Crapy upload speed

I am on an internet connection that is wirelessly distributed to a few people in my neighborhood. The connection that is being distributed consists of 3 ADSL lines that run at(I think) 1.5 megabits each. My downloads rule(I typicly get from 300k - 600k) but uploads just piss me off(5k-50k). What the heck is going on? The signal streanght for my WAP is off the scale because im so close and I thought that ADSL was supposed to be the same for upload and download. Another issue I face is not being able to send files via MSN messanger, and yet can recieve them just fine. Someone help.

What OS are you running? It may be the QOS setting...please Post a little more info on your setup...

I know someone who has a wireless isp and he generally doesn't restrict the DL speeds.

He has put a cap on the upload speeds though.

Check with your ISP to see what the UL speeds are supposed to be.

Are you running a firewall? I had the problem with sending files too... it was due to too many restrictions in the firewall. I can't remember the port it uses right now... I have it documented at home. Since I relaxed the rules on file uploads, it works fine.

If I remember correctly... MSN messenger uses ports 6891 to 6900 for file xfer, voice, images, etc.

I am running XP the WAP is behind a router that can be configured to be a firewall as well. My signal is bounced off of an 802.11b repeater back down to their server and then out to the ADSL lines. Earlier this week they called me up and said that I had to many open connections because of the file sharing software that I was running. They said that their server couldnt hanlde it. I think it might be their server because if it cant handle 50 connections at a time and my pitiful little router in my basement can. something is wrong. I really cant think of anything else that could be usefull to help you help me except that about 15 people are using the server besides me.

Some ISP's (Like Pacbell or Yahoo DSL - whichever name they are called today) only say that you will get a certain upload speed. We have 1.5 MB download, but only 100k upload. Like phishphreek80 said, go ahead and contact your provider and ask about the upload speeds.

Oh, another thing...

You said that you were using file sharing applications...

If you have too much traffic on your connection, that will affect your upload speeds.

Stop all DLs and see what your uploads are then.

This is one of the many weaknesses in the TCP/IP protocol suite. If that is the case... there is nothing your ISP can do about it. You have to limit your DL traffic when you are trying to upload.

I have tried killing all DL's and it seemed to help a little but I really dont know of a good way to actualy test it. I have been to a few speed test sites and typicly get about 2meg down and 1meg up although I did get more up than down one time(weird). Apparently these tests arent accurate. Any suggestions about where or how to test my speed?

Here are a couple to test your bandwidth..

http://www.broadbandreports.com/stest
http://webservices.zdnet.com/zdnet/bandwidth/

My guess is you are running Kazaa or something similar, if that is the case your ISP got tired of other customers complaining about bad upload/download speeds and capped you, fixing every one else’s issue. Perhaps if you didn't hog bandwidth they wouldn't have to put a upload cap on you. Quit pirating music and programs/movies for a while, tell your ISP you have stopped and if they believe you the cap may be lifted...If it was up to me I wouldn't believe you.


This is why I like admining a corp. network instead of running an ISP, if crap like Kazaa is running here I just go down to the users desk and handle things :)

If its too much ot ask you to stop pirateing music see if you an work out a monthly bandwidth amount and a floating cap with your ISP...be prepared to be charged through the nose.

That's the "A" of ADSL: Asymmetric

This means you don't get the same amount of bandwidth in upload than download.

You can check with your ISP for how much bandwidth you're allowed for upload, but this sounds pretty much right in relation to your download speed.

Ammo

I am specificly paying for unlimited upload and download. So I dont see any reason for them to cap it and if they did I'm gonna get mad. Thanx for those sites phishphreek80 they were usefull. I guess I just need to call them up and ask. I will let you know what they say. Thanx again guys!

I would venture that you have a "limit" (not a cap) on your upload speed....a cap would indicate that once you hit a certain amount of data transferred in a set period your transfer ability is stopped....clearly not the case here. I expect that you will find yourself in the same situation as the majority of broadband users....there are speed limits on the information superhighway and they are enforced by the ISPs.

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I am specificly paying for unlimited upload and download. So I dont see any reason for them to cap it and if they did I'm gonna get mad.

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Unlimited doesn't mean unlimited speed. It means there is no limit to the amount of data you are allowed to transfer in a specified time period. Some ISP's give you an allotted bandwidth for the month and charge a per MB fee if you go over that.

The difference in upload and download is a limitation of the basic technology behind ADSL and has little to do with your ISP. Like ammo said, ADSL is asymmetric, meaning that upstream and downstream speeds are different (i.e., asymmetric). Because residential customers typically spend more time downloading than uploading, ADSL upstream speeds are typically 1/4 to 1/6 the capacity of the downstream. My ADSL connection, for instance, is 1.5 Mb down/256 kb up, which is pretty good for residential DSL. If you want the same upstream and downstream, you need to get SDSL, which is usually reserved for businesses and will probably cost you a few hundred bucks a month. If you get SDSL, you will also have to get a separate line for your telephone service because SDSL uses frequencies usually reserved for normal telephone use.

This article explains it quite well. The bottom line is that you have what you signed up for and getting mad at your ISP isn't going to make it go any faster. I have seen polls where a surprisingly large number of broadband customers report being dissatisfied with their service, but most of the time it's because they didn't do their homework before they ordered and don't understand what they are really supposed to have. I think you probably fall into that category. The moral of the story is do your homework before you run out and order broadband.

I don't have a wireless connection but on dl I'll get anywhere from 35KB to 59KB and on the uploads I'll get about 15KB to 24KB. Usually if I'm running a file sharing program my upload slows to around 5KB.

In response to problemchild I did do my homework. When we signed up for service we were specifcly told by the owner of the company(who is a good friend) that we would have no limits whatsoever. They also gave us a static routable IP for some servers that we run here. You are right about me not knowing a few things. Such as I had no idea that ADSL was asymmetrical. I guess not running XoloX for a while might fix things. I use it to get movies and such. When I start I am only on for about 4-5 hours because of the speed that I get for downloads. They did get mad at me though because aparently their server had a very hard time managing all the open connections(about 50 were listed in dos when I did NETSTAT). I think I am going to call up their network guy and find out as much as I can pertaining to how things are set up at the server location. As always I am just trying to learn(and speed things up a bit). Thanx for all the help.

ps: problemchild thanx for the link to the article.