Decided to stay on 1G VM .... BUT..

Hi folks,
After the blunderings by VM I decided to to give them one last chance. However the internet bandwidth is a bit up and down. When I do a speedtest during the day, initially i get really poor figures around 5-600 but then if I repeat it a few times trhe bandwidth picks up to a decent bandwidth of around 8-900. Similar happened just now as I post this - I was getting around 5-600 initially and then after a few uses of speedtest i'm now getting around 766.
How does the bandwidth allocation work on VM? Is it variable on use or is there some kind of "intelligent" (laugh) algorithm involved?
Many thanks,
Imran

Edited by ImranQ (Thu 12-May-22 18:26:21)

I'm within the 14 day cooling period since getting it RE-installed last Friday and have one more week to decide if I want to continue!

In reply to a post by ImranQ:

How does the bandwidth allocation work on VM? Is it variable on use or is there some kind of "intelligent" (laugh) algorithm involved?
Many thanks,
Imran

Sure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weighted_fair_queueing

ImranQ: If you can get Sky at the speed you want, do so!!! the VM support is about an hour wait, and the seem to have no clue about the VM website!! (last year I tried to add a package on the website, and telephone support did not know about my application!!!)

This **may* have improved by now, but......

the Sky support is said to be great, I was going to change due to bad speeds (only 100 M on 350 M account), but then found I had Totally messed up my net card config!!

so do first check your modem indicators are saying 'gigayte' !!
on older netgear switches this is both lights lit

make sure you use a good speedtest ! if your are in UK, some actually come fro US, getting odd results..
ookla is a simple one, but if you want a full diagnostic, these are much better!!

Tbb's own..
https://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/16526122294...

dslreports does a lot more! AFAIK..
http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest/70925432

notice they are all a bit different - done around midday 15th!

In reply to a post by ImranQ:

Hi folks,
However the internet bandwidth is a bit up and down. When I do a speedtest during the day, initially i get really poor figures around 5-600 but then if I repeat it a few times trhe bandwidth picks up to a decent bandwidth of around 8-900. Similar happened just now as I post this - I was getting around 5-600 initially and then after a few uses of speedtest i'm now getting around 766.

Have you tried using the samknows realspeed tester, its accurate and works well. I have a samknows whitebox and HUB 4 and get the choice of which one to test on, they often come back with the same result as other speed testers such as speedtest.net and the thinkbroadband one (although sometimes thinkbroadband is slightly different but that's due to browser settings, I noticed it has faster results on macs compared to any of my PC's

Have you tried speed testing in a private browser and with antivirus deactivated to see what that gives you.

Correction: better add I got the HUB 4 on 12/05/2022 after a HUB 3 failure. I do now use the HUB 4 in modem mode but did do a trial period in router mode until I could complete the changes my end.

KR,
RR

Edited by RR_The_IT_Guy (Sun 15-May-22 13:16:18)

well, samknows realspeed does not like my system... win7 with firefox..

HI,
I don't have a Sam Knows Whitebox like you but here are my stats:
SamKnows:
Latency 18.4 ms
Jitter 4.05 ms
Download 531 Mbps
Upload 52.0 Mbps

SpeedTest:
PING ms 9
DOWNLOAD Mbps 683.74
UPLOAD Mbps 47.76

SpeedTest seems to thrw up numbers as I mentioned in my original post (a bit up and down) for DL speed. SamKnows seems a bit more consistent.

Bit baffled as when I was getting M350 I was getting around 350 all the time.
The question is, is this what you would expect from a 1Gb service? I have until Friday to cancel within the 14day cooling off period and instead switch to BT 900Mb. RIght now I seem to be getting 1/2 of what I was promised. I am thinking of calling up Virgin tomorrow to complain in the first instance regardless.
Thanks,
Imran

What service are you on? I think the speed also depends on whether you doing the test using a wired or wireless device.

Useful - thanks.

Ahh I see you're on SKY. Sorry I wouldn't touch SKY with a bargepole. I have heard bad stories about them. My ex was on sky and it was totally pathetic in the evenings.

I've been using SpeedTest before and Sam Knows today. Sam knows seems to be more accurate in terms of consistency.

You VM Hub4 is it ion modem mode or router mode?
If in router mode use https://samknows.com/realspeed/
If in modem mode, what's your router model?

Well just checked and my Hub4 says Router Mode in the settings. However, if I use the link you gave, I get the following:
This WiFi network does not support RealSpeed

I'm wired into the Hub4 and not using Wifi.


EDIT Apologies - ignore the above. I forgot that I was connected to a VPN.
After disconnecting from the VPN, It says my
Speed to the Hub4 is 1141
Speed to computer is 449

Edited by ImranQ (Mon 16-May-22 13:56:55)

In reply to a post by ImranQ:

Speed to the Hub4 is 1141
Speed to computer is 449

Then Virgin are providing full speed to your hub.
The issue is in your home between the hub and your PC.

That's the good thing about the built in Samknows tester. It tests speeds to the hub only, ruling out all your own cabling and hardware.

I went into the Hub4 Network status->Configuration and it does say
Downstream Max Traffic Rate 1230000450
Upstream Max Traffic Rate 55000270

Seems correct.


I've checked my Windows 10 network card properties and the Link Speed is 1000/1000 Mbps

I'm totally baffled. I don't understand where the problem could be.
All I can think is that something weird is happening at the hub or maybe some kind of restriction at the origin?

