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Understanding IRC download speed
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shertiger
Newbie
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22. December 2003 @ 20:16 |
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Hi
I've just started using IRC and Newsgroups to download stuff. I've found IRC easy to use and free but slow (2-9kbs) and Newsgroups more hassle but fast (70-100kbs) and not free for decent retention etc.
I would like to stick with IRC but need to improve the speed. I've used packetnews to try and pick good channels etc and used local servers (Australia) not used other download progs etc and all the obvious stuff but can't get the speed any better.
I've read some posts here and they talk about better speeds and bots not being listed on search sites. So the obvious Q is how to find these bots and channels.
This is my current method:
1. Type name of download into packetnews search
2. Determine channel with the biggest bandwidth and least slots
2a. If I have 3 matches
Channel Bandwidth Slots Queues
A 1000 0/100 50/100
B 100 0/2 5/10
C 50 1/2
2b. I'm assuming the numnber of people in the queues does not affect the download speed just the wait time.
2c. So download speed for:
Channel A - 1000/100 = 10kbs
Channel B - 100/2 = 50kbs
Channel C - 50/2 = 25kbs
3. Channel B would appear to be the one to get the download from. However I've heard people mention peak download speed as a factor but isn't that just a consequence of the above. ie if I select Channel B and I'm the only person downloading then I would expect a max speed of 100kbs and no more. Likewise Channel A would give me 1000kbs (provided my connection can keep up)
However the above calc does nto match my download speed. Any good advice would be welcome.
Cheers
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SadJoker
Member
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24. December 2003 @ 06:08 |
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Ohh but yes the amount of people in queue does affect how fast sends are going. Same goes for the amount of people already dling from bot/server, the more people downloading from one source the more strain goes on that source, said source has only so much bandwidth to use and when that bandwidth is maxed out, transfer speed tends to flicker. Can jump from say 150 kbps down to 2 kbps then skip back and forth for rest of the send. Try to think of bot/server as a truck; truck that is loaded to its max weight isnt going be able to go as fast as exact same truck that isnt loaded nearly as much. Weight(users)= lag(slower sends). a decent dedicated bot/server should be able to accomadate the load w/o caving under the load ie losing connections/sends.
Oh btw, Packetnews is garage :( .. Doesnt report bots/servers as being online or offline correctly 90% of the tyme.. try ircspy.com instead, it at least reports more reliably :)
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shertiger
Newbie
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24. December 2003 @ 13:05 |
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That all makes sense but I don't quite follow how peps on the queues can affect downloadng users.
My download speed also jumps but from 2kbs to 10kbs ('m assumig Mirc reports in bytes per sec) :-(
I've tried various servers and it never goes above 10kbs. This is with clean boot and nothing else running. The only thing I think that may explain is that I am in Australia :-) and therefore going through more hops than other people. Is there a trace tool I can use for IRC servers. I can't seem to ping them.
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SadJoker
Member
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25. December 2003 @ 07:20 |
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people waiting in the bot/servers queue slots force the bot/server to shift thru those queues, some channels force you to remain in the channel in order for your send to actually go thru , so if a user leaves the channel, the bot/server has to delete that send, reoragnize the slots then move onto the next queue slot. Queued users add load to the server/bot, eats resources. Im no expert on the matter, just stating what I know from experience and running my own server.
To why your getting files never goes over 10kbs, Im guessing thats coming from your end. Bot/server probably can go faster then that but cant send faster then your connection is capable of accepting. a 10mbit bot/server cant send 10mbit to user that cant go that fast. it'll send at whatever speed the other end can go.
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shertiger
Newbie
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25. December 2003 @ 22:01 |
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I'm not sure the bottle neck is on my side. I normally get 80-100kbs when downloading from newsgroups. In fact today I wsa gettign a whooping 400kbs :-)
My newsgroup server is located in the US like most of the IRC servers I am downloading from so I can't see it being an inherent route issue.
Any ideas would be welcome.
