Hub 2, Hub 3, Hub 4 Link Aggregation, DOCSIS 3.0 3.1 360

[cyberkev]

I am currently on a hub 2 with a V6 box and 2nd multiroom tivo box.
Monday I'm being upgraded to 360 (basically a remote and software upgrade to the existing V6) + a mini box to replace the tivo and a Media Hub 3.

I've read some very bad things about the Hub 3 latency and that it is a one way trip. Is this just wireless or wired ?

My Hub 2 is completely useless in router mode (required twice weekly reboots) but been OK in modem only mode for the last 9 years with several external hardware (repurposed barracuda 340) pf sense and virtualised pfsense routers.  I have several juniper and hp routers with 10GB network/fibre and vlan trunks between them for 2 server racks.

I've seen conflicting reports about the Hub 3 supporting balance-rr link aggregation (4 seems to but not sure if 4 works with m200 broadband).

So my questions are, will the hub3 support link aggregation ?   Is it stable and low latency in modem only mode ? Will the hub 2 works just as well with 360 ? Can a hub 4 support 200MB broadband to futureproof the upgrade if speed changes at a later date ? Will the mac address of the laptop used to switch modes of the hub 3/4 need copying to the pfsense box to allow it to hand out a single dhcp lease and route ? What are the differences between DOCSIS 3.0 / 3.1 and which hubs support which with the latest firmware ?

Any answers to any of these much appreciated.

[cyberkev]

I am currently on a hub 2 with a V6 box and 2nd multiroom tivo box.

Monday I'm being upgraded to 360 (basically a remote and software upgrade to the existing V6) + a mini box to replace the tivo and a Media Hub 3.

I've read some very bad things about the Hub 3 latency and that it is a one way trip. Is this just wireless or wired ?

My Hub 2 is completely useless in router mode (required twice weekly reboots) but been OK in modem only mode for the last 9 years with several external hardware (repurposed barracuda 340) pf sense and virtualised pfsense routers.  I have several juniper and hp routers with 10GB network/fibre and vlan trunks between them for 2 server racks.

I've seen conflicting reports about the Hub 3 supporting balance-rr link aggregation (4 seems to but not sure if 4 works with m200 broadband).

So my questions are, will the hub3 support link aggregation ?   Is it stable and low latency in modem only mode ? Will the hub 2 works just as well with 360 ? Can a hub 4 support 200MB broadband to futureproof the upgrade if speed changes at a later date ? Will the mac address of the laptop used to switch modes of the hub 3/4 need copying to the pfsense box to allow it to hand out a single dhcp lease and route ?

Any answers to any of these much appreciated.

[Adduxi]

LAG would only be useful on the Hub 4, as it's the only Hub that can get over 1GB.  Yes, it can be done, but it's expensive to buy the kit just to wring out another 200mb over the WAN IMHO.

[cyberkev]

Apologies, wrong forum, reposted in startup/installation/quickstart

[Adduxi]

LAG would only be useful on the Hub 4, as it's the only Hub that can get over 1GB.  Yes, it can be done, but it's expensive to buy the kit just to wring out another 200mb over the WAN IMHO.

[cyberkev]

I already have several servers with 6 or 8 1GB ports and lagg links into the switches and 10GB fibre so the kit isn't an issue. Just wondering if there would be an improvement in concurrent traffic / streams and for failover if one link went down ?

[Adduxi]

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@cyberkev wrote:

<snip>  Just wondering if there would be an improvement in concurrent traffic / streams and for failover if one link went down ?

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Read this thread and perhaps this will help.  As I said it seems to be a lot of hardware and effort for a possible 200 mb extra.  

How to make the most of a 1.15Gbps (Gig1) Virgin Media ISP | ServeTheHome Forums

[Andrew-G]

Link aggregation is for tinkerers.  I don't say that pejoratively, I've blown up CPU's in my time by overclocking, I've dismantled working equipment that's never worked again after I reassembled it, and I've tried things just for the hell of it that cost me money but didn't work.  I'm now mostly grown out of that thinking, but I can appreciate that there's a great deal of fun had by trying things, by doing things "because they are there", and learning along the way.

So there's the rub.  If you want, upgrade to 1 Gbps, invest in hardware to aggregate the links, and enjoy it if it works.  If it doesn't or is unreliable, then chalk it up to experience.  If on the other hand you've got better things to do with your time and money, stop worrying about it.  There's nothing wrong with a SH2 or Hub 3 that can't be fixed by using your own router, and if you think there's problems with the Hub 3 then you haven't been keeping up with the news for about three years or so.