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kpcz
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2.4Ghz speed became super slow on cAP

Mon Mar 29, 2021 3:33 pm

HI all.
RouterBOARD 		cAP Gi-5acD2nD
Firmware Type		ipq4000L
Current Firmware	6.48.1
Installed Version	6.48.1
router running in WISP AP bridge mode, as it is behind ISP router.

For almost 2 years I am using Mikrotik cAP as main main AP. For long time I did not have any issues, I was quite happy with it. Few days ago I realized that my Wifi speeds had degradated significantly.

For all this time I had disabled 5Ghz signal, because out of the box it was really unstable and had bad signal strengh. Few days ago I turned it back on, because my 2.4 Gz signal went down to ~10Mbps down and ~5Mbps upload. All this time 2.4 was working great, did not do any mesurements because I had no issues with it.

So at this point using speedtest.net my results are (Mbps):
phone 2.4Ghz
down 9.4 	up 3.18	
down 3.81 	up 2.78
down 8.19 	up 6.69

laptop 2.4Ghz
down 12.65	up 4.33
down 8.57 	up 5.26
down 6.63	up 6.09

laptop 5Ghz
down 60.12	up 26.64
down 60		up 26.73
down 47.82	up 55.85

phone 5Ghz
down 131	up 82.6
down 147	up 76.8
down 69.1	up 101

wired PC
down 337.09	up 369.31

I have connected to 2.4 wifi around 40 devices, from what 1 laptop, 2 mobile phones, most other devices are iot mqtt sensors, whasher, TV, google speakers, etc, that should not generate lot of bandwith + 5 720p wifi cameras. Disconnected motioneye server that records all camera streams, 2.4Ghz wifi speeds did not change.

At the moment TX and RX for wifis are
2.4  Tx 300kbps Rx 13.2Mbps
4Ghz Tx 50kbps	Rx 3.8Mbps
So I guess the wifi bandwith is not under heavy loads as well.

Tried to change wifi channels, and also physical location of the CAP, did not do any improvements. As also I have zigbee network (zigbee router is not close to cAP) that runs on 11 channel, so i did set up CAP to channel 1, did not improve a thing.

Looking forward for suggestions how to debug this, and find the issue causing this. Maybe it was some of the latest FW upgrades of the CAp? Thank you.

My config:
# mar/29/2021 15:12:46 by RouterOS 6.48.1
# software id = 9JIE-Z1RU
#
# model = RouterBOARD cAP Gi-5acD2nD
# serial number = 81XXXXXXX

/interface bridge
add admin-mac=CC:2D:E0:A6:AD:BF auto-mac=no comment=defconf name=bridge
add fast-forward=no name=guest-bridge
/interface wireless
set [ find default-name=wlan1 ] band=2ghz-b/g/n channel-width=20/40mhz-XX \
    country=no_country_set disabled=no distance=indoors frequency-mode=\
    manual-txpower mode=ap-bridge ssid="SSID1" station-roaming=\
    enabled wireless-protocol=802.11
set [ find default-name=wlan2 ] band=5ghz-a/n/ac channel-width=\
    20/40/80mhz-Ceee country=latvia disabled=no distance=indoors frequency=\
    auto mode=ap-bridge ssid=SSID2 station-roaming=enabled wireless-protocol=\
    802.11
/interface ethernet
set [ find default-name=ether1 ] speed=100Mbps
set [ find default-name=ether2 ] speed=100Mbps
/interface list
add name=WAN
add name=LAN
/interface wireless security-profiles
set [ find default=yes ] authentication-types=wpa2-psk group-key-update=50m \
    mode=dynamic-keys supplicant-identity=MikroTik wpa-pre-shared-key=\
    XXXXXXXXXXXXX wpa2-pre-shared-key=XXXXXXXXXXXXX
add authentication-types=wpa2-psk management-protection=allowed name=\
    testprofile supplicant-identity=MikroTik wpa2-pre-shared-key=\
    XXXXXXXXXXXXX
add authentication-types=wpa2-psk comment=XXXXXXXXXXXXX \
    management-protection=allowed mode=dynamic-keys name=Guest \
    supplicant-identity=MikroTik wpa2-pre-shared-key=XXXXXXXXXXXXX
/interface wireless
add keepalive-frames=disabled mac-address=CE:2D:E0:A6:AD:C1 master-interface=\
    wlan1 multicast-buffering=disabled name=guest-wlan security-profile=Guest \
    ssid="SSID3" station-roaming=enabled wds-cost-range=0 \
    wds-default-cost=0 wps-mode=disabled
/ip pool
add name=dhcp_pool0 ranges=192.168.1.200-192.168.1.250
add name=dhcp_pool1 ranges=10.10.10.2-10.10.10.254
add name=dhcp_pool2 ranges=10.10.10.2-10.10.10.254
/ip dhcp-server
add address-pool=dhcp_pool0 disabled=no interface=bridge lease-time=5m name=\
    dhcp1
add address-pool=dhcp_pool2 disabled=no interface=guest-bridge name=dhcp2
/user group
set full policy="local,telnet,ssh,ftp,reboot,read,write,policy,test,winbox,pas\
    sword,web,sniff,sensitive,api,romon,dude,tikapp"
add name=homeassistant policy="read,test,api,!local,!telnet,!ssh,!ftp,!reboot,\
    !write,!policy,!winbox,!password,!web,!sniff,!sensitive,!romon,!dude,!tika\
    pp"
/interface bridge port
add bridge=bridge comment=defconf interface=ether1
add bridge=bridge comment=defconf interface=ether2
add bridge=bridge comment=defconf interface=wlan1
add bridge=bridge comment=defconf interface=wlan2
add bridge=guest-bridge interface=guest-wlan
/ip neighbor discovery-settings
set discover-interface-list=!dynamic
/interface detect-internet
set detect-interface-list=all
/interface list member
add interface=ether1 list=WAN
add interface=ether2 list=LAN
add interface=wlan2 list=LAN
add interface=wlan1 list=LAN
add interface=guest-wlan list=LAN
/ip address
add address=192.168.1.3/24 interface=ether2 network=192.168.1.0
add address=10.10.10.1/24 interface=guest-bridge network=10.10.10.0
/ip dhcp-client
add comment=defconf interface=bridge
/ip dhcp-server lease

