Topic: question about internet connection and poor upload speeds....

[mikesalvo]

So, I have my main PC in my spare room. It rarely ever gets used, however my primary internet connection is routed through that computer. When downloading torrents, I get very good download AND upload speeds for downloading, and then seeding of torrents when those DL's are done.

The computer I use most is my MacBook Pro, and it is located in the next room, no more than 15 ft. away. My internet connection for this computer is wireless (linksys router connected to previously mentioned PC). I get decent download speeds, but VERY little to No upload speed (mostly nothing). Ive tried the obvious sources of info (port forward, live chat with both my internet provider, and linksys) and I have hit a wall. I just can seem to get good upload speed from my MacBook. I believe my ports are configured to what they should be.

Does anyone have any info that may be able to help speed me up/port configuration? thanks so much!

[F.O.Bean]

What type of torrent are you using? uTorrent/etc Are you creating the torrents w/ the same program

[mikesalvo]

I am using tomato torrent and i am not talking about torrents Ive created, Im talking about just torrents I download from random sites (etree etc...)

[F.O.Bean]

What does your laptop say the signal strenght is from your linksys router? Are you 100% SURE your ports are forwarded correctly?

[Patrick]

I had the same issue with a Linksys wrt54g router (hardwired to desktop, wifi to laptop) even though my ports were forwarded correctly.  It took me turning off firewalls using DMZ mode to get torrents to work correctly.  Of course, this leaves your computers vulnerable and is not recommended.  I only used this configuration for a few weeks until I moved and got a new router (airport express).  Haven't had any problems since then.

[mikesalvo]

I had the same issue with a Linksys wrt54g router (hardwired to desktop, wifi to laptop) even though my ports were forwarded correctly.  It took me turning off firewalls using DMZ mode to get torrents to work correctly.  Of course, this leaves your computers vulnerable and is not recommended.  I only used this configuration for a few weeks until I moved and got a new router (airport express).  Haven't had any problems since then.

this is exactly the router I have. Maybe its time to switch it up......

[F.O.Bean]

Yeah thats the same router we have, but we dont Dl torrents on the laptop so......

[OFOTD]

You'd be wasting money getting rid of your router for a simple problem.  Instead put a better firmware on the router in place of the stock Linksys firmware.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index

Download the latest stable release v24 SP1 (Build10020) and flash your router with it.  DD-WRT is a replacement firmware for many routers but especially the WRT54G/GS.

It will fix the torrent problems as well as give you a ton of new settings and options for your router.   I will never get rid of my DD-WRT flashed Linksys until I have absolutely no more G or B devices.

Seriously it will be like you have a new and improved badass router.

[rastasean]

OFOTD has a lot of good points here BUT if you're wanting a new router, let me take this one off your hands.

[mikesalvo]

Sick OFTD! I'm gonna give that a try and report back. Sean if this doesnt work i may sell this one. Just know that it would be useless for torrents (uploading). It works GREAT for everything else on our house (laptops, iPad, ipod touch, Wii, etc....)

[SmokinJoe]

Before you buy anything, I'd suggest you double check the basic networking and port forwarding stuff one more time.  If the laptop can wirelessly surf the web, then it has a good connection, and replacing the router shouldn't be necessary.

Are your network devices within the house DHCP?  Sometimes that makes for a moving target.  With DHCP the router hands out ip addresses when computers ask for them, but there is no easy way to make sure you get the same address every time.  When you set up port forwarding, if your laptop is 192.168.1.3, and then you reboot everything and next time it is 192.168.1.4, that won't work.   The standard solution is to use static addresses.

If the desktop listens for torrents on port 6181 (I think that's a typical one), then the laptop can't listen on the same port.  Jump to another whole range, not just 6182, go with something completely different like 14152.  So one range points to the desktop and one range points to the laptop.  Obviously in the torrent client settings they have to match those addresses.

If you do that, and that doesn't work, then I would do the following (some geek factor required)...  this will test of the laptop is listening on the listening port you think it is.  Open a shell on the desktop and type "telnet <laptop address> <laptop's torrent listening port>" like "telnet   192.168.1.4   49152".   If you get something like "connection refused" you still have a bad setting on the laptop because the laptop is refusing the connection that a torrent would try.  If it connects for a little while and then goes away, then I would say the laptop is fine.

[twatts (pants are so over-rated...)]

OFOTD has a lot of good points here BUT if you're wanting a new router, let me take this one off your hands.

I might have a router at home you can buy for dirt cheap...  I bought it at Tiger Direct last year, then decided to do somethine else and it was too late to returnit...  I'll PM you the model number when I get home from work...

Terry

[tim in jersey]

You'd be wasting money getting rid of your router for a simple problem.  Instead put a better firmware on the router in place of the stock Linksys firmware.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index

Download the latest stable release v24 SP1 (Build10020) and flash your router with it.  DD-WRT is a replacement firmware for many routers but especially the WRT54G/GS.

It will fix the torrent problems as well as give you a ton of new settings and options for your router.   I will never get rid of my DD-WRT flashed Linksys until I have absolutely no more G or B devices.

Seriously it will be like you have a new and improved badass router.

I prefer Tomato myself. http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato

[rastasean]

fwiw, I don't have to forward any ports at my router to allow bittorrents to work.

[SmokinJoe]

fwiw, I don't have to forward any ports at my router to allow bittorrents to work.

Without ports forwarded people can't connect to your computer... you can initiate a connection to them, but if they are trying to connect to you, you can't/won't answer.   In this situation you can download torrents easily because you are reaching out to them, but if you are trying to seed a new torrent from scratch, it won't work, or it will work miserably.

Disclaimer... this was certainly the case a few years ago.  It's possible that UPnP and new trackers have changed this, but not that I haven't heard of it.