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Slow PSN? How to speed it up!

H

hans030390

Diamond Member
UPDATE (5-14-09):

I finally got around to ordering the Linksys CM100 modem like I said I would (found one used on ebay for less than $35 shipped) and just installed it today. I can also confirm that the CM100 does indeed speed up the PSN (at least on Comcast). I'm now getting normal download speeds WITHOUT privoxy or any other network settings/modifications.

Other modems may also fix it as well (Motorola seems to be the main "problem"), but I won't be testing it.

Now is probably a good time to get one if you're thinking about it. They're generally considered pretty good, from what I've read (good user reviews). You can find them refurbished or used (on many websites) for $40 or less now.

Original Post:

I know a lot of people have issues with the PSN being really slow with downloads, despite how fast their network may or may not be. Now, I've heard the Linksys modem (CM100, maybe the previous model too) can fix this issue. Also, I've heard that the ISP can also be the cause (throttling, perhaps? Something like that).

However, here's an easy, free solution I just found that may be worth trying out.

Link to guide

Simply put, here are the steps:

1. Give your computer a static IP address
2. Install a specific program on your computer that allows it to act as a proxy server
3. Have the PS3 connect to that proxy server (connected via the same router)

There's a video with proof. I'll definitely be trying it out when I go home for Spring Break (Comcast hates our PS3, slow PSN) to see how it works out. I also just ordered a Linksys cable modem to try out over break as well (model before the CM100...I heard they're basically the same thing). I'll let you all know how that goes as well.

Hopefully some people find this useful. 🙂

UPDATE: As I said I would, I have finally had the chance to follow the above steps. I can confirm that the guide can and does work. I'm now pulling 500Kb/s (estimated) download speeds over my wireless network, which is known to be slower than wired here. Either way, it's tons faster than I was getting previous over wired at home. I'll be able to test the wired speeds tomorrow.

However, I had problems getting my PS3 to connect to the proxy on Vista. Maybe I choose a bad static IP or something. I tried everything (disable firewall, for one), but simply couldn't get it to work with Vista. I really don't know what it is. However, it worked right away with XP. Set the computer to a static IP, download Privoxy and set it up (takes 30 seconds). Restart the computer (I've heard that can be a problem if you don't), start Privoxy...connect to proxy with PS3. Just like the guide said.

I'm wondering if Vista didn't work because it can use IPv6? I know XP doesn't...hm.

Anyway, if you haven't tried it yet, do it! Once you can get it connected, which is quick and easy, you should notice a difference if you aren't already pulling 500Kb/s-1Mb/s download speeds (though it may be even faster if you have a REALLY fast network).

I'm still waiting on that other modem, so I'll keep this updated.
 
It doesn't bother me enough (maybe I'm not effected like others) to screw with that, but I would be curious to hear if it helps a lot of people or not.
 
Working correctly, the PSN downloads at around 1 megabyte per second...500Kb/s at the least. Of course, this depends on your connection speed. I've not seen it go any faster than 1.5Mb/s. So, if your speeds are around there, you're good (that's about the same speed as Live, too).

Now, even with slow PSN download speeds, usually playing online is fine. As mentioned in that link above, you may have ~10ms higher ping, but that would be expected with this setup. I don't think it'd make a big difference. And if it did, you could always switch the proxy connection to off on the PS3 when you want to play online.
 
Wow... that video is crazy. The difference is rather astounding. I'm going to try this out to see if it makes a difference. Thanks!
 
Originally posted by: Thraxen
Wow... that video is crazy. The difference is rather astounding. I'm going to try this out to see if it makes a difference. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Hopefully it's as easy to set up as he leads me to believe. Let us know how it goes.
 
As you guys know, I'm one of the biggest detractors here regarding PSN speed. So, in good faith, I'll give this a shot at some point within the next couple of days, and report my findings. I'll even take some video with my phone if I think of it.
 
I'd prefer that it just work. I consider myself to be relatively tech savvy, but networking drives me crazy because it's too damn complicated. I don't want to have to setup static IPs and proxy servers, or deal with port forwarding. I just want to have a router with a password that I can connect my devices to, that will share my internet connection with those devices without any significant issues. Period. Is that asking too much?
 
