cisco RV320 Dual Wan from Port 1 connecting a Linksys WRT3200 ACM

[whoevel]

Hola, I do have a cisco RV 320 Gigabit Dual Wan VPN Router connected to WAN2 with a local Costa Rica cable ISP (liberty) and connected to WAN1 Starlink 2 via RJ45 and run the cisco in Load Balance (Auto mode)

The main reason I am using the RV 320 is

1. Reliability, because liberty goes down, once electricity gets interrupted and I have starlink connected to a USV, so I have backup
2. Speed, because liberty’s speed is not consistent and goes down in peak hours

Testing with Speedtest while Port 1 of the cisco is directly connected via Cat6 cable with my Macbook pro I do get.

1. Test WAN 1 and WAN2 load balanced

Download 372 Upload 30,3 Ping 12 ms Jitter 3 ms Fail 0%

1. Test WAN2

Testing only with WAN2 connected to local ISP I get

Download 233 Upload 31,1 Ping 11 ms Jitter 3 ms Fail 0%

1. TEST WAN1

Testing only with WAN1 connected to starlink I get

Download 195 Upload 9,02 Ping 146 ms Jitter 2 ms Fail 1,7 %

Question1: Is Load Balance (Auto mode) the right choice for my needs, enhancing reliability and (accumulating) speed once both liberty and starlink are up and running?

Now here is my problem

Since cisco RV 320 has no WiFi I connect a Linksys WRT3200 ACM to port 3 on the cisco, but then speed goes down substantially once connected with the Linksys

Setup cisco WAN1 starlink, WAN2 liberty with load balance active

1. Test Macbook WiFi to Linksys Wifi 5G

Download 36,1 Upload 31,4 Ping 13 ms Jitter 3 ms Fail 0%

1. Test I phone WiFi to Linksys 5G

Download 57,2 Upload 31,4 Ping 17 ms Jitter 3 ms Fail 0%

1. Test Macbook with Cat6 cable to Linksys Port1

Download 37,1 Upload 31,0 Ping 11 ms Jitter 1 ms Fail 0%

Question2: Connecting the Linksys to Port 3 of the cisco should not result in such a downfall on speed. Is there anything I can configure on the cisco, to have it run comparable fast as the connection between cisco Port 1 and my macbook directly connected via Cat6 cable?

Saludos Walter

[pieterh]

>>> WiFi to Linksys Wifi 5G <<<
what does the "5G" here mean ? does this linksys also have a 5G (mobile data) connection ?
then you might not be using the wired port to the rv320 ?

[whoevel]

Thank you pieterh,

once I connect with WiFi from my laptop to the linksys router it gives me two option Linksys00546_5GHz and the option to connect with 2,4GHz while the first has less WiFi reach and the second reaches further. There is no 5G (mobile data) involved.

The Linksys is connected with cable on the outgoing port of the cisco router.

My main concern is:

If I connect an outgoing port of the cisco directly to my laptop 1 via cable I get 

Test WAN 1 and WAN2 connected with Local ISP and Stalink, chosen option on the cisco "load balanced"

Download 372 Upload 30,3 Ping 12 ms Jitter 3 ms Fail 0%

Though if I connect an outgoing port of the cisco with the incoming port of the Linksys and use an outgoing port of the linksys directly to my laptop via cable I get Download 37,1 Upload 31,0 Ping 11 ms Jitter 1 ms Fail 0%

[pieterh]

clear, the 5G is a truncated string that should read 5GHz

did you check speed an duplex on the connection between Cisco and Linksys match ?
you can also do a test with a cross cable between the  two routers instead of straight cable

last you can configure the Linksys in "bridge mode" (and disable DHCP on the linksys)
this way router only forwards the Wireless packets but does not do any NAT (less processing power on the Linksys needed)

[whoevel]

I am afraid to have to tell you, that I don't understand, what you want me to do. I am not qualified. 

1. How do I check speed an duplex on the connection between Cisco and Linksys match ?

2. I have no idea what's the difference is in between a cross cable and a straight cable. What I know is that outgoing port 3 of the cisco is connected with incoming port on the linksys. That makes the linksys receive Internet from the cisco produces a wifi signal and runs cable connections via the four outgoing ports. But the Internet is substantially slower on the linksys than on the cisco.

3. I went through all menus on my linksys WRT3200ACM and could not finde the term bridge mode. I found DHCP and disabled it, but the linksys stopped producing a WiFi signal.

Sorry pieterh, but I am a regular user and not an expert.

[pieterh]

both the Cisco and the Linksys have a page in their webinterface that shows the port status?
this should also show speed and duplex, both sides should read the same
both devices are able to operate at multiple speeds (10/100/1000 Mbps)
-> speed should show highest: 1000
    duplex should show full-duplex
  
Cisco RV320/RV325 Administration Guide
page-69

WRT3200ACM__UG_International.pdf (linksys.com)
page-16 shows the Linksys itself can do a speedtest ?
if there is a "bridge mode" it will be on the "internet settings " tab see page-17
it can also be called "access point mode" instead of routing

[whoevel]

Thank you pieterh, here are the port results of the Cisco RV320

Port setup

Port ID Interface         Device             EEE      Priority            Mode 

1          LAN1               Macbook with cable   High                Auto Negotiation (Gigabit)

2          LAN2               Linksys with cable      High                Auto Negotiation (Gigabit)

Port Status

Port ID Type    Link Status      Port Activity    Priority            Speed Status   Duplex Status  Auto Negotiation       

