Topic: Broadband - Slowband!

[Bobs]

Hi,

Hope I'm in the right place for this question.

I recently upgraded to 20 X broadband and I'm running XP with 512 ram and 3000 processor.  When I use BitTorrent and similar systems my download speed seems to be permanently stuck between 3 and 30 kbps, more usually at the lower end of that range.  I've set the firewall to allow the programs.  

Is this speed (did I say speed?) normal? Or is there something wrong, and what can I do about it?

Any advice appreciated from someone who wants to use this pc to its fullest, but is pc illiterate!

Cheers,

Bobs :?

[Simon]

Hi Bobs and  

By '20 X Broadband', I assume you mean a 1Gb service, yes?  Can I ask which ISP you are using?  It may not be relevent, but we've heard some bad reports about one in particular, recently.

You have to bear in mind that Bit Torrents only download as fast as the uploader (seed) is uploading, but if you are downloading form multiple seeds, speeds are sometimes (but not always) improved.  Which Bit Torrent client are you using?  I can recommend giving Azureus a try, which you should find by searching Google.

Have you noticed a general increase in speed, since you upgraded your broadband service (apart from Bit Torrents), or does it generally seem slower than expected?  Try going to www.adslguide.org.uk and do a speed test, which should give you an idea of your general download / upload speeds.  This should (roughly) match what your ISP is supposed to be providing.

Hope that's of some help.    

[Bobs]

Hi Simon,

Thanks for the swift advice, and sorry about the delay with this reply - just got back from the pub!

It's Tiscali, and the icon in the tray claims 2.3Mbps.  I've done a couple of speed tests, and they put this connection at the fastest or 2nd fastest end of the scale.  Web pages are downloading quite a lot faster  than they did under dial-up.

Truth is, when using torrents I don't really know what speed to expect.  I've tried BitLord, BitTorrent and BitTornado without any appreciable difference. I'm now trying Y-ABC, and the download speed is around 5Kbps after half an hour, with a green download colour.  There are 19 seeds and 21 peers currently connected.

Is there any accepted AVERAGE torrent speed?  That would at least tell me if there's something wrong, or whether I've just got to learn patience!

Your help appreciated!

Bob :?

[Sandra]

If youre getting green on your torrent client then the firewall should be ok but maybe you could do with opening another couple of ports.
Are you using a router with a built in firewall or just a software one ?
If you are using a router try opening a few more ports between 6881 and say 6885 and see if that helps, mines slow with only a couple open but with 5 open it gets speeds of up to 60k on a 576mb connection  

[Bobs]

Hi Sandra,

Don't know if I get these terms right....the Tiscali package came with a 'router', which is the thingy I stuck in the telephone socket.  The firewall is the MS one that comes with XP.

I've gone into the firewall and added the ports you mentioned i.e. entered abc and one port number each time, then OK.

Is that right?  Speed is staying around 6 to 9 Kbps at the moment.  Maybe the new ports won't kick in for a while?

Bobs

[joudi]

Sandras' answer is making me doubt in mine !!    :roll:

Well Bobs, I have an internet connection of 10 mb/s. When I have 15 kb/s I'm happy.

Of course, some torrents arrive to me on the speed of 60kb/s or even much more, yes the double or more, but that happens very very seldom. It depends in general on those who are uploading to you, not only your own speed.

There are other things which can effect the download speed of torrent, like the number of the open torrents which are downloading on your computer at the same time.

I tried Simons' link for testing my internet speed. Here's the result:

Downstream 1290 Kbps (161.3 KB/sec) 1393 Kbps (inc. overheads)
Upstream 121 Kbps (15.1 KB/sec) 130 Kbps (inc. overheads)

Is there something not normal Sandra?

How can I open other ports then?  (if you think that your suggestion can increase it).

Thanks...

[Sandra]

They probably only gave you a modem Bobs.
Has it just got the phone connection in and then usb out to your single pc ?
If so then it wont have any built in firewall or ports that you can open.
You possibly need your pc rebooting before altering the firewall settings will take effect  :?

[Sandra]

I tried Simons' link for testing my internet speed. Here's the result:

Downstream 1290 Kbps (161.3 KB/sec) 1393 Kbps (inc. overheads)
Upstream 121 Kbps (15.1 KB/sec) 130 Kbps (inc. overheads)

Is there something not normal Sandra?