Any ideas what else I could check?

So I phoned them up today and explained my issue and the fact that I have my cooling off period ending on Friday. The appointment they gave me is for Saturday!! Looks like notice time.

In reply to a post by ImranQ:

I'm totally baffled. I don't understand where the problem could be.
All I can think is that something weird is happening at the hub or maybe some kind of restriction at the origin?

Any ideas what else I could check?

If you're technical enough you could install a live linux ISO and run a speed test on that.
Not all PC's are powerful enough to handle gigabit speeds. Security software, anti-virus etc can all cause slow downs.

If the hub is getting full speed but your PC isn't then you will get more than likely get the exact same on Openreach FTTP.
As seen from the hub Virgin are providing the speed they claim. They are responsible up to the hub, the rest is your domain.

In reply to a post by j0hn83:

In reply to a post by ImranQ:

I'm totally baffled. I don't understand where the problem could be.
All I can think is that something weird is happening at the hub or maybe some kind of restriction at the origin?

Any ideas what else I could check?

If you're technical enough you could install a live linux ISO and run a speed test on that.
Not all PC's are powerful enough to handle gigabit speeds. Security software, anti-virus etc can all cause slow downs.

If the hub is getting full speed but your PC isn't then you will get more than likely get the exact same on Openreach FTTP.
As seen from the hub Virgin are providing the speed they claim. They are responsible up to the hub, the rest is your domain.

+1

In reply to a post by ImranQ:

Any ideas what else I could check?

1) Check for driver updates for the Ethernet card
2) If you use third party (not Microsoft) security software, you need to test with it uninstalled. (Turning it off is not enough)
3) If you have a gaming motherboard you may have some enhancment settings in the BIOS for ethernet, ensure any of those are disabled.

Most Gigabit Ethernet cards going back to Pentium M laptops (e.g. Thinkpad T42 from 2008) can transfer at 900Mbps+ but when they are not “messed with” by third party software. Even using Windows XP!

Thank-you for the tips. I do seem to have some issues with Windoze 10 for sure.

I did this tonight. Burnt Ubuntu onto a USB and just used the demo that comes with the install. Took me ages as my 4k displays refused to work with Ubuntu and the mouse kept hanging everytime the Ubuntu kept starting. In the end I had to use an old monitor and discovered that there was some kind of usb issue and PS2 adapter on the mouse resolved that. Finally got it all working. I digress...

In Ubuntu firefox, I used speedtest and samknows realspeed and indeed, there seems to be a problem with my windows. In Ubuntu, I'm getting 1147 to the hub4 and around 937 from the Hub4 to the computer.
So seems like more work needed to resolve where the bandwidth is disappearing...

Many thanks for the linux tip!

Edited by ImranQ (Mon 16-May-22 23:37:33)

At least you now know that there's no problem with the connection, router, ethernet cable or computer hardware. That's a lot that's been eliminated.

Good luck

Try the DOS based version, OOKLA SPEED TEST.

https://www.speedtest.net/apps/cli

I was up until 2-3am researching and trying find out the cause of the issues. Enabling/disabling the firewall made no difference. However the main culprit I did track down was Malwarebytes which I had installed in the last few weeks. After disabling that and trying some adapter & tcp/ip settings I am right now getting around 950+ down and 45+ on speedtest including the x64 cli version. Not too bad for middle of the day.

Both Samknows tests however are not improving a lot beyond around 650 download. Not sure how these tests vary from speedtest.

As noted, it’s typical / usual for third party security and/or AV software ar the root of bloating, network performance destroying culprit on Win. Usual for it to be evident on machines at speeds beyond 500 Mbps and often or not with non-Intel NICs such as those from Realtek with perhaps sub-optimal drivers...

In reply to a post by Pheasant:

As noted, it’s typical / usual for third party security and/or AV software ar the root of bloating, network performance destroying culprit on Win. Usual for it to be evident on machines at speeds beyond 500 Mbps and often or not with non-Intel NICs such as those from Realtek with perhaps sub-optimal drivers...

Realtek NICs turn up everywhere, and I've had no problems with throughput on them, except for when third party security software is involved!!

I have dual Intel NICs (Intel motherboard. I use one - the other is disabled).

TBF, I have been with Virgin for more than 18 months on M350. I was always getting 350Mbps, infact very slightly more that 350.. Regarding disconnections it was once in a blue moon.

Secondly, I would have had to get a new physical connection and hence hole put into the wall of the house to get the BT line.

I took all that into consideration when I decided to continue with VM.

Currently I am happy with the VM internet.

In reply to a post by Buggs8:

Respectfully - you have the chance to go to BT 900/100 and you mess with Virgin? Is it even comparable? If it was me I would be on FTTP 10 out of 10 times!

Respectfully... What?
His Virgin might be FTTP?

It isn't the case that Virgin = coax and that BT = FTTP, therefore BT is better. Far from it.

Quite a lot of Virgin is FTTP. Much of that is RFOG, sending a DOCSIS signal down fibre.
There's also a lot of FTTP being moved to XGS-PON and coax being overbuilt with FTTP using XGS-PON.

In reply to a post by j0hn83:

It isn't the case that Virgin = coax and that BT = FTTP, therefore BT is better. Far from it.

True. More that Virgin is DoCSIS and BT is GPON therefore BT is better. XGSPON is still a way away.