MX64 upload speed dropped to zero

[CodeMercenary]

Had trouble with Internet access this morning so I ran some speed tests. Our download speed was about 75Mbps but upload was 0Mbps. We normally get around 100Mbps down and 20Mbps up (though we pay for 150Mbps down). 

I rebooted the cable modem and that didn't fix it so I rebooted the MX64 and speeds returned to 97Mbps down and 21Mbps up. I've seen this happen a couple times before. It seems like the speeds through the MX64 get slower and slower such that I have to reboot it once every few months and speeds immediately return to normal. 

Does everyone have to reboot every once in a while to maintain performance or might there be something I can do to avoid needing to wait until speeds get painful enough for people to notice?

[jdsilva]

Nope. I've never heard of this happening on any of our MX64's (the vast majority of which are on a cable internet service). 

I'd say make sure your on a Wired 14 version with the MX first, and if that doesn't help then I'd be looking at your ISP.

[CodeMercenary]

I'm not sure what you mean by a Wired 14 version of the MX64. I'm pretty new to the Meraki world and network admin is not my primary job.

So it could be the ISP even though a reboot of the cable modem didn't fix it but a reboot of the MX64 did fix it? The fact that rebooting the MX64 always fixes it made it seem to me like the Meraki gear must be at fault. My guess is that my ISP will feel the same. Is there a way to diagnose what is actually at fault so I could go to the ISP with evidence that they are causing the problem?

[jdsilva]

Sorry, I didn't mean to spout cryptic jargon at you 🙂

I was referring to the version of firmware on the MX. The firmware for the MX is referred to as "Wired" whereas the switches are "Switch" and the AP's are "Wireless" You can see this in the Organization Overview page in the Dahboard (you may need to use the little + in the top right to add the column to the page). 

The most recent versions are version 14.x, with 14.34 being the absolute latest (beta).

I agree that it might be a hard sell to point to the ISP, but something is "stuck" somewhere. What does the Dashboard say about the MX when there's zero upload? Is it still showing online? 

I'm not sure what you can do to troubleshoot unless you can somehow tap the link between the MX and the ISP CPE device and do a packet capture. If the MX is online then you can do a packet capture from the Dashboard... But if you can do that then MX can talk to the Dashboard over the Internet via your ISP... So then the problem might be on the LAN?

[CodeMercenary]

The status for the MX64 shows:

Up to date

Current version: MX 13.33

Is the whole 14.x line in beta?

The dashboard said the MX was online. The speed test from the MX's local admin UI said it had 75Mbps and did not say anything about upload speed. That would make me even more think it's an MX problem if the MX itself had good upload but wasn't allowing other traffic through.

My laptop connects to a Trendnet switch that connects to a Meraki switch that connects to the MX64. I suppose when this happens again in several months I could try rebooting the switches one at a time to see if any of them are the problem.

Another option the next time this happens would be for me to connect my laptop directly to the cable modem and run a speed test. I guess that wouldn't 100% rule out the modem since it might change things when it detects a different mac connected to it. Connecting that way is how I figured out that years of my anger at Cox for not providing the speed we pay for really should have been directed at the Juniper and, therefore, to my own ignorance that I had an appliance that was old enough that it wasn't rated for 150Mbps. 

[BlakeRichardson]

@CodeMercenary I haven't seen any upload issues with an MX however I do occasionally have issues with my MX unit blocking Steam traffic which requires a reboot to resolve it. 

As suggested I would try a different version of firmware and see how you go. 

[CodeMercenary]

@BlakeRichardson According to the dashboard I'm running the latest firmware. You think I should switch to beta firmware? I'm not even sure how to switch to a specific firmware version or to tell it I'm ok with beta firmware. I'll always be a little nervous running beta firmware on our only connection to the Internet. 

[BlakeRichardson]

@CodeMercenary The awesome thing with Meraki is you can upgrade the firmware and if your not happy with it you can roll it back without any issues. 

[CodeMercenary]

But how do I upgrade it? The UI says it's running the latest and I don't find anywhere that lets me pick a version to run. I've only ever accepted suggested firmware upgrades, I have no idea how to force one.

[BlakeRichardson]

@CodeMercenary see the below, 

You browse to Organization > Monitor > Firmware Upgrades

Then click "All networks" , select the device you went to schedule an upgrade for and select what firmware you want to install.

[CodeMercenary]

@BlakeRichardson I don't see Organization or Monitor. What I do find is Network Wide > General > Firmware upgrades. That let me select "Try Beta" but doesn't yet show any available. Am I in the wrong interface? I just login on Meraki and go to my dashboard.

I see that my security appliance last updated in June but says it's running the latest. Does it take some time after setting Try Beta before it will suggest beta versions?

[BlakeRichardson]

@CodeMercenary Are you the person who setup your Meraki network? If not you probably dont have full admin rights. 

[CodeMercenary]

@BlakeRichardson Ah, that was it. I was logged in as my normal user account not the global admin account. My user account has a lot of rights but apparently not all of the rights. Thanks.

[BlakeRichardson]

Awesome, let us know how you get on. 

[CodeMercenary]

@BlakeRichardson It ran ok for a while but now 2+ months later the upload speed had dropped to 0.76 Mbps. I did not upgrade to the beta version last time though. Today I upgraded to beta so I'm now running 14.36 on it. After the upgrade and reboot I'm getting 19.1 Mbps upload and the download is 80-100 Mbps (it was around 75 before the upgrade). Now I wait to see what happens over the next couple months.

[Heide]

I too was having a slow down in performance on my MX64.  It was installed only a month and a half ago. A restart fixed it.  I'm running 13.36 firmware, but will try the beta and see how it goes.