File transfer speeds

Hi,

I have a home network (laptop + desktop) connected through a Linksys Router.
Could anybody give me a rough idea about what sort of speeds to expect when
transferring files. A 2Gb file takes about 3 hours and Netmeter shows speeds
of about 270 KB/s. How long would you expect it to take for this size of
file and what could I look at to find the bottleneck.

Thanks in advance,

Graham.

Graham wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have a home network (laptop + desktop) connected through a Linksys Router.
> Could anybody give me a rough idea about what sort of speeds to expect when
> transferring files. A 2Gb file takes about 3 hours and Netmeter shows speeds
> of about 270 KB/s. How long would you expect it to take for this size of
> file and what could I look at to find the bottleneck.
>

Wired or wireless? Good wireless signal or not (if wireless)?


--
[ste]
Your Play Rank: MADAMADA ikuyo-

"[ste parker]" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Graham wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I have a home network (laptop + desktop) connected through a Linksys
Router.
> > Could anybody give me a rough idea about what sort of speeds to expect
when
> > transferring files. A 2Gb file takes about 3 hours and Netmeter shows
speeds
> > of about 270 KB/s. How long would you expect it to take for this size of
> > file and what could I look at to find the bottleneck.
> >
>
> Wired or wireless? Good wireless signal or not (if wireless)?
>
>
> --
> [ste]
> Your Play Rank: MADAMADA ikuyo-

Thanks for the quick reply. This is when wired directly to Router.

Thanks.

Graham wrote:
> "[ste parker]" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Graham wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> I have a home network (laptop + desktop) connected through a
>>> Linksys Router. Could anybody give me a rough idea about what sort
>>> of speeds to expect when transferring files. A 2Gb file takes about
>>> 3 hours and Netmeter shows speeds of about 270 KB/s. How long would
>>> you expect it to take for this size of file and what could I look
>>> at to find the bottleneck.
>>>
>>
>> Wired or wireless? Good wireless signal or not (if wireless)?
>>
>>
>> --
>> [ste]
>> Your Play Rank: MADAMADA ikuyo-
>
> Thanks for the quick reply. This is when wired directly to Router.
>
Then those speeds are appalling.
Are both machines using 100meg full duplex on the network cards?

--
Alex

Hermes: "We can't afford that! Especially not Zoidberg!"
Zoidberg: "They took away my credit cards!"

www.drzoidberg.co.uk www.ebayfaq.co.uk

In article <dhr3t3$s12$(E-Mail Removed)>,
(E-Mail Removed) says...
> "[ste parker]" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> > Graham wrote:
> > > I have a home network (laptop + desktop) connected through a Linksys
> Router.
> > > Could anybody give me a rough idea about what sort of speeds to expect
> when
> > > transferring files. A 2Gb file takes about 3 hours and Netmeter shows
> speeds
> > > of about 270 KB/s. How long would you expect it to take for this size of
> > > file and what could I look at to find the bottleneck.
> > >
> >
> > Wired or wireless? Good wireless signal or not (if wireless)?
>
> Thanks for the quick reply. This is when wired directly to Router.
>
If it's a 10Mbps wired connection you should get at least 5Mbps transfer
if there's no other traffic on the LAN.
2GB = 2048MB = 16384Mb
so the transfer should take 16384/5 = 3277s = 55 minutes.
Which would indicate there's something wrong with your network even if
it's only 10Mbps.
Duplex settings shouldn't make much difference as most of the traffic
will be in one direction. Have you got something like a crap antivirus
program that is slowing it to a crawl?

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Hash: SHA1

Graham wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have a home network (laptop + desktop) connected through a Linksys Router.
> Could anybody give me a rough idea about what sort of speeds to expect when
> transferring files. A 2Gb file takes about 3 hours and Netmeter shows speeds
> of about 270 KB/s. How long would you expect it to take for this size of
> file and what could I look at to find the bottleneck.

Try copying a file with Simple Socket File Transfer to eliminate any
problems/inaccuracies with Windows File Sharing overheads (assuming you're
using this).

http://www.whitsoftdev.com/ssft/

Rob mentioned an anti-virus problem, it could also be a (crap) firewall as
well. Another thing to keep in mind that the laptop, depending on it's
spec, might be a bit slower to process the transfer. What specs are both
the machines?

- --
Adam Piggott, Proprietor, Proactive Services (Computing).
http://www.proactiveservices.co.uk/

Please replace dot invalid with dot uk to email me.
Apply personally for PGP public key.
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"Graham" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:dhr2t5$ras$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi,
>
> I have a home network (laptop + desktop) connected through a Linksys
> Router. Could anybody give me a rough idea about what sort of speeds to
> expect when transferring files.

10Mb Ethernet (switched, full duplex): 700-900KB/s
100Mb Ethernet (switched, full duplex): 7-9MB/s
1Gb Ethernet: usually limited by drive speed
802.11b (11Mb wireless) (good connection, wired source via AP): 400-500KB/s
802.11g (54Mb wireless) (good connection, wired source via AP): 2-2.5MB/s

Older computers - say, with 500MHz CPU or less - may struggle to reach the
above for 100Mb Ethernet, either because of the CPU or hard drive speed.

> A 2Gb file takes about 3 hours and Netmeter shows speeds of about 270
> KB/s.

Since your later post states that the computers are wired to the router, a
rate of 270KB/s clearly indicates there is something wrong.

