Who knows routers?

[Van Chocstraw]

I got rid of my old Belkin router because it was slowing down my
downloads. Now my new Wireless N router is doing the same thing.
Throttles everything down to 150 to 200kbps. If I go directly into the
cable modem it's fine, 700-900kpbs. Why do routers keep slowing my
downloads down??

 

[Sjouke Burry]

Van Chocstraw wrote:

I got rid of my old Belkin router because it was slowing down my
downloads. Now my new Wireless N router is doing the same thing.
Throttles everything down to 150 to 200kbps. If I go directly into the
cable modem it's fine, 700-900kpbs. Why do routers keep slowing my
downloads down??
Limited by the provider?

My provider limits to 152.6 kbps
If I want more I have to pay for it.(I don't)

 

On Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:16:05 -0500, Van Chocstraw
<boobooililililil@roadrunner.com> wrote:

I got rid of my old Belkin router because it was slowing down my
downloads. Now my new Wireless N router is doing the same thing.
Throttles everything down to 150 to 200kbps. If I go directly into the
cable modem it's fine, 700-900kpbs. Why do routers keep slowing my
downloads down??

Have you checked for the optimum MTU?

If you don't know what MTU is or how to check it, no router will
provide maximum throughput.

Check out the tools at http:/www.dslreports.com

John

 

[Sjouke Burry]

news@jecarter.us wrote:

On Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:16:05 -0500, Van Chocstraw
boobooililililil@roadrunner.com> wrote:

I got rid of my old Belkin router because it was slowing down my
downloads. Now my new Wireless N router is doing the same thing.
Throttles everything down to 150 to 200kbps. If I go directly into the
cable modem it's fine, 700-900kpbs. Why do routers keep slowing my
downloads down??

Have you checked for the optimum MTU?

If you don't know what MTU is or how to check it, no router will
provide maximum throughput.

Check out the tools at http:/www.dslreports.com

John
Jikes, "free" membership required.......

 

[Van Chocstraw]

news@jecarter.us wrote:

On Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:16:05 -0500, Van Chocstraw
boobooililililil@roadrunner.com> wrote:

I got rid of my old Belkin router because it was slowing down my
downloads. Now my new Wireless N router is doing the same thing.
Throttles everything down to 150 to 200kbps. If I go directly into the
cable modem it's fine, 700-900kpbs. Why do routers keep slowing my
downloads down??

Have you checked for the optimum MTU?

If you don't know what MTU is or how to check it, no router will
provide maximum throughput.

Check out the tools at http:/www.dslreports.com

John

That's just for PPP connections and VPN.

 

[William R. Walsh]

Hi!

I got rid of my old Belkin router because it was slowing down my
downloads. Now my new Wireless N router is doing the same
thing.

And what kind of router is the replacement? Make and model, please!

It's very doubtful that this is the router's fault, as nearly all of
them sold today contain much more capability than would ever be
required to route data from the public Internet to your private
network.

Since you mentioned that the computer transfers information much more
quickly when connected directly to the cable modem, have you checked
to see if your cable company may require you to register the MAC
address of a different device attached to the modem?

Did you power cycle the cable modem after switching what was attached
to it? You should do so.

If that is the case, a device may continue to work but reduced
transfer speed may be the result. (Normally, a block would be put into
place for an unrecognized device, but that is determined by the cable
company.)

If I go directly into the cable modem it's fine, 700-900kpbs.
Why do routers keep slowing my downloads down??

Some fine tuning may be required to get the best performance. Ask your
cable company if they have any recommendations as to how things should
be set up. Also, check your cabling and make sure it is good.

If possible, try to verify if the problem occurs over both wired and
wireless connections to a computer. Wireless connections can be
subject to interference from other wireless networks and devices
operating on or around the same frequency.

William

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:16:05 -0500, Van Chocstraw
<boobooililililil@roadrunner.com> wrote:

I got rid of my old Belkin router because it was slowing down my
downloads. Now my new Wireless N router is doing the same thing.

