Work from Home: VPN hurting speed
Discussion
I work from home and have a Virgin 200 connection. I despise Virgin with every fibre (!) of my being, and would desperately like to dump them at the end of my contract. The problem i have is that nobody does fibre in my street - not sure why, as all other streets in the surrounding area are covered, but hey-ho.
I use powerline connectors to my router. I have cat5 cable run from my office to the router, but seeing how most of it was run i don't expect it to be up to much, so I never terminated it and never paid for it! - it's just sitting behind the wall unused.
From the possible 200mb, I see around 60-70 before i log in to my VPN. I tend to use the VPN that takes me via Seattle. We do have other options in Amsterdam and Gurgaon, but they cause problems for some of the software i use and never run much faster. Via the VPN, i usually hit 15-20mb, so i suspect this is actually what i'm working with every day.
If i move to 50mb, will that turn to 10mb? or if it's as slow as 25mb, will it be 5? I can't afford to sign up to a new contract that won't work for me.
The most data hungry tasks i have would be downloading 500mb-1gig files off our server once a day, running fairly hefty Business Objects queries and downloading the results, and many multiples of video conference calls.
I'm not sure whether a VPN will always be a %age of my overall speed, or if my VPN max speed is the max i can achieve regardless of the connection.
Any advice?
Before VPN:
After VPN:
I use powerline connectors to my router. I have cat5 cable run from my office to the router, but seeing how most of it was run i don't expect it to be up to much, so I never terminated it and never paid for it! - it's just sitting behind the wall unused.
From the possible 200mb, I see around 60-70 before i log in to my VPN. I tend to use the VPN that takes me via Seattle. We do have other options in Amsterdam and Gurgaon, but they cause problems for some of the software i use and never run much faster. Via the VPN, i usually hit 15-20mb, so i suspect this is actually what i'm working with every day.
If i move to 50mb, will that turn to 10mb? or if it's as slow as 25mb, will it be 5? I can't afford to sign up to a new contract that won't work for me.
The most data hungry tasks i have would be downloading 500mb-1gig files off our server once a day, running fairly hefty Business Objects queries and downloading the results, and many multiples of video conference calls.
I'm not sure whether a VPN will always be a %age of my overall speed, or if my VPN max speed is the max i can achieve regardless of the connection.
Any advice?
Before VPN:
After VPN:
First things first resolve that speed issue without the VPN, if you are paying for 200 and only getting 60-70 there is most likely a problem that needs a addressing, that or they aren't able to offer that speed in your vicinity in which case you should be on a lower speed deal and thus save a few quid. Once you have that resolved then the VPN would be the next thing to look into but I suspect that even when up to 200mb your current speed will most likely be your limit for various reasons that are a ballache to explain.
If you are doing lots of data stuff and you worked for me you would be running that up on a VDI session and you wouldn't be using a VPN either
I work in EUC and Modern Workplace delivery and honestly, 90-95% of the time a VPN is not required anymore. However thats a bit beyond the scope here.
Next thing would be a direct cable to the router and see what your speed is then go from there.
If you are doing lots of data stuff and you worked for me you would be running that up on a VDI session and you wouldn't be using a VPN either
I work in EUC and Modern Workplace delivery and honestly, 90-95% of the time a VPN is not required anymore. However thats a bit beyond the scope here.
Next thing would be a direct cable to the router and see what your speed is then go from there.
I also work from home a lot and have fibre to the home with BT. Non-restricted speeds are around 76mb download and 20mb upload. Switch the VPN on and go via our server in Frankfurt and that drops to ~30mb and 10mb. As another poster mentioned the requirement to use the VPN for security is dropping off and most of our internal apps no longer require it, which is good.
Get rid of the PLA's supplying the main connection and go hardwired anyway. CAT5/6 and a local hub is much more efficient and it will remove any induced traffic cork caused by them plus remove the mains borne noise and interference that they cause.
Get rid of the PLA's supplying the main connection and go hardwired anyway. CAT5/6 and a local hub is much more efficient and it will remove any induced traffic cork caused by them plus remove the mains borne noise and interference that they cause.
Edited by Marlin45 on Thursday 24th January 12:56
I use Hyperoptic which is fantastic...
