Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 16:11 Post subject: ALink AR670W + DD-WRT 13069 Causes 'Pauses'
I play WoW. As soon as I started using this router+firmware I started having the game halt for 1-2 seconds randomly. I never used this router with the stock firmware, so i don't know if its the hardware or the firmware. I tried enabling QoS at the service level for WoW, same problem. I tried prioritizing based on my Mac address, same problem. Eventually I went back to my other router (TrendNet 432BRP stock firmware) that this replaced, no more problems.
Also, my iPod touch seems to have issues with the new router. Could it be related to the iPhone packets issue, or was this solved and I missed it in the forums?
I've read through the huge thread on the AR670w. Things looked pretty good, and I was impressed when I bought the router and loaded the firmware. I really like the interface, but I don't think I can live with this problem. I've tried searching the forums for a solution, but I don't think I can properly search without knowing exactly what the problem is.
Edit: I have also noticed these paused in VNC used on the local network. Again, the pauses are gone with the old router.
I've noticed similar pauses when watching a long YouTube playlist. Occasionally, the playlist will pause or error out after watching 10 to 12 videos in a row.
Try this:
- Go to Administration > Management.
- Change TCP Timeout (in seconds) to 120.
The default of 3600 may be too long because too many misc IP connections may be staying active.
Active IP connections of 200 or more may (or may not) be problematic for this router. You would have to ask Tech Support for Ralink or Airlink if you want to find out.
- Save, apply, reboot.
- Re-test.
It must be some configuration setting is my guess.
With more control over the router comes more responsibility to learn what the router features do.
Last edited by bbb_forever on Sat Nov 07, 2009 2:20; edited 1 time in total
I have it set to 120. I read the P2P stuff and decided I didn't want that headache when I do P2P. Just as an FYI I'm not running P2P when playing, so I know that isn't causing it. Also, I use the P2P stuff on another machine, and I shut down the forwarding to try to rule that out.
As a little more info, I also tried turning SPI off for a bit, to see if that was having an impact - no luck.
Ventrilo is another app that was affected.
The active connections I was observing while playing was around 60.
Edit: Oh ya, also made sure I was on my own channel in my area. No one seems to change theirs from 6 or 11 (by site survey), so moved to channel 1.
Been reading up on what could be causing this problem, and ruled out something else. My Trendnet is on channel 5. I tried moving the Airlink around on different channels (including 5 with the TrendNet off) to see if it improved the situation - no luck. I have 2.4GHz phones, so they could be causing problems, but the Trendnet works great on 5...
- Disable the SPI firewall, and un-check all the boxes.
|->Already tried
- Enable the DMZ zone, and put your computer's IP in the DMZ zone.
|->Not a fan of this, but I'll try it when I get home. If this does work I would not consider this a valid resolution due to the security issues, but I guess it would help in the diagnosis.
- Disable WMM.
|->I've never touched this settings, so if its off by default then its moot.
-DMZ: If the problem does go away, then we can probably suspect it's a configuration filter settings (probably WMM setings) that needs to be tweaked.
If it DOESN'T go away, then it could be a timing setting on that router. Maybe go back to the stock firmware.
-I see WMM support as a separate feature in Wireless>Advanced Settings that is ENABLED by default.
Are you playing WoW via a wireless connection or via a LAN port cable connection?
-Enable Frame Burst on same page if you have 1-3 wireless clients only. _________________ .
.
Get off my channel, or face the wrath of my 2.4Ghz Wireless-N channel-bonded 40Mhz wide-band interference!
My routers:
- 1 Linksys E3000
- 4 Linksys E2000
- 4 Linksys WRT320n [DD-WRT svn13575 std-nokaid] working well in WDS setup, 5Ghz N-speeds only.
- 2 Airlink AR670W [DD-WRT build 14537] working well in WDS setup, 2.4Ghz N-speeds only.
- 2 Netgear WDNR3300 [DD-WRT svn13577 std-nokaid] working well in AP-Repeater-Bridge setup, 5Ghz N-speeds only.
- Airlink AR325W G-router and Belkin F5D7230-4 v1444 [DD-WRT v23 sp2 micro] working well in Repeater-Bridge setup, G-speeds only.
- D-Link DI-614+ B-router, sitting around, wanna buy it?
I'll check out WMM - didn't know to look for it, thanks .
I'll look for Frame Burst and try that too.
I managed to track down the v1.0 firmware via the AR670w thread, but can't find the 1.01 that they refer to - as stated in the thread Airlink removed it. I was going to test the original firmware this weekend anyway, so I'll let you know how it goes.
Thanks for all your help btw. I may sound cranky, but really I'm not .
I managed to track down the v1.0 firmware via the AR670w thread, but can't find the 1.01 that they refer to - as stated in the thread Airlink removed it. I was going to test the original firmware this weekend anyway, so I'll let you know how it goes.