#deleted DHCP reservations

/ip dhcp-server network
add address=10.10.10.0/24 dns-server=8.8.8.8 gateway=10.10.10.1 netmask=24
add address=192.168.1.0/24 dns-server=192.168.1.2 gateway=192.168.1.2
/ip dns
set servers=192.168.1.2
/ip firewall filter
add action=drop chain=forward comment=\
    "Dahua Terrace cam reject connection to internets" dst-address=\
    !192.168.1.0/24 src-address=192.168.1.136
add action=accept chain=output disabled=yes
add action=accept chain=input connection-state=established
add action=accept chain=forward
add action=accept chain=output
add action=drop chain=forward dst-address=192.168.1.0/24 src-address=\
    192.168.1.141
/ip firewall nat
add action=masquerade chain=srcnat disabled=yes log=yes out-interface-list=\
    WAN
/ip route
add distance=1 gateway=192.168.1.2
/ip ssh
set allow-none-crypto=yes forwarding-enabled=remote
/ip traffic-flow
set cache-entries=2k interfaces=bridge
/ip traffic-flow target
add dst-address=192.168.1.151 port=1234 v9-template-timeout=30s version=ipfix
/snmp
set enabled=yes
/system clock
set time-zone-name=Europe/Riga
/system ntp client
set primary-ntp=192.168.1.10
/system routerboard mode-button
set enabled=yes on-event=dark-mode
/system script
add comment=defconf dont-require-permissions=no name=dark-mode owner=*sys \
    policy=ftp,reboot,read,write,policy,test,password,sniff,sensitive,romon \
    source="\r\
    \n   :if ([system leds settings get all-leds-off] = \"never\") do={\r\
    \n     /system leds settings set all-leds-off=immediate \r\
    \n   } else={\r\
    \n     /system leds settings set all-leds-off=never \r\
    \n   }\r\
    \n "
 
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bpwl
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Re: 2.4Ghz speed became super slow on cAP

Mon Mar 29, 2021 10:04 pm

Maybe you should reconsider the 802.11 basics and apply them to your case.

What I see, without having enough information to give the steps needed to improve this installation ...

Basics:
- 802.11 is all about waiting for each other (how weak the signal is doesn't matter) , to share the scarce resource: airtime (time to transmit)
- interface speed in 802.11 is reduced until it works. Some devices can become very slow (1Mbps) interface rate, and as such use an unequal large part of the airtime
- In 2.4GHz only channels 1,6, 11 are not overlapping. Setting frequency to "auto" without using the channel list, will make the AP make a very bad choice. (Somewhere between 1, 6 ,11)
- Using 40 MHz wide channel is only justified if no one is also using those frequencies. (20MHz/Ce or XX is 40 MHz wide.)
- Using 802.11b is not recommended. Channel is 22MHz wide and is extremely slow. (If there is no specific need, it should be removed)
- Similar consideration on 5 GHz channel. 80 MHz is wide, but not that bad if only 802.11ac is used. "Auto" freq is again the same as "having no control".