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Moderator
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28. December 2003 @ 21:06 |
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get a good script first. if you really want to test your speeds, go to irc.addictz.net and register a nick then go in #datavault. all the bots there average 250-300K even with 50 send slots full.
http://www.Lonero.net - friend of the forums, great guitar player
#afterdawn (well i have no idea where it is anymore) |
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shertiger
Newbie
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29. December 2003 @ 01:05 |
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That's interesting. Your the first person to mention scripts as a performance boost for downloading. Now follows the obvious Question. Which script is tuned the best for XDCC downloads. I've used Mirc, Excursion and XDCC Klipper and they have all given the same range of speeds.
Thanks for the download test, I will do it and post results later.
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shertiger
Newbie
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29. December 2003 @ 02:17 |
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Ok somethings really messed up. I tried that datavault channel and only got 3-4kbs. I tried various bots but no change.
Just to confirm I get download speeds over 60kbs from newsgroups and web sites. IRC is the only one giving me these shitty speeds.
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Moderator
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29. December 2003 @ 07:56 |
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i'm not saying that a different script would really help your speeds, i just hate to see anyone using plain old mIRC when there are so many other scripts out there to choose from. that is very strange on your speeds from datavault, every bot in that cahnnel is very fast. do you have anything else running like kazaa or anything? are you behind a router or anything?
http://www.Lonero.net - friend of the forums, great guitar player
#afterdawn (well i have no idea where it is anymore)
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shertiger
Newbie
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29. December 2003 @ 12:20 |
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I've tried all the obvious stuff to improve my download speed, clean boot, no other progs running etc. I don't use kazza or other similiar progs so I am not uploading while I am downloading (I did install DC++ but do not run it nowadays).I've got a straightforward home PC setup connected to the interent via 512K ADSL through ZoneAlarm Pro.
I've never got over 10Kbytes/sec with IRC and too make sure it's not my connection I've even started downloading from newsgroups at the same time as IRC and still got over 50Kbytes/sec so bandwidth on my end does not appear to be the problem.
All crazy suggestions are welcome :-) this is driving me nuts and also holding up slots for other people unnecessarily.
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SadJoker
Member
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30. December 2003 @ 07:58 |
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Hmm try turning off ZA or allowing IRC to access the Net w/o being filtred? ZA could be filtering dcc traffic thus causing your speed slowdown.
IRC's protocols arent known for being particularly stable or supported by all firewalls/routers etc. most firewalls are designed to block IRC's dcc protocol all together as are ISPs servers on the rare occassion. there's an idea ; bottleneck might be coming from your provider interfering with IRC's protocols
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shertiger
Newbie
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4. January 2004 @ 17:17 |
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I turned off ZoneAlarm but it didn;t affect the download speed :-(
I've fired off an email to my ISP to see if they are doing anything on their end. I think this can be the only explanation. At least I'm gettign over 50KBs with everything else :-)
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shertiger
Newbie
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8. January 2004 @ 01:45 |
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I've spoken to the ISP and they are doing nothing to slow down IRC downloads. The only explanation appears to be my location, in Australia.
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shertiger
Newbie
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12. January 2004 @ 14:36 |
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WRONG!! I have spoken again to my ISP and they are capping my IRC at 72kbs which matches my experience with download speeds. Normal internet downloads from http are not capped.
Does anyone know how I can get around this cap.
I tried changing Mirc ports to 80 and 81 but that doesn't appear to have had any effect.
PS. My Newsgroup downloads are also capped I misread my downlaod speed (the olde bit and bytes mess up).
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 12. January 2004 @ 14:38
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SadJoker
Member
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13. January 2004 @ 06:54 |
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I figured it was your ISP afterall.. alot of ISPs have that habit of blocking or filtering IRC's protocols and connections.. ISP's have finally figured out IRC has other uses besides chatting lol
I dont know of any method of bypassing the ISPs cap on IRC protocols/speeds.. changing ports to 80 and 81 wouldnt have any effect since those are http ports, IRC wouldnt understand them anyway.. if you can find a way to mask your IRC connection thru a proxy you might be able to pick up speed but its doubtful. worst case , your provider can block IRC completely in your attempts to sneak past their limitations
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