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View Full Version : Measuring NW Traffic - I'm running too slow


Halcyon_Kent
10-04-2008, 13:43
Hi, I'm hoping somebody will be able to help me to improve my BB connection speed...

First, the background:



I have VM Large BB subscription in Aylesford, Kent, ME20 area, an old (maybe 7 years or more?) Motorola Surfboard SB4200 modem, and Netgear Wireless router.

The wireless stuff was brought direct from NG during an online Telewest promotion several years ago - I forget exactly when.

Two laptop PCs (one with a Netgear PC Card, running Win 95, one with built in Dell WiFi and XP (ex-Vista) are used wirelessly, although the desktop PC (XP) is normally used with a hard-wired connection, to which I can also add a 54mbps wireless to the PC, via a Netgear USB dongle.

The PCs are not networked as such - they just share the Internet connection. I use AVG 8.0 Internet Security on the desktop (I did use Norton until a few months ago), and the free AVG version on the laptops.

Using the 100 mbps link, I rarely seem to get more than 2.5% of the capacity - even when the laptops are not being used. Theyalso suffer periods of poor connection speed, even though only 5-7 meters, through a floor and in one case, a wall.

I also get regular episodes of the PC locking up when browsing, and almost continuous unable to connect to server errors. I have cleaned out much rubbish from the PC, which has improved the situation, but it is still painfully slow at times.

Next, my questions:
I get email logs from the modem showing domains visited, and can view the configuration on both modem and router, through my browser(s), but can I get similar but more detailed data transfer statistics out of the modem/router or network? (possibly split by PC)? This might help to determine the circumstances under which the bottleneck occurs.

There is one problem I do know of - the modem cannot resolve the time of day, even when reset.

What can I do to determine where the bottleneck is - within my PC, the modem, the router or possibly the VM end, and how to sort it?

I believe I am due to be upgraded to 10Mb by VM at some stage, but it may not make any difference to my surfing experience if this issue is not resolved.

Many thanks in anticipation!

Regards,

Martyn

ceedee
10-04-2008, 18:17
I'd suggest the first thing to do is figure out if the problem lies on your side of the modem or VM's.

So first off, connect your desktop pc straight to your cable modem, by-passing your router.
Then collect the following information (advice blatantly ripped from Annie's excellent Broadband FAQ (http://a.myby.co.uk/broadband-faq.html)):
* Your netstat -a (see Q05 (http://a.myby.co.uk/broadband-faq.html#q05))
* Your total download speed from 4 simultaneous file downloads (as outlined in Q02 (http://a.myby.co.uk/broadband-faq.html#q02))
* Ping to www.bbc.co.uk (see Q06 (http://a.myby.co.uk/broadband-faq.html#q06))
* Two trace routes to www.bbc.co.uk (see Q06 (http://a.myby.co.uk/broadband-faq.html#q06))
* Your modem logs and signal levels (see Q07 (http://a.myby.co.uk/broadband-faq.html#q07))

I've read that the modem's 'time of day' error should not be a problem.

It's probably best if you post that information here initially in case somebody can spot something obvious but it's likely that you'll need to contact the Tech Support team to get anything fixed.

Most people find it a lot easier to report problems via Tech Support's newsgroup rather than the phone helplines. (Tech Support will also require you alias - the part of your email address before the @ symbol)

If you've not already setup access to newsgroups, VM's step-by-step guide (http://www.virginmedia.com/customers/newsgroups/setting-up.php) to setting up Outlook Express might be helpful.
And VM's Tech Support group is 'virginmedia.support.broadband.cable' on news.virginmedia.com or text.news.virginmedia.com.

Good luck!