How can I open other ports then?  (if you think that your suggestion can increase it).

Well you are definately not getting anywhere near 10mbs download Joudi, only just over 1.3 mbs and your upload is slower than mine, mine is 276kbs    
You are correct that the number of peers/seeds and their upload speeds determines the speed at which you will download but with the number that Bobs is getting should make it at least in the 30kbs plus range I would have thought.
I dont think that you can open yours ports Joudi, if I remember correctly then you are using Nortons firewall and that lets the program that you allow use whichever ports it wants, I think. Its only usually if you have a router with a built in firewall that you have to configure the ports to get maximum data transfer on torrents and similar.
I wonder if your total line speed is 10mbs but that only part of it is allocated to the internet and some is for the voice and tv parts of your line
 :?

[Bobs]

Hi again,

The connection is USB port to modem, then modem to an "Excelsus" Z-Blocker DSL filter (whatever that does!) into which goes the telephone lead before the filter then goes into the phone socket.  Sorry, could've sworn it was called a router as opposed to a filter.

So what is a router?  

Right now I'll just let the present download finish overnight, then tomorrow I'll see if opening those ports has made any difference.  Thanks for your time and help tonight, and maybe I'll have better news tomorrow.
And Joudi: your post has made feel a bit better; at least I'm not the only one with problems!!!

Cheers,

Bobs  

[Sandra]

Ok, if you are on an ADSL connection then voice calls and data are transmitted down the same line.
If you have ever dialled a fax machine then you will have heard the weird noises that come down the phone as data is being transmitted to/from the fax machine. This is similar to the sound that data from pc to pc makes over ADSL.
The filter, or its also sometimes called a splitter, seperates the digital data transfer signal from the analogue voice signal so that you can have a voice conversation without being interrupted by the digital noise.

A router, can also be called a hub or a switch, there are slight differences but basically all do a similar job.
A router allows one internet connection to be shared between as many as 127 pcs, although most people would only have 2,3 or 4 pcs connected.
Depending how you set your pcs up then you can use a router to create a Local Area Network (LAN), this is usually done through ethernet cables from the pcs to the router and if you have a wireless access point connected or a built in wi fi router you can also connect by wireless to the other pcs on your LAN.
You can share files and printers between all the pcs depending on how you set the permissions of each pc up.
You can access the internet from each pc too, via the router, either by ethernet or by wi fi, this type of connection is called a Wide Area Network (WAN).
To give you an example of how people use routers I can tell you what my own setup is.

I have a combined ADSL/Modem/Wireless 4 ethernet port router.
I have one pc that is usually on 24 hours per day and 7 days per week set up as a server which is connected by ethernet cable to the router, I have the pc that I am using now connected by another ethernet cable to the router. I have two spare ethernet ports/cables that I use when connecting other peoples pcs that I am setting up or repairing and I can also connect my laptop through the wi fi part so that I can sit in the garden and use it if its a sunny day.
All the pcs and laptops that I mentioned can be on the net at the same time and can also transfer data from and too each other simultaneously  

I hope that this has helped you understand  things a little more. If There is something that you still dont understand fully please ask again  

[Simon]

Hi Bobs,

Well, unfortunately, Tiscali is the ISP that we have been hearing bad reports about recently, see this thread.  It may be that they think you have been over using the system, and you have therefore been capped (although that doesn't explain why your speeds are OK on the ADSL Guide test).  Could it be possible that Tiscali have limited speeds with torrenting?  I have just upgraded my Pipex connection, and I can now get an average download speed of about 120 - 130 Kpbs with Azureus, although the upload speed seems to vary considerably.

[Bobs]

Sandra & Simon,

Thanks for the jargon-busting and Tiscali advice.  Curiously enough, one of my colleagues at work came up with a Tiscali 'capping' story of his own today!  They denied everything over the phone, but he says he checked by using a friend's pc to access the same site and the speeds were what he had been geting until the cap.

 :idea: Looks like I'll make a move soon!

Bob

[Simon]

:idea: Looks like I'll make a move soon!

Easier said than done, by the sound of it, but good luck!