Practical:
To analyze this setup, then you have to "look under the hood", kicking tires or making test drives is not enough.
The working of wifi in Mikrotik is visible in the "registration table" (Registration tab in wireless menu). Interface rates including 1S/2S, CCQ, signal strength, SNR should be checked and understood.
The slowest device can dictate (=reduce) the overall speed, if it is sending or receiving continuously. (Even if that device is talking to another AP)
Use "Freq Usage" and "Snooper" to test your environment for interference. "Freq usage" includes signal from ZigBee, Bluetooth, remote controls, camera's, microwave oven, ....
Any new device or setup in your neighborhood could change your wifi experience. Interference travels 4 times as far as the usable signal.

PS: if interfaces are connected to a bridge, then most settings (IP address, interface-list membership, ...) should be applied to the bridge, not to the interface. The interfaces are just slaves of the bridge.
PS2: if there is no specific need for using "stable" (some specific feature) , then use LT (long term). If using "stable" read the forum posts on the current stable version carefully.
 
kpcz
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Joined: Fri Dec 20, 2019 3:47 pm

Re: 2.4Ghz speed became super slow on cAP

Tue Mar 30, 2021 11:48 am

Thanks for a lot your answer. I am going a bit crazy over this thing :(

As I live in a private house, I only have 1-2 weak neighborhood wifi signals in sight.
Tried less used and with less noise channels, turned off 802.11.b, disconnected some 2.4Ghz wifi devices with low signal, also swithced to long-term 6.47.9 version,
Now my 5GHZ network, what I did not touch degraded to 5.3 Mbps download and 21.4 Up. Only 5Ghz device is my phone connected.
Tried varios settings, my 2.4 network sped test today is around 1.45 down an 8 up.

If I understand correctly, channel 8 (2447) is ok to use.

snooper
Channel		2447/20/gn(18dBm)
Of Freq.		0.1 %
Bandwidth		2.4 kbps
Networks		0
Stations		6
Freq Usage
#	Frequency (MHz)	Usage	Noise Floor	 
		
		0	2412	2.5	-106	
		1	2417	1.6	-107	
		2	2422	0.2	-106	
		3	2427	0.2	-106	
		4	2432	1.4	-104	
		5	2437	0.2	-105	
		6	2442	0.0	-104	
		7	2447	0.1	-107	
		8	2452	0.5	-108	
		9	2457	2.7	-108	
		10	2462	1.0	-108	
		11	2467	0.7	-109	
		12	2472	2.1	-109

What Info could I provide more, to help with this problem?
Maybe it is is hardware issue? As I had the problems with 5Ghz signla out of the box.
Starting considering switching router brands :(

Thank you.
 
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bpwl
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Re: 2.4Ghz speed became super slow on cAP

Tue Mar 30, 2021 12:15 pm

You are fairly alone, so channel 8 is Ok in that case (only). Otherwise use channel 1, 6 or 11, and 20 MHz bandwidth.

The problem does not seem interference, so we have to look elsewhere.

1. What are the "registrations" telling about the connection of the client devices?
2. For 5GHz the same question, but to be ahead in possible actions, one action on the list is reducing the channel width to 40 Mhz for 5 GHz. (40MHz is good for up to 400 Mbps interface rate, 260 Mbps data rate.)
3. How do you test? Speedtest.net ?? In that case you are measuring the internet throughput not only the wifi performance. Something could be triggered in the ISP uplink.
 
kpcz
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Re: 2.4Ghz speed became super slow on cAP

Tue Mar 30, 2021 12:57 pm

I did test with speedtest, but also I notice slow download speeds from internet and low fps on motioneye. I guess ISP uplik is ok, because from wired pc i get >300Mbps down and up.

I did change 5Gzh to 40Mhz, test did not change down 12.4 up 65.4 :(

copying a file from wired pc, to a pc via 2.4 Ghz wifi speed is ~300KBs and constantly dropping to 0Kbps. Computer and cAP both are connected to the same gigabit switch.


