Full network utilization

[WaterSnake]

Well, this recently came up as an obsession. I should have about 7mbps bandwidth on my router (allowing for 2 computers to share a connection). I realize that a lot of that bandwith is lost in the whole thing, but nothing over 150kbps download rate is really kinda sad. In my task manager, I never get over 2% network utilization. Is it possible to get higher than this, I've heard of people getting to at least 75%.

 

[Kulture]

What operating system are you using? I've been going back and forth between 32bit versions of Vista and XP the past month. I've also gone from a 7mbps line to a 15mbps line on the same computer and router set-up within the past month. WindowsXP seems to "manage/handle" the connection better. I seem to get MUCH better download speeds with windowsXP when compared to Vista. Actually my download speed on the 7mbps with XP rivals my download speed on 15mbps with Vista.

There are websites such as "dslreports" that provide free line speed tests and "tweak" tests.

Your operating system can bottleneck your connection speeds causing them to be slower than they normally should. If you are running XP then there is a potential solution for this problem. A program called DRTCP allows you to easily adjust your TCP (and other) settings to be a better match for your connection speed. Just read a guide or something before you go changing the settings all willy-nilly, because there is a rough formula for what your TCP number should be according to your connection speed.

If you are running Vista, then there is bad news. Vista "auto-manages" the tcp setting as well as others, and there does not appear to be any way of overriding or changing this setting. So, that's cool, the operating system does the work for you; just not as well as you'd like it to and not quite up to your efficiency standards, thanks Vista, that's all I ever wanted in an operating system.

Hope this helps you. You should NOT be capped at 150/kbps on a 7mbps line unless there is some setting or program/firewall that is doing the capping for you.

 

[WaterSnake]

Cool, I'm going to try out that tweak tool when I have more time. Thanks alot man!

 

[Angellas]

In addition to operating system limitations, (100% accurate, btw....good to know there are others with TRUE knowledge...gg, Kulture) your Router and/or switch can cause MASSIVE limitations. May I ask what manufacture and model of router/switch are you using? Use of non wire-speed equipment and management software can cause software-based lag in both your CAM table (switch database of connected MAC addresses) and your routing table (well..kinda self explanatory).

Once I know your equipment type, I may be able to make a few suggestions for you.

Another thought...what about removing the TCP/IP Nagle algorithm? This algorithm causes your computer to 'buffer' outgoing packets and can cause a bit of in-game lag on some machines. However, I seriously doubt that it would have an effect on web-based or FTP-based download speeds. Just a thought.

 

[ShadowBlade72]

Well, this recently came up as an obsession. I should have about 7mbps bandwidth on my router (allowing for 2 computers to share a connection). I realize that a lot of that bandwith is lost in the whole thing, but nothing over 150kbps download rate is really kinda sad. In my task manager, I never get over 2% network utilization. Is it possible to get higher than this, I've heard of people getting to at least 75%.

The 2% network utilization you're talking about is based on a connection speed of 100Mbps typically. Unless you have a Gigabit connection between your computer and your router (which they do have routers that are 100/1000). So 2% utilization means about 2Mbps of data is being transfered. Or if it's a gigabit connection then 20Mbps.

So people claiming to be getting 75% network utilization are lieing. Either that or they are talking about PC to PC transfers.

Also your ISP limits your download and upload speeds. If you connect your modem directly to your PC does your download speed go up to 7Mbps?

Also try running a speed test at www.speedtest.net. It will tell you your download/upload speeds.

And another thing. If the server your attempting to download from has it's upload capped at 150KBps per connection, then even if you had a OC256 connection you still wouldn't be getting anything over 150KBps.

 

[Angellas]

Sorry, WaterSnake, but my personal obsessions took me away from your original concern. (i.e. Cisco networking goodies)

ShadowBlade72 is 100% on network util. if you're reading over 2-5% on a 100Mbps link, you MUST be transferring within your LAN. Anyone doing more than that on a WAN (Wide-Area Network) or Internet transfer is on a STUPIDLY EXPENSIVE connection or not reading the #'s properly.

Exceptions: Information with a source address of x.x.x.x (your LAN IPv4 address) and a destination address of 127.0.0.1 (loopback) will cause a util of 70%+ because it's a regulated infinite loop. (FYI, this is usually caused by a user connecting to a server on your local machine or a virus hitting a software firewall)

Malwarebytes anti-malware will test for the above mentioned issue. (available @ malwarebytes.org)

Sorry for losing my train-of-thought.

 

[3vlNomad]

And another thing. If the server your attempting to download from has it's upload capped at 150KBps per connection, then even if you had a OC256 connection you still wouldn't be getting anything over 150KBps.

OC256 would be insane for a home user unless they have like 100 servers connected and clustered and trying to host thousands of webservers or something..

I think you over-exaggerated here, a reference to OC3 would have made more sense


Back on topic! Your router can bottleneck you if it can't handle the speeds you want. I had that issue with an old 2wire router. Also, your motherboard can bottleneck you, it can only process so much at a time. If you have a newer board you are probably okay on this subject.

I run WinXP Pro and I tried the DrTCP thing and it actually LOWERED my speeds according to speedtest.net.

You also have to take into consideration the per-user allowance on the servers you are connected to, like the guy above said. I have a 6mb/s downstream, yet I get anywhere from 100kb/s-900kb/s download rates.

If you really want to download fast then pay monthly for one of those file transfer sites that have "free servers" and "premium servers" I bet you will get crazy down speeds on those