LAN1   10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T   Up       Enabled           High    1000Mbps      Full Enabled   

LAN2   10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T   Up       Enabled           High    100Mbps        Full Enabled   

Traffic Statistics

Ethernet Table

Port ID Link Status      Rx Packets       Rx Bytes          Tx Packets       Tx Bytes                                  Packet Error   

LAN1   Up                   2361561         477675540     5225797         18446744071906975217      0         

LAN2   Up                   2306018         1868955533   1714721         1142182753                           0         

LAN3   Down                         

LAN4   Down                         

WAN1 Up                   5876128         6050885479   5224978         3632139189                           0         

WAN2 Up                   4378074         3858762106   3878811         1988246069                           0         

Thanks to your help I could enable “bridge mode” on the Linksys, but since then I can’t get on the Linksys using http://www.linksyssmartwifi.com/ui/1.0.99.199531/dynamic/login.html and have no idea how to get on the Linksys. That’s why I can not answer your question related to the ports of the linksys.

But I can do speedtest and to me it looks that the “bridge mode” on the linksys did not improve it’s speed

1 Cisco RV 320 connected via WAN1 and 2 to two ISP’s Starlink and local ISP in load balance auto mode connected via cable to my macbook results in

Ping 11ms, Jitter 3ms,  Download 180 Mbps, Upload 31,4 Mbps, Lost 0%

Interrupting the cable connection from cisco to my macbook and connecting it via WiFi to the Linksys with 5 GHz results in

Ping 14ms, Jitter 3ms,  Download 35,1 Mbps, Upload 31,4 Mbps, Lost 0%

Using a cellphone connecting it via WiFi to the Linksys with 5 GHz results in

Ping 18ms, Jitter 3ms,  Download 9,55 Mbps, Upload 17,3 Mbps, Lost 0%

Though thinking about it another idea comes to my mind. I have substantial speed loss once the Linksys is connected as a secondary device to the cisco without and with “bridge mode”

How about connecting cisco’s WAN1 with Starlink and connecting Linksys with Local ISP and then connecting an outgoing port of the Linksys with WAN2 of the cisco?

That way both routers would be the first device connected each to different ISP’s while I still get both ISP’s on the Cisco WAN1 direct from Starlink and WAN2 indirect through the outgoing port of the Linksys.

Would you consider that a way to go?

Though in order to do that I would need to know how to access the Linksys and disable “bridge mode”?

[whoevel]

Hola pieterh,

I could somehow find the linksys and disable the "bridge mode". I connected the incoming port of the linksys to the local ISP and one of the outgoing ports to the cisco WAN2. The ciscos primaray incoming connection on WAN1 is the Starlink connection.

On the cisco I enabled Load Balance (Auto Mode), but have the feeling it does not help with what I intended to achieve, by using a cisco dual WAN router..... better Ping, less Jitter, balanced Down- and Upload Speed, by getting the best out of what each of the two ISP's is providing

Measuring the above noted setup with speedtest I get:

Ping 183 ms Jitter 4 ms Download 224 Mbps Upload 6,85 Mbps

Disabling WAN 2 on the cisco and measuring via cable connection to laptop the WAN1 Starlink Input results in

Ping 125 ms Jitter 8 ms Download 188 Mbps Upload 7,10 Mbps

Disabling WAN 1 on the cisco and measuring via cable connection to laptop the WAN2 local  ISP Input results in nothing, Could not connect to the Internet

Ping 125 ms Jitter 8 ms Download 188 Mbps Upload 7,10 Mbps

Disconecting the network cable from my laptop to the cisco and connecting the laptop to the Linksy via WiFi results in.

Ping 13 ms Jitter 2 ms Download 94 Mbps Upload 22,5 Mbps

I thought, that Load Balance is about "mixing" both ISP's input and picking the best from each ISP, while resulting in best output possible. Though I think that was a bit naive

I was expecting that load balance would give me

Ping 13 ms from the local ISP

Jitter from the local ISP

Download from Starlink 188 Mbps

Upload from local ISP 22,5 Mbps

Am I entirely wrong with what I think Load Balancs (Auto Mode) should be?

[pieterh]

Hi, 
load balancing can occur using several mechanisms
- equal path load balancing
   this is what you are expecting, data transfer is equally divided over the two wan links
- based on source + destination 
   here for a single file-transfer  only one of the WAN links is selected, 
   the other WAN link will be used when another simultanouously datastream is used
  -> I think this is what happens with your speedtest
- more mechanisms are possible

NB! multiple wan links can also introduce some issues, especially when firewalls are involved
e.g. packets from A to B use wan1 and the return traffic comes via wan2
a firewall must handle this asymetric ttraffic

[pieterh]

Dual WAN Configuration on RV320 and RV325 VPN Router Series - Cisco

section: Load balance -> does not give a clear picture of the mechanism used
section: Manage Protocol Binding -> gives you some control about which WAN link is used per protocol
     it suggests the load balancing without protocol binding is equal load balancing, (but does not say so specific)

WAN Bandwidth

maybe the current configured bandwith(s) do not match that of the ISP's ? ( set seperately for WAN1 and WAN2) .

[extenderslinksys195]

Linking a Linksys WRT3200 ACM router to port 1 of the Cisco RV320 Dual WAN offers a stable and high-speed connection. Ensure both routers are configured appropriately, with suitable port settings and upgraded firmware.