FEEDBACK - Rogers Rocket Wi-Fi Modem Firmware Trial

[RogersMargaret]

Hello Community,

We are currently offering our users an exclusive opportunity to participate in an upcoming trial of the new firmware for our Rocket Wi-Fi Modem (CGN3ACR, CGN3AMR and CGN3ACSMR) and Rocket Gigabit Wi-Fi Modem (CGN3552 and CODA-4582). For details of this program, please see this thread.

This thread will be used for feedback regarding the firmware.  We've invited @RogersSergio, @RogersSyd & @RogersBob from our Networking team to participate in this thread.  Your feedback is very valuable and will be used to enhance the firmware before it is released publicly.

Thank you for your continued feedback and support.

[toolcubed]

***UPDATE AND INTERESTING FINDINGS***

@-G- @Datalink

Ok so now my upload speed is back to 22Mbps and the issue DOES appear to be related to IPv6!!! Here’s what I did:

1. With IPv6 disabled on my router, I rebooted my router once more. Ran speed tests from my iPhone and laptop. Upload still capped at 5Mbps.

2. Enabled IPv6 on my router. Rebooted router. Ran speed tests on iPhone and laptop. Upload still capped at 5Mbps.

3. Disabled IPv6 on my router again. Rebooted router again. Ran speed tests on iPhone and laptop. Boom! Upload back up to 22Mbps consistently. Don’t know why the router reboot with IPv6 disabled in step #1 above didn’t fix the upload speed issue, but toggling IPv6 on and off again followed by a router reboot again, fixed the problem.

Then for fun...

4. I re-enabled IPv6 on my router. Rebooted router. Ran speed tests and upload back down to 5Mbps.

5. Disabled IPv6 on my router again. Rebooted router again. Upload back up to 22Mbps consistently once again.

6. Disconnected my router from CODA modem. Kicked the CODA back into gateway mode. CODA rebooted. Once it was back up in gateway mode, I connected my laptop directly to CODA and confirmed IPv6 connectivity (IPv6 tests all ran successfully). Ran speed tests from Ookla and Rogers. Upload speed tests still consistently at 22Mbps.

So, the upload speed issue appears to be with MY ROUTER WHEN IPv6 IS ENABLED!!! The issue does NOT appear to be on Rogers’ end nor with the CODA.

I still need to test Teams again but now the Teams issue appears to be unrelated to the upload speed issue.

I now no longer trust my Asus router. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good router alternative to Asus? Is Netgear any better? I still want to use my own router but I need to find something that handles IPv6 traffic properly while also providing good coverage and performance. Even if I decide to get Ignite TV, I would still like to use a good 3rd party router.

Thanks everyone for the support and guidance!

[ablatt]

I had my upload issue, but only running the MAC based Speedtest.net app to the Rogers server using IPv6.  This behaviour only started a few days ago.  Switching to Telus or Innsys gave me my expected upload speed.  Did you try servers other than Rogers using IPv6?

By the way, even with IPv6 enabled when you run the speedtest.net app to a Bell server, it will use IPv4.  You can see that in the speedtest.net results history.

Also I assume your Asus IPv6 settings follow https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Internet/Rogers-IPv6-Status/m-p/373238#M36710

[toolcubed]

Ok. Re-enabled IPv6 again on my router. Rebooted router again. Tested with Ookla using different servers (Rogers and Telus). Rogers still at ~5Mbps. Telus server not much better - went up to 10Mbps but then dropped down to 8Mbps by the end of the test. Disabled IPv6 again and rebooted router again. Re-tested - Rogers server at ~22Mbps; Telus server at ~21Mbps.

And yes - my IPv6 settings on my router were configured per the Rogers post you shared.

Edit - Also need to reiterate that when I ran speed tests (Ookla using Rogers sever and the Rogers speed test tool) directly thru the CODA with IPv6 enabled, everything was fine...consistent upload speeds of ~22Mbps. The speed issue only presents itself when connected thru my Asus RT-AC68U with IPv6 enabled. It’s a shame really because apart from this problem, it’s a really great router.

[lans]

Is Nat acceleration enabled on the Asus?

[ablatt]

Not sure you can enable/disable Nat Accelaration from the user interface.  Is AI Protection and QOS disabled?

I just did my Speedtest again.  Using IPv6 to the Rogers server I get 10 mbps upload.  Using Telus 30.  I wonder if there's some funky IPv6 routing issue going on?  By the way, I'm still on .32 firmware, not .33 .

[toolcubed]

AiProtection, Adaptive QOS, etc are all disabled. I don’t see an option for NAT acceleration.

Also, another update. I just got off a one hour Teams call and zero issues! No drops or disconnections. So it appears my Teams issues were also related to IPv6, even though IPv6 was disabled on my router (at least I thought it was but it probably wasn’t disabled fully...perhaps a bug in the Asus UI). Now that it’s disabled 100% and my upload speeds are back to normal, my Teams performance is also back to normal.

[toolcubed]

I was at my parents’ house earlier this evening and decided to do some testing. They’re legacy digital customers on the 75/10 plan. They have a bridged CODA with their own TP-Link Archer C9 router with IPv6 enabled. Couldn’t test MS Teams but did manage to do some speed testing. Their results were very similar to mine in that their upload speed tests were all over the place but mostly low (from 2Mbps to 5Mbps). As soon as I disabled IPv6 on the router and rebooted it, upload speeds shot up to the 10-11Mbps where they should be at. So the IPv6 issue is definitely not specific to my Asus router. There’s definitely something going on when IPv6 is enabled on 3rd party routers on the Rogers network.

