Internet battles!
Discussion
Hi guys, hope you can help me out here.
My brother and I share a (recently upgraded) 2Mb broadband internet connection. I like to download stuff (legally I might add!) a lot.
My brother however, prefers online gaming (Half-Life I think) and every time he starts playing he barges into my room and tells me to stop downloading cos I'm lagging his game speed. He says that downloading hogs the connection and will always take presedence over any other activity.
My question is: is he lying?! Cos I think its unfair that he hogs the connection like that. Thanks in advance for solving this annoying domestic dispute!
Cheers, Nicholas.
My brother and I share a (recently upgraded) 2Mb broadband internet connection. I like to download stuff (legally I might add!) a lot.
My brother however, prefers online gaming (Half-Life I think) and every time he starts playing he barges into my room and tells me to stop downloading cos I'm lagging his game speed. He says that downloading hogs the connection and will always take presedence over any other activity.
My question is: is he lying?! Cos I think its unfair that he hogs the connection like that. Thanks in advance for solving this annoying domestic dispute!
Cheers, Nicholas.
I played TFC (a half life mod) quite a bit in the past, and every milisecond counted. Depends how serious he is? The slightest bit of lag could ruin a game for a dedicated player. Ongoing lag would encite rage (in the most dedicated player 
)
Your file sharing client(?) should be enable you to throttle back, or cap a download and upload limit, so that you are only ever using half of the Download and upload connection speed.
Assuming he plays less than 12 hours a day, that leaves your PC to download stuff whilst hes offline. Sounds fair to me.
) Your file sharing client(?) should be enable you to throttle back, or cap a download and upload limit, so that you are only ever using half of the Download and upload connection speed.
Assuming he plays less than 12 hours a day, that leaves your PC to download stuff whilst hes offline. Sounds fair to me.
There is no simple solution to this.
The only way you could really sort it is to run all your Internet traffic through a machine that will manage QoS (Quallity of Service) and prioritise the traffic for you.
However this still isn't a simple solution as it will generally only be able to easily manage out going traffic.
The problem with downloading big files is that the remote computer will push data t oyou as fast as you can accept it and so this is going t oswamp the smaller amounts of data that he needs to keep his game upto speed.
One possible solution would be to get hold of a PC and install Linux and then setup a QoS system on it - I forget the name now.
Another option might be to consider buying Linksys WRT54 Wireless LAN Router (about £50) and then install the SVEASOFT Alchemy Firmware on it ( www.sveasoft.com ) - this firmware provides QOS Management though even as an interesting project, how well it would really work I can't say.
Finally, tell him to buy his own Broadband Connection
best
Ex
The only way you could really sort it is to run all your Internet traffic through a machine that will manage QoS (Quallity of Service) and prioritise the traffic for you.
However this still isn't a simple solution as it will generally only be able to easily manage out going traffic.
The problem with downloading big files is that the remote computer will push data t oyou as fast as you can accept it and so this is going t oswamp the smaller amounts of data that he needs to keep his game upto speed.
One possible solution would be to get hold of a PC and install Linux and then setup a QoS system on it - I forget the name now.
Another option might be to consider buying Linksys WRT54 Wireless LAN Router (about £50) and then install the SVEASOFT Alchemy Firmware on it ( www.sveasoft.com ) - this firmware provides QOS Management though even as an interesting project, how well it would really work I can't say.
Finally, tell him to buy his own Broadband Connection
best
Ex
HL2 is notorious for bandwidth requirements - as mentioned, the smallest bit of bandwidth taken away does affect the framerate of other players. Can be a bit of a nightmare really. But it is supposed to be better now and shouldnt be an issue on a 2MB connection. Its picky on my 512Mb one, but suggest that either:
1) You arent getting 2MB
2) Your brother is downloading a stuff load of other things
Get a bandwidth checker on the connection when nothing else is using it to make sure you are getting 2MB and "have a word" with your brother to make sure he isnt file sharing etc....
1) You arent getting 2MB
2) Your brother is downloading a stuff load of other things
Get a bandwidth checker on the connection when nothing else is using it to make sure you are getting 2MB and "have a word" with your brother to make sure he isnt file sharing etc....
I have this exact same thing when my brother is downloading (via BitTorrent) and I wanna play Xbox Live (it's my connection BTW!!). We have a 2Mb line.
It's not what your downloading thats hogging the line, but more what your uploading.
A 2Mb line (2048Kbits/s or 256Kbytes/s) is the download rate, but your upload rate is probably more like 256Kbits/s (32Kbytes/s) or 512Kbits/s (64Kbytes/s). If your downloading via BitTorrent or some other P2P try limiting your upload speed to 15 or 20KBytes/s.
This will leave a little bandwidth for your brother to continue gaming hopefully and at the same time, won't hinder your download rates.
Also, limiting your upload speed can sometimes actually speed up your download rates. If you think about it, a signal can only either go up or down the line, and the faster and more time you spend sending things up the line, the less time there is for stuff to be send down the line.
>> Edited by _dan_ on Thursday 8th September 17:26
It's not what your downloading thats hogging the line, but more what your uploading.
A 2Mb line (2048Kbits/s or 256Kbytes/s) is the download rate, but your upload rate is probably more like 256Kbits/s (32Kbytes/s) or 512Kbits/s (64Kbytes/s). If your downloading via BitTorrent or some other P2P try limiting your upload speed to 15 or 20KBytes/s.
This will leave a little bandwidth for your brother to continue gaming hopefully and at the same time, won't hinder your download rates.
Also, limiting your upload speed can sometimes actually speed up your download rates. If you think about it, a signal can only either go up or down the line, and the faster and more time you spend sending things up the line, the less time there is for stuff to be send down the line.
>> Edited by _dan_ on Thursday 8th September 17:26
coffee spiting over the monitor moment there, haven't heard that old one for ages! Nice one 
.........
Gassing Station | Computers, Gadgets & Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff