Help Proper Config GT-AX11000 2.5ge + 2.5ge switch + 2.5g modem for over 1gbps...

[thecolin85]

Hi all, newbie here, please be patient with me. I have a "weekend-warrior" level knowledge of tech stuff, but I'm no networking expert. Otherwise I probably wouldn't be asking these questions…
I cannot get my current configuration to provide my 1200mbps+ speeds across multiple devices, even after doing all this research months back and thinking, "Oh if I just buy a multi-port 2.5g switch, I won't have all my devices throttled below 1gbps. And I had thought I had it figured out at one point. I swore I had it once where if I plugged my desktop PC in hardwired, I would get those 1300mbps+ speedtest results, but on WiFi it would NEVER break 1000mbps. Always 900-something mbps. I tried tweaking the router settings, maybe sure all drivers and firmware all up to date etc. No dice.

My hardware:

• Modem: (Motorola) ARRIS Surfboard S33 DOCSIS 3.1 Multi-Gigabit Cable Modem with 2.5 Gbps Ethernet Port
• Router: ASUS ROG Rapture (GT-AX11000)
• Switch: TP-Link TL-SG105-M2 5-Port 2.5G Desktop Switch

Also running the router on the latest firmware of Asuswrt-Merlin. Desktop PC is an x570 Crosshair Hero VIII Wi-Fi (FWIW).

I have tried so many different configurations (using at least CAT6A, CAT7 or CAT8 cables) of what to plug into what first. Currently I have the 2.5g port out of the S33 modem and into the 2.5g port on the AX11000 router. Then out of the AX11000 router's blue (WAN?) port and into one of the four 2.5g ports on the switch. Then out of the switch, I have a 2.5g port and cable running to my desktop PC's 2.5g onboard ethernet port.

I verified I can get 1300 and nearly 1400 mbps speeds when I run the 2.5ge port on the S33 modem straight to my desktop PC. I've also verified I can break over 1gbps Wi-Fi speeds on various PC devices (desktop, laptop) and mobile phones when plugged into the 2.5g port on the router, but then anything hardwired is capped at 900-something MBPS.

I don't know if I should run the modem 2.5ge straight to the router first, then to the switch? Or to the switch, then back to the router… Or am I screwed or limited by the hardware somehow? Should I run a cable from the S33 modem's 2.5ge port to the router's 2.5ge port and then run another cable from the S33 modem's 1ge port to the blue "WAN" port on the AX11000 router?

I could care less if all Wi-Fi devices were capped below 1000 mbps / 1gbps as long as I could have at least my own desktop PC device able to get over 1000mbps when hardwired especially.

[thecolin85]

[RedSector73]

First thing, can I live vicariously through your fast internet connection and I would like to try, if this is ok,
On your motherboard, you're using the realtek 2.5 (upper network connection) try the lower one which is the Intel I211-AT (2.5 as well) and retest / see if this changes speed at all in your current config.

[thecolin85]

First thing, can I live vicariously through your fast internet connection and I would like to try, if this is ok,
On your motherboard, you're using the realtek 2.5 (upper network connection) try the lower one which is the Intel I211-AT (2.5 as well) and retest / see if this changes speed at all in your current config.

Thanks for the reply! Live through my fast internet if we can even get it working correctly! Haha. Tried the lower I211-AT ethernet port but it will not get me the 1200+ speeds. It's still stuck below 1000mbps. The product support for that says it's only 1gbe. That's why I've had luck using the 2.5g port on my motherboard. I think it's a problem with the router settings, hardware capabilities (need help learning), and/or some messed up way I've hooked up all the cables.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us...fications.html

[RedSector73]

Maybe this thread has something in it for you
https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthrea...ure-GT-AX11000

Sorry not going to be much help on this, I've not had any experience running above 1gb second networks.

[Saltgrass]

If I were to suggest to you the 2.5 Gbps port was for LAN only and worked at 1 Gbps when in WAN mode, would that fit your situation..

