Software Switch performance

13 replies
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I have a FWF-60D that i have created a software switch to bridge the Internal and WIFI networks into a single network. I also have a DMZ network, but when I do a file transfer to the DMZ network from the internal, I only get about 23MB/s. While transferring I also see the CPU usage @ 100%. Is this a by product of the software switch? my knowledge leads me to believe in this scenario I am CPU limited and not hardware limited (GbE). Am I on the right track? Are there any other ways to achieve this?

ede_pfauAnswer

SuperUser

hi, and welcome to the forums (though a little late). You' re absolutely right. Software switch (as opposed to hardware switch) means just that - the CPU handles all packets. Especially the Fortigates with SoC (system on chip) offer relatively weak CPUs, 20C/40C/60C and the D series. In a 80C the effect is way less noticeable. Look here for a list of Fortigate models and their hardware: https://forum.fortinet.com/FindPost/100451 Only in some of the latest midrange FGTs and using FOS v5 you can create a hardware switch. For a workaround consider just routing the WiFi subnet.

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ShrewLWD

New Member

Old thread, but still an issue for us... 5.2 does not solve the issue of a wifi, in a transparent VDOM, not broadcasting its SSID.

nothingel

New Member

I' m also interested in trying this transparent vdom idea. Have you tried reversing the process where the wifi is in the root vdom? I find that wifi always taxes the CPU even without bridging. Is this everyone else' s experience? I' m talking about a FWF-60C here. I also cannot obtain speeds faster than about 20Mbit/s over wifi. This is fairly good for " g" speeds but I also see this for " N" speeds on either 2.4 or 5ghz (the clients show 130 or 270mbps connection rates).

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