Diagnosing Network Problems?

[silkstone]

hi, i was wondering if i could get some advice?

I have my HTPC connected via wi-fi to my main rig. However, file transfer speeds are extremely slow, in the region of 300Kb/s.

My laptop is connected via the same wi-fi router and experiences much better speeds, normal wi-fi transfer speeds.

Before i throw my HTPCs wifi card out of the window are there any steps i can take to diagnose connection problems?

 

[Wozzer]

Not a diagnostic method - but have you made sure all drivers are up to date?

Was the HTPC always this slow?

 

[newtekie1]

Wireless is just crap, if the signal isn't as good for the HTPC as the laptop, then it will get worse transfer speeds. I've seen a USB wireless card get total garbage transfer speeds when plugged in the back of the PC and then get great transfer speeds when plugged in the front. The case was actually blocking a good amount of the signal.

Try moving the machine so that the antenna is oriented in different directions and see if that helps.

 

[Jetster]

List your hardware. Router, nic?

 

[Completely Bonkers]

For "fixed" devices, if you cant run a cable, then use homeplug 500mps. Wireless really is for laptops and tablets etc, and will never compete on performance.

If you *must* wireless, then try a bigger aerial, or a better product, like ubiquiti wifistation

 

[Steevo]

If it weren't for a good paying job I would start my own WISP using Ubiquity and Sonicwall.


back on topic.


CMD

ping (whatever your host machine IP is) -ttl


let it run for a few minutes and disconnect all other wifi devices and see if that causes any change. Let us know what it returns.
Also read this.


http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21086718

 

[silkstone]

The signal sits at 2-3 bars, when i plug in the network cable, speeds are fine. I'm using a cheapo $10 TP-link pci-e 4x card and a D-Link DIR-600 router.

There aren't usually any other devices on the network when my HTPC is on. I'll ping my main machine tonight, when i get back from work and post the results.

I'll also try moving the machine out of the cabinet and facing the antenna towards the router. The distance between them is currently about 4 meters, not very far. I'm pretty sure the drivers are up to date, but i'll give those another look tonight. Might it be worth getting a bigger antenna for the router or card?

 

[Jetster]

Your router is mediocre. Your nic, even though you didn't say the model. At $10 is most likely a 802.11G and you speeds will suck.. pinging a your host has nothing to do with it really. Its hard file transfer speeds that will tell you if its fixed

HTPCs do not do well on wireless. If you have to run on wireless you need Dual band N on both 5.0 Ghz and 2.4 Ghz (simultaneously). This will stream 1080p but not at a distance. You router does "N" but not 5.0GHz so the best your going to be able to do will be standard resolutions. Not HD

Now keep in mind that wired networks are ruffly 10 times faster then wireless. So that would be your best option. You could get a new Wireless nic "N" for your HTPC but your still not going to see the speeds you want but it should be as fast as your laptop. And keep in mind even though you dont have any network traffic on your network. Your neighbors are most like on 2.4 Ghz also and that does affect you. That's one reason why 5.0GHz is better


Reference: http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/

http://www.netgear.com/landing/dual-band.aspx
Now you can connect one PC with two nics to a single router on both bands at the same time. You have to separate the bands in the router configuration. Im doing it to my laptop upstairs and can watch HD off my HTPC downstairs but it will stops every so often.

 

[silkstone]

Your router is mediocre. Your nic, even though you didn't say the model. At $10 is most likely a 802.11G and you speeds will suck.. pinging a your host has nothing to do with it really. Its hard file transfer speeds that will tell you if its fixed

HTPCs do not do well on wireless. If you have to run on wireless you need Dual band N on both 5.0 Ghz and 2.4 Ghz (simultaneously). This will stream 1080p but not at a distance. You router does "N" but not 5.0GHz so the best your going to be able to do will be standard resolutions. Not HD

Now keep in mind that wired networks are ruffly 10 times faster then wireless. So that would be your best option. You could get a new Wireless nic "N" for your HTPC but your still not going to see the speeds you want but it should be as fast as your laptop. And keep in mind even though you dont have any network traffic on your network. Your neighbors are most like on 2.4 Ghz also and that does affect you. That's one reason why 5.0GHz is better


Reference: http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/

http://www.netgear.com/landing/dual-band.aspx
Now you can connect one PC with two nics to a single router on both bands at the same time. You have to separate the bands in the router configuration. Im doing it to my laptop upstairs and can watch HD off my HTPC downstairs but it will stops every so often.

hi Jetster. The wifi ard was about $15-20 and is an N - model. Generally, i can stream HD content to my laptop (via the same router) no problems. Blue rays, i sometimes have an issue with, but the speed is pretty good. I rarely wath any big files any way and use it mostly for TV shows that aren't available here so file sizes are only 400mb-1.5gb.

