Why is my home network so slow at moving files around?

[Ghiedo27]

I located the speed & duplex settings on my PCs. They were both set to autonegotiate. What should they be set to? I put them both at 100 full and tried a file transfer between them and got 3.5 mbps. When I put them both at half duplex I get 4.5 mbps...

This is kind of an odd request, but can you try this?
1-Change the computers back to auto and shut them down.
2-Use a paperclip or w/e to press the routers "reset factory settings" button (until the power light begins to blink).
3- wait 1 minute and turn your computers back on.

Once your computers are back on try to share one file from computer A to computer B while at the same time you share a file from computer B to computer A. Watch for the transfer rates on both machines. To keep it simple only have those 2 devices hooked up to the router and turn the wireless off completely.

 

[cebalrai]

This is kind of an odd request, but can you try this?
1-Change the computers back to auto and shut them down.
2-Use a paperclip or w/e to press the routers "reset factory settings" button (until the power light begins to blink).
3- wait 1 minute and turn your computers back on.

Once your computers are back on try to share one file from computer A to computer B while at the same time you share a file from computer B to computer A. Watch for the transfer rates on both machines. To keep it simple only have those 2 devices hooked up to the router and turn the wireless off completely.

The transfer rates were 3.3 mbps one way and 2.6 the other way.

 

[Ghiedo27]

I think (read: blindly guess ) that your devices might be good for gigabit speeds but your cables aren't up to it. They auto-negotiate properly but so much of the traffic is garbage you end up with a slow transfer speeds.

You might be able to find a collision counter next to where the speed and duplex numbers on your router are (mine shows them in the same table), but I'd go to the windows command prompt and type netstat -e. That'll show discards and errors. I'd start up another file transfer and run that command a few times as it's copying. I would run the command from both hosts several times during the process.

 

[cebalrai]

I think (read: blindly guess ) that your devices might be good for gigabit speeds but your cables aren't up to it. They auto-negotiate properly but so much of the traffic is garbage you end up with a slow transfer speeds.

You might be able to find a collision counter next to where the speed and duplex numbers on your router are (mine shows them in the same table), but I'd go to the windows command prompt and type netstat -e. That'll show discards and errors. I'd start up another file transfer and run that command a few times as it's copying. I would run the command from both hosts several times during the process.

Since wireless speed is equally terrible I don't see how it could be a cable issue.

 

[OlafSicky]

Since wireless speed is equally terrible I don't see how it could be a cable issue.

Long run, bent cable, bad termination, cable run along power cables etc.
Try a short store bought cable between the computers.

 

[cebalrai]

Long run, bent cable, bad termination, cable run along power cables etc.
Try a short store bought cable between the computers.

I seriously have like nine ethernet cables, all of them except one say cat 5. Swapping them makes no difference. None of them are long, in fact the one in there now is 3-4 feet. None have ever been bent.

And the wireless connection is equally slow. So how could it be a cable issue?

 

[cebalrai]

You might be able to find a collision counter next to where the speed and duplex numbers on your router are (mine shows them in the same table), but I'd go to the windows command prompt and type netstat -e. That'll show discards and errors. I'd start up another file transfer and run that command a few times as it's copying. I would run the command from both hosts several times during the process.

Ok did this... o errors, 0 discards.

 

[Ghiedo27]

Truly frustrating. :\

I seriously have like nine Ethernet cables, all of them except one say cat 5. Swapping them makes no difference.

Are they cat 5 or cat 5e? The 'e' should be stamped on the cord. Regular cat5 isn't meant for gigabit Ethernet. That would be kind of odd, even for giveaway cables.

And the wireless connection is equally slow. So how could it be a cable issue?

Well, 3.5MBps over single antenna 2.4ghz wireless is average as far as I can tell. That's what I get over maybe a 10 ft gap. Even if it wasn't, the file went over a wire to get to the router in the first place, right?

That's the one segment that's consistently part of the problem. Multiple hosts are exhibiting the same speed problem through 2 different routers. I'd seriously consider going to the shop and grabbing a pair of new cables marked for gigabit Ethernet and trying that.

