Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2017 4:47 Post subject: no longer a virgin
so tonight i took the dive with expressvpn. my 2.4ghz mixed went from 89 mbps to 63. my 4k set runs 5ghz and while i'm not sure of that speed, it seems to have a weaker signal at this end of the house when compared to the 2.4ghz.
while i seem to connect, haven't been able to play amazon at all and netflix loads slowly then stops. i wonder if it has to do with their inability to "recognize" me now and as a result, restrictions.
if u guys have had similar experiences will you let me know? i'm wondering if i need to exclude these devices. _________________ asus rt-ac86u stock: 3.0.0.4.384_45149
wrt3200acm: r34578 {sunset}
"why nibble when u can take a byte."
Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2017 23:21 Post subject: no longer a virgin
i'm gonna go out on a limb here and answer my previous post. using expressvpn, i did have problems with speed, and streaming vid on amazon and netflix.
i only needed it for browsing on my puters but i'm a bit security conscious and didn't want to use the expressvpn app to configure.
win 10 provides vpn services. using their "l2tp/ipsec with certificate" worked fine. the speeds are even slower! hell, my download speed is around 11 mbps as opposed to 90 but it's only the puter now and when i need more, i can simply disconnect. i may just be able to live this. have 30 days to decide. _________________ asus rt-ac86u stock: 3.0.0.4.384_45149
wrt3200acm: r34578 {sunset}
"why nibble when u can take a byte."
Joined: 20 May 2017 Posts: 31 Location: Bowling Green, Ohio
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 22:04 Post subject: VPN on server or router...
Sam1789 wrote:
128bit wrote:
snipped "some"
very helpful.
so i've been gettin' "primed" today and needed a break. i have a much better understanding now and will likely use the service. so this may very well be my last question. are there any benes from using the host (win 10) vpn setup over the dd-wrt page on the router? i recognize when implemented via win10, the service will be limited to that single host but does that eliminate the performance penalty i'm reading about when configuring our dd-wrt router by using its openvpn page? given a choice, i'd rather protect my pc transactions over the amazon/netflix connected tv stuff.
re VPN terminology:You may have this all figured out by now, but maybe this will help a bit at least. (to experts if I got this wrong do let me know (kindly that is))
To use a vpn connection, one connects to a VPN service, like Nordvpn etc, using a VPN client program.
OpenVPN has both client and server programs. In your case you would be using the OpenVPN client program.
Many of the better VPN services will let you use either their proprietary client program or OpenVPN. OpenVPN is generally considered more secure in that you are not forced to use a proprietary vpn client program. OpenVPN is pretty well vetted and well maintained.
As you noted, one can run a vpn client either A) on a PC, MAC, etc or B) on an appropriately capable router etc.
For A) only the PC which runs the client program gets the benefits of the VPN encryption.
For B) running VPN on your router can get your whole system the benefits of VPN; Adding the task of VPN encryption to a router does require more router power. Currently OpenVPN seems to be vpn client of choice for running on a router. One's OpenVPN installation is then setup for your specific VPN service.
on Speed: Since you are adding more processing for every internet activity, there is a "cost" involved. This shows up often as a decrease in speed. However that comes from a number of factors including, the VPN services server speeds, server relative location, & the time/power it takes your system to handle the encryption. And note that Open VPN is still written to use only 1 cpu core. So for type A) VPN run on a PC, you have more computing power, ram etc available than you get with most any affordable router. For type B) VPN run on router, The wrt3200 does provide a good level of power.
Another difference is that PC based vpn clients often make it easier to change the specific server you connect to. And in terms of the type of VPN sevice account one needs, note that a router connection "counts as ONE connection" where as if you are using multiple PC's each would count as a "connection" against your VPN account.
So this is a trade off. For the most part, I prefer to run vetted opensource software. From what I'm reading here, the speed penalty seems to be decently low at ~10% or so. Not sure what one gets with the super speed connections up at 940Mbs, but my ISP would only be able to get me 250Mbs anyway.
If you pick a good VPN service that will work with either A) or B), you can experiment and see which you like.
hth
Your post is a very understandable explanation of the application of a VPN service choice, whether to use a router or separate clients. Good job!
