Internet issue

[NiX]

I've noticed recently that my net has been going rather slow. Torrents won't even seed and some other programs that rely on my internet connection won't even run properly. The weird part is I'm connected directly to the router (yes, all my ports are forwarded) and the two computers on the wireless signal aren't having any problems. I've  power cycled the modem and the router to no avail. I'm going to see if there are any new drivers for my motherboard. Also, this only started after a recent windows update (one of those manfangled authentication ones.)

[Strazos]

Not to hijack the thread, but as we're talking about Internet speed issues....

Is it normal for torrenting to really slow you down? I can download shit from fileplanet at 1mb/s+, but if I have some torrents running, I might as well forget trying to do anything online.

FYI, using Azureus.

[Chenghiz]

Strazos: Only if you don't limit the bandwidth and you're getting a really good speed. I haven't used Azureus so I don't know if you can choke it, but you can in μtorrent.

[NiX]

2 things:

1. Stop using Azureus. Use uTorrent. Much better, less memory use. A lot less.

2. Make sure your upload is capped around 20-25. Otherwise you're just choking your own bandwidth by maxxing out your download and your upload.

[Strazos]

It's not the memory use that's the issue - I can set some torrents to run, and go play HL2 SP for instance. But simply browsing the forums here while torrents are running? Not a chance.

Also, I don't understand how transfers of such low speeds would choke me out so bad. I'm not on dial-up...

[NiX]

I don't know what type of connection you have. I'm running a 1MBit cable connection and if my upload total over all torrents reaches 70-80KB/s my internet dies. So I throttle about 3 torrents at 20KB/s upload each. Of course as it stands I can't seed so it really doesn't affect me right now.

[Strazos]

I honestly don't know either, but I know it's fast enough to do what I like.

[bhodi]

People who hate torrents becuase they don't get the speed they are expecting or it slows their surfing to a crawl probably don't have their system set up properly. Yes, it requires a tiny bit of work. No, it's not intuitive unless you know about networking and computers in general.

First, go here, read, and implement what it suggests. They are all good and pretty much required optimizations (except for the half-open, that's simply faster ramping up, it doesn't help top speed).
http://torrentfreak.com/optimize-your-bittorrent-download-speed/

Probably the MOST important thing you can do is change the default port and make sure you set your linksys to port forwarding to your machine. Use uTorrent and run the firewall check to confirm this is set up correctly. If this isn't set up, your downloads are going to SUCK. Turn off that fucking crappy-ass windows firewall, too. If you have a linksys or another NAT device (you know if you do if you're in the 192.168.X.X Ip range) you're already firewalled from the outside world and probably don't even need one if you're careful.

Keep in mind on most torrents you are not going to be able to get more than twice your upload speed, and in actuality you'll get somewhere between full upload and twice upload speed. I presume this is by design.

People who complain their connections start to suck after they start torrenting (strazos) aren't limiting their upload speeds. You have to do this. By clogging your outgoing, you can't really even surf the web comfortably. Read the article, follow the speed test link by speakeasy, and limit it (I think they say use 80% of upload). That will fix your issue.

[Strazos]

I dunno, I limit upload to like, 40k or something...doesn't seem to make a difference.

Also, I couldn't test using the NJ site, so I was forced to use Fl/west coast test sites. I'm not sure those tests are accurate at least for me. It was saying my download speed was only 600k or so, while I've watched files downloaded from Fileplanet go at above 1mb/s.

[bhodi]

I dunno, I limit upload to like, 40k or something...doesn't seem to make a difference.

Also, I couldn't test using the NJ site, so I was forced to use Fl/west coast test sites. I'm not sure those tests are accurate at least for me. It was saying my download speed was only 600k or so, while I've watched files downloaded from Fileplanet go at above 1mb/s.

Remember if you're on cable, and even sometimes if you're on DSL, you are sharing that bandwidth with other people and it can vary widly, especially if they've heavily oversubscribed the lines.

[Strazos]

Oh, I know how the nodes work...I just cannot explain how running a few torrents gimps my connection, while multiple Direct downloads do not, especially when I limit my upload speed to like 40k or something.

[Lantyssa]

Keep in mind that with torrents you may not be using the bandwidth, but you do have several simultaneous connections that are changing frequently.  While not every machine will see this, the older your machine, the more likely you are to have problems.  Latency, packet loss or a rapidly changing number of connections could cause hangs or delays as your machine tries to sort it out (hardware or software level).  How well the programs you are using handle non-ideal networks could have a huge affect here.  System or router resources could be maxxed due to overheads even if it doesn't seem like the connections would add up to that much.

It's already been said, but I would recommend limiting your traffic until things start behaving better.

[bhodi]

Oh, I know how the nodes work...I just cannot explain how running a few torrents gimps my connection, while multiple Direct downloads do not, especially when I limit my upload speed to like 40k or something.

Traffic shaping, aka QoS (quality of service). If your ISP is crafty, they're doing stateful packet inspection and deliberately throttling your connection when they detect torrents. Encryption is the only way to get around this, because if they've got an application-level interrogator, you're not going to slip past it by changing the port.

Or, they may have gone the cheap route and throttle your connection based on the standard torrent port... if that's the case, changing the port will get around it.

[Strazos]

Eh, oh well...it's not a huge deal, as I do most of my torrenting while AFK...though it would appear that I get most of my problems when I am seeding files, not neccessarily when I am downloading 1 or 2.

[bhodi]

Eh, oh well...it's not a huge deal, as I do most of my torrenting while AFK...though it would appear that I get most of my problems when I am seeding files, not neccessarily when I am downloading 1 or 2.

If you're using azereus, there are separate throttle settings for seeders, I don't have it it front of me but I remember that they're in the options somewhere.

[JoeTF]

Basically, p2p can kill your internet connection in only two ways:

1) Eat the upload stream.
2) Overload your and your ISP routers with several hundred connections.

Solutions:
1) Limit max connections to 100 or less.
2) change torrent port.
3) Set up nasty upload speed limits.
if it's still fooked,
4) consider encryption.

[Strazos]

Yeah...I thought I was being a nice guy by allowing higher upload speeds.

Oh well, I guess I'll cap it at 20k/s or so.

Also, I already changed my torrent port to some stupid range that I can switch around in when Axureus suddenly becomes blocked. I don't go through a router, so at least I don't have that to worry about.

[NiX]

How do we do this encryption business? I know my ISP actively monitors for P2P connections.