registration
Radio Name	MAC Address	Interface	Uptime	AP	WDS	Last Activity (s)	Tx/Rx Signal Strength (dBm)	Tx Rate	Rx Rate	 
-			2C:F4:32:77:8A:11	wlan1	01:06:15	no	no	0.790	-64	72.2Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	48Mbps	
-			DC:4F:22:E5:4F:5F	wlan1	01:06:14	no	no	0.670	-57	72.2Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	54Mbps	
-			84:CC:A8:AA:60:85	wlan1	01:06:14	no	no	0.790	-54	72.2Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	54Mbps	
-			84:CC:A8:A4:3E:C4	wlan1	01:06:14	no	no	0.790	-61	72.2Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	54Mbps	
-			50:02:91:47:F5:2C	wlan1	01:06:15	no	no	0.780	-51	72.2Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	54Mbps	
-			A4:CF:12:C5:FB:3D	wlan1	01:06:15	no	no	0.780	-61	72.2Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	54Mbps	
-			DC:4F:22:C9:20:A3	wlan1	01:06:15	no	no	0.780	-49	72.2Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	54Mbps	
-			60:01:94:AB:5F:70	wlan1	01:06:17	no	no	0.780	-47	72.2Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	54Mbps	
-			DC:4F:22:09:C6:F2	wlan1	01:06:17	no	no	0.780	-66	72.2Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	54Mbps	
-			DC:4F:22:FC:08:65	wlan1	01:06:17	no	no	0.160	-61	72.2Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	54Mbps	
-			60:01:94:91:07:F3	wlan1	01:06:17	no	no	0.790	-54	72.2Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	54Mbps	
-			DC:4F:22:FF:50:9A	wlan1	01:06:17	no	no	0.790	-52	72.2Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	54Mbps	
-			84:0D:8E:AD:54:C1	wlan1	01:06:18	no	no	0.790	-52	72.2Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	54Mbps	
-			78:11:DC:70:2A:3E	wlan1	00:49:27	no	no	0.010	-40	72.2Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	72.2Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	
-			34:CE:00:B2:31:32	wlan1	00:49:27	no	no	0.050	-42	72.2Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	72.2Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	
-			84:0D:8E:67:F4:19	wlan1	01:06:14	no	no	0.510	-75	65Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	48Mbps	
-			A4:CF:12:C5:FC:19	wlan1	01:06:16	no	no	0.640	-71	65Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	48Mbps	
-			60:01:94:C9:E3:62	wlan1	01:06:02	no	no	0.210	-68	65Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	54Mbps	
-			34:CE:00:E5:5A:76	wlan1	00:49:28	no	no	0.060	-58	65Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	58.5Mbps-20MHz/1S	
-			14:C1:4E:74:18:E4	wlan1	01:06:15	no	no	0.010	-53	65Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	65Mbps-20MHz/1S	
-			DC:4F:22:A9:A2:7C	wlan1	01:06:16	no	no	0.780	-65	65Mbps-20MHz/1S	48Mbps	
-			20:DF:B9:11:BA:52	wlan1	00:21:42	no	no	0.400	-59	65Mbps-20MHz/1S	65Mbps-20MHz/1S	
-			70:EE:50:10:05:FE	wlan1	01:05:41	no	no	0.850	-16	65Mbps-20MHz/1S	72.2Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	
-			3C:8D:20:65:B7:BF	wlan1	01:06:14	no	no	0.210	-34	65Mbps-20MHz/1S	72.2Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	
-			34:EA:34:E7:E0:A8	wlan1	01:06:15	no	no	0.790	-48	65Mbps-20MHz/1S	72.2Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	
-			38:8B:59:A4:80:E0	wlan1	01:06:18	no	no	0.090	-42	65Mbps-20MHz/1S	72.2Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	
-			CC:50:E3:DE:0C:D9	wlan1	01:06:18	no	no	0.790	-78	57.7Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	36Mbps	
-			84:0D:8E:6F:DF:40	wlan1	01:06:15	no	no	0.790	-69	57.7Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	48Mbps	
-			60:01:94:9E:A2:98	wlan1	01:06:14	no	no	0.790	-58	57.7Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	54Mbps	
-			5C:CF:7F:7A:6E:EC	wlan1	01:06:15	no	no	0.790	-59	57.7Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	54Mbps	
-			EC:FA:BC:39:55:E7	wlan1	01:06:12	no	no	0.700	-65	43.3Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	54Mbps	
-			D8:F1:5B:C6:AE:2B	wlan1	01:06:17	no	no	0.780	-86	28.8Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI	6Mbps	
-			DC:4F:22:2D:8C:C0	wlan1	01:06:17	no	no	0.780	-57	26Mbps-20MHz/1S	48Mbps	
-			7C:7A:91:3E:80:14	wlan2	01:28:39	no	no	0.090	-81	162Mbps-40MHz/2S	90Mbps-40MHz/1S/SGI	
-			3C:84:6A:C0:DF:5A	wlan1	01:06:16	no	no	0.010	-60	135Mbps-40MHz/1S/SGI	135Mbps-40MHz/1S	
-			50:EC:50:0F:0E:58	wlan1	01:06:17	no	no	0.970	-43	135Mbps-40MHz/1S/SGI	135Mbps-40MHz/1S	
 
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bpwl
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Re: 2.4Ghz speed became super slow on cAP

Tue Mar 30, 2021 3:29 pm

These are good wifi numbers. Almost perfect signal and interface rate. If the channel is free to transmit (other devices around in the neighborhood may consume the airtime) , then half of the interface rate should be possible as data rate. (If D8:F1:5B:C6:AE:2B is not very active, because that one is slow). The data rate must be divided over all the clients (36Mbps global data rate for WLAN1).

