Slow Speed with 3rd party VPN through Firewalla, compared to VPN client

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rj834

• January 31, 2021 18:55

Hello,

I've configured my Firewalla Gold with a 3rd-party VPN config.  I've then applied the VPN to a single system on the network and tested.  I then disconnected the VPN ad used the VPN client on my laptop, pointing to the same VPN location and see 4X or better speeds!

I then performed a similar test on my ROKU with Firewalla applied VPN and ran into buffer and low resolution issues.  I then disconnected, loaded the Express VPN app and retried and video streams remained stable.

My tests thus far have been:

Ethernet - 

~900Mbps over ethernet with no VPN

~400Mbps with VPN client on laptop

~100Mbps with VPN configured through Firewalla

Wifi -

~400Mbps with no VPN

~100Mbps with VPN Client

~8Mbps with VPN configured through Firewalla

Should the 3rd-party VPN connection not provide similar or better bandwidth than I'm receiving with the individual clients?

Thanks in advance!

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  Firewalla

  • January 31, 2021 19:33

  The Gold VPN performance is around 120mbit.   For the VPN client part, we have seen higher (around 140 to 160mbit) and depends on which provider you have. 

  So if you test VPN client and get from 100 to 160mbit, is all normal.   We always use the ethernet side as the standard, since wifi is highly dependent on your environment. 

  Also, certain VPN services are not always that fast, timing is important when doing tests.    

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  rj834

  • January 31, 2021 23:13

  Thank you, and one more VPN related question.  It appears, when I'm on the Firewalla, I can't access my VPN vendor, Express VPN.  I have to switch to my hot spot to access.  I don't see any alerts around the domain in the logs.  How do I allow access to this or any blocked site?

  Thanks.

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  Firewalla

  • February 01, 2021 17:55

  If you have family mode on, turn that off;  openvpn blocks known VPN servers. 

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  rj834

  • February 01, 2021 19:47

  Thank you!

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  Michael Wasserman

  • February 24, 2021 21:30

  so, if you do NOT install a VPN directly on the Firewalla gold, but enable one on your pc/laptop/whatever, and you have gig internet speeds normally, what can you expect from that setup?

  I am using NordLynx service from Nord, which uses Wiregard protocol, and I get near gig wired speeds, and close to normal wifi speeds, on my eero pro 6 mesh when I enable the VPN on my own clients; is there any way to get those types of speeds if you install the VPN directly on a firewalla gold?

  thank you

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  Kyle

  • December 01, 2021 18:37

  Hi, I'm seeing a similar issue with my Firewalla red, though my ISP speed is only 50/50. When connected to the nearest surfshark VPN via the firewalla, I'm seeing 20/20 approximately. When I remove my device from the firewalla VPN device list, I get the full 50/50 when using either the surfshark client or with no VPN connection. I experienced the same thing when I tried ExpressVPN. What is it in my Firewalla config that might be causing this slowdown?

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  Arlo Miller

  • April 09, 2022 15:02

  What does it take to get faster VPN performance than 120mbit?  Is this primarily a hardware issue (I though FW gold was like having a router with a supercharged v8 engine) or is it a software issue?

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  Firewalla

  • April 09, 2022 18:23

  Use WireGuard, it is multi-core ... likely can stretch much faster. OpenVPN is single core.

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