Torrents crash residential router (using PIA) but not library router?

Generic_Username

Odd use case and problem here, any help would be greatly appreciated.

I typically host a few linux distro torrents on my work laptop (win 10) - irony intended. I am using deluge as a torrent client.

At home, I use an older Linksys model router over wifi. Via direct connection, I have zero problems.

If I route through PIA VPN, I'll have a great connection for a while, but intermittently once a few peers connect - the whole thing crashes. Several times per hour, the I'll lose internet access through the router. The router requires resetting at least 3x per day.

This happens regardless of what PIA server I connect to. Strange, no?

Here's what makes it really odd: I am sitting at a library cafe connected to the public wifi. And I am having no problem with the P2P.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Blade_Runner

IMO consumer-grade routers fail because of P2P and gaming activities. IIRC torrent client does not close open connections and iptables become full. As a result, internet connection will drop.

OmniNegro

Reduce the number of connection you allow to something possible to actually manage. I think 100 global connections is a good limit for most people. I have seen people struggling with a seemingly broken client and wondering why their connection dies every time they start it, only to learn they actually thought they could support thousands of connections at once. You cannot. Period.

The latency increase from having that many connections being attempted will kill off the VPN connection because it will not get a response back from you while your system struggles to sort and reply to so many connections.

Start small and you can increase in small steps until you find a good number for your system. If at the end you have 500 global connections, you are not understanding the meaning of small steps. You would need a system with extremely expensive hardware to really support even that many.

Give it time with a smaller number and you will see the number of connections makes little difference on most torrents.

Generic_Username

Blade_Runner said:

IMO consumer-grade routers fail because of P2P and gaming activities. IIRC torrent client does not close open connections and iptables become full. As a result, internet connection will drop.

I have no problems with the torrents when not using PIA, hence my befuddlement. 

OmniNegro said:

Reduce the number of connection you allow to something possible to actually manage. I think 100 global connections is a good limit for most people.

When not using PIA, I had no problems with 100 global connections, 25 half open, 25 connections per second.

Using PIA at home, I have dropped down to 25 global connections, 5half open, 5 connections per second and still have the frequent dropouts.

PIA with the commercial router was fine at 100/25/25.

It seems like there is some problem b/t PIA and my residential router, any advice on what to look for?

OmniNegro

Since I use a decade old WRT54GL as my router, I really find it hard to believe the router is the problem. But a new WRT54GL costs all of $50 USD from Amazon right now. If you think your router is the problem, replace it. If you need wireless, I suggest the Asus AC66 or AC68 if you have the cash.

And if you are convinced it is the VPN causing the problems, check if it is TCP or UDP and switch to the other option and see if it works better. I cannot think of a better solution at the moment. Good luck.

Generic_Username

OmniNegro said:

And if you are convinced it is the VPN causing the problems, check if it is TCP or UDP and switch to the other option and see if it works better. I cannot think of a better solution at the moment. Good luck.

Tried both, alas, neither works.

It's not the router, because the router works just fine sans PIA. And it's not PIA, because PIA worked just fine at the library. It's something about the two not liking each other. Perhaps you're right and I just need to get a new router & hope that fixes it.

OmniNegro

If you have any good friends who would be willing to help,  you may want to ask to borrow a router for a day to see if that solves it. If it does, then you know the router is the problem. (And this is the only solution I know of to answer what causes the problem that does not have a price attached.)