Originally posted by: R Nilla
I'd prefer that it just work. I consider myself to be relatively tech savvy, but networking drives me crazy because it's too damn complicated. I don't want to have to setup static IPs and proxy servers, or deal with port forwarding. I just want to have a router with a password that I can connect my devices to, that will share my internet connection with those devices without any significant issues. Period. Is that asking too much?
Click to expand...
I don't think this is unreasonable, either. Being forced into installing Privoxy to get decent download speeds is unacceptable, especially when my 360 has none of those problems.

Most of PSN's problem is the PS3, in that the system and game updates tend to be absolutely huge compared to the ones on the Xbox 360. Privoxy isn't going to fix that.
 
I can setup QoS for my PS3 just like I did for BT, but I don't know what port the PS3 uses, so I'm just gonna leave it alone. I just setup PS3 to shutdown after d/l.
 
Originally posted by: erwos
Originally posted by: R Nilla
I'd prefer that it just work. I consider myself to be relatively tech savvy, but networking drives me crazy because it's too damn complicated. I don't want to have to setup static IPs and proxy servers, or deal with port forwarding. I just want to have a router with a password that I can connect my devices to, that will share my internet connection with those devices without any significant issues. Period. Is that asking too much?
Click to expand...
I don't think this is unreasonable, either. Being forced into installing Privoxy to get decent download speeds is unacceptable, especially when my 360 has none of those problems.

Most of PSN's problem is the PS3, in that the system and game updates tend to be absolutely huge compared to the ones on the Xbox 360. Privoxy isn't going to fix that.
Click to expand...

I have a good bit of evidence showing that it's not necessarily the PS3 or PSN causing the problems. I'll state them again (more like the 3 networks my PS3 has been on):

1. Insight - 10mbps up/1mbps down - Home network - PSN was very fast

2. Comcast - Roughly the same speeds - Exact same home network, cable lines, hardware, setup, etc. - PSN is slow

3. College network - 6mbps down (slower than home)/3-6mbps up - PSN is very fast. Now, I know the UPLOAD is way faster, but that should have minimal impact on download speeds.

Now, it doesn't make much sense that going from one ISP to another with the exact same hardware and speeds (tested via computers) should dramatically slow down the PSN. In fact, Comcast bought out Insight, so I have a good bit of reason to believe that it's an problem that lies somewhere between the ISP and my modem. I don't think the real end factor is the PS3 or the PSN itself.

I had to put up with the slow PSN issues for a while. I just figured it was the PSN until I started reading about Comcast throttling networks and all their other nasty practices. I figured that perhaps they were somehow the cause of it...and that's when I remembered that the PSN worked really well on Insight so long as I had it wired up to the router (usually had it wireless, so I never thought much of slower speeds). And after doing research, I read about other people having the same issue...yet some had great download speeds. It all seemed too random...and if you look at all the "variables", the PS3/PSN are the only constants. The only thing that really varies are network setups, hardware used, and the ISP.

I know people just want to blame the PSN or Sony, but I honestly can't say that makes the most sense in this case, after all my experience. Maybe to the typical user, yeah, but I think we're all good enough with technology and logic to figure these things out and make the right connections (non-networking). I'd start by blaming the ISPs or hardware setups (ex: Modems seem to be a likely cause). But I know how hard it is to try different ISPs, and I know modems are expensive. That's why I'm going to be the guinea pig and try a new modem at my house over spring break, as that's what I've heard can work (specifically Linksys models).

Privoxy won't fix the large download sizes, but you'll be amazed how much better it all seems once you can hit the speeds you're supposed to be hitting. All it should take is a some time to set it up...hopefully not too many problems. Networking can be a pain to mess with. But if you get it going, all it takes is a computer running with the program on whenever you want to use the PS3. Basically set it and forget it. I know it's not the best option...but it's way better than switching ISPs or trying different hardware.

I think the only case where you could blame the PSN in this case would be it possibly being picky with the type of data it receives, or something. I think out of all of the possible scenarios, though, that's the least likely...and hardest to test for/least simplest. So it'd be better to start elsewhere.

I don't mean to sound like a fanboy, but I used to complain about the PSN as well until after I had my observations. And I know how much it sucks dealing with the PSN being slow, so I'm really hoping this can be some sort of solution to people.
 
Originally posted by: Baked
I can setup QoS for my PS3 just like I did for BT, but I don't know what port the PS3 uses, so I'm just gonna leave it alone. I just setup PS3 to shutdown after d/l.
Click to expand...

I generally just gave my PS3 a static IP address or used the MAC address with QoS. I also tried putting it in the DMZ. Neither changed download speeds or anything like that. Actually, for some reason, I felt like gaming online felt smoother without QoS/DMZ...but I feel like I'm crazy. It made no sense...

