Slow Torrent Downloads.. Help please

[jinenji]

I'm using Azureus and i'm not sure what to set my upload and download speeds at. My upload speed is always much higher than my slow DL speed while downloading torrents.
I have done several speed tests at:
http://www.dslreports.com/stest
http://www.speedtest.net
http://www.speed-test.net

At www.dslreports.com/stest I chose the first option "Flash 8 plugin based speed test. Accurate for tests of residential DSL and cable connections"
My results were: 4118kb/s DL speed
1212kb/s upload

At www.speedtest.net using the recommended server i got: 23917kb/s DL
1524kb/s upload

At www.speed-test.net i got: 945kb/s DL
1268 upload

I ran each test several times.. and got around the same speeds each time.
I'm not sure why each test site is so different...

My download speed with torrents ranges from 10-30kbs while my upload speed will go above 100-200kbs if i set both for no limit.
When I limit my upload speed to 40-60kbs, my DL speed will remain from 10-30kb. If I set my upload speed lower than 30kbs i loose almost all of my DL speed.
I'm not sure if i am missing anything, but any help will be greatly appreciated.

[Eviltape]

You're missing something, the basic principle of Bittorrent; you will only download as fast as other people are uploading to you at. If you're downloading old torrents (old is around a week for fansubs in my exp), then 20kb/s is expected.

It's also generally advised to limit your upload speed (not too much) when downloading as the network connection will start dividing the bandwith pie at high speeds, like .5-1MB/s.

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by Eviltape

It's also generally advised to limit your upload speed (not too much) when downloading as the network connection will start dividing the bandwith pie at high speeds, like .5-1MB/s.

This depends on your type of connection. If you're using ADSL, your upload will cut into your download. Set your maximum upload rate to be no higher than 80% of what your theoretical maximum is. You can fine-tune is by testing: when your download seems rather high and stable, slowly increase the upload rate until the download plummets to a lower (but stable) level. That'd be your absolute maximum. The reason for it deals with how ADSL works. Some cable companies may have set a similar restriction, but not all network types are impacted by that. As Eviltape mentioned, the faster you upload, the faster you'll download (in general) so you do want to upload as fast as you can without disrupting your download.

Also mentioned by Eviltape, older torrents or torrents with fewer peers will likely result in slower speeds. If you're behind a router, you may want to ensure that your router is configured properly. Azureus will generally alert you if there's a configuration error, though.

[Vexx]

Also true of satellite connection... the upload signal directly competes with the download signal and it isn't symmetric (30kb/sec up will totally trash a 1.5mbps down to zero).

I've run into a new problem. About a week ago, during most of the day, my torrents have suddenly snaked to a crawl, often dead stopped. But during the "happy hours" of midnight to 3am (all caps off), I roar along at 100KB/s+ .... I'm pretty suspicious that Hughes Net has bought themselves a pack of Sandvine appliances (the ones that Comcast uses to forge RST packets).... but it is killing my download as well which is not a Sandvine behavior ... I guessing at the moment they may be doing packet inspection and silently dropping torrent protocol packets.

Not really asking for help unless someone has already sniffed the problem -- just whining while I set up my packet sniffing to see what is going on.

[psycho_killer]

Umm i also have another problem, maybe someone can help? Why is it some peer that have a 100% completion didn't downloading to me? There are 5-6 peer that have finished downloading but my download didn't start. Can someone please help me?

Thanks

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by psycho_killer

Umm i also have another problem, maybe someone can help? Why is it some peer that have a 100% completion didn't downloading to me? There are 5-6 peer that have finished downloading but my download didn't start. Can someone please help me?

Thanks

Those clients may not see you, or they may be unable to make a connection to you, or they may have all of their upload slots filled with uploading to other peers. If you're noticing this consistently and you're behind a router, it could indicate a network issue and you'd need to configure your router (it's easy). Usually your BitTorrent client will tell you if there's a problem with your network, though.

[Vexx]

yeah.. it seems to be a 'feature' of bit torrent.... A seeder is willing to queue you up and takes up a torrent slot but then if you're throttling your total connections like I have to.... that slot is not available for someone to connect with openings. :P

No progress on the Hughes.net apparent lock-down on torrents during normal operation time but then I've not had time to mess with it. The 3 hour after midnight torrents run like crazy though. I really wish another option would present itself (at least one that lets me pay by the GB rather than just thumping me).