I was expecting to get a much greater speed than 300Kb/s. Internet downloads also seem to be much slower via my HTPC for some reason


as a quick comparison, my laptop will transfer at 8-10MB/s. I'd be happy with a quarter of that speed on my HTPC, at least that way, i can xfer videos first and then watch them straight from my HTPC Drive. The laptop and the HTPC are in the same place (under the TV) but obviously not connected at the same time.

Edit - I just dug out the wifi card's box - it is model number: TL-WN781ND

 

[Completely Bonkers]

There's one thing being able to handle the "n" protocol. And there is something else running "n" at full speed under wi-fi security.

As an example, this device: http://www.fon.com/en/product/fonera2nFeatures which I have as my access point is absolute toilet. It cannot cope with even HTPC streaming on the fixed cable ports... the wifi will fall over. It will happily connect the laptop... but even under "n" it cannot achieve more than "g" speeds when running any kind of wifi security.

Remember "n" is a protocol and is no guarantee of sustained speeds. Go homeplu 500Mps or run a dedicated cable to a HTPC.

 

[silkstone]

There's one thing being able to handle the "n" protocol. And there is something else running "n" at full speed under wi-fi security.

As an example, this device: http://www.fon.com/en/product/fonera2nFeatures which I have as my access point is absolute toilet. It cannot cope with even HTPC streaming on the fixed cable ports... the wifi will fall over. It will happily connect the laptop... but even under "n" it cannot achieve more than "g" speeds when running any kind of wifi security.

Remember "n" is a protocol and is no guarantee of sustained speeds. Go homeplu 500Mps or run a dedicated cable to a HTPC.

I know, i was just wondering what i could try to see if it was a problem other than my card, maybe configuration - how would i tell if it's connecting over 'n'or 'g'?

I think i have found some newer drivers, i'll try those a little later to see if that helps at all.

I'm don;t mind throwing the card away and trying a new one, but i'd like to troubleshoot first is all.
Just to clarify again - my wireless router will stream at around 100MB/s, which i am happy with. My wired router is a little older and has it's own set of problems, but a direct connection to this is no problem and i get full speed.

 

[Completely Bonkers]

Your wireless router cannot stream 100MB/s over wireless. Guaranteed. Whoever gave you that number is pulling the wool over your eyes. If you are LUCKY you might be able to connect at 130Mb/s (bits per second divided by 8 to bytes), but with error correction and the wireless protocol "gaps" between data sent wirelessly, you will get half of that at best when there is NO CONTENTION (ie nobody else using the same or "near" wireless channel at the same time). Many wireless routers slow down when they have to encode/decode due to wireless security protocol.

Net net: 130Mb/s = 16MB/s max theoretic data throughput, then divide by two for realistic figure for parity bits, start and stop bits, etc. = 8MB/s. Now THAT is what you CAN EXPECT. Who told you 100MB/s? Kick em in the teef.

 

[silkstone]

Your wireless router cannot stream 100MB/s over wireless. Guaranteed. Whoever gave you that number is pulling the wool over your eyes. If you are LUCKY you might be able to connect at 130Mb/s (bits per second divided by 8 to bytes), but with error correction and the wireless protocol "gaps" between data sent wirelessly, you will get half of that at best when there is NO CONTENTION (ie nobody else using the same or "near" wireless channel at the same time). Many wireless routers slow down when they have to encode/decode due to wireless security protocol.

Net net: 130Mb/s = 16MB/s max theoretic data throughput, then divide by two for realistic figure for parity bits, start and stop bits, etc. = 8MB/s. Now THAT is what you CAN EXPECT. Who told you 100MB/s? Kick em in the teef.

Ahh, my calculations were off. i was just rounding 10MB/s ~ 100Mbit/s

I uninstalled an Avermedia program that was using a constant 50% and it sped things up a bit. Transfers are at around 2-3MB/s

The drivers i found are from 2010, but i will try them anyway. I checked in the properties and it seems it is connected at 1/2 N (150MBit) so it's not that. Would a better antenna help with signal strength? I am getting 2-4 bars at the moment.

Edit - I always get confused between Mb and MB, i forget which one is which. so if i write something ridiculus like 100MBytes/s just assume i mean bits

 

[Jetster]

All you can do it try another nic.
To tell how your connected right click on the wireless status in the system tray. G will say 54 Mbps, N will say 130 / 300 Mbps

 

[Steevo]

Aluminum foil booster, search youtube or the webs and it will help.