Could a crappy switch be the culprit?

[marketsons1985]

Hi All -

I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to networking, but I think I may have come across why my internet at my apartment is so crappy.

My apartment complex is 2 years old. I've lived here both years. They claim to provide 10Mbps service to everyone, though my internet tends to be much much slower than that. Usually I get about 1Mbps (125 KB/s) and sometimes even slower. I've thought about switching to cable internet as I can get a deal for $20 per month, but I decided to do some digging.

In my apartment in our "multimedia box" (has the coming-ins for the internet and cable) lies a switch by Tyco, model number PEL-SW-5PORT. Searching online comes up with basically no information about this switch.

Should I try a better switch and see if this is the culprit? I have a wireless router I could even throw in there if that would be just as good as trying a better switch. Alas it wouldn't transmit very well to everywhere in the apartment so I don't think it could stay there permanently.

Help?

 

[Crusty]

If they've got a 10mbps connection for the whole complex I'd be very happy getting 1mbps to my apt, but if they are claiming everyone gets 10mbps then you definitely aren't getting what they say.

How big is the complex?

 

[marketsons1985]

Originally posted by: Crusty
If they've got a 10mbps connection for the whole complex I'd be very happy getting 1mbps to my apt, but if they are claiming everyone gets 10mbps then you definitely aren't getting what they say.

How big is the complex?

30+ buildings. Each with about 32 people. Officially they're townhomes. They've claimed that each apartment gets 10 mbps. I don't find my speed drastically changing (except for those times I mentioned above) so I don't think it's simply split throughout the whole complex.

 

[Crusty]

If you assume 8 townhomes per building you're looking at 240+ individual 10mbps connections(almost 2.5gbps). There is no way they can afford to give that kind of dedicated bandwidth to everyone in the complex. Your line into your apt is capable of 10mbps and you might be able to burst to that speed for internet use, but I would say that it's very unlikely you'll be able to do anything to speed it up short of getting a different ISP.

 

[Pegun]

My question would be how are you testing this? Realize that web sites and torrents are not the best way because there may be a speed limiter somewhere in the mix (either on the server or people's upload limits/server limits)

 

[spidey07]

You have to remember that you are sharing internet with the entire complex so the bottleneck is the complex connection to the internet, regardless of what you have available.

 

[Fardringle]

They probably have 10 megabit (i.e. old) switches providing LAN connectivity to all of the units, letting someone who is clueless about networking think that means 10 megabit Internet access, and then share something like a business cable line or T1 to all of the residents in the association.

 

[Tbirdkid]

How far away from the switch are you? Also, the other catch is who told you that you would get 10mbps? If it was the person setting you up with the apartment, then they are salesmen, and they are born to lie...

 

[marketsons1985]

Originally posted by: Pegun
My question would be how are you testing this? Realize that web sites and torrents are not the best way because there may be a speed limiter somewhere in the mix (either on the server or people's upload limits/server limits)

Just testing on websites like speedtest.net

Originally posted by: Fardringle
They probably have 10 megabit (i.e. old) switches providing LAN connectivity to all of the units, letting someone who is clueless about networking think that means 10 megabit Internet access, and then share something like a business cable line or T1 to all of the residents in the association.

The switches shown are 10/100. At least that's what they show.

Originally posted by: Tbirdkid
How far away from the switch are you? Also, the other catch is who told you that you would get 10mbps? If it was the person setting you up with the apartment, then they are salesmen, and they are born to lie...

The switch is about 30-40 feet through the wall (other side of the room, strung through the walls or ceiling).

The speed was told to us after we'd already been there, shown as their "new upgraded service" after getting so many complaints about the slow internet.

 

[kevnich2]

If this apartment building/townhouse building is as large as you say, it would require a massive incoming pipe to give everyone a 10mb connection. I would say the incoming is 10mb which would easily make your end connection what you say it is. If you want faster, get cable internet. I would say their intention is simply to allow people to browse the internet, not to be downloading a massive amount of stuff.

 

[oldtechie]

Sounds like this is what you have in the closet.
http://www.ampnetconnect.com/d...cut_sheet_(122203).pdf
You are most likely sharing a 10MB internet connection with every other resident in the complex, This type of shared system is usually set up in hotel-type environments for occasional use. You are lucky to be seeing anything approaching 1MB at your connection. It's a convenience port - treat it as a backup and go cable.