 

[cebalrai]

Truly frustrating. :\
Are they cat 5 or cat 5e? The 'e' should be stamped on the cord. Regular cat5 isn't meant for gigabit Ethernet. That would be kind of odd, even for giveaway cables.

Sorry, yes they're cat 5e.

Well, 3.5MBps over single antenna 2.4ghz wireless is average as far as I can tell. That's what I get over maybe a 10 ft gap. Even if it wasn't, the file went over a wire to get to the router in the first place, right?

Wired or wireless, I don't believe that a paltry 3.5 mbps is normal. As far as the cable from the modem to the router, I tried several cables there as well and nothing changes. Besides, speedtest has my connection at 31 mbps. That tells me that there's nothing wrong with that cable.

That's the one segment that's consistently part of the problem. Multiple hosts are exhibiting the same speed problem through 2 different routers. I'd seriously consider going to the shop and grabbing a pair of new cables marked for gigabit Ethernet and trying that.

I already have cables marked for gigabit ethernet. If I buy more what difference will that make? Are you really thinking that all of my cables are just unworkably awful?

 

[VirtualLarry]

could it be an AC power issue? Unclean power to the routers, affecting the power bricks, affecting the signal quality?

I had a problem, where when I rebooted one of my WDS routers, it would only connect at 13Mbit/sec.

I replaced the router, but later discovered, that the problem wasn't the router, it was the power brick. Replaced it, and then it connected at 130Mbit/sec, the max DD-WRT connects at on that router in single-channel 2.4Ghz mode.

 

[cebalrai]

could it be an AC power issue? Unclean power to the routers, affecting the power bricks, affecting the signal quality?

I had a problem, where when I rebooted one of my WDS routers, it would only connect at 13Mbit/sec.

I replaced the router, but later discovered, that the problem wasn't the router, it was the power brick. Replaced it, and then it connected at 130Mbit/sec, the max DD-WRT connects at on that router in single-channel 2.4Ghz mode.

By power brick do you mean the surge protector?

 

[Ghiedo27]

Wired or wireless, I don't believe that a paltry 3.5 mbps is normal. As far as the cable from the modem to the router, I tried several cables there as well and nothing changes. Besides, speedtest has my connection at 31 mbps. That tells me that there's nothing wrong with that cable.

LAN traffic is shown (in the popup) as bytes per second and speedtest gives you a result in bits per second. So that 31 mbps is really 3.9mBps (1 byte = 8 bits) and in no way conflicts with what you're seeing from host to host transfer unless you really are seeing <4 megabits per second (the capital or lower case b/B is what gives it away).

I already have cables marked for gigabit ethernet. If I buy more what difference will that make? Are you really thinking that all of my cables are just unworkably awful?

I can only work with what you tell me. Last I heard they were all cat 5. If you have gigabit cables and can use just those then that's great.

At this point you're going to have to figure out what the common component(s) in all of your transfers has been. Have you tried swapping in different hosts? Anything that different would be a clue. Updating firmware and LAN drivers wouldn't hurt, either.

Some people have greater success using a 3rd party ftp manager (like filezilla) to manage network transfers. Iirc, your NAS supports that.

 

[VirtualLarry]

By power brick do you mean the surge protector?

No, the power brick that plugs into the AC outlet, that provides power to the router.

 

[cebalrai]

LAN traffic is shown (in the popup) as bytes per second and speedtest gives you a result in bits per second. So that 31 mbps is really 3.9mBps (1 byte = 8 bits) and in no way conflicts with what you're seeing from host to host transfer unless you really are seeing <4 megabits per second (the capital or lower case b/B is what gives it away).
I can only work with what you tell me. Last I heard they were all cat 5. If you have gigabit cables and can use just those then that's great.

At this point you're going to have to figure out what the common component(s) in all of your transfers has been. Have you tried swapping in different hosts? Anything that different would be a clue. Updating firmware and LAN drivers wouldn't hurt, either.

Some people have greater success using a 3rd party ftp manager (like filezilla) to manage network transfers. Iirc, your NAS supports that.

When I copy a file from one device to another on my network the window says something like 3.8 MB/second with both letters capitalized. What does that mean?

