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Windows 7 TCP/IP tweaks - Tune your internet connection
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Old 26-10-2009, 19:32   #1
AndyCalling
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Cool Windows 7 TCP/IP tweaks - Tune your internet connection

As you will be aware, DrTCP and other recommended tweak programs are only for WinXP and below. I have previously posted my tweaks for Vista, now here's my tweaks for Windows 7 retail.

First, check out your connection using the following link to make sure there are no problems (you may have to modify my settings if you can't get past all these tests, if you can't resolve the problem):

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/usi...d/default.mspx

If all is OK, next make a batch file in Notepad from the following by cut & pasting. Call it something like 'TCPIPSet.cmd' making sure you get the extention right:

Quote:
@echo off
echo Setting TCP/IP flags...
echo -----------------------
echo This only succeeds when run as an administrator,
echo when run as a user it only shows the current settings.
echo.
pause
echo.
netsh int tcp set global rss=enabled
netsh int tcp set global chimney=automatic
netsh int tcp set global netdma=enabled
netsh int tcp set global dca=enabled
netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=normal
netsh int tcp set global congestionprovider=ctcp
netsh int tcp set global ecncapability=enabled
netsh int tcp set global timestamps=disabled
pause
cls
echo Current settings:
echo -----------------
netsh int tcp show global
pause
If you run it normally, it'll just tell you what your current settings are. If you right click on it and run it as administrator it'll set the settings to the best for most standard home internet connections (such as ADSL and Cable in the UK). This is not recommended for exotic connections like satelite or G3, you should research your connection details and the TCP/IP options if you are dealing with the like.

This should give you the best speeds your connection will allow. Use it to check your settings from time to time to make sure nothing's knocked them out of whack.
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Old 26-10-2009, 19:45   #2
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Re: Windows 7 TCP/IP tweaks - Tune your internet connection

wheres the vista ones? u got a link?
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Old 26-10-2009, 20:06   #3
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Re: Windows 7 TCP/IP tweaks - Tune your internet connection

Thanks for the info, I'll be playing with this later!
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Old 26-10-2009, 20:13   #4
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Re: Windows 7 TCP/IP tweaks - Tune your internet connection

Any figures for the improvement in speed (ie speed before tweak and speed after) so that we can judge how useful it is?
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Old 26-10-2009, 20:16   #5
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Re: Windows 7 TCP/IP tweaks - Tune your internet connection

I was going to do this but then I saw that the Microsoft test included something that would open 80 concurrent connections on my router. As I currently have a WNR2000 (as supplied by Virgin) I was worried that it might pop a capacitor on the board and catch fire. So I closed the window, sharpish, and banished all thoughts of stress testing Netgear's finest.
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Old 26-10-2009, 21:02   #6
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Re: Windows 7 TCP/IP tweaks - Tune your internet connection

1) The Vista tweaks are here:

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/12...aks-speed.html

2) Sorry, mileage will vary depending on previous settings and current hardware used. Some of these tweaks affect TCP/IP transfer efficiency, whilst some rely on networking hardware in the LAN card to offload some of the processing from the CPU, one even allows compatable hardware to directly address CPU cache memory to avoid bottlenecks. Basically, if there are no problems indicated from the test site and you have a normal home broadband connection then these settings are going to squeeze the last bit out of your connection. If your settings are normal it will be that little bit better. If your settings have been knocked out of whack (common with Vista) then this can seriously boost your speed. The following two lines are the most essential for raw transfer speed:

netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=normal
netsh int tcp set global congestionprovider=ctcp

These tweaks can be seen in the same light as the DrTCP tweaks for older OSs. You can get anything from a little top end fine tuning speed improvment to radical improvment.

3) No, the Microsoft compatability test will not blow up your router. The worst concievable result is the need to reboot the router, and if you do need that then the router is awful and should be replaced with a half way decent one. The WGR614v9 (latest Netgear firmware, can't speak as to Virgin firmware) passes perfectly. Still, do the test in case your PC/LAN card/summat else has an issue.
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Old 26-10-2009, 22:06   #7
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Re: Windows 7 TCP/IP tweaks - Tune your internet connection

who mentioned blowing up ur router? lol
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Old 26-10-2009, 22:19   #8
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Re: Windows 7 TCP/IP tweaks - Tune your internet connection

Quote:
Originally Posted by Welshchris View Post
who mentioned blowing up ur router? lol
Pantsu-san was the concerned party. I thought I'd better squash that one quickly...
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Old 26-10-2009, 22:34   #9
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Re: Windows 7 TCP/IP tweaks - Tune your internet connection

Have you done one for Windows XP?
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Old 26-10-2009, 22:53   #10
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Re: Windows 7 TCP/IP tweaks - Tune your internet connection

I ran the tests and it says that UPnP Support Test is Not supported.......is this something I should be concerned about?

Should mention that im using windows 7
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Old 26-10-2009, 23:05   #11
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Re: Windows 7 TCP/IP tweaks - Tune your internet connection

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuart_ View Post
Have you done one for Windows XP?
No. The standard advice of 'Use DrTCP' is good for WinXP, but the calculations are up to you. The RWIN value is very important, but very idiosyncratic. You will have to research and tune yourself as it comes down to your own connection. Vista and Win7 are more automated in this regard.

