2. Test Your Throughput
Throughput is the practical measurement of bandwidth: the quantity of data you can transmit over a connection in a given period of time.
The simplest way to measure your throughput is to visit one of the many bandwidth-measuring web sites, such as Broadbandreports.com (http://www.dslreports.com/stest/) or Bandwidth Place (http://bandwidthplace.com/speedtest/).
For
the most accurate results, make sure you close all superfluous programs
before running the test. In addition to calculating your bandwidth and
reporting the results, these services typically ask for your zip code
and connection type to compile statistics on typical connection speeds
in your area. The results should look something like Figure 4.
Now, according to the results in Figure 4,
the download speed is a respectable 1,267 Kbps, which means, in
practical terms, that it should take about 6.5 seconds to download a 1
MB file under ideal conditions.
However,
ideal conditions are rare; real-life transfers are often much slower,
due to overburdened servers and busy networks. Since your connection
speed (or lack thereof) is most noticeable during file downloads
(compared with web surfing or emailing), you can overcome some of these
conditions by using a download manager.
So, what do you do
if your connection seems too slow? First, close all open windows, and
turn off all background programs (such as the ones that show up in the
System Tray in the lower-right corner of the screen, near the clock). Do
the same for any other PCs using your Internet connection. Next,
examine the lights on your router or broadband modem; if they're
flashing, it means that some program is still running on your PC,
possibly consuming bandwidth. This is a possible sign that a virus,
worm, Trojan horse, or some sort of spyware has made its way onto your PC.
Of
course, it's also possible that you're hitting the upper limit of your
broadband connection. But whether or not an upgrade from your ISP is
worth the money depends on the bandwidth you're getting now and the
amount of cash your ISP is demanding for the faster service. If your
connection measures more than 1 Mbps (1,024 Kbps), it's unlikely you'll
notice a huge difference in real-world speed with a faster connection
unless you download a lot of large files (such as music). On the other
hand, more expensive connections sometimes offer substantially higher
upload speeds, which may be worth the added cost if you spend a lot of
time sending files to web servers, or even if you want to host a web
site on your PC.
2.1. Do-it-yourself bandwidth test
One of the simplest ways to measure the throughput is to transfer a binary file (such as a .jpg or .zip
file) from your computer to another location and then back again,
recording the time it takes to complete the transfer each way. Just
divide the file size by the transfer time to get the throughput,
typically in kilobytes or megabytes per second.
When
testing the speed between two PCs on your local network (for instance,
when comparing the speed of your wireless network with that of cables),
you might be inclined to drag and drop the files in Windows Explorer.
Sure, it's a good real-world test, but Windows—and Vista in
particular—adds a lot of overhead to this process, so it won't be a true
test of raw throughput. If you're feeling adventurous, try using FTP:
just set up an FTP server on one PC, either using Windows' built-in IIS
service or a third-party freeware alternative, and then connect to that
PC with a basic FTP client.
3. Do Download Accelerators Really Work?
There
are a number of "download accelerator" software products available, all
of which promise to speed up the transfer of files downloaded to your
computer. As you might've guessed, none of them are actually capable of
increasing the bandwidth or throughput of your Internet connection.
Rather, they employ download managers that compensate for inefficiencies in the download process.
These
programs work by downloading a file in pieces, via multiple concurrent
download streams . While two
concurrent downloads would each be allotted half the bandwidth normally
consumed by a single download, this boundary only applies when your
Internet connection is the bottleneck. In practice, download managers do
use a larger percentage of your available bandwidth, and as a result,
do tend to shorten download times, particularly for large files.
The
problem is that any speed advantage you notice may be offset by the
annoying and cumbersome interfaces these programs add to the mix:
numerous dialog boxes and unnecessary prompts, not to mention bloated
manager applications that take too long to load before they even get
started. But in the end, the convenience afforded by some of these
programs' extra features may make them worth the hassle.
Here are a few of the better download managers available, all free:
Be aware that some download accelerators contain spyware, so use caution when trying an unproven product. |
|
Of these tools, probably the slickest is Download Express, shown in Figure 5.
