Restricted UPLOAD Speed?

[bobst42392]

I've just switched from a Win XP Pro computer that died to a new Win7 Home Laptop and it seems that my UPLOAD speed is somehow restricted. On the old computer (same ISP, service and equipment) I could hit upload speeds of slightly over 500 kB/s. Now I can't hit 200 k/Bs for uploading. I've looked and read quite a bit of info on here and can't seem to find the problem. I'd appreciate any feedback. Thank you.

Specs:

1) Version of BitComet: 1.28 Stable Release 64-bit

2) Internet connection: U-verse (ADSL2+)

3) Combo Modem/Router: 2Wire 3801HVG, port forwarding not required, connecting via ethernet cable to laptop

4) Built-in firewall with 2Wire device and I've created a pinhole specifying the port used in BC

5) Windows: Win7 SP1, Firewall addressed above and Antivirus: Microsoft Security Essentials

6) This problem has been consistant since installation and use on the computer over the past three weeks.

7) After a fresh re-boot my speed test confirms DL 11.44 Mbps and UL 1.48 Mbps, consistant with my ISP Subscription of 12 MB DL and 1.5 MB

I've not tinkered with the BC settings in options dialog box: Global Max DL & UL rates are both at Unlimited

If I forgot to send any required setting info, please let me know and I will forward it.

Thank you.

[The UnUsual Suspect]

Why do you assume port forwarding is not required?

Also, according to the info you provided, it would not be possible to get speeds of 500kB/s for upload. Your max tested upload speed is...

Tested: 1.48m bits/second or 1480k bits/second

When converted from bits ( b ) to Bytes ( B ) this would equal 185k Bytes/second, which is about what you report.

I can't see any way possible that your old computer uploaded at 500kB/s unless it had a different internet connection.

ps. It is advisable to set a max upload limit that prevents you from using more then about 80% of your upload for sending data. This will keep you from becoming unresponsive to requests, resulting in poor performance. If your speed test is accurate, then you should limit your upload to about 150kB/s, but if you actually are able to upload at 200kB/s, then your speedtest may not be accurate and you should repeat it making sure no other computers or programs are using the internet connection.

[kluelos]

You most assuredly do need to forward your listen port through the 3801's firewall. Whoever told you differently should be taken off of the list of people that you go to for advice.

The 3801's built-in firmware firewall blocks any unrequested incoming connections absent forwarding your listen-port through it, and this is severely limiting your transfer speed.

[bobst42392]

I never bothered to check the math that you pointed out because I KNOW that at times I used to see BC display in its Window Title bar those fast UL speeds, and that's why I pursued this. But the math is what it is.

Just curious... why did you start your response with your port mapping comment?

Is port mapping needed? Would it improve my situation, or change the math?

Edited August 20, 2011 by bobst42392 (see edit history)

[bobst42392]

Kluelos- I stated in #4 of my specs that I did create a "pinhole", which is the terminology the 2wire router software uses to address opening a specific port number. I do get a green light in BC.

So "pinhole" as they call it is port mapping, right?

[The UnUsual Suspect]

why did you start your response with your port mapping comment?

I asked the question because I wasn't sure what your reasoning for thinking portforwarding wasn't required. If you have a greenlight on your WAN port, then the port is open, so either you have setup portforwarding, or your router has opened it using uPnP. The term "pinhole" isn't an industry standard term that I'm familiar with, which is the problem with routers, many tend to invent their own terms and definitions of what the terms mean.

Is port mapping needed? Would it improve my situation, or change the math?

An open port is needed to allow incoming connections. You can download without it, but it will be slow, often extremely slow. It will not change the math but could help you to get more peers to upload/download with.

[bobst42392]

Thank you for the help and I'm sorry about the confusion with the terminology.

[kluelos]

I use a model 3800HGV, and they don't call it a "pinhole" there, so I don't feel sure about the terminology change. However, if you're getting a green light, then the probe is getting through and being detected, so one way or another you've got a forwarded port.

The upload speeds that you get are extremely dependent on the composition of the swarm. This is the largest factor in the equation, and it's the one you have no control over --- how many people are trying to download from you while you're trying to upload.

Thus, "I can upload 200 KB/s" can only ever mean "for right now, for this particular torrent or set of torrents".