Be aware if the wifi is 100% loaded, and 2 devices with interface speed x and y are competing, then the speed for both is (x*y/(x+y))
E.g. 72Mbps and 26Mbps, speed for both is 19Mbps (data rate around 8 Mbps in 1 direction)

Then what else can cause this?
- uplink and config should be OK, as the ethernet speed is OK.(336 Mbps)
-nevertheless following things should be considered (just to tidy up the config)

- IP address on "ether2" should be on "bridge"
/ip address
add address=192.168.1.3/24 interface=ether2 network=192.168.1.0
becomes
/ip address
add address=192.168.1.3/24 interface=bridge network=192.168.1.0

- Firewall is only used for the guest bridge ! Some rules will never be triggered.

- address list membership has a problem.
Should not be:

/interface list member
add interface=ether1 list=WAN
add interface=ether2 list=LAN
add interface=wlan2 list=LAN
add interface=wlan1 list=LAN
add interface=guest-wlan list=LAN

But should be

/interface list member
add interface=bridge list=LAN
add interface=guest-wlan list=LAN

Not fully correct definition of WAN/LAN , WAN is needed to trigger the NAT-rule in the firewall for the guest-bridge, but that rule is disabled? This is a routed connection.

I hope this DHCP-client gives an IP address in the 192.168.1.0/24 range to the bridge (besides its own 192.168.1.3 address.
/ip dhcp-client
add comment=defconf interface=bridge

Sorry, no real hints for the wifi performance
 
kpcz
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Re: 2.4Ghz speed became super slow on cAP

Thu Apr 01, 2021 11:22 am

Thank you for your reply. Played around with settings, did not give any improvements. Changed the location of cAP to more open space in house, now the 5Ghz speed is more acceptable (getting around 150 Mbps) , 2.4Ghz speed still is really slow (around 6Mbps).
 
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bpwl
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Re: 2.4Ghz speed became super slow on cAP

Thu Apr 01, 2021 2:44 pm

Changed my home setup, now also able to test (ISP modem and downlink to hAPac2, wAP ac, Draytek Vigor). All have 2.4 and 5 GHz wifi. Inter MT test on cable is OK, traffic passing through the ISP modem switch.. (Saw slow start of speedtest.net on hAP ac2 with 6.47.9 LT, only got 8 Mbps download). Downgraded to my favorite 6.45.6 Stable. Seems much better, but results do need validation !!!

Also testing with BTEST on laptop, just to exclude internet ISP fluctuations! This gives the normal expected wifi throughput so far (1/2 of interface rate).

So hint: exclude ISP. E.G. test wifi with BTEST on laptop and MT as server. (Best to use other MT as server, than the AP connected to.)

Validated speed tests: (late in the evening, steady speedtest.net results now. The speedtest results are NOT RoS version related here. Now getting 48 Mbps on 2.4 GHz and 52 Mbps on 5 GHz (wider channel). Provider claims that my link is 58 Mbps. Results are consistent with different RoS versions, and actually are very good. BTEST gives "TX 128Mbps + RX 80 Mbps" on 5 GHz, and "TX 25Mbps + 28 Mbps" on 2.4 GHz bidirectional Btest's. (54 Mbps on unidrectional RX, a high value for a 72Mbps-20MHz/1S/SGI interface rate.) (Laptop is old, with weak wifi implementation, 5GHz is via USB dongle). Conclusion: hAP ac2 and wAP ac performing as expected (ISP line and laptop are the limiting factors). Speedtest.net low values during daytime (teleworkers ???). That will be a difficult issue to tackle, as the 2.4GHz was indeed much slower than the 5 GHz test at that time.
 
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bpwl
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Re: 2.4Ghz speed became super slow on cAP

Thu Apr 01, 2021 11:31 pm

Thank you for your reply. Played around with settings, did not give any improvements. Changed the location of cAP to more open space in house, now the 5Ghz speed is more acceptable (getting around 150 Mbps) , 2.4Ghz speed still is really slow (around 6Mbps).
Placement of the AP is very important indeed. But also the power transmitted by the AP can be too strong, and the signal gets disturbed by it's own reflections on wall's and metallic surfaces.

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