[Snap] Snap International Speeds

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gmball

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#116631 5-May-2013 12:48

I was recently connected to Snap.

Originally scheduled for UFB Fibre installation, but due to a mix up with the install dates my phone number was ported to Snap prior to installation of Fibre.

Hence I am currently connected via Naked broadband and waiting for UFB to be installed, hopefully this week.

I have noticed a few weird issues, not sure if these could be router related, Im using a Fritzbox 7390.

I use a VPN provider called Astrill to access some websites and services ex the USA.
Trialling a large download, I am able to attain around 900KB'p/s rate when connected via the VPN to the Los Angeles VPN location, but when downloading directly thru Snap I cant achieve more than 600KB'p/s .

Connecting via Astrill and using the NZ VPN location I can achieve rates of 1.5MB'p/s.

Is it possible that Snap don't limit VPN connection speeds but limit http download rates and could that be the reason for the speed difference?

Thanks for any advice.

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#811533 5-May-2013 12:48

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.

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Klipspringer

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#811552 5-May-2013 13:22

I use a VPN provider called Astrill to access some websites and services ex the USA.
Trialling a large download, I am able to attain around 900KB'p/s rate when connected via the VPN to the Los Angeles VPN location, but when downloading directly thru Snap I cant achieve more than 600KB'p/s .

Connecting via Astrill and using the NZ VPN location I can achieve rates of 1.5MB'p/s.

What are you using the VPN for? You will find that its the VPN itself that is probably slowing you down (lots of encryption/decryption). Not your ISP.

Your best bet is to rather make use of a DNS Service like unblock-us.

I too was using Astil VPN, very rarely did I get a good enough speed for full HD video streams. Now I'm achieving nearly 9.0Mbps to the US, and thats enough for full HD 1080p streaming.

gmball

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#811553 5-May-2013 13:25

Klipspringer:
I use a VPN provider called Astrill to access some websites and services ex the USA.
Trialling a large download, I am able to attain around 900KB'p/s rate when connected via the VPN to the Los Angeles VPN location, but when downloading directly thru Snap I cant achieve more than 600KB'p/s .

Connecting via Astrill and using the NZ VPN location I can achieve rates of 1.5MB'p/s.

What are you using the VPN for? You will find that its the VPN itself that is probably slowing you down (lots of encryption/decryption). Not your ISP.

Your best bet is to rather make use of a DNS Service like unblock-us.

I too was using Astil VPN, very rarely did I get a good enough speed for full HD video streams. Now I'm achieving nearly 9.0Mbps to the US, and thats enough for full HD 1080p streaming.

Yes, but interestingly across my Snap connection I get much faster speeds connecting via the VPN as opposed to downloading directly thru Snap.

Hence my question about whether Snap speed limit http downloads and not VPN traffic.

It would make sense for VPN connections to slow down my speed, but in my case my speeds are significantly faster when making a http download via VPN.

Klipspringer

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#811572 5-May-2013 14:01

sorry. never fully read your post. I have found torrents to be faster through a Vpn.

RalphFromSnap

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#811608 5-May-2013 15:24

Hi All,

We dont shape HTTP, or any protocol at all - if anything on Residential connections VPN's are one of the first things traditionally shaped!

When you use a VPN you are actually adding additional IP overhead, and lowering your MTU, so generally you would expect slower speeds using a VPN.

Are you using IPv6 by any chance? if so you could try disabling this (which will probaby be disabled when you use your VPN, unless it supports IPv6) many Ipv6 paths are not yet optimised so may get slower speeds versus IPv4

Thanks,
TheRalph

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RalphFromSnap

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#811609 5-May-2013 15:24

Snap

0800 BROADBAND (276 232)
www.snap.net.nz

@SnapInternet on Twitter
Snap Internet on Facebook

Our Social Media Team:
^RO Ricky - Technical Lead
^AT Ashleigh - Retail Marketing Coordinator

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gmball

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#811618 5-May-2013 15:49

RalphFromSnap: Hi All,

We dont shape HTTP, or any protocol at all - if anything on Residential connections VPN's are one of the first things traditionally shaped!

When you use a VPN you are actually adding additional IP overhead, and lowering your MTU, so generally you would expect slower speeds using a VPN.

Are you using IPv6 by any chance? if so you could try disabling this (which will probaby be disabled when you use your VPN, unless it supports IPv6) many Ipv6 paths are not yet optimised so may get slower speeds versus IPv4

Thanks,
TheRalph

Hi Ralph,

Thanks for the info. I have checked the Fritzbox settings. Under the account information tab, IPv6 does not have a tick in the box, under DNS server 'use DNSv4 servers assigned by the internet service provider' is selected so I would guess this means I am not using IPv6.

I suspect its more likely a issue with the Fritzbox wireless, I will test a hard line connection and see if that makes any difference.

It just seemed very unusual that when connected thru a VPN my speeds were significantly greater than not connecting thru a VPN, which is normally the other way around.

Thanks for the suggestions.

nitrotech

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#811678 5-May-2013 17:43

Same here snap seems to suffer from lack of internal bandwidth like other smaller providers - I had to switch my ipad to voda 3G to watch a video the other day and it takes 5 minutes to load the telecom homepage - I had high hopes for snap but results so far are less than impressive.

gmball

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#811719 5-May-2013 18:55

nitrotech: Same here snap seems to suffer from lack of internal bandwidth like other smaller providers - I had to switch my ipad to voda 3G to watch a video the other day and it takes 5 minutes to load the telecom homepage - I had high hopes for snap but results so far are less than impressive.