However, QoS IS good for VoIP. 😉
 
Actually, there's any number of things that could slow you down between various ISPs, such as their own connections to other networks, or even just where Sony's own servers decide to send you for downloads based on your IP or rDNS. Throttling is not necessarily the problem - heck, there's no reason it should be, and I didn't have similar problems on Comcast.

There's also that those comparisons are fundamentally invalid unless you're trying to download the same file at the same time... another part of PSN's problem is that it tends to handle heavy loads very badly, especially compared to Microsoft.
 
Originally posted by: erwos
Actually, there's any number of things that could slow you down between various ISPs, such as their own connections to other networks, or even just where Sony's own servers decide to send you for downloads based on your IP or rDNS. Throttling is not necessarily the problem - heck, there's no reason it should be, and I didn't have similar problems on Comcast.

There's also that those comparisons are fundamentally invalid unless you're trying to download the same file at the same time... another part of PSN's problem is that it tends to handle heavy loads very badly, especially compared to Microsoft.
Click to expand...

I'm not saying throttling is necessarily the problem. There's no reason why it would instantly slow down the PSN. But after hearing about those kind of practices, it just made me wonder. Insight, our old ISP, didn't do that kind of stuff (not that I've ever dealt with throttling personally). But as soon as Comcast took over, all sorts of weirdness started happening.

Whatever the real issue is, I don't think it's simply the PSN. Otherwise, it would be slow for everyone. But it's definitely complicated (and stupid).

It is true, though, that the PSN handles heavy traffic poorly. Generally, though, I still get decent speeds in such times.
 
Originally posted by: hans030390
Originally posted by: Baked
I can setup QoS for my PS3 just like I did for BT, but I don't know what port the PS3 uses, so I'm just gonna leave it alone. I just setup PS3 to shutdown after d/l.
Click to expand...

I generally just gave my PS3 a static IP address or used the MAC address with QoS. I also tried putting it in the DMZ. Neither changed download speeds or anything like that. Actually, for some reason, I felt like gaming online felt smoother without QoS/DMZ...but I feel like I'm crazy. It made no sense...

However, QoS IS good for VoIP. 😉
Click to expand...

I've seen these ports for forwarding:
* TCP: 80, 443, 5223, 10070-10080
* UDP: 3478, 3479, 3658, 10070

pregamelobby

 
Well, I just tried it out and it DID make a very noticeable difference. I went to the PSN store and started the download of a demo. Then I went back to the dash to the download manager and watched it for a couple of minutes to make a couple of rough estimations on the speed. Then I paused the download, enabled the proxy, and resumed the download. Sure enough, it was noticeably faster. I'd estimate at least 2x, and sometimes up to 3x, as fast. That's kind of crazy.

I don't keep my PC on all the time and I haven't had any issues with lag in games before, but it just take a couple of seconds to enable the proxy so I think I'll be taking advantage of this any time I'm going to be doing a large download. Thanks for posting this, hans.
 
Originally posted by: Thraxen
Well, I just tried it out and it DID make a very noticeable difference. I went to the PSN store and started the download of a demo. Then I went back to the dash to the download manager and watched it for a couple of minutes to make a couple of rough estimations on the speed. Then I paused the download, enabled the proxy, and resumed the download. Sure enough, it was noticeably faster. I'd estimate at least 2x, and sometimes up to 3x, as fast. That's kind of crazy.

I don't keep my PC on all the time and I haven't had any issues with lag in games before, but it just take a couple of seconds to enable the proxy so I think I'll be taking advantage of this any time I'm going to be doing a large download. Thanks for posting this, hans.
Click to expand...

No problem! I'm glad it actually helped. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: drbrock
how do you know your speed on psn. Is there an option on the ps3 to show speed of download?
Click to expand...

No, it's basically just an estimate you can make while downloading a file. Though, you can test your download/upload speeds on the PS3's browser through Speakeasy, just like any other computer. However, I've found those tests slow slower than normal speeds, even with fast downloads.

I'll be home later tomorrow. I'll try to test it for myself then if my new modem hasn't come in already.
 
This wreaks of a MTU/fragmentation problem. Those suggestions don't change anything really from a networking perspective. If you want to see if it's MTU then make sure path mtu detection (PMTUD) is enabled on your router or change the MTU on the PS3 to 1490 or 1400.
 
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