Model and firmware version?

Throttles everything down to 150 to 200kbps.

Is that bits or bytes? For a cable modem, my guess(tm) would be bytes
giving you 1.2 to 1.6Mbits/sec. That's kinda slow. What is your
unspecified cable connection advertised to deliver?

If I go directly into the
cable modem it's fine, 700-900kpbs.

So, now kilo-packets-per-second. Amazing. Assuming that's also
bytes, that would be 5.6 to 7.2Mbits/sec, which is still kinda slow.
On the left coast, we get burstable speeds of 10-18Mbits/sec.

Why do routers keep slowing my
downloads down??

Because you're probably using a CAT5 cable when testing your cable
modem, but using wireless to benchmark the router.

What kind of downloads? If you're doing Bitorrent, you're limited to
the speed of the sending software/music/video thieves connection.
Speeds tend to be rather slow. If you're downloading from a reputable
archive site, such as getting the latest Linux distribution, you'll be
throttled by the sending site to whatever they feel appropriate. Using
downloads for benchmarking your connection isn't very accurate.
Neither are online speed tests, that are remotely located through far
too many congested hops. The only ones that really work are the speed
test sites maintained by your ISP (TW/RR) which are the fewest hops to
your computah.

I suggest you find the official Time Warner cable modem speed test
site. I can't tell where you're hiding so you'll have to either
disclose your location or find it yourself. For example, here's the
one for Buffalo, New York:
<http://speedtest.rochester.rr.com>

If you're benchmarking your downloads using a wireless link, you are
probably getting some intereference from the neighbors.
Troubleshooting this is a bit complicated and I don't want to go into
it with what little you've disclosed. At a minimum, try different
wireless channels (1, 6, or 11) to avoid the interference source.
Also, try your benchmark and download tests via a wired connection, to
hopefully better identify the problem.

If you suspect that your unspecified model Belkin router is a problem,
the first thing to do is upgrade the firmware. Check the Belkin web
pile.

You can also do your own benchmarking of the router using two
computahs and iPerf or Jperf.
<http://openmaniak.com/iperf.php>
<http://code.google.com/p/xjperf/>
Ask you if you need help with this.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[D Yuniskis]

Van Chocstraw wrote:

I got rid of my old Belkin router because it was slowing down my
downloads. Now my new Wireless N router is doing the same thing.

Was the Belkin *also* a wireless router? (i.e., your problem is
likely due to the "wireless" nature of the medium -- poor
signal quality or interference from neighboring access points,
etc.).

Do you have any tools that aid in network discovery? Anything
you can use to identify other (wireless) networks in your
vicinity? (Hard to give specifics without knowing what OS
you are running, etc.) If so, see if other "nearby" access
points (they are "nearby" if your system can *see* them! :> )
are using the same channel. Most routers configure for channel
6 out-of-the-box. If you haven't explicitly changed *yours*,
chances are your neighbors haven't changed *theirs*, either!
Move to channel 1 or 11 (there is some overlap in adjacent
channels so you want to move as far away as is practical).

Also, you need to determine if your link is operating on
2.4GHz or 5GHz -- the former tends to see lots of interference
from (some) cordless phones, microwave ovens, bluetooth stuff,
etc. Just because you have an N router doesn't mean it is
currently operating at N rates.

Throttles everything down to 150 to 200kbps. If I go directly into the
cable modem it's fine, 700-900kpbs. Why do routers keep slowing my
downloads down??

Assuming you've been careful about your use of abbreviations,
200kbps is only 25kBps. That's pretty lousy even for a noisy
wireless link. You should see something like 50Mbps (6MBps)
on a wireless G or N link -- assuming your data source can
keep the pipe full.

Many wireless routers have a *wired* hub/switch built in.
Try running a cable from one of those ports to your machine.
If this gives you performance comparable to the performance
that you achieved with the "direct to modem" connection,
then it points to a wireless issue.