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by Vexx

No progress on the Hughes.net apparent lock-down on torrents during normal operation time but then I've not had time to mess with it. The 3 hour after midnight torrents run like crazy though. I really wish another option would present itself (at least one that lets me pay by the GB rather than just thumping me).

Do they throttle IRC, too? If not...

[Vexx]

aye, that's my backup process (irc) but then that's just pure leeching, which sort of kills the community spirit .... I'm guessing the Hughes.net infrastructure probably depends on assymetry 'mom'n'pop surfing' ... and they're just greedy and lying when they say they have 'business class' accounts (which inherently assume symmetric data transfer).

[psycho_killer]

So, how do i make the client see me? I use "force start" and it didn't help. As for full upload slot i don't think so, because other people there all have a 100% completion, so they should be free.
I don't think there's a problem with my Bittorent, although if there are problem i don't know how to know and fix it. Bacause the other DL seem fine, rather slow but progressing. Only the DL for "Sky girls" that are slow.

Thanks

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by psycho_killer

So, how do i make the client see me? I use "force start" and it didn't help. As for full upload slot i don't think so, because other people there all have a 100% completion, so they should be free.

You can't force other clients to see you. If your network is set up properly, their clients will see you as they continue to check back with the tracker or as they exchange the addresses of peers with other peers.

People at 100% completion may still have full upload slots. Clients at 100% completion are referred to as "seeders" - they perform the same activity as other peers, except that they only upload. If they're uploading at their full capacity already, they may not get to you.

I don't think there's a problem with my Bittorent, although if there are problem i don't know how to know and fix it. Bacause the other DL seem fine, rather slow but progressing. Only the DL for "Sky girls" that are slow.

If you were having issues you'd be able to tell. Either your client would give you a message that there was a problem (I believe all clients now do this), or you'd notice that the download was going much slower than your connection is capable of. You've already made a note that this torrent seems to be going slow, but it's only with the Sky Girls set of torrents. If it's only with a particular torrent or with a set of them, it's unlikely that there's a problem on your end.

Sky Girls... isn't that an older series, maybe released about a year ago? I can't remember. Either way, if it's older then there probably aren't that many people using the torrents. In general, the fewer the people that are on a torrent, the slower you'll go. Unfortunately the only thing you can do to make it faster on yourself is to not use BitTorrent, and to download the episodes directly through IRC or other means. Otherwise, you'll have to be patient with downloading it through BitTorrent.

[EvilMink]

Originally Posted by Vexx

I've run into a new problem. About a week ago, during most of the day, my torrents have suddenly snaked to a crawl, often dead stopped. But during the "happy hours" of midnight to 3am (all caps off), I roar along at 100KB/s+

Have you tried turning on encryption in your bittorrent client? If not give it a try, in most cases it works.

Originally Posted by Ledgem

Sky Girls... isn't that an older series, maybe released about a year ago?

If you're speaking about the series, not about OVA then it finished airing Jan 11th, nothing old then.

[psycho_killer]

How do i give message to other client? I also think that there's nothing wrong with my network because other DL seem fine.

@ EvilMink : How do i turn on the encryption? I don't find it on the setting. I'm using Bittorent ver 4.20.9, i having problem with the newer ver.

Thanks

[Eviltape]

Install/Use uTorrent (better, more features than official client, etc) then do this.



Other option would to make it forced, which might work better in your circumstances.

[psycho_killer]

I see, if i have unfinised DL in the bittorent, can i continued it if i install the uTorrent? If yes how to do it.

Thanks

[Nenkitsune]

I like Azureus more than uTorrent, but to re-start your download, open up whatever client you decide to use, and open the torrent file in that client, then tell the client where you saved the file. It will then check the files to see what you have, and resume the download.

[EvilMink]

Originally Posted by psycho_killer

@ EvilMink : How do i turn on the encryption?

Sorry, been out of town for a while but i see your question is already answered.

Just to add to discussion in case someone will find this thread searching for similar problem - here is nice page showing how to turn encryption for Azureus, Bitcomet and uTorrent. It is a bit old, but i hardly believe anything changed.

[psycho_killer]

Thanks, the uTorrent is faster although there's still a problem. There's a yellow triangle that says "No incoming connection Unless the icon turn green it could indicate a problem with your network connection."
How do i fix this? I'm using ADSL connection, but it rather slow. Maximum DL for new torrent only about 20kbps.

And what is "traffic shapers"? Can this peer to peer DL send me a virus? What is the downside besides speed?

Thanks

[Gemstar]

They say something about a firewall and give them a port to use so that I can accept incoming traffic. My downloads are horrible speed...