slow file transfers possibly due to wireless router?

[Archman]

Hi there,

I am trying to figure out why any file transfer via MSN messenger takes forever, and seems to be super super slow.

I have a Highspeed ISP and connection, and a wireless router for my home network. Could there be an issue with the router slowing upload rates, especially with MSN messenger?

I am using Windows XP Pro on a Dell 600m with a belkin wireless router.

Thanks

 

[Goosemaster]

Is your overall internet connection feeling slow?

Was it better/worse/teh same before you got the router?

what kind of signal quality are you getting?

What kind of internet plan do you have ? (speeds)

got to http://speakeasy.net/speedtest/ and psot yoru results.

to answer your question, albeit with only the limited information that you provided:

wireless conenctions can defintiely have an effect on throughput, however wireless speeds range, reaslistically, from 1-20Mbps, which is usually far faster than your internet conenction can handle. If you are noticing slowdowns far below your internet speeds, then we would have to investigate that issue. Until then, provide us with said info.

 

[Archman]

Goosemaster,

The overall internet connection is not feeling slow at all, it is just when I try to transfer files to other individuals via MSN messenger that the file transfer barely moves. Sometimes it takes 2 minutes for a picture to be transfered, and sometimes the tranfsers begin and then just timeout completely.

My Internet plan is up to 7.0 Mb for download speeds, and a bandwidth of 50Gb/month.

Following your suggestion these are the results I got for the speakeasy speedtest using the Seattle, WA server (I live in Vancouver, B.C., Canada btw).

Download Speed - 4339 kbps
Upload Speed - 3842 kbps

Again, this slowdown only appears with transfers within MSN messenger, and no other programs.

thanks

 

[JackMDS]

Assuming that your system is optimized for the kind of connection that you use.

4.3Mb/sec is slow for a 7Mb/sec, connection. I.e. it seems that your Wireless is the slow agent that force it into 4.3Mb/sec.

Depending on the type of Wireless that you use, the distance, and signal noise, might be that this is what your wireless is capable of.

However, 4.3Mb/sec. should yield actual transfer of about 430KB.sec. I.e. a 10MB files should take about 20 sec to download.

Might be that there is an ISP intervention on this type of transfer.

:sun:

P.S. Optimizing & Measuring the "Speed" of Internet Connection.

 

[Archman]

JackMDS the only time I notice problems uploading and downloading is through MSN messenger. Any time that I try to send a file via MSN messenger it is super slow and sometimes stops responding with the file transfer, or it just fails completely, and this also happens with receiving a file transfer via MSN messenger. Could this be a problem with the router's firewall? I tried using the DMZ function for the computer, as well as allowing MSN messenger to work outside certain ports.

I still only get slow uploads and downloads from MSN messenger, and that is the real issue. I also just updated the router's firmware to the latest version a couple of days ago, and that still has not created a solution to MSN messenger's slow file transfers for uploading and downloading... any other ideas?

 

[mobobuff]

I've noticed that MSN is very sensitive to data loss over wireless routers. File transfers stalling completely, taking forever, failing to accept, and lost messages.

If you're familiar with analyzing TCP/IP frames in network sniffing programs, you can capture your network activity while attempting to communicate and send files with MSN Messenger and look over them to see if anything unusual is happening with your packets. Some problems may be fixable with TCP/IP tweeks using DrTCP (such as changing the amount of data transmission that can occur without acknowledgment packets, or changing how many times the sending device will resend duplicate packets if the receiving device fails to receive the originals, etc)

I suggest using Ethereal.