I get 150+ mb consistently...when I was setting it up I tested with / without homeplugs and vpns and wotnot just to get an idea of how it was working.
Using a new Wfi dongle on a desktop pc i'd get the full 150mb up and down
using the Homeplugs - it scaled down to around 90ish (and they're all new gigabit capable homeplugs...)
Homeplugs and VPN (P.I.A) drops it down to around 50/60 mb
Wifi and VPN - slightly better at around 80ishmb
I've stuck with the Wifi dongle on the desktop and the Homeplugs into the Xbox for Plex streaming and gaming etc and it seems to work well enough.
I get 150+ mb consistently...when I was setting it up I tested with / without homeplugs and vpns and wotnot just to get an idea of how it was working.
Using a new Wfi dongle on a desktop pc i'd get the full 150mb up and down
using the Homeplugs - it scaled down to around 90ish (and they're all new gigabit capable homeplugs...)
Homeplugs and VPN (P.I.A) drops it down to around 50/60 mb
Wifi and VPN - slightly better at around 80ishmb
I've stuck with the Wifi dongle on the desktop and the Homeplugs into the Xbox for Plex streaming and gaming etc and it seems to work well enough.
thanks for the advice so far. I suppose i could pull out the cat 5 from behind the wall at the router and see what it's getting at the other end without too much hassle. I hadn't realised that the powerline stuff could be so restrictive.
I'll try that and see what speeds i get hardwired. If that improves things, then i suppose i could afford to take a hit on speed and go with another provider.
I'll try that and see what speeds i get hardwired. If that improves things, then i suppose i could afford to take a hit on speed and go with another provider.
It's also entirely possibly that your VPN is speed limited as other people have said. Powerline networking gear is a bit crap (I got rid of mine and ran CAT6) though.
I've got an 80Mbit connection at home. Connecting to VPN (via Germany) and this goes down to ~20Mbit.
Nothing to do with my local network, all to do with the VPN having limited throughput.
Connecting via Seattle will add a good few hundred milliseconds of latency to the connection too. Not ideal.
I've got an 80Mbit connection at home. Connecting to VPN (via Germany) and this goes down to ~20Mbit.
Nothing to do with my local network, all to do with the VPN having limited throughput.
Connecting via Seattle will add a good few hundred milliseconds of latency to the connection too. Not ideal.
Yep, 200ms!
I tried a speed test over wi-fi and it was over 100, so I know there's more to be had. For a start I could probably stop using the power line altogether and still be in a better position.
I can't find my ethernet adaptor for the laptop to plug it straight in to the router to check - I need to use my dock/hub and don't want to disconnect everything just now.
If my VPN limits me to 20mb regardless of my speed that's okay, I can work with what I have. My problem would be if it was a percentage of my total speed. Eg: if my line speed was 25, is my VPN max speed now 12?
I tried a speed test over wi-fi and it was over 100, so I know there's more to be had. For a start I could probably stop using the power line altogether and still be in a better position.
I can't find my ethernet adaptor for the laptop to plug it straight in to the router to check - I need to use my dock/hub and don't want to disconnect everything just now.
If my VPN limits me to 20mb regardless of my speed that's okay, I can work with what I have. My problem would be if it was a percentage of my total speed. Eg: if my line speed was 25, is my VPN max speed now 12?
Chucklehead said:
Yep, 200ms!
I tried a speed test over wi-fi and it was over 100, so I know there's more to be had. For a start I could probably stop using the power line altogether and still be in a better position.
I can't find my ethernet adaptor for the laptop to plug it straight in to the router to check - I need to use my dock/hub and don't want to disconnect everything just now.
If my VPN limits me to 20mb regardless of my speed that's okay, I can work with what I have. My problem would be if it was a percentage of my total speed. Eg: if my line speed was 25, is my VPN max speed now 12?
In reality its a lot more complicated that how much bandwidth is available at your end. But as a rule of thumb, removing speed your end will slow the VPN down.I tried a speed test over wi-fi and it was over 100, so I know there's more to be had. For a start I could probably stop using the power line altogether and still be in a better position.
I can't find my ethernet adaptor for the laptop to plug it straight in to the router to check - I need to use my dock/hub and don't want to disconnect everything just now.