To be honest, I have found speeds on Snap to generally be faster than Telecom.

I am somewhat disappointed with the Fritzbox router, speeds seem inconsistent and randomly drop completely over wifi, not when connected via a LAN cable.

I have experimented, I think I have found that by de-selecting the 2.4 Ghz band and only operating with the 5 Ghz band selected gives a more stable connection over wifi.

I have also found my old linksys router wifi signal strength to be far superior to the Fritzbox in a identical environment.
If it wasnt for the fact my landline phone has to plug into the rear of the Fritzbox, I would probably go back to the old linksys router.

A lot of people rave about the Fritzbox, maybe I just got a dud of the factory line. I admit that it seems to have endless functionality, but not much use when transfer speeds are inhibited via wifi.

nitrotech

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#811726 5-May-2013 19:23

Interesting, I find national on par with telecom and Vodafone (except for some reason the telecom website is slow) but international just seems very slow period.

I'm not one of those people who sits on speedtest all day but when i'm seeing videos buffer like i'm on dialup I get a little annoyed especially when on 3g they load much faster.

eXDee

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#811767 5-May-2013 21:19

gmball:
nitrotech: Same here snap seems to suffer from lack of internal bandwidth like other smaller providers - I had to switch my ipad to voda 3G to watch a video the other day and it takes 5 minutes to load the telecom homepage - I had high hopes for snap but results so far are less than impressive.

To be honest, I have found speeds on Snap to generally be faster than Telecom.

I am somewhat disappointed with the Fritzbox router, speeds seem inconsistent and randomly drop completely over wifi, not when connected via a LAN cable.

I have experimented, I think I have found that by de-selecting the 2.4 Ghz band and only operating with the 5 Ghz band selected gives a more stable connection over wifi.

I have also found my old linksys router wifi signal strength to be far superior to the Fritzbox in a identical environment.
If it wasnt for the fact my landline phone has to plug into the rear of the Fritzbox, I would probably go back to the old linksys router.

A lot of people rave about the Fritzbox, maybe I just got a dud of the factory line. I admit that it seems to have endless functionality, but not much use when transfer speeds are inhibited via wifi.

I get mine this week. I'll benchmark it in some basic tests against an Asus RT-N16 and Linksys E2000 in 2.4ghz mode. I don't have a system capable of testing 5ghz, only my phone.

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steve98

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#811918 6-May-2013 10:40

nitrotech: Interesting, I find national on par with telecom and Vodafone (except for some reason the telecom website is slow) but international just seems very slow period.

I'm not one of those people who sits on speedtest all day but when i'm seeing videos buffer like i'm on dialup I get a little annoyed especially when on 3g they load much faster.

Hmm I have a snap UFB connection and I am finding the international speeds just perfect. I am connected via ethernet so can't speak for the FritzBox's wireless throughput, but I can stream full HD from Apple / Netflix etc with zero drop-outs or buffering. More than happy here.

For wireless devices like smartphones / tablets I have an Airport Express hooked up in a high-up, central location and have had no issues with using Netflix / YouTube / iPlayer to those devices either.

eXDee

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#812201 6-May-2013 18:42

So i got my fritzbox, and just did some testing locally. Firmware is latest.
The connection is from my desktop PC's RAID0 array (250MB/s sequential) over gigabit to the fritzbox, then via 2.4ghz N300 to my notebook's internal hard drive. I'm not aiming to benchmark here, i was looking for a real world test.
Wireless was set to a fixed channel before starting.

First attempt showed terrible wifi performance.

Which i could replicate many times. The speed just tanks down to zero.

So i tried with a TP-Link TL-WN821N which was better but still very poor compared to what it should be:

I was extremely disappointed. So going back to my Asus RT-N16 running tomato, which i know works fine with my internal wireless card:

I did some more testing between my other linksys e2000 as well, and results were all normal.

And then went back to the fritz and suddenly the internal card is working fine, better than my asus in fact.

And the TPLink is performing better too:

So i haven't been able to replicate the poor performance again. But here is something i noticed in inSSIDer. Initially the signal strength is great, better than my asus as far as my notebooks wireless card is concerned.

But then it suddenly dropped:

And sat at this level from there onwards. So i think there is some sort of power saving thing going on which messed with performance, which i'd usually hunt down and disable but i haven't seen it yet, transmit power is at 100%.

So my current position is skeptical of the wifi at the moment from initial impressions. It seems to negotiate lower rates than my asus and linksys do for 40mhz mode which is unfortunate. Can't test 5ghz unfortunately.

richms

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#812225 6-May-2013 19:29

There is heaps of stuff to do with power saving that is turned on by default on the fritz. I have turned it all off with mine since its only a few watts so not worth the potential hassles.

Richard rich.ms

eXDee

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#812229 6-May-2013 19:34

I can see the energy monitor but i have yet to see any options that let me toggle power saving modes off. Where should i be looking?

edit: everyone on whirlpool is quoting
"Automatically reduce transmitter power to the level actually needed"
is on the "Radio channel" page. But i only have a "Maximum Transmission Power: 100%"

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