Very slow uTorrent speeds for no reason

Hello

This is my first post and for a very good reason.

I am using uTorrent and am experiencing very stupidly low speeds.

I don't seem to get much higher speed than 30kB/s or at best 120kB/s.

If the file is a small transfer and has a good seed to peer ratio it often gets a few hundred kB/s.

I have set a static IP address "192.168.1.254" and have port forwarded to a simple port "56789". I have changed a few settings to try to optimize my connection and speed but nothing seems to help.

I have a high upload limit set so there should be no sharing issues and I always seem to be sharing much more than I download. The fastest I have had a download in uTorrent was on the same settings and connection as I have now, which was my max of 1.8MB/s and it was a 700MB file. All the files I am downloading have very good health and I can see other people downloading much faster than I. If I start another download in uTorrent both will slow to a useless speed or the other download won't connect and the current one will slow to around 1kB/s. It could be uTorrent connecting to lots of peers and bogging down my connection...

I find this very annoying as I see others downloading the same, very large files, at hundreds of kB/s and I am only getting a very low speed. I don't see why I get such low speed as I can download other files through Firefox's download manager at my full speed (1.8MB/s) at the same time and it doesn't affect my uTorent speed at all.

I even ran a test with a friend on his computer to see what could be wrong. He was sharing a private file transfer with me through uTorrent. He has an upload speed of about 500kB/s and I have a download speed of 1.8MB/s but I was only getting 65kB/s from him. That shouldn't be the case as he was sharing with only me and at full speed.

I have recently started using FileZilla to download from a very useful FTP address and have found the speed quite acceptable when it alone is downloading. I often get 120kB/s from this address but it usually slows to about 37 when it has heavy traffic. If I start a download in uTorrent while I am downloading with FileZilla neither seem to want to download anything. The speed of uTorrent will drop to about 1kB/s and FileZilla's will drop to about 5. I don't see why this is as both have plenty of bandwidth to play around with. I have tried to put up with only doing 1 download at a time but 30kB/s isn't enough when a 10GB file is involved.

All files are being written to the same drive and the drive is only working at low capacity so it's not my HDD. It's not my internet provider as they do not monitor or slow my internet speed while I am using file sharing programs. It must be uTorrent's connection settings...?

Why are the speeds of uTorrent so limited for me and why does it jam up when FileZilla is trying to download too?

Is there something wrong with my IP address or port choices? I have always suspected there might be. I have read all about the ideal settings for uTorrent but nothing helps. I have allowed it through whatever firewall I have so it's not that either.

What do you suggest I do?

I can post more info if its needed.

ps: I have read all of the suggested settings, the FAQ's and so on. I have tested the openoffice.org .torrent and it runs very well. I don't seem to get much speed out of anything other than that. Thats because it has such a good seed to peer ratio. I have also got the standard advanced settings....What shoud they be?

I have no upload limit set

So uTorrent uploads at your line's rated upload and chokes off its own ability to acknowledge and request pieces.

http://utorrent.com/documentation/connection-setup <-- follow.

...That was the first settings guide I read when I originally installed uTorrent. I haven't changed anything much.

If you have not set an upload limit then you have not followed the guide properly.

Follow that guide, then follow http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=15992

Im just going to close this..i dont think people will be willing to help because they will just think...arrgh, not again!

I'd be more willing to help if you would be more willing to follow the directions given.

Face it, you've got something screwed up on your end.

But without details of HOW you have things set up and what hardware you're using...ALL we can do is point you at the FAQ and various guides.

If it's anything like mine then it's nothing to do with his settings at all...some files are crap...My settings are fine but when it comes to large files...anything over 1GB the down never goes above 40 anything below 1 GB I get my actual speed. Sometimes I might get lucky and manage a large file at 250kB but that's it at it's max.

Dunno how many times I've tinkered, gone through this forum etc. There must be a problem somewhere

Hostile ISP?:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/16/virgin_bittorrent/

"the firm intends to lead the ISP industry in new network services that exploit customer data."

how can it be a hostile ISP when speeds on <1GB are very fast? My ISP throttles between certain times of the day which is no issue as I have the scheduler setup to handle it. Only large files are very slow ie Hi Def movie movie files and games.