If my VPN limits me to 20mb regardless of my speed that's okay, I can work with what I have. My problem would be if it was a percentage of my total speed. Eg: if my line speed was 25, is my VPN max speed now 12?
Also didn't realise you were using a doc, it is possible this is the bottle neck although less likely than the powerline adapters. Can you not take the dock to the router and plug the cable in there?
Test it with a long Cat5 + cable and see what results you get (point to point) remove switches, docks etc. I have a VPN for browsing at home and I lose maybe 2-5Mbps with it on.
I imagine this is a limitation with bandwidth the other end. Get IT involved, maybe see if they have a Citrix terminal you can remote onto? Or set you up a VPC?
I imagine this is a limitation with bandwidth the other end. Get IT involved, maybe see if they have a Citrix terminal you can remote onto? Or set you up a VPC?
Edited by illmonkey on Thursday 24th January 17:15
Chucklehead said:
overall i'm not too concerned with what i have today, it's what i could end up with i leave Virgin. I'll see if there's any other way of me accessing our servers.
I doubt your ISP is limiting speed that much, it's possible, but it'd piss a lot of people off!Sign up for a trial on a private VPN and use a server in US, see what speeds you get...
To echo other posters - sort the main speed issue first, most likely related to Home Plugs.
For context - i'm on Virgin 350mb. Wired I will see just under 400mb, WiFi around 380 (I have multiple AP's with wired backhaul).
Working from home I have a dedicated hardware VPN device (Cisco 897VA) - connecting via this will see my speed drop to 50mbps. This isnt related to virgin at all, its related to the throughput speeds of the hardware at both my end and the server end. I could have a gigabit connection and would see the same. Equally I could drop down to 100mb and in all likelihood would still see exactly the same 50mb. Now if I dropped to a 25mb connection I would likely see around 20mb (you will always lose some due to overhead) via VPN as it would be restricted by my connection speed then as opposed to the VPN client/server devices.
For context - i'm on Virgin 350mb. Wired I will see just under 400mb, WiFi around 380 (I have multiple AP's with wired backhaul).
Working from home I have a dedicated hardware VPN device (Cisco 897VA) - connecting via this will see my speed drop to 50mbps. This isnt related to virgin at all, its related to the throughput speeds of the hardware at both my end and the server end. I could have a gigabit connection and would see the same. Equally I could drop down to 100mb and in all likelihood would still see exactly the same 50mb. Now if I dropped to a 25mb connection I would likely see around 20mb (you will always lose some due to overhead) via VPN as it would be restricted by my connection speed then as opposed to the VPN client/server devices.
Chucklehead said:
overall i'm not too concerned with what i have today, it's what i could end up with i leave Virgin. I'll see if there's any other way of me accessing our servers.
Ok then, in simple terms, the less bandwidth you have, the less your VPN will negotiate when connecting. There could well be an upper limit at the other end, it isn't unheard of as there is only so much to go around. You could get your IT involved and ask what the limit is and if it is possible for you to be moved into a group with a higher limit. However first you need to see exactly what is what at your end. This require connecting your laptop directly to your router and then testing out the speeds there, this will give you a clearer picture as to what is limiting your connection and you can go from there. Is the VPN soley for access to your corporate network and servers? There is sometimes an option allowing you to choose how to route a connection to the internet, through the VPN or not. This will allow you to access your corporate servers through the VPN but access to the WWW won't suffer the speed limitations of the VPN.
SamR380 said:
Is the VPN soley for access to your corporate network and servers? There is sometimes an option allowing you to choose how to route a connection to the internet, through the VPN or not. This will allow you to access your corporate servers through the VPN but access to the WWW won't suffer the speed limitations of the VPN.
True, however, from what he put in the OP this seemed less important owing to having to drag data back and fourthSamR380 said:
Is the VPN soley for access to your corporate network and servers? There is sometimes an option allowing you to choose how to route a connection to the internet, through the VPN or not. This will allow you to access your corporate servers through the VPN but access to the WWW won't suffer the speed limitations of the VPN.
Not many corp VPNs will allow split tunnelling these days 
It'd be worth a try though.
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