HELP: My DL/UL speed diminished!

[sifflwitz]

hello,
i have had a problem with my connection speeds for the past three weeks.
i am not new to bit torrent and have downloaded over 300 gigs via bit torrent. for some reason about 3 weeks ago my speeds went from full throttle to nothing.

here are the specs of my set-up:
powerbook g4 mac osx 10.4.7
mainline Bittorrent 4.4.1
linksys router WRT54G
my isp is a wireless service that runs dl: 3Mbps, ul: 384 kbps

i have opened up the ports on both my computer and the router. i primarily use 3 bittorrent hosting sites and none of them say that i am firewalled.

Three weeks ago before this problem occured i was uploading at a rate of about 194 kbps. i turned off bittorrent for a while and when i turned it back on i was uploading at about 1kbps and still am not getting too much better than that. my download speeds were peaking out at about 250 kbps and are now no more than 8kbps.

i know it's not my isp because when i connect to other servers such as sendspace or soulseek i am getting top speed downloads. so this appears to be a bittorrent problem exclusively. i have let torrents run for upwards of 30 hours at a time because i realize you may have to wait in line to get the top download speed but they haven't been coming.

i have tried downloading azuerus to see if maybe it was just a problem with the mainline but the speeds are just as bad.

if anyone has any insight into this matter it would be greatly appreciated for i love bittorrent and find it extremely useful and i have even made donations to bittorrent to support their work.

PLEASE HELP!

[U2Lynne]

Some ISPs are now blocking the common bittorrent ports, 6881-6889. Are you using any of those ports? If so, I would change to another port, like one over 50,000 and then see if your speeds improve.

[sifflwitz]

U2Lynne:
can i choose any port i wish or are there some other specific ports that are used strictly by bittorrent? should i check out a peer list for a torrent and see what ports other people are using?
i imagine i just change the port in bittorrent, then my firewall on my computer then forward that port to my router?

[U2Lynne]

Originally Posted by sifflwitz

U2Lynne:
can i choose any port i wish or are there some other specific ports that are used strictly by bittorrent? should i check out a peer list for a torrent and see what ports other people are using?
i imagine i just change the port in bittorrent, then my firewall on my computer then forward that port to my router?

Well, there are certain ports that are assigned to certain things. Like, port 80 is for browsers. That's why I suggested using something above 50,000. I don't think those are assigned. You could check out other people's ports and pick one of those and try it. Once you decide which port to try out, you will need to change it in your bittorrent client, your firewall, and your router (as you mentioned).

[sifflwitz]

ok i'm trying this out. i got everything open and i am showing that i am not firewalled. i will let this run for awhile to see what happens. thanks for your help

[direwolf-pgh]

any port #'s between 48620-49150 are unassigned

-yea just grab one you like.. then open same port(s) on your router

here is a link for current assigned ports for the internet...
http://www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers

[sifflwitz]

so i have tried opening ports above 50000, i have tried opening ports between 48620-49150 and still am not dl'ing any faster than 8kbps and ul'ing any faster than 4kbps. i am now trying a port that another peer is using that shows a reasonable download rate but it's not looking any better thus far.

is there anything else i can do? should i call my isp to find out what the deal is?

if it makes any difference i am judging my connection speeds on the torrent for the dvds of surrender to the air with trey anastasio.it's showing 16 seeds and 19 leechers.....

[dementrium]

Sifflwitz, to help you determine if the problem is just with bittorrents, please try this site and run some speed tests (stop any torrents, dowloading, etc... before you run them)

http://www.dslreports.com/stest?more=1

Also, you are on a wireless network? They are known to be prone to hijacking, tapping, etc. (I'm not sayinng your particular installation is insecure but I've head some first-hand stories from people having their wireless LANs being hijacked by neighboords living at the same building ).

[sifflwitz]

dementrium,
thanks for the link, i will try the tests.
i am very aware of people being able to jump on my network. i do have my network protected by a password and have tested this when friends have brought over their laptops and tried to jump on my network. also as i have stated before i am getting top speeds from all my other apps and downloads. i just tested that again this morning. i downloaded a whole album from another peer transfering at over 100kbps......

[sifflwitz]

ok so i tried the test from the miami location and the results are 183.8 kbps dl and 45.8 kbps ul. so what can be the problem?? i guess the only thing left to do is to contact my isp?? but what can they do or say?

[dementrium]

So, I'm going to suggest more pretty obvious and/or stupid things:

Have you installed any new soft (or changed some setups) just prior the problem ocurred?

Have you googled enough in order to find some people with similar problems/similar setup you have? Maybe adding the name of your ISP should focus better results.

Can you try torrenting at a friend's house and see what happens?

Did you try uTorrent? (Small memory footprint and demands few CPU). Although I don't know whether is there a version for Mac.

[randytravis]

which ISP are you using?

if your speeds are only affected on torrents, it's most likely that they're employing traffic shaping to slow down your torrents. you mentioned you've tried azureus, if you've still got it installed, enable the encryption, restart, and see if your speeds increase.