On my system, the only way I can get above 1 Gbps is to use a 2.5 Gbps port on my computer and a Wi-Fi AX system which is local only. I don't have a high speed ISP so I cannot test.. You may see if you can find a router with an advertised 2.5 Gbps WAN port..

[thecolin85]

If I were to suggest to you the 2.5 Gbps port was for LAN only and worked at 1 Gbps when in WAN mode, would that fit your situation..

On my system, the only way I can get above 1 Gbps is to use a 2.5 Gbps port on my computer and a Wi-Fi AX system which is local only. I don't have a high speed ISP so I cannot test.. You may see if you can find a router with an advertised 2.5 Gbps WAN port..

So you're saying the GT-AX11000 advertised 2.5g port is NOT the WAN port?

[Saltgrass]

I am saying I have no way to test. But you are not the first poster with this exact situation so it may be the case that port is not a 2.5 Gbps WAN port.. I would expect your ISP speeds to be the same on either WAN port but if you had a 2.5 Gbps or even 10 Gbps you could tell easily.

[thecolin85]

I think I really want/need to know where my 2.5g switch fits into all of this. Was it a pointless purchase? Do I just not have it configured correctly? There seems to be multiple different ways of hooking all these cables and ports up to have "functional internet", but far from optimum and the 1gbps+ speeds I pay for across all devices...

[thecolin85]

My feeble mind cannot grasp the technology here. That's why I started this thread saying I'm a newbie, I have "weekend warrior" limited IT knowledge somewhere in between the people who don't know how to turn their PCs on/off and the people who spend a lot of time on a place like SNBforums or perhaps work in this industry or do this sort of thing for fun. I don't know. I did ask to please go easy on me or be patient. My responses:

1. The GT-AX11000 only has one 2.5g port. I'm connecting it to the S33 modem (two ethernet ports, one of which is the 2.5g port).
2. I understand my modem is simply a modem (not a combo unit) and my router is a router.
3. What is the point of having a 2.5ge network switch with 4 (four) 2.5g ethernet ports and 1 (one) 1g ethernet port? How could anyone get any use out of the 2.5 ports whatsoever?
4. I don't care so much about the WiFi speeds being over 1gbps. Although I have verified my Wi-Fi "clients" or devices getting well over 1000mbps on speed tests, it just depends on how I have the ethernet port connected between my modem and router i.e. 2.5g port or not, and/or whether or not I have WAN/LAN aggregation or "Dual WAN" settings turned on in my ASUS router settings..... I just want one single wired connection to my desktop PC capable of over 1000gbps while the wireless speeds can stay sub 1000mbps since apparently, it seems I can't have both?


Or would it be better to DOWNGRADE my modem from the Arris S33 back to my older SB8200 which DOES support LAN aggregation? So I could use both ethernet output ports on the SB8200 into my GT-AX11000 router, and THEN turn on those WAN/LAN dual aggregation settings in the router, then I could get 1+1gbps = 2gbps speeds, which would easily handle my 1200+mbps speed package I pay for... and that way I could have both wired speeds to wired devices i.e. desktop PC of over 1gbps+ as well as WiFi speeds over 1gbps if settings configured appropriately?

If I do this... going back to the SB8200 and do the WAN/LAN aggregation thing, how does or could/would my 2.5g network switch come into play? Or would it just not need to exist anymore? But if not, how the hell would I get 1gbps+ wired speeds OUT of one of the Ethernet LAN ports on the router (of 4) to my desktop PC if they're maxed out at 1g?

This stuff really makes my head hurt. It's frustrating and confusing. Is part of this a marketing scam or gimmick by either Comcast/Xfinity, Motorola/Arris, or ASUS when they advertise to the layperson what sounds like the ability to actually get the speeds you pay for (over 1gbps) to all devices, wired or wireless?

Am I making any sense?