TPLINK WDR3600 - Slow WAN port?

I just dug out my old WDR3600 router to have a play with.

All the ports on the router are gigabit, I put my VM Router in modem mode and connected it to the WAN port.

If I transfer files between two computers I can transfer at the full 1gpbs or 110mb a sec. No issues there.

But internet speed is lacking. I can get anywhere from as low as 200mbps up to around 350 ish.

What gives?


What is it about this router that it cant transfer as fast as it "should" when using the WAN port?

Someone once said the CPU in it is to slow to transfer at gigabit speeds but that seems not to be correct. Hmmmm

(edit, wrong section... but close enough )

Edited by Seansmit17 (Mon 22-Feb-21 05:08:26)

In reply to a post by Seansmit17:

What is it about this router that it cant transfer as fast as it "should" when using the WAN port?

Someone once said the CPU in it is to slow to transfer at gigabit speeds but that seems not to be correct. Hmmmm

LAN to LAN across the Ethernet switch does not need the CPU, so you get full speeds.

From the Ethernet (or WiFi) side to the WAN port, each packet needs to be "translated" from the internal IP address to the external. This takes CPU to modify each packet.

You need faster CPU, or NAT hardware acceleration (often named CTF), to get higher speeds WAN to LAN.

Edited by jchamier (Mon 22-Feb-21 07:45:19)

W9980 wan ports can only get up to 120MB

One of the best fttc routers on the market for eci cabs