Thanks for all your help btw. I may sound cranky, but really I'm not .
Hellbore posted the Airlink firmware v1.01 in the main Airlink thread, look on page 30.
Last edited by bbb_forever on Wed Nov 11, 2009 13:29; edited 3 times in total
The only link to official firmware is for v1.0 - which was useful since airlink has no firmware on their page. There are links to v1.01 on airlink's site that no longer exists though .
Frame Burst was on - tried with it off - no effect.
WMM was enabled - disabled and no effect.
Put the machine in DMZ - no effect.
I'll try the stock firmware sometime this weekend and let you know.
The only link to official firmware is for v1.0 - which was useful since airlink has no firmware on their page. There are links to v1.01 on airlink's site that no longer exists though .
...
I'll try the stock firmware sometime this weekend and let you know.
You're not looking hard enough.
You need new glasses. :shock:
In the Airlink main thread, page 30, Hellbore posted the v1.01 firmware.
Dang! You made me go back and look for you. _________________ .
.
Get off my channel, or face the wrath of my 2.4Ghz Wireless-N channel-bonded 40Mhz wide-band interference!
My routers:
- 1 Linksys E3000
- 4 Linksys E2000
- 4 Linksys WRT320n [DD-WRT svn13575 std-nokaid] working well in WDS setup, 5Ghz N-speeds only.
- 2 Airlink AR670W [DD-WRT build 14537] working well in WDS setup, 2.4Ghz N-speeds only.
- 2 Netgear WDNR3300 [DD-WRT svn13577 std-nokaid] working well in AP-Repeater-Bridge setup, 5Ghz N-speeds only.
- Airlink AR325W G-router and Belkin F5D7230-4 v1444 [DD-WRT v23 sp2 micro] working well in Repeater-Bridge setup, G-speeds only.
- D-Link DI-614+ B-router, sitting around, wanna buy it?
I looked through the thread many times. Problem is, I wasn't logged in so I couldn't see his link. Side effect of working on the problem from 4 different comps. Thanks for doing the leg work.
Stock firmware (1.01 - Thanks b) seems to work better than DD-WRT 13069.
Pros:
-Wireless Mixed Mode b/g/n works with all my devices
-No pauses in WoW, Ventrilo, VNC
-I can set the WEP key type to ASCII instead of being stuck with HEX
-IPod Touch is no longer slow with internet
Cons:
-PITA to pull an address from cable modem the first time (seems fine now)
-Router has to restart after setting up port forwarding
I'll keep monitoring the connection to see if anything changes, but appears to be stable. DD-WRT did something strange with the ping in WoW where after about an hour is would skyrocket. Guess we'll see how that turns out.
Edit: Some of the settings I'm using compared to DD-WRT.
Wireless mode is b/g/n vs b/g only
Bandwidth is 40MHz vs 20MHz (because of the mode)
Short Guard Interval Enabled (unknown what this setting is in DD-WRT)
Xmit power is Half vs the default 71 in DD-WRT
WMM function is disabled
SPI Mode Enabled
QOS disabled
UPNP enabled
Don't know if that helps any.
After more testing, the stock firmware seems to be holding up well. The logging isn't as complete as I would like (after seeing dd-wrt), and the SPI firewall causes issues with VNC from off site - lan usage is fine.
Anyone have any ideas what was causing DD-WRT to pause? I would like to use it but can't live with that problem.
After more testing, the stock firmware seems to be holding up well. The logging isn't as complete as I would like (after seeing dd-wrt), and the SPI firewall causes issues with VNC from off site - lan usage is fine.
Anyone have any ideas what was causing DD-WRT to pause? I would like to use it but can't live with that problem.
Build 13069 is a "Beta" DD-WRT build.
I guess you try and log a bug in Bugtracker, and hope that Dev. can fix the issue for you before the "Stable" build is released. _________________ .
.
Get off my channel, or face the wrath of my 2.4Ghz Wireless-N channel-bonded 40Mhz wide-band interference!
My routers:
- 1 Linksys E3000
- 4 Linksys E2000
- 4 Linksys WRT320n [DD-WRT svn13575 std-nokaid] working well in WDS setup, 5Ghz N-speeds only.
- 2 Airlink AR670W [DD-WRT build 14537] working well in WDS setup, 2.4Ghz N-speeds only.
- 2 Netgear WDNR3300 [DD-WRT svn13577 std-nokaid] working well in AP-Repeater-Bridge setup, 5Ghz N-speeds only.
- Airlink AR325W G-router and Belkin F5D7230-4 v1444 [DD-WRT v23 sp2 micro] working well in Repeater-Bridge setup, G-speeds only.
- D-Link DI-614+ B-router, sitting around, wanna buy it?