[bobst42392]

My Linksys router used the terminology "port forwarding," so it wasn't until I addressed the webpage to interface with the new modem/router (192.168.1.254) that I saw the "pinhole" terminolgy used on the firewall page. There's actually other posts here on this website where U-verse user had asked for help on creating a pinhole, which is specific to the physical port on the device. [user had created a pinhole called BC that worked on port X and router software wouldn't let him use it when he moved connection to port y. The simple answer was to create a new pinhole called BC2 with rules for port y] HOWEVER, I don't think the entire post used the word "pinhole"

{I would have pasted the screenshot of the 2wire interface page, but I've concluded that graphic images cannot simply be posted in the body of a forum message.}

As for the acceptance of that terminology, after reading the last reply, I looked it up in Wiki which I pasted in part below:

Firewall pinhole {From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)}

In computer networking, the term firewall pinhole is used to describe a port that is opened through a firewall to allow a particular application to gain controlled access to the protected network.

Leaving open gaps in a firewall exposes the protected system to malicious abuse. Obviously, a fully closed firewall would prevent applications from accessing information on the other side of the firewall. Thus, it is necessary to carefully open holes in firewalls that are very small and restricted (hence the term pinhole). For best protection, the mechanism for opening the pinhole in the firewall must implement some form of validation and security that will protect the system behind the firewall.

For firewalls performing a network address translation (NAT) function, the mapping between the {external address, external port} tuple and the {internal address, internal port} tuple is often called a pinhole.

Pinholes can be created manually or programmatically. They can be temporary (created dynamically for a specific duration such as for a dynamic connection) or permanent (such as for signalling functions).

Firewalls sometimes automatically close pinholes after a period of time (typically a few minutes) to minimize the security exposure. Applications that require a pinhole to be kept open often need to generate artificial traffic through the pinhole in order to cause the firewall to restart its timer.

[The UnUsual Suspect]

This is an obscure terminology. Even that article has no refferences and hasn't been noticed enough for someone to fix it or delete it, which is part of the problem. If all routers used the same terms, then it would be much easier for users and support personal alike. For example, BitComet provides software that requires open access to the internet, but users that install it seem to magically assume it's the software's job to get that access after they install it on a computer without direct internet connection. In this case, bitcomet can operate with full efficiency within their local network, but when it comes to the internet, the connections can only be made in one direction.

Fixing this problem is the job of the network administrator, which in this case is you, the person who operates the router. Then to make matters worse we get members here who ask us how to unblock the port in bitcomet... and the truth is, there is no port in bitcomet to unblock, the port needs to be opened in their LAN. To help members we even provide a list of what info we need to find them the solution they seek, but more often then not a member won't even read the very short list of info we need to know, and get angry and abusive demanding we just tell them how to open the port. It's beyond ridiculousness.

ps. I checked the documentation on my router, looking for the term "pinhole", and found that it was a small hole in the pack of the router where you can insert a "pin" in order to press the "reset" button, which erases all user controlled settings, restoring the router to factory defaults. Nothing at all to do with "portforwarding", which is the most popular term used today for the process of opening a port for a specific application.

[bobst42392]

I hear you with respect to abusive members that can't research on their own. It's either a sign of laziness or that they are into something that is way over their head and they should just find another hobby. All those posts asking the same questions that have been answered in the stickies are just a waste of space and time.

There's two things I hope. First, that you believe that my initial question was only asked after I reviewed all the posts in an attempt to figure it out myself. And two... that I did NOT create that wiki entry--- don't know how to.

And I'll stop here, because I think I'm straying from the original topic.

[The UnUsual Suspect]

I know you didn't create the wiki, it was done in 2009, without sources and they usually get fixed rather quickly, so it appears to be abandoned. It's more or less a dead page, but I'll keep that term in my mind with all the others that are common, like "virtual server" that dlink used to use exclusively, but now they list both portforward and virtual server, which perform the same function.

[kluelos]

To the extent that the term "pinhole" still has any validity, it does (as the article notes) require at least some sort of verification. That is, the incoming connection has to pass some sort of basic authentication.

That, of course, isn't a part of ordinary port-forwarding. Incoming connections do not have to authenticate. Like much of the internet, we assume they are who they say they are.

The model 3800 has no provision for authentication or any kind of validation. The manual for the 3801 doesn't indicate any difference in this area. In general, authentication at the router level seems to have mostly disappeared from the world.

Restriction might be placed on the connection, but I have to say the ROUTER is a very strange place to try to do it. It would make far more sense to do this on the application level, and it would be far simpler. Incoming connections could easily be forwarded only to particular ports, with the restriction based on the port number. I am hearing echoes of obsolete approaches to security in this definition.

[cassie]

{I would have pasted the screenshot of the 2wire interface page, but I've concluded that graphic images cannot simply be posted in the body of a forum message.}

Hi, there. :)

Not that I want to blatantly intrude on this conversation but... I think that if you go here, you might be able to post future pics, without a hitch.. ;)