/Background
Home network setup, all hard-wired connections (no WIFI involved – although I’ve tested WIFI in the past with the same results). CCR2004-1G-12S+2XS using SFP+ to RJ45 modules. Macbook Pro, Oct 2021 model, 16" (so Apple silicon blah blah blah). I’ve used three different RJ45 ethernet dongles, including TPLink and Anker, with the same results. I’ve restarted multiple times.
Ultimately, I’m trying to figure out why a new work-provided macbook can’t hold a connection when video conferencing. The macbook has some standard fare security installs – Sophos and Endpoint Protector. There’s a VPN but in all of this testing the VPN is DISCONNECTED. I have decent internet access to do most things, it just briefly drops every few minutes, making video conferencing problematic. fast.com gives me between 250 or so Mbps, compared to 900+ I’ll get on my PC (gig fiber).
But when troubleshooting, I came across a wild issue that might help indicate the overall troubles. So let’s figure this out first.
/Background END
I can ping from the macbook to my personal PC, 0% packet loss.
I can ping from the macbook to my NAS, 0% packet loss.
iPerf3 gives me solid 940 Mbps between macbook and NAS, same as my desktop gets.
I have trouble pinging from the macbook to my CCR2004 router – 35% packet loss.
Pinging google.com, 1.1.1.1, and 8.8.8.8 all give me the same results as the router does.
Interestingly, it seems to work a little better when I connect to a D-Link switch (DGS-1210-10P) that then connects to the CCR through a direct copper connection.
These are when comparing identical ports, modules, and cables. And it’s not that it CAN’T connect, so I don’t suspect the security software from causing issues. It’s just unstable.
Ok, now for the kicker. When I connect the macbook directly to the ethernet cable that goes to my fiber interconnect, the connection is FLAWLESS. Long term, 0% packet loss, full 900+ fast.com speeds, etc. So while I think there’s definitely something fish with the macbook, it’s not JUST the macbook.
What is going on here?