slow network transfer

RaT · Post by **RaT** » Sat May 07, 2005 1:42 pm

what are the causes for slow file transfer? i have one of my pc's connected to my network via a usb wireless adapter. it takes about 50 mins to transfer a 300mb file. what's up with that.

other than that everything else seems fine. computers can "see & talk" to each other. internet browsing is fine on the wireless PC.

123cool · Post by **123cool** » Sat May 07, 2005 2:48 pm

well

USB 2.0's has a 480 megabits per second maximum data transfer

so thats the prob right there use a proper network card instead...

RaT · Post by **RaT** » Sat May 07, 2005 3:07 pm

ok.. but even at that transfer rate it shouldn't take that long (50 minutes for 300mb file) right?

eGoCeNTRoNiX · Post by **eGoCeNTRoNiX** » Sat May 07, 2005 3:24 pm

Yah, even at that it's 60MBps.. USB 2.0 has a higher bandwidth than a normal LAN connection btw..

So the USB isn't the bottle neck.. I had this problem a while back with one of my onboard NICs, You might dry updating the drivers.. GL!

eGo

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Sat May 07, 2005 4:54 pm

USB NICs are usually VERY slow. Just because USB 2.0 is CAPABLE of high data transfer, most USB Nics can't actually achieve those speeds.

I've NEVER seen a 100Mbit USB Nic that was actually capable of anywhere near that data transfer speed.

You're better off with a PCI card NIC.

TheGirter · Post by **TheGirter** » Mon May 16, 2005 5:00 pm

Originally posted by FlyingPenguin
USB NICs are usually VERY slow. Just because USB 2.0 is CAPABLE of high data transfer, most USB Nics can't actually achieve those speeds.

I've NEVER seen a 100Mbit USB Nic that was actually capable of anywhere near that data transfer speed.

You're better off with a PCI card NIC.

Exactly. I had a 10/100 USB NIC that I used and I rarely got above 10Mbps. After I installed a 3Com PCI NIC I got nearly all of 100Mbps.

eGoCeNTRoNiX · Post by **eGoCeNTRoNiX** » Mon May 16, 2005 5:23 pm

Originally posted by TheGirter
Exactly. I had a 10/100 USB NIC that I used and I rarely got above 10Mbps. After I installed a 3Com PCI NIC I got nearly all of 100Mbps.

I have never gotten above 50% utilization of the network even when using all PCI NICs....

TheGirter · Post by **TheGirter** » Mon May 16, 2005 6:07 pm

Originally posted by eGoCeNTRoNiX
I have never gotten above 50% utilization of the network even when using all PCI NICs....

This was between an OpenBSD box and FreeBSD box on my LAN, separated by a Netgear 8-port switch. Both had customized kernels and significantly customized userlands. Not sure how this would be in a Windows environment.

Busby · Post by **Busby** » Mon May 16, 2005 7:02 pm

You're all missing the point! Reread the original post! He is using a <b>WIRELESS</b> adapter. Assuming 802.11g, a sustained 35 Mbps transfer rate would yield a 4.3 MBps transfer which would mean just over a minute transfer. Assuming 802.11b, a sustained 5 Mbps transfer rate would yield .625 MBps transfer which would take about 8 minutes. But that is all sustained rates and not accounting for the dips in the transfer. However, 50 minutes is an insane amount of time. Something isn't right and it isn't the USB adapter's fault necessarily. Get a utility that allows you to see the transfer speed and see what it says.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Mon May 16, 2005 11:17 pm

Okay I missed that it was wireless. Yeah, that's slow, but then again it's wireless. How far from the access point? How good a signal. Your actual bandwidth varies with signal strength.

When my laptop's on the far end of the house and I try to sync my files, the data transfer rate is pretty crummy.

theophilusmousse · Post by **theophilusmousse** » Mon May 16, 2005 11:24 pm

may be a stupid idea, but have you tried power-cycling the wireless unit? occasionally all it takes is a swift kick in the reset button... just a thought.

RaT · Post by **RaT** » Tue May 17, 2005 9:52 am

the PC connected to the wireless adapter is in the same room as the router, probably about 6 feet away.

anyway i had an extra NIC lying around, installed it and all seems good now. that 300+mb file took about 3-5 minutes to transfer, so i guess we can say it had something to do with the USB wireless adapter itself.