Telecom ADSL and VPN Speed

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Telecom ADSL and VPN Speed

Amscott

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#138615 10-Jan-2014 14:55

Hello,

I am based in West Auckland and am having trouble with my VPN download speed and was hoping for some helpful suggestions...

I have a Telecom ADSL business account and when I run SpeedTest I get approx. 12mbps download and 0.7mbps upload without the VPN running. However when I use a VPN client (I have tried StrongVPN and Hide My Ass) the speed drops to approx. 0.5mbps download and 0.3mpbs upload. I have tried various times of day, different locations and different protocols (OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP) but this does not appear to have any change.

Questions...

1) I do expect some performance drop when using a VPN client, but this seems excessive. What is a "normal or typical" download speed for a VPN client?

2) Does Telecom throttle VPN clients in some way?

3) Could my Router Firewall or Norton360 firewall be affecting the VPN speed?

4) Is there anything else that could be affecting my VPN speed?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Regards,
Amscott

PeterReader

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#964590 10-Jan-2014 14:55

Hello... Our robot found some keywords in your post, so here is an automated reply with some important things to note regarding broadband speeds.

If you are posting regarding DSL speeds please check that

- you have reset your modem and router

- your PC (or other PCs in your LAN) is not downloading large files when you are testing

- you are not being throttled by your ISP due to going over the monthly cap

- your tests are always done on an ethernet connection to the router - do not use wireless for testing

- you read this topic and follow the instructions there.

Make sure you provide information for other users to help you. If you have not already done it, please EDIT your post and add this now:

- Your ISP and plan

- Type of connection (ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL)

- Your modem DSL stats (do not worry about posting Speedtest, we need sync rate, attenuation and noise margin)

- Your general location (or street)

- If you are rural or urban

- If you know your connection is to an exchange, cabinet or conklin

- If your connection is to a ULL or wholesale service

- If you have done an isolation test as per the link above

Most of the problems with speed are likely to be related to internal wiring issues. Read this discussion to find out more about this. Your ISP is not intentionally slowing you down today (unless you are on a managed plan). Also if this is the school holidays it's likely you will notice slower than usual speed due to more users online.

A master splitter is required for VDSL2 and in most cases will improve speeds on DSL connections. Regular disconnections can be a monitored alarm or a set top box trying to connect. If there's an alarm connected to your line even if you don't have an alarm contract it may still try to connect so it's worth checking.

I recommend you read these two blog posts:

- Is your premises phone wiring impacting your broadband performance? (very technical)

- Are you receiving a substandard ULL ADSL2+ connection from your ISP?

I am the Geekzone Robot and I am here to help. I am from the Internet. I do not interact. Do not expect other replies from me.

nathan

5695 posts

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#964603 10-Jan-2014 14:58

you probably need to also add who your VPN provider is and where you are connecting to

Talkiet

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#964608 10-Jan-2014 15:02

Amscott:

1) I do expect some performance drop when using a VPN client, but this seems excessive. What is a "normal or typical" download speed for a VPN client?

2) Does Telecom throttle VPN clients in some way?

3) Could my Router Firewall or Norton360 firewall be affecting the VPN speed?

4) Is there anything else that could be affecting my VPN speed?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Regards,
Amscott

HI there...

1) No, this is an excessive drop and would not be explained by anything I am aware of on our network.

2) No

3) Yes

4) As pointed out above - where is the VPN endpoint?

ALso...

2) No, Telecom does not throttle VPN clients.

and

2) No, we don't throttle any kind of traffic on a protocol basis.

SOrry for the repetition, but this question comes up every time something is slow, and usually comes up 2-3 times in each thread after it's answered :-)

If you can give more details about the VPN endpoints and usage (SW or hardware client, pc specs etc etc etc) then perhaps I can help. FWIW I use several VPNs including our corporate one and a couple of commercial offerings to NZ and overseas and I have always had great performance on them all - not any noticable difference over native throughput. (VDSL). What speedtest server are you using to test?

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

nathan

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#964626 10-Jan-2014 15:14

I just ran a couple of test from my VDSL2

Its normally a bit faster than this, but for whatever reason on Speedtest just now I'm getting this:

NZ
41/8 12ms

VPN using Astrill to LA
4/3 180ms

your drop off does seem particularly bad but maybe your VPN provider is crap

Amscott

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#964688 10-Jan-2014 16:02

nathan: you probably need to also add who your VPN provider is and where you are connecting to

Hi Nathan, I mainly use Hide My As (note spelling due to posting rules) (HMA) VPN client (which I have a subscription to) but have also tried StrongVPN recently to get a comparison. StrongVPN has slightly worse performance than HMA. With HMA it has an inbuilt speed test and generally recommends connections to servers in NSW or QLD Australia. I have also tried connecting to a Server in Auckland and the US. I can not see much of a performance difference between the servers I tried.

Regards,
Amscott

Amscott

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#964745 10-Jan-2014 16:52

Talkiet:

HI there...

1) No, this is an excessive drop and would not be explained by anything I am aware of on our network.

2) No

3) Yes

4) As pointed out above - where is the VPN endpoint?

ALso...

2) No, Telecom does not throttle VPN clients.

and

2) No, we don't throttle any kind of traffic on a protocol basis.

Sorry for the repetition, but this question comes up every time something is slow, and usually comes up 2-3 times in each thread after it's answered :-)

If you can give more details about the VPN endpoints and usage (SW or hardware client, pc specs etc etc etc) then perhaps I can help. FWIW I use several VPNs including our corporate one and a couple of commercial offerings to NZ and overseas and I have always had great performance on them all - not any noticable difference over native throughput. (VDSL). What speedtest server are you using to test?