 

[Ghiedo27]

Capital B means bytes. So 3.8MB/second is equivalent to about 30mbps.

 

[kami]

When I copy a file from one device to another on my network the window says something like 3.8 MB/second with both letters capitalized. What does that mean?

3.8 MegaBYTES per second. Your speed test that shows 31 is MegaBITS per second which Is 3.875 MegaBYTES per second which is in line with your file transfer speed. You say you've tried 9 Ethernet cables...were they all from the same source or are they different? I've seen so many problems resolved with new cables.

Have you tried disabling all firewalls and anti virus?

 

[cebalrai]

Capital B means bytes. So 3.8MB/second is equivalent to about 30mbps.

So you're saying nothing is wrong? :$

 

[Ghiedo27]

Well, the wireless is performing just under what you'd expect with single antenna .11N. The wired portion of the network should be 15-20x faster that what it's at now.

I'd be tempted to get a gigabit switch from a store with a generous return policy just to try it, honestly (just be courteous and keep the packaging tidy for them to resell it). That or set up ftp or reinstall LAN drivers. It's just really weird that it's so pervasive in the network over two different routers. At this point you may as well even try turning IPv6 back on, lol.

 

[Jarhead]

If cross-over cables work with Gigabit Ethernet, I'd be tempted to go direct, machine to machine, which would take out all of the ambiguous/questionable stuff and narrow it down to the PC's involved and nothing else.

 

[Dug]

Take spidey's advice

Not saying that you didn't disable wireless, but double check wireless is off on the router AND your computer when doing the tests.

Can you try making a copy of the file onto your own hard drive just to rule out the hard drive on your computer?

Can you hook up the NAS by USB and test file transfer that way?

If copying file on your own hard drive, or to the NAS through USB is slow, then the problem is your computers hard drive.

 

[Fardringle]

Edit: The rude and insulting comments by Elvenking were deleted, but I'll leave my answer anyway.

It's nice to see such helpful, courteous comments from your first two posts, Elvenking! Congratulations on a great start! [/sarcasm]

While the comment about the WD My Book being slow was incorrect (in general) the comment about wireless being slow is absolutely correct. Even when it is working perfectly, wireless is slow compared to wired. Particularly since it has been confirmed that local transfer speeds are EXACTLY the same as the results from Internet speed tests, which indicates that there is something wrong on the local network, just as folks here (who get paid big bucks for this type of thing) have been saying.


cebalrai, as Spidey and Dug said, make sure that wireless is completely disabled on all devices in your testing (off on the router, off on the PC/laptops) then try another file transfer to see what speed you get. If it's still the same, then you definitely have a problem with cables and/or network adapters and you'll need to test each of them one at a time until you find the problem.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I get 30Mbit/sec down on my Internet connection, also the same over Wireless N single-channel (20Mhz). I used to get 3.6MB/sec over wireless from my laptop to my NAS. Which also works out to around 35Mbit/sec.

 

[Smoblikat]

What are you using for wiring? That router only supports CAT 5 speeds, which means on a sunny day downhill youll get 12mb/s maximum.

 

[Fardringle]

What are you using for wiring? That router only supports CAT 5 speeds, which means on a sunny day downhill youll get 12mb/s maximum.

The Netgear N600 (WNDR3700) has four gigabit ports as well as simultaneous dual band (separate radios) wireless. It is a very capable device that can easily handle gigabit transfers - unless it is defective, which is why a few posts here have said to try various tests to narrow down the cause of the problem.

 

[Modelworks]

Very first thing I would do is run wireshark and see what the traffic looks like, are there re-transmits, collisions, etc ?
Next step is to start from the basics, do a NAS direct wired connection to a single pc and measure the transfer, no router involved, just port to port cable. work your way up adding more connections until you fix the problem.

Trying to solve problems by swapping out things, changing random settings, is the long way to solving technical problems. Start small and work up.

MB for megabytes, Mb for megabits, just bringing that up because in lots of postings the terms are used interchangeably and they shouldn't be used that way.

For comparison, on a 100Mbit network at home I see transfers of 10-11MB/sec from pc to pc wired, and 4-5MB/sec wireless and 100% strength.