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Internet Speed Problem, However Tests show high speeds


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Internet Speed Problem, However Tests show high speeds
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zman2005
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
 
2007-09-02, 22:04

I have a real problem, my internet is slower then my iPhone's edge nextwork. I live in an apartment complex where the internet is included. I knew it wouldn't be great internet but I expected something a little better then this. I have ran a few tests and this is where I've come up with my problem. After doing a speed test I got these numbers: 1490 kbps download rate, and a 702 upload rate. Seems pretty good, right? But when i surf the web on mozilla and/or safari the browers are slower then my iphone. What can I do? What are the problems? My laptop has been acting weird lately. I have a g4 ibook 768 ram. THanks in advance
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ghoti
owner for sale by house
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Charlotte, NC
 
2007-09-02, 22:14

While that isn't spectacular, it's certainly faster than EDGE. Have you tried using your computer on a different network (like a Starbucks or something)? Or tried a different computer on your network? A speed test only tests the connection, so if your computer is slow for some reason (and you say it's acting weird), that won't tell you anything. Can you check if you really have 768MB? Perhaps one of your memory modules was knocked loose. Also, browsers need a lot of memory, what are you running in parallel?
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Ebby
Subdued and Medicated
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Over Yander
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2007-09-02, 23:01

Comcast did something odd to me. The bandwidth tests were good but sites were darn slow. Turned out I was getting 500ms ping rates from the DNS servers. At the time I also had DSL which loaded much faster but had a slower connection. I built my own DNS server out of an old computer, Ubuntu, and BIND and HO-LEE-CRAP did I get the "real" internet. It took out the lag after I clicked return to almost every site. It made a noticeable difference. I think ISP's DNS servers are just overloaded.

I had to shut it down before leaving for college, and it was almost like switching to dial up. I think many new routers cache DNS requests to speed up access much like what I built though to be honest, a dedicated computer seemed to work much better for me.

^^ One more quality post from the desk of Ebby. ^^
SSBA | SmockBogger | SporkNET
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PB PM
Sneaky Punk
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Vancouver, BC
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2007-09-02, 23:27

Yup, choosing a good DNS is important for speed. I've changed mine, although I don't have my own, I use a larger, faster one apart from that given by my ISP.
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Banana
is the next Chiquita
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
 
2007-09-03, 08:04

How do you get other DNS not otherwise provided by ISP? Is it a for-fee service?
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MBHockey
skates=grafs
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: New York
 
2007-09-03, 08:16

Try using OpenDNS.....www.opendns.com

This would be especially useful if Safari is hanging at "Contacting forums.applenova.com" for a while.

Where is the delay coming? At "Contacting <website>" or while actually downloading the images for the site?
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alcimedes
I shot the sherrif.
 
Join Date: May 2004
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2007-09-03, 10:28

Well, first thing I'd do is trying pinging some servers, see what the response times are.

(Network Utility in the Utilities folder)
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torifile
Less than Stellar Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Durham, NC
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2007-09-03, 10:39

Quote:
Originally Posted by MBHockey View Post
Try using OpenDNS.....www.opendns.com

This would be especially useful if Safari is hanging at "Contacting forums.applenova.com" for a while.

Where is the delay coming? At "Contacting <website>" or while actually downloading the images for the site?
^^

I switched DNS servers to the ones at opendns.com and things are much snappier most of the time. I always got held up at the "Contacting..." phase so I knew resolving IP addresses was the problem. Try it and see how it works.
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curiousuburb
Antimatter Man
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: that interweb thing
 
2007-09-03, 18:02

It might also be the case that the Speed Test files are cached by the ISP so you're getting near-WAN speeds on those. Both technically and as a marketing ploy this would be easy to justify.

Once you're requesting non-cached pages, you get caught in their latency (whatever the cause, but likely more to do with $$ than /. )

Find an equally fast host with a unique file that isn't likely to be cached by your ISP (doesn't need to be an actual 'speed test'... just large d/l) and you could probably get more clues about where the problem might reside.

And since it's a laptop, definitely try out alternate networks (wifi and wired) if you want to benchmark against other options.

If the pixels always look greener on the other side, you need to calibrate your screen. Or expectations.

All those who believe in telekinesis, raise my hand.
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alcimedes
I shot the sherrif.
 
Join Date: May 2004
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2007-09-03, 18:12

actually it's because the speed tests are just huge, single files. a 500ms lag doesn't matter when you have a 45 second continuous download coming of 5MB.

But try that same 500ms lag when fetching 34 3k files. Suddenly it's very noticeable.

Google is your frenemy.
Caveat Emptor - Latin for tough titty
I tend to interpret things in the way that's most hilarious to me
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curiousuburb
Antimatter Man
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: that interweb thing
 
2007-09-03, 18:24

Sure. There's a logical boundary of filesize/count -vs- lag.

But using the ISP "Speed Test" page is a mug's game compared to picking a random 5MB download from Archive.org or university.research.tz or .cn or similar. Cable providers routinely park such tests on the local cache.

Non-cached content of similar contiguous size serves as a neutral comparison.

All those who believe in telekinesis, raise my hand.
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zman2005
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
 
2007-09-04, 19:47

Thanks for all the responses, sorry for MY delay, I didn't realize I'd have such quick responses. Well I read everything and tried that OPENdns, and the problem is SOLVED. WOW, its like going from dial-up to actual high speed internet. And it was free!!! Thanks again for all the help
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MBHockey
skates=grafs
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: New York
 
2007-09-05, 05:12

Glad to hear it worked!
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