For all you Networking buffs.

inkelis

inkelis

New Member
I recently upgraded my internet service from Clearwire 2mbps to Comcast 16mbps. With clearwire my average down rate was 100kb/s-200kb/s. With Comcast i seem to be getting 400kb/s-800kb/s(Very eratic) I was expected a much larger gain in speed. Is this a normal downrate, or am i getting the shaft.

On Speedtest.net i get 23mbps download. and have scored as high as 32mbps...
 
I would have said that its the hardware limiting it, but you have got 32mbps before s oidunno. I know we pay for 8mb and only get about 2.5 due to our location, but its the download limit that we pay for not the speed...sigh.
 
it might take a while for it to speed up, they should throttle it higher over time for you, i remember talon talking about that once. Another thing it could be "burst" service. but not sure on your contract
 
inkelis said:
I recently upgraded my internet service from Clearwire 2mbps to Comcast 16mbps. With clearwire my average down rate was 100kb/s-200kb/s. With Comcast i seem to be getting 400kb/s-800kb/s(Very eratic) I was expected a much larger gain in speed. Is this a normal downrate, or am i getting the shaft.

On Speedtest.net i get 23mbps download. and have scored as high as 32mbps...
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your 16 megabit service is UP TO which means you might not see it all the time depending on the load of the node that serves you. The 23-32 is part of comcast's powerboost which gives a temporary boost for the first 20 megs of a file then you go back down to your capped speed.

You have to remember the congestion problem for HFC cable is not download..it's upload. For DOCSIS 2.x they have a maximum of around 50 mbps a channel for upload. That has to be shared between every person on the node. Most nodes are between 500and 2k users in size. They can bond channels but then they loose that bandwidth for HD. The bandwidth limitation is not the fiber that runs to the nodes..it's the coax that goes from the nodes to the end users. Some nodes will slow down on the download side but that's usually due to the upstream being saturated(if the ack packets can't get sent fast enough then you won't get your return data(which is much larger in size) fast enough..and your download slows down.) While sometimes congestion is the download this is fairly rare.
 
rizz said:
I would have said that its the hardware limiting it, but you have got 32mbps before s oidunno. I know we pay for 8mb and only get about 2.5 due to our location, but its the download limit that we pay for not the speed...sigh.
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he's probably either on a heavily loaded node or at the far end of the node's service since Cable uses coax for the "last mile".
 
My concern is my actual download. I mean 300kb/s isn't gonna cut it. my father lives in the same complex as me, and he gets that with a 6mbps connection. I've got 16, and while i sometimes get up to 800kb/s the average seem to be 400kb/s.


For comparison purposes, What Mbit connection do you guys have, and what are your actual downrate for files.

Edit*
Here is my most recent Speedtest.net
 
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A lot of the time it can be server you are downloading from. Most servers on a decent network start out at 10mbps upstream, but some data centers allow their servers to burst beyond the commitment. Then you have to factor in all the other connections to the server, which can quickly max out the paid for commitment (not everyone wants to pay 300-500 dollars for a 100mbit/sec commit).

Sometimes you can run into links being maxed out or throttled, which can happen for cross country or overseas cables. While you may be able to hit 800+KB/sec in the states, a server in Europe may only be able to push say 200-400KB/sec to you. Also you can factor in provider quality, say using Level3 or Internap over Cogent or AT&T.
 
You do realize you download in Bytes and your Speed is in Bits, so if you have a 16 mbps connection you should get a 2 MB download speed at NON PEAK TIMES, because cable is shared, but you usually we get about half of that...I also have the 16 mbps connection and speedtests show it that high or higher, but I download between 700-1200 kb/s (kilabytes per second)...and even slower on weekends...
 
XionTawa said:
You do realize you download in Bytes and your Speed is in Bits, so if you have a 16 mbps connection you should get a 2 MB download speed at NON PEAK TIMES, because cable is shared, but you usually we get about half of that...I also have the 16 mbps connection and speedtests show it that high or higher, but I download between 700-1200 kb/s (kilabytes per second)...and even slower on weekends...
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I am intimidate familiar with modern cable networks...your issue i have explained in my above post. The issue with HFC networks is the last mile AND the upload channels. if hte upload channels are full your acks don't get there fast enough and htis effectivly limits your download. Comcast and others also use packet sniffiers to see what kind of traffic you use and they are throttling traffic they deem to be gouging their bandwidth. Also coax is also subject to the same limitations of phone lines...distance, quality of the lines, noise..etc etc etc. If you are in an apartment complex that can hurt you too. If you are speedtesting at max but not gettgin that at your downloads then i bet it's the download servers youa re using. What are you trying to download?
 
I use FilePlanet and Adobe for download testing because their servers, esspecially Adobe, will download at the highest you can, they can be download by at least over 14 MBytes/s, checked it on an expensive business connection (BSU)...
 
then it's an issue between you and the servers since your speedtests are fine..try other downloading sites like openoffice.org any centos.org. Of course the speedtest sites use small files so they'll get zipped in by powerbnoost. If your node is overloaded or under scrutiny then when you start a larger download or hit a site that's used heavily cablecos are beginning to engage in throttling.,
 
As I have noticed...when I first got my service it ran great, many DLs were over 2MB/s, but right after I resumed my torrent DLing it dropped tremendously, and they have beee hit hard by the FCC for limited people who DL torrents...but I do understand what you are saying...
 
I run legal torrents 24/7, but I cap my upload to 1/2 of my maximum. There is virtually no difference in latency/speed then when they are turned off. I regularly get 40-50ms ping on the TOJ TF2 server...
 
XionTawa said:
As I have noticed...when I first got my service it ran great, many DLs were over 2MB/s, but right after I resumed my torrent DLing it dropped tremendously, and they have beee hit hard by the FCC for limited people who DL torrents...but I do understand what you are saying...
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part of your issue is again your upload. If your upload is saturated your download will slow down. The FCC gave Comcast a toothless recommendation so yes your torrent downloads are most likely getting throttled by comcast.
 
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