If *not*, it points to a configuration problem in the router.

 

[Van Chocstraw]

D Yuniskis wrote:

Van Chocstraw wrote:
I got rid of my old Belkin router because it was slowing down my
downloads. Now my new Wireless N router is doing the same thing.

Was the Belkin *also* a wireless router? (i.e., your problem is
likely due to the "wireless" nature of the medium -- poor
signal quality or interference from neighboring access points,
etc.).

Do you have any tools that aid in network discovery? Anything
you can use to identify other (wireless) networks in your
vicinity? (Hard to give specifics without knowing what OS
you are running, etc.) If so, see if other "nearby" access
points (they are "nearby" if your system can *see* them! :> )
are using the same channel. Most routers configure for channel
6 out-of-the-box. If you haven't explicitly changed *yours*,
chances are your neighbors haven't changed *theirs*, either!
Move to channel 1 or 11 (there is some overlap in adjacent
channels so you want to move as far away as is practical).

Also, you need to determine if your link is operating on
2.4GHz or 5GHz -- the former tends to see lots of interference
from (some) cordless phones, microwave ovens, bluetooth stuff,
etc. Just because you have an N router doesn't mean it is
currently operating at N rates.

Throttles everything down to 150 to 200kbps. If I go directly into the
cable modem it's fine, 700-900kpbs. Why do routers keep slowing my
downloads down??

Assuming you've been careful about your use of abbreviations,
200kbps is only 25kBps. That's pretty lousy even for a noisy
wireless link. You should see something like 50Mbps (6MBps)
on a wireless G or N link -- assuming your data source can
keep the pipe full.

Many wireless routers have a *wired* hub/switch built in.
Try running a cable from one of those ports to your machine.
If this gives you performance comparable to the performance
that you achieved with the "direct to modem" connection,
then it points to a wireless issue.

If *not*, it points to a configuration problem in the router.

I'm only using hardwired router, I have the wireless transmitter turned off.

 

[D Yuniskis]

Van Chocstraw wrote:

D Yuniskis wrote:
Van Chocstraw wrote:
I got rid of my old Belkin router because it was slowing down my
downloads. Now my new Wireless N router is doing the same thing.

Throttles everything down to 150 to 200kbps. If I go directly into
the cable modem it's fine, 700-900kpbs. Why do routers keep slowing
my downloads down??

Assuming you've been careful about your use of abbreviations,
200kbps is only 25kBps. That's pretty lousy even for a noisy
wireless link. You should see something like 50Mbps (6MBps)
on a wireless G or N link -- assuming your data source can
keep the pipe full.

Many wireless routers have a *wired* hub/switch built in.
Try running a cable from one of those ports to your machine.
If this gives you performance comparable to the performance
that you achieved with the "direct to modem" connection,
then it points to a wireless issue.

If *not*, it points to a configuration problem in the router.

I'm only using hardwired router, I have the wireless transmitter turned
off.

Most wireless routers nowadays include some smarts (NAT, firewall,
etc.). This requires CPU (the CPU inside the router) overhead.

Wireless routers are typically designed as three "blocks":
- wireless interface
- WAN interface (i.e., connection to modem)
- LAN interface (i.e., connection to your host(s))

The LAN interface is often augmented with a hardware *switch*.
This routes packets between interfaces (i.e., connectors on
the "switch") at hardware speeds. The switch learns the IP
addresses of traffic on each of the interfaces and adapts
accordingly.

Going from WAN to LAN (or LAN to wireless, or wireless to WAN,
etc.) means going through the CPU. This takes more effort
and is subject to bugs, etc. (i.e., make sure you have the
latest firmware for your router!).

Since you have ruled out the wireless link as a part of
your current operating configuration, next rule out the
WAN by connecting the modem to one of the *other* LAN
ports (i.e., in this arrangement, you are just talking
to the modem through the switch instead of involving
the CPU, software, etc.)