> How long would you expect it to take for this size of file

Assuming you mean 2GB (gigabyte) not 2Gb (gigabit); over 100Mb Ethernet,
under five minutes.

> and what could I look at to find the bottleneck.

In no particular order, good suspects are: faulty hardware, faulty
cables/connections, (crap/broken) firewall/antivirus, and mismatched duplex
settings.

It isn't terribly likely that the cards or router are faulty, but it may be
worth trying different ports on the router (if possible). Check the cables
are in good condition and substitute with others if you can. Disabling
firewall/antivirus should be easy enough to try.

It is possible that forcing duplex and/or speed settings may help.
Unfortunately the specifics vary between network cards. If you bring up the
Properties for the adaptor then select the Advanced tab, you should see a
listbox labeled "Property". Look for something like "Duplex mode",
"Connection type", or "Media type". The default setting is normally
something like "Auto" and other options may be things like "Half duplex",
"Full duplex", or "10BaseT". See where you can get by experimenting (but
take note of the original settings in case you want to go back). If it works
fine at 10Mb but 100Mb has problems, cabling is most likely the problem. If
forcing duplex helps, then that was probably the problem.

Perhaps needless to say, trying the PCs on a "known-good" network, and/or
trying a known-good PC on the network might be useful. Obviously, this is
most easily done for laptops.

It might be useful to know the makes, models and ideally versions of the
adaptors and the router.

Alex

"Alex Fraser" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:b-(E-Mail Removed)...
> "Graham" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:dhr2t5$ras$(E-Mail Removed)...
> > Hi,
> >
> > I have a home network (laptop + desktop) connected through a Linksys
> > Router. Could anybody give me a rough idea about what sort of speeds to
> > expect when transferring files.
>
> 10Mb Ethernet (switched, full duplex): 700-900KB/s
> 100Mb Ethernet (switched, full duplex): 7-9MB/s
> 1Gb Ethernet: usually limited by drive speed
> 802.11b (11Mb wireless) (good connection, wired source via AP):
400-500KB/s
> 802.11g (54Mb wireless) (good connection, wired source via AP): 2-2.5MB/s
>
> Older computers - say, with 500MHz CPU or less - may struggle to reach the
> above for 100Mb Ethernet, either because of the CPU or hard drive speed.
>
> > A 2Gb file takes about 3 hours and Netmeter shows speeds of about 270
> > KB/s.
>
> Since your later post states that the computers are wired to the router, a
> rate of 270KB/s clearly indicates there is something wrong.
>
> > How long would you expect it to take for this size of file
>
> Assuming you mean 2GB (gigabyte) not 2Gb (gigabit); over 100Mb Ethernet,
> under five minutes.
>
> > and what could I look at to find the bottleneck.
>
> In no particular order, good suspects are: faulty hardware, faulty
> cables/connections, (crap/broken) firewall/antivirus, and mismatched
duplex
> settings.
>
> It isn't terribly likely that the cards or router are faulty, but it may
be
> worth trying different ports on the router (if possible). Check the cables
> are in good condition and substitute with others if you can. Disabling
> firewall/antivirus should be easy enough to try.
>
> It is possible that forcing duplex and/or speed settings may help.
> Unfortunately the specifics vary between network cards. If you bring up
the
> Properties for the adaptor then select the Advanced tab, you should see a
> listbox labeled "Property". Look for something like "Duplex mode",
> "Connection type", or "Media type". The default setting is normally
> something like "Auto" and other options may be things like "Half duplex",
> "Full duplex", or "10BaseT". See where you can get by experimenting (but
> take note of the original settings in case you want to go back). If it
works
> fine at 10Mb but 100Mb has problems, cabling is most likely the problem.
If
> forcing duplex helps, then that was probably the problem.
>
> Perhaps needless to say, trying the PCs on a "known-good" network, and/or
> trying a known-good PC on the network might be useful. Obviously, this is
> most easily done for laptops.
>
> It might be useful to know the makes, models and ideally versions of the
> adaptors and the router.
>
> Alex
>
Thanks for all the advice, I will work through the suggestions and let you
know. The desktop has a 10Mb card set to full duplex.The laptop has a 100Mb
one which is set to autodetect. I will tinker with the firewall on the
laptop (built in XP one). The desktop has nothing running.

Thanks again,

Graham.

In article <dhrilt$4p0$(E-Mail Removed)>,
(E-Mail Removed) says...
<snip>
> Thanks for all the advice, I will work through the suggestions and let you
> know. The desktop has a 10Mb card set to full duplex.The laptop has a 100Mb
> one which is set to autodetect.

In that case the first thing I'd try is manually setting both machines
to 10Mbps simplex, if that works well try them duplex. Autodetect can
do strange things when you mix different types of hardware.

"Rob Morley" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) t...
> In article <dhrilt$4p0$(E-Mail Removed)>,
> (E-Mail Removed) says...
> <snip>
> > Thanks for all the advice, I will work through the suggestions and let
you
> > know. The desktop has a 10Mb card set to full duplex.The laptop has a
100Mb
> > one which is set to autodetect.
>
> In that case the first thing I'd try is manually setting both machines
> to 10Mbps simplex, if that works well try them duplex. Autodetect can
> do strange things when you mix different types of hardware.

Spot on Rob. Set both cards to 10Mb Half Duplex and speed has more than
trebled.

Thanks to everyone,

Graham.