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2930,2820 Maybe others. DNS and packet loss issue

  • ferrograph
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31 Jan 2012 00:37 #70996 by ferrograph
Ive been having a problem for months driving me nuts, and if it weren't for this units 2x WAN and VPN capabilities it would have been chucked out a while ago, and with this issue the unit is not fit for purpose.

You can see the problem quite profoundly by running DNS Bench (http://www.grc.com/dns/benchmark.htm), and then running the same test directly connected to your ISP modem/s. You will see an alarmingly high number of failures with the 2930 in line, and virtually none directly connected. Ive frigged with lots of settings and none make any difference. My 2920 router came with v3.3.0, so cant check the previous 3.0.3 firmware for this issue.

Very frustrating. Im pretty sure this is firmware and Draytek support have not been forth coming as yet with any answers. I would be really interested to hear the results from others on this, as Im keen to get Draytek to fix this so the 2930 can qualify as advertised to be High Performance!

Thanks in advance.

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  • ferrograph
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04 Feb 2012 17:00 #71086 by ferrograph
I tested a 2820 on a customers site and I got the same results.

I dont know if anyone has tried this yet but heres what to do:

# Download the tool in the post above and run it. Click the "Name Servers" tab.
# It will take a short time to figure out which DNS servers it will use for the test. When its done a "Run Benchmark" button will show. Click it and allow the test to run - it can take a few mins.
# When the test is complete, go to the "Name Servers" tab and then the "Response Time" tab within that.
# You should see a table of response times with the tested servers IP address in the left most column and the times in the right.
# Scroll down the list. You might see one or two servers showing a red bar in the IP address cell. This means the server tested as being unreliable. One or two is fine and probably normal and running the test again will likely show the same servers as unreliable - if this is the case then your Draytek router does not suffer with this issue.
# If you see a lot of servers showing red bars in their IP address column then your Draytek has this issue. Click the "Conclusion" tab and look for "More than 20% servers were unreliable" and read the short paragraph.

If you want to be sure about this, now connect a PC directly to your WAN or use a non Draytek router (depending on what equipment your have) and run the test again. You'll notice that maybe one or two or none now test as unreliable.

Post results here. I'm interested to see what models are suffering this issue...

Thanks in advance.

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05 Feb 2012 09:47 #71087 by drummerjohn
I have a 2920 and tried this test twice. No issues here.

Thanks though - interesting tool.

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  • ferrograph
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05 Feb 2012 11:06 #71088 by ferrograph
Thanks drummerjohn.

Glad to hear there is a Draytek which would meet my needs that doesn't suffer with this issue. Cheers.

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05 Feb 2012 19:41 #71089 by cocospm
Assuming *ALL* 2930 and 2820 routers are as problematic as your own is always a dangerous conclusion to reach... 2820Vn here, running firmware 3.3.7 passes the Gibson test without problem. Just a couple of (Sunbelt Software) DNS servers showed a couple of lost packets, but this was identical with two other routers under the same test.

I have to say, though, that through experience I treat all Steve Gibson's offerings with the utmost scepticism.

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05 Feb 2012 19:53 #71090 by ferrograph
Hey cocospm, thats fair comment on GR offerings, and thanks for the results.

Im really trying to determine if it really is a firmware issue, or one of those querks to do with my setup or something common to mine and my customers setups. Any results posted here will really help me and perhaps others get to the bottom of this.

Is 3.3.7 the firmware released just recently for 2820? Anyone fancy trying it with the previous version?

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