Something else I forgot to mention is that when these large files are downloading they try to hog the internet connection even if they are downloading at 50k they slow the entire connection down yet when I download a small file at 1000k the connection is fine

An ISP can be very hostile and yet still allow high speeds...sometimes.

If "when these large files are downloading they try to hog the internet connection even if they are downloading at 50k they slow the entire connection down", then you REALLY should rethink what settings you're using in uTorrent *AND* check your networking hardware and software!

A true expert...am I right or wrong in saying that bit torrent packets are all the same size and as such a router will not differentiate between them? And as such why is a small file size fast and a large file size slow? My settings are fine and the same problem occurs connected direct to the modem or via a router...small size=fast download speed and no connection problems...large file=slow speed and connection problems.

Right now my system is set according to the recommended 10Meg settings on your list albeit with adjusted upload speed resulting from cable.

If you have no solution then say it instead of trying to blame everything else.

Do you actually have 10mbit UPLOAD?

If not, then your settings ARE wrong.

I believe the chart details settings according to download speed(http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=58404)??? Or am I wrong? Mentions not to set upload higher than 2 Mbps for cable and ADSL which is common sense and so my settings are adjusted according to my measured and tested connection...look, I'm an MCSE and know a fair bit about networking as a result...came here for assistance not smart arse comments.

Or am I wrong?

You are COMPLETELY wrong.

In fact, the chart SPECIFICALLY says upload.

I'm an MCSE

Throwing certifications around doesn't get you anything here, especially when you're proving that the certification is worthless with your actions.

You're a fuckwit mate and you're what is wrong with forums...I'll go somewhere with helpful advice. Get yer mouth of yer mother's tit and get a life.

Demonstrating that you are incapable of even basic comprehension of the posts tells us that you aren't actually as good as you think you are.

If you wanted helpful advice you would not have tried to tell us what the guides we wrote had said.

And what's wrong with these forums isn't as much the administration being assholes as it is the users forcing the administration to become assholes with their stupidity and self-centered arrogance.

"I believe the chart details settings according to download speed"

The top of *MY* chart says:

Almost NO Cable line or ADSL line should use settings higher than 2 mbit/sec upload speed!

CONNECTION TYPE (UPLOAD MAXIMUM)

And UNDER the chart it says:

Caption:

Connection Type/ Upload Maximum = UPLOAD speed in kilobits/sec OR megabits/sec. NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH DOWNLOAD SPEED MAX! A "10 megabit/sec" cable line has that speed only for download...upload speed is likely 1 megabit/sec OR LESS!

How or why you'd think the chart details settings according to download speed is almost beyond comprehension.

"Mentions not to set upload higher than 2 Mbps for cable and ADSL which is common sense"

Yet that's exactly what you did!

...Which suggests the lack of understanding even the difference between download and upload in asymmetric internet connections.

"am I right or wrong in saying that bit torrent packets are all the same size and as such a router will not differentiate between them?"

No, BitTorrent packets are NOT all the same size. And TCP peers/seeds are handled vastly differently than uTP and Teredo/IPv6 peers/seeds. Even the presence or abscence of uTP or Teredo/IPv6 peers/seeds on a torrent can vastly change the results if your network has issues. Many routers, network cards, and modems have extreme issues handling them, so we ask...

"And as such why is a small file size fast and a large file size slow?"

Torrent file size has no bearing on your resulting download/upload speeds, except indirectly. It is the quality and number of peers and seeds that matters. Without details about the quality of your peer/seed sources and whether the trackers of your torrents are even working...a solution will also prove lacking.

"I'm an MCSE and know a fair bit about networking"

I would consider you a safety risk anywhere near networks I manage, not because of what you know...but because of your INABILITY to apply it.

I'm closing this thread, I'm just saying that so you don't mistakenly think DreadWingKnight did it.