Lucy) while running as bridge.
Bridge is still only bridge, but the IP address can be used to manage the GL-INET device.

Menard · 2025-04-04T17:39:27.132Z

OK ? but what about that internet speed loss ? In routeur mode compared to bridge

bpwl1 · 2025-04-05T10:58:57.821Z

Difficult to say in general. What GL-inet network mode is used?
Look (again) via Luci to the packet flow.
LAN ethernet ports are connected via the switch and are in the same VLAN? So flow is only ethernet-switch-ethernet, and is supposed to be at wire speed. If the switch is cut-through capable and enabled, there is even no store&forward delay for the packet.

For wifi and for home/guest networks the packet must also pass the CPU chip. Software there can be "bridge" for devices in the same subnet, or can be "router" for different subnets. As @Tomkatt mentioned, then also firewall and all sorts of NAT/mangle/masquerade and filters and limits may apply.

In my setup above LAN1 and LAN2 are both connected to the same VLAN on the same switch, and hopefully transferred IP packets never enter the CPU. A CPU may use/delegate some switch features with "hardware acceleration", but LAN-WAN traffic passes the firewall if those interfaces are part of LAN and WAN zone.

image1217×527 33.5 KB

You need a bridge or router to connect over 2 different VLAN ID.

When "Network Mode" is set to "Access Point" , then the Switch remains with VLAN.id 1 and 2, but "LAN ethernet ports" LAN1 and LAN2,(both on switch VLAN.id=1), connected via 'eth0.1', and the WAN interface connected via 'eth0.2' and the home wifi interfaces named 'wlan0' and 'wlan1' are all bridged via bridge 'br-lan' . Guest wifi is not in the list.

bridge interface br-lan:

image466×209 15.7 KB

Menard · 2025-04-06T09:22:22.370Z

OK but I am not going to put it in "bridge" mode again beacuse the problem is not there, it is in routeur mode. What I can do is by the advanced settings make a screenshot of this page or by SSH from Linux give the answer to some commands or the content of some files.
I have allready seen that both LANs are on the same switch... eth0

bpwl1 · 2025-04-06T13:24:10.758Z

OK lets try to see the difference in setup, the fast bridge connection, and the slow router connection. Still I suppose there is only the ethernet-ethernet connection in your speed test.

If the tested connection is over the 2 LAN ethernet ports, then there should be no difference, as this LAN-LAN connection is a direct connection in the switch (unless "client isolation" is enabled), and neither bridge or router function is needed to have connection between the 2 devices.

But if you use the WAN and LAN ethernet ports then it is a major difference!

in router setup the WAN-LAN connection uses : router, firewall, and potential filters like Adguard. Firewall rules for access and for NAT do have to be evaluated. And some (!) TCP/IP implementations in clients will also change from ethernet packet size (1480 bytes) to routed packet size (576 bytes), when sending packets to the gateway. (These smaller packets could reduce the throughput)
in "Access Point" mode then WAN and LAN ethernet ports are connected over the bridge
I have to check what the "extender" mode does with the ethernet ports, but I do expect the same as "Access Point" mode.

So where is the bottleneck? Firewall rules? Smaller packets? Filters and limits ? TCP congestion control instability? (Usually happens when different network types are mixed : TCP congestion control in lossy wireless networks )

Menard · 2025-04-11T08:31:37.823Z

"But if you use the WAN and LAN ethernet ports then it is a major difference!"
I don't understand this, for me doing a speedtest between LAN and LAN is nonsense.

The fact is that it works perfectly in Access Point (bridge) and also that it was working perfectly before, but I don't know why and I don't know with which version it was (beta or not)

And so why are you talking again about what is not for me ...
"Usually happens when different network types are mixed" I mix which different networks ?

bpwl1 · 2025-04-11T17:54:27.010Z

"speedtest between LAN and LAN is nonsense"

Speedtest would indeed bring wire-speed, that is the full ethernet speed, and would be better than a WAN-LAN connection. I do not expect only 1/3 of the speed in WAN-LAN.
WAN-LAN is faster in bridge mode than in router mode, but still that WAN-LAN bridged PC connection is expected to be slower than in LAN-LAN switch connection in the SFT1200/OPAL.

TCP congestion problems ... "Usually happens when different network types are mixed" I mix which different networks ?"

It is not clear to me if you use wireless (or VPN) somewhere in the test setup. If not then only internet provider network and your ethernet are involved. Thats only 2 types of network then. (Speedtest. net is over the internet connection normally)

GL.inet does not provide us with a block diagram AFAIK. So let me try to invent one.

image1201×659 56.5 KB

EDIT: some more information from SiFlower hardware chip. Explains WAN-Wifi and LAN-Wifi , but not specific WAN-LAN information. 以太网到WiFi加速流程介绍 — 矽昌通信
"https: //siflower.github.io/2022/03/11/hnat_snat_acceleration_guide/"

More info should be here (a lot of information !) , but GMAC is common to WAN-LAN bridge traffic and WAN-LAN router traffic. 以太网收发包接口说明手册 — 矽昌通信
"https: //siflower.github.io/2022/03/11/ethernet_trx_guide/"

There are many other documents in that wiki. Like 以太网测试介绍 — 矽昌通信 "https: //siflower.github.io/2020/09/08/ethernetTestGuide/"

And more ? : Siflower路由性能测试手册 — 矽昌通信
"https: //siflower.github.io/2020/11/30/siflower_throughput_guide/"

Menard · 2025-04-18T12:52:15.032Z

I personnaly found the solution ... very far from your concerns.
The speed is back, I think the beta firmware has just disabled some feature on its own ... perhaps some bug ... I just enable it back.