There is lots of info on tweaking with DrTCP available on the net. There is little info on Vista and Win7 and what there is is a bit technical and sometimes conflicting, so I thought I'd better pull it together for people.

As a note, Win7 is hot off the shelves of course, so if anyone experiences problems with my Win7 config. speak up. My Vista settings have been well tested.

---------- Post added at 22:05 ---------- Previous post was at 21:57 ----------

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hiroki View Post
I ran the tests and it says that UPnP Support Test is Not supported.......is this something I should be concerned about?
My WGR614v9 did that once, a reboot of the router solved it.

There are a lot of settings that can affect UPnP, you'll have to google if you think they're out of whack. It should not affect the tweaks this thread is all about but I like to use UPnP. Port forwarding everything is a pain.

Win7 and Vista come with UPnP ready enabled (I never had XP but it should do UPnP with latest SPs without any further messing since my father's has, Win2K didn't do UPnP). It needs to be enabled in your router too. Firewalls can block UPnP, but the Windows firewall should be set to cope with it out of box.
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Old 27-10-2009, 08:25   #12
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Smile Re: Windows 7 TCP/IP tweaks - Tune your internet connection

Quote:
Originally Posted by AndyCalling View Post
Pantsu-san was the concerned party. I thought I'd better squash that one quickly...
ahem. oh dear
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Old 29-10-2009, 23:15   #13
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Re: Windows 7 TCP/IP tweaks - Tune your internet connection

I have applied your batch file to windows 7 and it has seriously degraded my speed, could you by any chance do a batch file which reverts everything back to there original settings, someone might need it.
I have just restores from an image and my speed is back to how it should be/was. Use this on Windows 7 at your own risk and make sure you have an image/backup to restore to.
Not saying it doesn`t work on Vista or putting it down Andy, maybe it was something on my end.

I would say as feedback that webpages where taking at least 10 times longer to open (the page would hang for several seconds). I tried a"netsh int ip reset" but it didn`t help.
7 Home premium behind a router (UPnP disabled [Maybe this was the cause]) Comodo Internet Security/Sandboxie
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Old 29-10-2009, 23:50   #14
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Re: Windows 7 TCP/IP tweaks - Tune your internet connection

I see you've already reverted back Matty, but for anyone else, the defaults on my Windows 7 Professional install were as follows:
Code:
Receive-Side Scaling State          : enabled
Chimney Offload State               : automatic
NetDMA State                        : enabled
Direct Cache Acess (DCA)            : disabled
Receive Window Auto-Tuning Level    : normal
Add-On Congestion Control Provider  : none
ECN Capability                      : disabled
RFC 1323 Timestamps                 : disabled

So the cmd file for reverting, in my case at least, would be as follows:
Code:
@echo off
echo Setting TCP/IP flags...
echo -----------------------
echo This only succeeds when run as an administrator,
echo when run as a user it only shows the current settings.
echo.
pause
echo.
netsh int tcp set global rss=enabled
netsh int tcp set global chimney=automatic
netsh int tcp set global netdma=enabled
netsh int tcp set global dca=disabled
netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=normal
netsh int tcp set global congestionprovider=none
netsh int tcp set global ecncapability=disabled
netsh int tcp set global timestamps=disabled
pause
cls
echo Current settings:
echo -----------------
netsh int tcp show global
pause
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Old 30-10-2009, 00:36   #15
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Re: Windows 7 TCP/IP tweaks - Tune your internet connection

If it gives you trouble, try isolating the setting that fails for you. It may be that your router is not ECN capable (but the test should have confirmed his). Basically, to revert you can adjust the settings to whatever suits.

If ECN is what causes the problems, you'll still want to change your congestion provider. Likewise the other way around.

If DCA is the issue I'd like to hear about it. This is a rather new area. It shouldn't affect anything unless your hardware supports it (I can find no check you can do for this and information is light). If it works with your hardware you should have data transfer between network card and CPU cache memory without passing through ram first. If not you should see no effect. If it causes trouble, it would be worth hearing about it.

So, feedback on what breaks your connection, and the type of connection you have (Virgin Cable or ADSL) plus any usual difficulties you have with it would be useful.

Basically, my settings are what one would want to achieve (DCA experiments not withstanding, rather new that setting) and if they can't be used it may be worth trying to find out why.

I'm also interested in hearing what happens if Comodo is switched off as I don't have that and it could be a factor.

Oh, and ta Buckleb for adding the original settings for those who didn't take note before applying any changes. Perhaps I should have thought to mention, such is second nature to me so I didn't think beyond providing a mechanism for checking.

Note that some things change these settings, such as my adding a Vodafone 3G stick as a backup. Installing the drivers turned on Timestamping, which might be handy for a specific 3G machine but really should be off for a normal home PC on ADSL or Cable as a main connection. Possibly it would be handy for a poor wireless connection, but I'd rather just improve the connection.

Oh, and Matty, what's your router?

Addition: Auto tuning level is usually best set to normal, but Windows can change this if it feels the network conditions warrant it. Vista tends to shift to Highly Restricted for this setting on occasion. I suspect due to boot up choices whilst things are getting it together and being dead laggy (such is a Vista boot). You need to check if your connection suddenly goes slow because this is often the issue, though some routers seem to cause it more than others. Win7 appears to be less judgemental, and I've not seen this over sensative behaviour from it so far. A nice improvment.
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