[Datalink]

You know, that's a rather interesting observation.  Maybe, for any situation where there's either slow speeds, inconsistent speeds, or micro-disconnects, a temporary test recommendation should be to run a ping test to the CMTS, using two test cases, one with IPV6 running and one with IPV4 only where IPV6 is disabled.  Maybe that test should be run for every modem, just to see what turns up.  You never know until you start looking at the data.  

[ablatt]

In my case, if I use any other speedtest.net server that supports IPv6 (such as Innsys, Teksavvy or Telus) I get my proper upload speed of 30 mbps.  Only the Rogers server gives me 10 most of the time on IPv6 - but 30 on IPv4.

[toolcubed]

@ablatt that’s interesting. I did use Telus as well as a test server but it didn’t make much of a difference when I tested at my house or at my parents’ house. Upload speeds still weren’t where they should’ve been. Also, I feel that just because the other servers are fine for you doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem with IPv6 routing thru the Rogers network, especially since it seems to impact performance of MS Teams and who knows what else (i.e. the issue isn’t visible just from a speed test as there is also a tangible impact with apps and real world traffic). Also, what’s strange is that in my testing, it’s only when using 3rd party routers. Everything seems fine when using the CODA exclusively in gateway mode with IPv6 enabled.

Edit: @Datalink that makes sense. I know problems or misconfigurations with the CMTS can cause IPv6 routing issues. My parents don’t live in the same neighbourhood so they’re connected to a different CMTS. That could imply the issue is more widespread across larger portions of the Rogers network, but the fact that everything works fine when using the CODA exclusively tells me it’s not the CMTS. It’s the way IPv6 traffic is being handled between the CODA and 3rd party routers...at least that’s what it feels like.

[Datalink]

Are we discussing the white Hitron CODA-4582 exclusively, no other modem?  If so, wonder if this has anything to do with the update to firmware version 7x, currently at 7.1.1.33?  That uses an updated kernel which is supposed to support OFDMA (DOCSIS 3.1 upstream).

Have you tried google fibre's speedtest:  http://speedtest.googlefiber.net/

[ablatt]

I do have the white CODA 4582.  I'm on 7.1.1.32 firmware and on the OFDMA upstream profile. 

[toolcubed]

@Datalink Yes, I’m talking about the white CODA-4582. I’m on firmware 7.1.1.33 and my parents are on 7.1.1.32. I didn’t try Google’s speedtest.

[Datalink]

Ok, fwiw, I'm running a 4582 U 2A with version 7.1.1.33 loaded, in bridge mode with an Asus RT-AC86U behind it.  With IPV6 disabled, and using the speedtest.net Rogers Ottawa or Montreal server, I usually hit 940 Mb/s (or slightly higher) down, ~32.88 Mb/s up.  I'll usually run three or four speedtests looking for consistency just to be sure, so within that group, I'll hit the above numbers at least one or more times.  If I don't, the end numbers won't be far from that target.    I've also hit those numbers using Google Fibre's speedtest as well. 

Guess I'll have to fire up the 68U, run an update and then run some tests with IPV6 enabled.  That's on my list of things to do now. 

Edit:  oops, corrected the disabled statement above to read:  "With IPV6 disabled"

Apologies for any confusion. 

[toolcubed]

No worries! My CODA is also the “2A” variant and again on FW 7.1.1.33. My parents’ CODA is the 1A version on FW 7.1.1.32. But again, same experience with poor upload speeds and my parents are using a TP-Link Archer C9 router, not an Asus. Also, as I’ve mentioned, it’s not just the reduced upload speed that’s the issue with IPv6 on a 3rd party router. It’s also that Teams doesn’t work well at all, and who knows what other apps/services are impacted.

[Datalink]

Just checked with my better half who uses Teams as well for her work.  She hasn't had any problems using Teams.  I'm guessing that's due to the fact that IPV6 isn't enabled in the router. 

So, the question is, is this a modem issue or a CMTS issue?  That's something that @RogersIan should look into. 

[blues_clues]

Traffic shaping could also be the culprit.  If you bridge your modem, the MAC address of your third party router could be subject to traffic shaping since it may not be authorized to use full speed unlike the registered CODAs.

[Datalink]

That would be the traffic shaping that Rogers isn't supposed to be doing?  I think this is more a case of an error in the modem's new firmware, or, someone has changed the CMTS configurations, once again, and mucked things up.  Wouldn't be the first time that's happened and it won't be the last. 

If one was to run a passive tap between the modem and router to capture the data traffic, for both IPV6 enabled and IPV6 disabled in the router, something should show up in the data log. Question is, who's at fault, the modem or CMTS.

[toolcubed]

if it was the CMTS, wouldn’t we be seeing this issue when using the CODA modem exclusively in gateway mode without any 3rd party routers attached? As stated, I don’t see this issue with just the CODA in use. It’s only when using my own router with CODA bridged.

@blues_clues I doubt it’s traffic shaping. If it was, I would be seeing the issue all the time. The issue only presents itself when using a 3rd party router with IPv6 ENABLED behind a bridged CODA modem. Disabling IPv6 on the 3rd party router (thus running in IPv4 only mode) fixes the problem.

[Datalink]

Don't know.  That would require a passive tap between the modem and the neighbourhood node.  That's something that Rogers engineering staff should be able to easily accomplish.  I'd say that @RogersIan and company will have to look at this. 

[blues_clues]

Just throwing other possibilities out there.  Try disabling your IPv6 firewall on your third party router and rerun your tests.