You might also want/need to enlarge the Rx windows and/or
MTTU on the router *or* your PC.

 

[Dave Platt]

In article <m5qdnWSs4fta9JnWnZ2dnUVZ_o5i4p2d@giganews.com>,
Van Chocstraw <boobooililililil@roadrunner.com> wrote:

I'm only using hardwired router, I have the wireless transmitter turned off.

Since you've seen this problem with two different routers, I have to
wonder whether some element other than the router itself is causing
the problem.

Were you by any chance using the same Ethernet cable between your
cable-modem and the two routers? If so, try swapping this for another
(professionally made, "known good") cable, and see if things clear up.
Also try swapping your PC-to-router / PC-to-modem cable with a
known-good cable.

I've seen a number of Ethernet cables which were either defective, or
damaged, in ways which caused them to appear to work but to be rather
unreliable (high rate of packet loss).

A loose or cracked wire (or a bad crimp at one of the RJ-45 jacks) is
one such flaw.

Another sort of trouble-making cable is one in which the wire pairs
were crimped onto the wrong pins. The four twisted-pair wires in an
Ethernet cable are supposed to be crimped onto the pins in a specific
order... and if a naive user/builder crimps them wrongly (in a
straight-across order) the cable will appear to work in some
situations, but you'll get unreliable operation with a high rate of
packet interference.

Looking downwards at the wires in a good cable I have here, with the
pins visible but facing away from me, I seen the following order:

OR/WH OR GR/WH BL BL/WH GR BR/WH BR

(colors are orange, green, blue, brown, and also white with stripes of
the aforementioned colors).

The important things to note are:

- The leftmost two pins form a pair (orange, and orange/white)

- The rightmost two pins form a pair (brown, and brown/white)

- The innermost-two pins form a pair (blue, and blue-white)

- The two remaining pins (which are *not* immediately adjacent to
one another) form the final pair (green, and green/white).

An INCORRECT way of constructing the cable would be

OR/WH OR GR/WH GR BL/WH BL BR/WH BR

In this arrangement, you'd actually be "splitting a pair" in two cases.
The two centermost pins would be crimped to the green, and blue/white
wires, and a transmission on these pins would be driving a signal down
wires in two different twisted pairs. Ditto for a transmission on the
next-outermost set of pins, which are crimped to blue and green/white.

A cable of this sort may appear to work, but there will be a lot of
crosstalk between signals. It may work tolerably well in a
half-duplex 10BaseT system (e.g. with a hub, or with many PC-to-modem
hookups) but will work quite badly in a full-duplex 10BaseT or
100BaseT setup (e.g. with a switch).

--
Dave Platt <dplatt@radagast.org> AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

 

[Meat Plow]

On Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:16:05 -0500, Van Chocstraw
<boobooililililil@roadrunner.com>wrote:

I got rid of my old Belkin router because it was slowing down my
downloads. Now my new Wireless N router is doing the same thing.
Throttles everything down to 150 to 200kbps. If I go directly into the
cable modem it's fine, 700-900kpbs. Why do routers keep slowing my
downloads down??

Cyclic Redundancy Check errors are a common issue with router
firmware.

 

[Van Chocstraw]

Meat Plow wrote:

On Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:16:05 -0500, Van Chocstraw
boobooililililil@roadrunner.com>wrote:

I got rid of my old Belkin router because it was slowing down my
downloads. Now my new Wireless N router is doing the same thing.
Throttles everything down to 150 to 200kbps. If I go directly into the
cable modem it's fine, 700-900kpbs. Why do routers keep slowing my
downloads down??

Cyclic Redundancy Check errors are a common issue with router
firmware.

I reset the pig to factory defaults and turned off the wireless
transmitter. Works ok now. The wireless pig never worked anyway.
Couldn't get my laptop to even see a fracking signal. Don't buy a
Netgear Wireless N 300 WNC2000. At least I could connect wirelessly to
my old Belkin with only WEP security.