Cheers - N

Hi N,

Thanks for your response.

Glad to hear that my performance is NOT normal!

I am using a software VPN Client called Hide My As (spelling not quite correct due to posting rules). I have tried connecting to Servers in Auckland, NSW, QLD and on the West coast of the US. I have not seen much performance difference, although NSW seems to be the best. I have also tried a different VPN client called StrongVPN, which was even worse than HMA.

I have a Telecom 2wire 2701HGV-W ADSL Router. I have checked the Firewall settings and can't see anything obvious that would be limiting traffic. And to be honest I would have thought that being a firewall, it would block traffic completely, not slow it down?

When I run SpeedTest, I let it choose the Server to use which I think it bases on a ping test, so it generally chooses a location closest to the VPN Server that I am connected to.

I tried turning off my Norton 360 firewall completely and it made no difference.

Thanks Again for your help.

Regards,
Amscott

P.S. I promise not to ask about Telecom throttling again!

Talkiet

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#964780 10-Jan-2014 17:03

Are you using the Free or premium version of HMA? Free options are usually a LOOOOTTTT slower than them paid for ones.

Same question for StrongVPN, which also has a page about factors influencing speeds... http://www.strongvpn.com/vpnspeed.shtml - Have you been through that?

It's worth asking what speedtest results you get to the Telecom speedtest servers (in Akl, Wlg and Chc)...

CHeers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

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Amscott

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#964793 10-Jan-2014 17:34

Talkiet: Are you using the Free or premium version of HMA? Free options are usually a LOOOOTTTT slower than them paid for ones.

Same question for StrongVPN, which also has a page about factors influencing speeds... http://www.strongvpn.com/vpnspeed.shtml - Have you been through that?

It's worth asking what speedtest results you get to the Telecom speedtest servers (in Akl, Wlg and Chc)...

CHeers - N

I am using a paid subscription version of both HMA (PRO version) and StrongVPN.

Will check out the link for ideas, Thanks!

Sideface

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#964798 10-Jan-2014 17:44

I have been using HMA over a domestic Orcon ADSL2+ connection for the past 12 months. My connection speeds are identical to yours WITH OR WITHOUT HMA - but only if using PPTP or L2TP (preferred). I use proxies in the UK and the USA West Coast. I get a much slower connection with HMA/OpenVPN.

I have recently discovered bolehVPN, which gives full ADSL speeds with VPN using OpenVPN, and is less likely to "fall over" than HMA. bolehVPN offer a 3-day trial - I recommend trying it.

Note that I have no vested interests in any VPN provider.

Sideface

Amscott

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#965238 11-Jan-2014 21:09

Sideface: I have been using HMA over a domestic Orcon ADSL2+ connection for the past 12 months. My connection speeds are identical to yours WITH OR WITHOUT HMA - but only if using PPTP or L2TP (preferred). I use proxies in the UK and the USA West Coast. I get a much slower connection with HMA/OpenVPN.

I have recently discovered bolehVPN, which gives full ADSL speeds with VPN using OpenVPN, and is less likely to "fall over" than HMA. bolehVPN offer a 3-day trial - I recommend trying it.

Note that I have no vested interests in any VPN provider.

Hi Sideface,

Thanks very much for your post. I tried BolehVPN and it has made a massive difference! So today I got up to 5mbps download which is great. Unfortunately tonight it has dropped back to 0.8mbps. I am not sure if this is due to server loading (time of day etc) or the location, so I plan to do some more experimenting.

Regards,
Ascott

michaelmurfy

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#965250 11-Jan-2014 22:07

These VPN providers are not the best. I have my own VPN running on a server I own in the states and it works at nearly line speed (taking in account to the TCP/IP limitations). I believe the cause here is your VPN providers or your home router setup.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
Referral Links: Quic Broadband (use R122101E7CV7Q for free setup)

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Inphinity

2780 posts

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#965269 11-Jan-2014 23:25

VPN provider throughput seems to be the issue here. I've used HMA a bit, and it's always been terribly slow for me. I typically get around 60/10 to NZ servers on my VDSL, and its about 2/0.5 with HMA. Alternately, with other local VPN connections I use (two that terminate in Auckland and each have 100/100 fibre at the other end) I get about 50/8.

Sideface

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#965312 12-Jan-2014 08:57

I tried BolehVPN and it has made a massive difference! So today I got up to 5mbps download which is great. Unfortunately tonight it has dropped back to 0.8mbps. I am not sure if this is due to server loading (time of day etc) or the location, so I plan to do some more experimenting.

You will find that the location of the proxy makes a big difference - and the best (fastest) proxy location varies with the time of day.
I use the UK in the (NZ) morning, and the USA in the (NZ) evening. I get 90-95% of maximum speed.
"FullyRouted" gives good speeds but higher latency than "SurfingStreaming".
"SurfingStreaming-WestUS" is particularly useful.
Be sure to use the "Enable DNS protection" option under Settings - any download will automatically cease if the proxy falls over.
Enjoy your trial :)

Sideface

kenkeniff

628 posts

Ultimate Geek

#965359 12-Jan-2014 10:45

If you download the HMA windows application you can use the Speed Test Guide to determine the fastest VPN server for you (i.e. USA CA LOC1 S9 maybe a lot faster than USA CA LOC1 S1).

OpenVPN will give you the best performance IMO.