Do NTL throttle torrents

[xserve]

Hi There

Just wondering if NTL throttle torrent connections. I have been using a high port number +50000 but consistently get 100k sec.

No matter how many torrents i have open, I can never exceed 100K sec. If i stop a fast torrent the others seem to speed up until it get so the 100K ish again.

I have forwarded ports etc.

I am on 10 meg broadband (currently through samsung box but getting SACM Monday)I can download from websites at 450K sec.

Brother on telewest 10meg broadbroadband in Scotland can very often get 1000K ish on his 10 meg.

I realse I will not get full 10 meg (hopefully) until i get the CM but thought I would be getting better on torrents

Stu

[SLM]

Hi stu welcome to the site
Sorry I can not help you on torrents but when you get you SACM you may not get 10 meg as at the mo are selling as UPTO 10 meg but hopefully soon you will be able to.

[geoffbob30]

unless you are using a private torrent site it is unlikely you will be able to dl @full speed why not use newsgroups if thats what you are after i can dl @ 1000-1200kb/s

[Toto]

Isn't it the case that your DL speed is dictated by the UL speed of the file sharers?

[grubbymitts]

torrents work like thus:

each person has a part or full file, which is then distributed into the swarm. Each person can only allocate so much of their upload bandwidth to each person locked onto them in the swarm. If the seeders have a large upload capacity, then you will get the faster speeds as they will be able to give more uploads to the people they are connected to.

However, if there is only 1 copy of the complete file being seeded then once you have taken all the bits you need, and other people have taken the bits they need off you, then the torrent will slow down as everyone clamours for the last few bits. This is why private trackers work best, as the seeders on there have plenty of copies of the full file, they have fast uploads and, with the ratio system in place, fewer leechers.

Another problem with torrents is the amount of bad data flooded into the system by copyright holders (of course, this shouldn't effect you as you will be only downloading the latest Linux distro). This is designed to slow down your connection as the BT client has to get rid of all of the bad bits. Something that should take 45 minutes to download at 2mb, may take hours. Private trackers have an advantage here too, as they are usually hidden from these people.

So, the chances of you getting >100k these days on the torrents aren't very high unless you have access to a Private Tracker and are willing to build up a ratio.

Try FXP boards...if you dare mwahahahaha cough splutter.

[Tragedy]

The lastest torrents you will get faster speeds,if your getting slow speeds, up your upload speed and you should get faster speeds,works for me.:angel:

[xserve]

Thanks for your replys.

I understand how they work.

Brother and I did a side by side test. Both downloaded the same torrent from a private tracker (legal of course) I was getting 110K down on ny 10 meg line (currently limited to 5 meg till modem upgrade) he was getting 900k down on his 10meg line (full speed).

This was done at exactly the same time. He has never had problems with slow torrent downloads. In fact if he has a number of torrents going at once(2 or 3) he always gets full 1meg sec down on telewest.

I know it is not a software setting thing, I know that the torrents I have tried are good. I have forwarded all of the nessessary ports on my wireless router, I have connected directly to the cable modem with no firewall, I have tried changing to different ports ie in the 50K-60K range.

I can be taking 100K down from 3 files, add a fourth and an still take 100k. If i stop one or 2 of them I stll get 100k down. Ie no matter what I do it is 100k down.

This is what make me think that NTL limit the torrent download speed. It seems like the connection is being constrained.

Stu

[grubbymitts]

The lastest torrents you will get faster speeds,if your getting slow speeds, up your upload speed and you should get faster speeds,works for me.:angel:

Not necessarily. You may end up throttling your connection yourself if you keep increasing your upload. To get the best download it is recommended to set upload to 80%. I used to set mine at 10k/s and maxed out regularly. But you are right about the latest torrents - they are always the fastest.

[Mick Fisher]

Hi Xserve
Your problem may have, nothing to do with BT, but may have everything to do with Ntl's congested peering.
Your brother in Scotland is using a different route that is not so congested.
If my theory is correct, you can either be patient and hope that one day it will get fixed, although it's been broke for ages now, or move to another ISP.

[Chris W]

ntl do not throttle torrents

Mick Fisher may well be spot on with the peering theory.

[IanUK]

As both Chris & Mick has stated, NTL routes out of the country are saturated, they have not planned ahead and seem unwilling to do anything about it, we are all suffering from this to varying degrees dependent on the routes and sites that we choose to download from.

The only option is to ride it out until it gets fixed or choose virtually any other ISP that actually does their job properly and keeps peering working properly, sadly this will only get worse as more people get on 10 meg connections.

[xserve]

but then again i get 450k sec from apple when downloding updates.

Perhaps NTL reall is a poo as they seem. What customer service centre is closed on a sat pm and a sunday.

It is a poor show really.

Stu

[SLM]

but then again i get 450k sec from apple when downloding updates.

Perhaps NTL reall is a poo as they seem. What customer service centre is closed on a sat pm and a Sunday.

It is a poor show really.

Stu

Stu why if you have a BB fault are you trying to ring CS? BB technical support are open 08:00 until midnight 7 days a week so unless you have missed CS being open 12 hours a day during the week and 8 hours on Saturday why should they be open 24/7.

[xserve]

Im not.

Just making a point.

general reflection of the company.

Stu

[Toto]

Im not.

Just making a point.

general reflection of the company.

Stu

So, what started as a question about ntl and bit torrent has turned into a complaint about ntl because they chose to close customer support after 8pm on a Saturday?

If you actually check, you can contact ntl Broadband technical support at the weekends.

[Horace]

Just to say that I download fairly regularly at full (10meg) speed using bittorrent. If NTL are throttling torrents specifically then it's not affecting me.

[xserve]

Horace

That is goos to know. I will ask the engineer when he comes out tomorrow to fit the SACM. Any tips you can give me to increase speed. what BT app are you using.

Perhaps it is something to do with the Set top box and getting BB through that? Dunno.

Thanks everyone for your help.

Didnt mean to offend enyone re NTL CS. I was aware that broadband tec support was open. Anyway apologies if I offended. Jut stating that I fould it strange that CS was closed. Most large companies CS is open all weekend when it is conveinent for customers

like you say this thread is not for complaints about NTL.

Stuart