Azureus v2.4.0.2:
Tools > Options > Connection > Tranport Encryption

check all the boxes, and set the encryption level to RC4





uTorrent 1.6:
Options > Preferences (or CTRL + P) > BitTorrent

under Protocol Encryption, set outgoing to Enabled, and check Allow incoming legacy connections.





for more info on message stream encryption:
http://www.azureuswiki.com/index.php...raffic_shaping
http://www.azureuswiki.com/index.php...eam_Encryption

[dementrium]

Yes, traffic shaping is a posibility but, I've found something on your end that matches an entry on the uTorrent FAQ.
Give it a shot.

Originally Posted by sifflwitz

hello,

here are the specs of my set-up:
powerbook g4 mac osx 10.4.7
mainline Bittorrent 4.4.1
linksys router WRT54G
my isp is a wireless service that runs dl: 3Mbps, ul: 384 kbps

http://www.utorrent.com/faq.php#Spec..._GL_GS_routers

Originally Posted by uTorrent official FAQ

Special note for users with Linksys WRT54G/GL/GS routers, there are severe problems with them when running any P2P app (read for fix)

The following note does NOT apply to WRT54G/GS v5s! Use the latest official firmware (1.00.9+) with those, they do not suffer from this problem.

The default firmware for Linksys (and all replacement firmwares except for the latest DD-WRT and HyperWRT Thibor) have a severe problem where they track old connections for FIVE days, which causes the router to hang when using P2P apps, or any software that generates a lot of connections. DHT only aggravates the situation because of the number of connections it generates.

Linksys has yet to address this issue, but there is a fix. If you use alternative firmware, you can put in a start-up script to fix this problem. DD-WRT and HyperWRT support custom start-up scripts. I am not responsible if you screw up your router, so you do this at your own risk. This page has instructions on recovering a bricked router.:

HyperWRT Thibor (14+) (54G/GL/GS only, excluding hardware revision V5 of 54G/GS)
DD-WRT (v23+)(54G/GL/GS excluding hardware revision V5 of 54G)
If you experience any strange issues or performance problems, clear your NVRAM, and if all else fails, try changing firmwares (but make sure you clear the NVRAM afterwards!)

You should avoid upgrading over a wireless connection, since the connection may drop out and brick the router.

To upgrade the firmware follow the instructions on the download section of Thibor's page if flashing to HyperWRT Thibor, and make sure you download the correct firmware version for your router!

Neither DD-WRT v23+ nor DD-WRT Thibor14+ require these steps, but older versions of HyperWRT tofu/Thibor and DD-WRT do. The following are for HyperWRT tofu and older Thibors.
Go to the web interface (default password is admin) by typing http://192.168.1.1 into your browser.
Click Administration, then Edit Startup. Put the following commands in the box:

echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/icmp_echo_ignore_broadcasts
echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/icmp_ignore_bogus_error_responses
echo "600 1800 120 60 120 120 10 60 30 120" > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_conntrack_tcp_timeouts
Click Save, close the window, then click Save settings.
Reboot the router (the Administration page has a Reboot button) and you'll be done.
To upgrade to DD-WRT, follow the instructions on this page. The Right Way to Flash Your WRT54G/GL/GS. The following instructions are for DD-WRT only

Do not use the web interface method as it cuts off part of the commands.
Enable SSH (Admin, Services) as we are going to use the NVRAM method @ http://wrt-wiki.bsr-clan.de/index.ph...s#NVRAM_Method
Login to the router with an SSH client (root/your password).
Put the following commands into the SSH client.
~ # nvram set rc_startup="
> echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/icmp_echo_ignore_broadcasts
> echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/icmp_ignore_bogus_error_responses
> echo '600 1800 120 60 120 120 10 60 30 120' > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_conntrack_tcp_timeouts
> "
~ # nvram commit
~ # reboot
The system is going down NOW !!
Sending SIGTERM to all processes.
Note the ' instead of " on the third command line. Using " on the third command line closes the set command (as on last line), meaning that the last command will get cut off prematurely.
Make sure your "Maximum Ports" is set to 4096 on the Management page.
You can check the settings worked by logging in via SSH and viewing the contents of each file as below or using the "nvram get rc_startup" command.
~ # more /proc/sys/net/ipv4/icmp_ignore_bogus_error_responses
1
Enjoy instant µTorrent speed increase from pretty much zero on each torrent to full speed!
Thanks frankw for the instructions for DD-WRT

Remember, I am not responsible if you screw up your router, so it's your problem if something goes wrong. However, if something does go wrong, this page has instructions on recovering a bricked ("dead") router.

If you require further assistance with either firmware, please visit HyperWRT.org (the main site does not have the latest builds however), HyperWRT Forum's Advanced Help Section, DD-WRT.org, and DD-WRT's Wiki.
Please do not ask for help with these firmwares on the µTorrent forums.

[sifflwitz]

WOW randy travis. i did exactly what you said to do with azeurus and that shit took off right from the get-go!! THANK YOU!!! i was afraid that i would have to abandon bit torrent after i have been praising it for so long. how do you know about this traffic shaping? work for an isp yourself?

dementrium i appreciate your work and input on this matter as well

all you guys are great. thanks again

[randytravis]

traffic shaping is becoming common amongst ISPs these days. bittorrent traffic makes up a large percentage of net traffic, and the ISPs are trying to stop people from using it totally, or slowing their speeds to a crawl. glad the solution worked out for you and it wasn't anything more complex.