Burt-Kwouk
09-07-2009, 20:51
Greetings to all!
Just wondering if anyone else is/has experienced any limitations while using a VPN via VM cable?
I'm on the 20Mbit tariff in Devon and using an American based VPN called 'StrongVPN'.
Also using Windows XP SP3 with minimal security software, namely 'Outpost Firewall Pro'.
So, to cut a short story long.....
I started using StrongVPN about a year ago.
Due to my very low expectations from having previously used some seriously crap services like 'Relakks' and 'VPNtunnel', I was relatively happy getting in the region of 140KB/s downstream (with StrongVPN) since I resigned myself to the 'fact' that VPN connections were inherently slow.
Then, just recently, I discovered that I could request to have my service moved from StrongVPN's San Francisco servers to a more local one in the UK, and WHAM!!, I was suddenly consistently getting in the region of 10Mbit downstream.
Half of my direct connection speed.
The strange part is that services like 'Speedtest.net' measure my bandwidth at anything up to 18Mbit (I've been checking the speed on an almost daily basis while trying to work this out) but I never see any more than 1200KB/s using something like a download manager or DUmeter etc. to measure it.
So essentially, the connection between the speed-testing server and my VPN's server can be nearly the full 20Mbit, but by the time it gets back to my computer, it's only half that.
Stranger still is how consistent the terminal speed at my computer is.
Pinned at around 1200KB/s, never over, rarely under, as though it was being artificially limited (I've had experience of VM's capping - it's very much like that).
I've tried running with my (software) firewall disabled, because I know from experience that a malfunctioning firewall can create a bandwidth limit (I'm talking about you, 'Sygate Personal Firewall').
I'll test this further on the weekend with a totally un-firewalled laptop, just to make sure.
Also, I haven't ruled out some other factors like VM's el cheapo cable modem or the VPN service itself (who I'll be talking to ASAP).
So.....
Does anyone know if Virgin deliberately limit VPN connection speeds, and if so, why?
Obviously, I'd ask them directly if I thought there was any risk of getting an honest answer. :D
Thanks for reading!
Just wondering if anyone else is/has experienced any limitations while using a VPN via VM cable?
I'm on the 20Mbit tariff in Devon and using an American based VPN called 'StrongVPN'.
Also using Windows XP SP3 with minimal security software, namely 'Outpost Firewall Pro'.
So, to cut a short story long.....
I started using StrongVPN about a year ago.
Due to my very low expectations from having previously used some seriously crap services like 'Relakks' and 'VPNtunnel', I was relatively happy getting in the region of 140KB/s downstream (with StrongVPN) since I resigned myself to the 'fact' that VPN connections were inherently slow.
Then, just recently, I discovered that I could request to have my service moved from StrongVPN's San Francisco servers to a more local one in the UK, and WHAM!!, I was suddenly consistently getting in the region of 10Mbit downstream.
Half of my direct connection speed.
The strange part is that services like 'Speedtest.net' measure my bandwidth at anything up to 18Mbit (I've been checking the speed on an almost daily basis while trying to work this out) but I never see any more than 1200KB/s using something like a download manager or DUmeter etc. to measure it.
So essentially, the connection between the speed-testing server and my VPN's server can be nearly the full 20Mbit, but by the time it gets back to my computer, it's only half that.
Stranger still is how consistent the terminal speed at my computer is.
Pinned at around 1200KB/s, never over, rarely under, as though it was being artificially limited (I've had experience of VM's capping - it's very much like that).
I've tried running with my (software) firewall disabled, because I know from experience that a malfunctioning firewall can create a bandwidth limit (I'm talking about you, 'Sygate Personal Firewall').
I'll test this further on the weekend with a totally un-firewalled laptop, just to make sure.
Also, I haven't ruled out some other factors like VM's el cheapo cable modem or the VPN service itself (who I'll be talking to ASAP).
So.....
Does anyone know if Virgin deliberately limit VPN connection speeds, and if so, why?
Obviously, I'd ask them directly if I thought there was any risk of getting an honest answer. :D
Thanks for reading!