If you use Download Express, there are two changes you should make. If
you're an Internet Explorer user, open Download Express, click Advanced, and then choose the Integration tab. Turn on the Use alternative integration method option and click OK;
you'll need to exit and relaunch Internet Explorer for the change to
take effect. Or, if you're a Firefox or SeaMonkey user, install the
MetaProducts Integration extension, available at http://metaproducts.com/.
The
real advantage of products like these is not so much in the speed
increase, but in the perks. Some programs also can resume aborted
downloads, find alternative servers from which to download your files,
and schedule downloads for off-peak times.
4. Set Up Virtual Private Networking
Virtual
Private Networking (VPN) is a system involving a workgroup of two or
more computers connected by an Internet connection rather than a
physical cable. In theory, VPN provides the security and privacy of a
closed environment, without the astronomical cost of a private wide-area
network.
| Need
privacy on a public wireless network? Set up a VPN to transfer data
between PCs securely. |
|
The
technology used in VPN—either the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol
(PPTP) or the Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP)—allows you to create a
private "tunnel" across the Internet connection. With a VPN, you can
accomplish tasks previously available only over a LAN, such as file and
printer sharing, user authentication, and even networked games. Figure 6 illustrates a typical scenario with a tunnel connecting a single computer to a remote workgroup.
Before you can set up VPN, you need a tunnel server.
If you're connecting to a large company, the VPN administrator will
provide the necessary settings (and software, if necessary) to establish
a connection. Otherwise, you can use a Vista PC as a tunnel server by
following these instructions.
4.1. Part 1: Set up the tunnel server
Although
there's no mention of it in Vista's Help and Support, Windows Vista can
indeed serve as a VPN server; you don't need any extra software.
Here's how you do it:
Open the Network and Sharing Center, and click the Manage network connections link on the left.
Press the Alt key to show the menu, and then select File → New Incoming Connection.
On the "Who may connect to this computer?" page shown in Figure 7,
place a checkmark next to each user account you wish to use as a login
for VPN clients. Unless you're using this VPN connection yourself,
you'll probably want to click Add someone
to create a separate user account for others to use (otherwise, you'll
have to share your own username and password with those who will be
connecting). Click Next when you're done.
On the next page, turn on the Through the Internet option, and then click Next.
On the next page, highlight Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click Properties. Turn on the Allow callers to access my local area network
option, and then specify how you'd like to assign IP addresses to
incoming connections; you can optionally assign a range of addresses
here.
Click OK and then Next when you're done, and then click Allow access to complete the wizard.
If
you're using a router on the server end, you'll need to set up Port
Forwarding to route VPN traffic to the IP address for your tunnel
server. VPN over PPTP uses port 1723, and IPSec uses 500, 50, and 51.
Next, set up at least one other PC as a VPN client to connect the two.
4.2. Part 2: Set up the VPN client
Although
there only needs to be one VPN tunnel server, you can have as many
clients as you like (that is, until you reach the limit specified in the
tunnel server's configuration). Here's how to connect a Windows Vista
PC to an existing VPN network:
Open the Network and Sharing Center, and click the Set up a connection or network link on the left.
Select Connect to a workplace (you may have to scroll through the list to see it), and then click Next.
Click Use my Internet connection (VPN).
In the Internet address field, type the IP address (157.54.0.1) or the host name (sally.mydomain.net).
Next, choose a name for the new connection (it can be anything you want), type it into the Destination name field, and click Next.
On
the next page, type your user name and password on the tunnel server;
this is either the login for a valid Windows user account on that PC, or
a login provided by the tunnel server's administrator (if it's not
you).
Turn on the Remember this password option, and click Connect (or Create, if you opted not to connect on the last page).
As soon as you're connected, you should have access to the additional resources shared on the remote network. Later on, you can
connect by double-clicking the VPN connection in the Network
Connections window. |
|
If
you connect to the Internet through a router, you'll most likely need
to turn on the IPSec option in your router's setup to get VPN to work.
