Hi All, These are the results I've had with the USB3 Ethernet adaptors listed in the title. N150 Acemagic Vista V1. I used the appropriate RTL and AX plug-ins.
RTL8153. Reaches virtually the available ~900Mbps download and upload available on my fibre. crashes occasionally under load. Fail!
AX88179. Limited to 250Mbps, but reliable. Fail!
RTL8256BG. Reaches the available bandwidth. Seems reliable depite my attempts to break it with speed test, Teams etc. Win!
With various packages like a blocklist in Unbound, Crowdsec and Intrusion Protection turned on, the most CPU useage I see is 20%. Memory, far less than 1G. My reason for switching from my recent TP-Link AX73 device is mainly because their firewall setting is now an android-controlled paid app. So I have that set up as an AP with an RE705 extender located in the other end of the house. That gives me reliable +-800Mbps over wifi(6) tapped into the extenders Gigabit port.
I hope this is of use to others.
Thank you for testing and reporting your findings but IMHO any kind of USB Networking on your OPNsense is simply wrong and not something you want to use for a long time : Any kind of (temporary) High CPU LOAD = The whole USB Bus starts tripping!
But you can keep them and use them in case any of your Clients suddenly has a NIC gone bad/defect :)
Thanks for the rapid feedback. I saw several warnings about this online. However, I had the hardware laying about (apart from the 8256) which didn't stand me for much money.
Getting a dual NIC X64 PC etc with a half decent CPU in it would be a bigger investment. I have some DDR 3 laying about somewhere though, which would help a lot these days.
If it all goes die-down (geddit) or otherwise, I'll feed back.
I only consider a NIC reliable when it
1) succeeds an iperf3 -P4 (P4 is important to stress SMP and get max throughput on slower CPUs) for at least 10 minutes, once as sender and receiver AND
2) succeeds in not locking up with an iperf3 -P4 --bidir (--bidir is the kill-switch for NICs/drivers). It may slow down on either direction, but it must not lock up or crash even once during the 10 minute test run.
This is for SOHO use. For serious business use anything less than sustained full speed in both directions with --bidir is not acceptable.
Hi @drosophila - I am, of course, only playing at this :-) That test software looks like the equivalent of an engine dyno.
However, it's been up for 3 days now, happily accepted VPN and various dodgy test websites, although the IPN slowed some elements on the pages down, which I expected. Teams on my work machine and their VPN also good. Bit-torrent also happy, plus my wife's PC, various Amazon and Android devices and the TV which likes to call its friends.
The USB adaptor might well produce a melt-down at full load for extended periods, but cruising around town, out on the motorway or overtaking, it seems good.
You've made me curious though. I'll probably try iperf via an SBC on Linux to one of the listed servers and see what happens. Windows networking always seems a bit 'touchy' to me.
Quote from: dogshome on April 23, 2026, 04:56:19 PMI'll probably try iperf via an SBC on Linux to one of the listed servers and see what happens. Windows networking always seems a bit 'touchy' to me.
WRT NIC drivers and stability, Windows should be OK because up until recently, no vendor could afford to have drivers that don't work perfectly with Windows. With the slow shift towards Linux, this may change if it continues. What MS does to network management itself is another story of course.
Anyway, yes, I view the bandwidth test sites as some lightweight testing, especially the browser-based ones. Whenever I use iperf3 (there are different versions that aren't compatible), the first few tests are for stability, and I run the server on the DUT. The extra CPU load and stack activity is welcome in this case to better simulate real-world scenarios. For throughput testing, the docs recommend to use another server so that only the traffic passes through the DUT. That will then test both NICs in the DUT, so this typically is the last test I do after verifying each NIC individually.
Oh, obviously iperf3 -P4 --bidir also stress tests the NIC / driver in the
initiating system as well, so if that one is flaky, that may lock up as well. :)
Update: it had been running for 9 days until 01:00 on 1st May. Then a total crash. This is the exact same time I'd set a CRON task to update Unbound blocklists. Rebooted.
Ran again for an exact number of hours, and this time just the WAN gateway was missing. Smoking gun?....... This was the exact time I'd set another CRON task to check for firmware update. Reaches for smokes in the old brown, leather top desk. Leans back in the creaky old chair. The dusky New York office lights up for a brief spark, before drifting back into the gloom.......
Anyhow. There WAS a firmware update and it did say 'CRON error fixed'. Where's that Linux Pi to test with gone? Before I get Roger Rabbit arrested :-)
I personally didn't have any issues with the RTL USB3 ethernet adaptor. I'm not a gamer and don't transfer large files out of my local network though. However, the N150 was ticking over all the time and I had a better use for it. So I now have a Celeron J6412 4 port 'passive' cooled lump. The passive cooling is ok up to about 20C, but the UK has been reaching nearly 40C for periods this year, and it was getting too hot.
The copper block is very good, with thermal compound between it and the chip and with the aluminium case. But it's not a heat pipe and temps were reaching 100C on occasion. Thermal lag. With a slow running 12" fan it's staying cool.
Unsurprisingly no issues with it either! It's basically ticking over also.
I'm very impressed with OPNsense and it can be considered a 'utility' not an experiment or lab kit. It auto updates every month and basically fit and forget :-)
Hi all, just more info about the RTL drivers. I've started upgrading bits of my network to 2.5G, prompted by putting a CAT8 cable from one side of the house to the other. This has given good gains with my NAS as expected.
I picked up a J4125 4 port pc with all ports being Intel 2.5G for a sily low price. Unboxed, no heatsink or PSU. Tested it, fantastic!
Its is currently on the workbench so I can make an enclosure (not easy with all the cutouts) and heatsink arrangement. So the J6412 1G unit is back in service. I plugged the RTL 2.5G USB adaptor in to retain the network speed on the branch with this PC and the NAS. It's not reliable. Functions for periods, but goe quiet, and stays that way until the router, 2.5G switch and my PC are rebooted. It's also clocking errors, where the others do not.
A router with all RTL chipsets, like the N150 and adaptor, worked reliably. All Intel works reliably. A mix of the two - definitely not :-)
Quote from: dogshome on November 13, 2026, 05:46:29 PMa CAT8 cable from one side of the house to the other. This has given good gains with my NAS as expected.
You don't need anything better than CAT6a cabling for 10 Gbps up to 100 meters with RJ45 connectors ;)
I am aware. This cable is screened and the sheath suitable for UV and outdoor weather. The cost difference is negligible for the one run and if I ever upgrade again, I won't be pulling it off the wall. I'd have put fibre if I'd thought about it, because it is tiny and robust :-)
J4125 with 2.5GB Intel ports is back in play. The passive heatink consists of a 3mm 80x80 copper sheet, topped with an 80x80x27mm plain aluminium heatsink. The large lump of copper negates the need for a fan, yes, I tested it. If I could have found a copper pin heatsink at a reasonable price, that would be fitted.