Download speed is consistently lower than upload speed on one PC (Lumos Networks fiber Internet)

[drinkingbird]

I contacted ASUS and they told me to implement the nuclear option - a full reset of Windows. And it worked!



I am not using the latest driver for the Intel I225V, and I'm almost afraid to upgrade it since it's working the way it should. I have no idea what app or setting was causing the problem, but it's not a problem anymore.

You're right that I have more speed than I'll realistically use. Still, it was hard to resist a price difference of $100 less and twice the speed of my previous connection, so I went for the 2G. Now that I'm getting close to 2Gs up and down consistently on my mini-PC, I'm happy! I've just about reinstalled all my apps, although I culled the list of a few I didn't need. After each installation, I checked my speed, and everything still works as intended. My typical download speed is 1906 Mbps, and my upload speed is around 1960 Mbps.

I'm still not upgrading the NIC driver, just in case it was the culprit (I doubt it).

You can always roll back the driver if needed.

Maybe even though you uninstalled Bitdefender it still had a driver in the network stack. In reality, you should have a decent av/firewall. The built in windows defender has gotten a lot better, but still can't really compete with a good 3rd party suite.

 

[rmiller1959]

You can always roll back the driver if needed.

Maybe even though you uninstalled Bitdefender it still had a driver in the network stack. In reality, you should have a decent av/firewall. The built in windows defender has gotten a lot better, but still can't really compete with a good 3rd party suite.

I agree. I'm doing my research now to identify the best option.

You suggested staying away from McAfee. I would've agreed in the past because they had fallen on hard times and weren't measuring up to the best security suites. However, if the recent reviews are any indication, it seems to have bounced back, and they're focusing primarily on consumer security, leaving the enterprise market behind. I'm curious to know why you don't recommend it.

 

[drinkingbird]

I agree. I'm doing my research now to identify the best option.

You suggested staying away from McAfee. I would've agreed in the past because they had fallen on hard times and weren't measuring up to the best security suites. However, if the recent reviews are any indication, it seems to have bounced back, and they're focusing primarily on consumer security, leaving the enterprise market behind. I'm curious to know why you don't recommend it.

A combination of historically poor detection rates, especially for zero-day/heuristic attacks, questionable ethics (mostly from their somewhat insane founder who is out of the picture now), the fact that my company (100K employees) ditched them after an audit by our security team (one of the largest SOCs in the world), and the fact that usually when I have to clean a virus off someone's PC, it is using McAfee. Admittedly it is often McAfee that came on it with a free trial or 1 year, and has expired and stopped protecting the user, but since it is still installed, Windows Defender has not re-enabled itself, which seems to me like it could be intentional design on their part. Others when they expire have a constant warning when they and defender is enabled, at least from what I've seen.

I haven't don't any research into them recently, so maybe things have changed, but Bitdefender, Norton, Eset, and Kaspersky always come out on top (they swap places month to month). Obviously Kaspersky is no longer recommended due to security concerns. Personally I use Symantec Endpoint Protection, granted not available to most people but runs on the same engine and definitions as Norton. At least for now, who knows when LifeLock will want to stop paying for those definitions and start buying from a cheaper company.

Some of the free ones (and their inexpensive paid versions to add firewall and other features) regularly get top notch detection rates too. Avast, Avira, AVG, F-Secure, etc.

Microsoft does deserve credit, they've improved a ton, and they do have insight (and access) to protect portions of Windows that they know are being targeted before others do. My company actually uses Defender now, in conjunction with Azure protection for email and web proxies with scanners on them (making the endpoint protection not quite as critical, possibly one reason they're OK with using just Defender).

I'm not saying don't do McAfee, if you've looked at it and it has gotten better, and the price is good, go for it. I do see on av-test.org they are up there with the others in the most recent testing.

My preference for Symantec is just that I've been using it forever, I like that I can have it ask me for each app that tries to access the internet, and I'm used to the look and feel. As long as Norton sticks with Symantec (Broadcom)'s definitions, it should be just as good. But go with one that gets all "6" across the board on av-test and is the most cost effective with the features you want.

 

[rmiller1959]

My preference for Symantec is just that I've been using it forever, I like that I can have it ask me for each app that tries to access the internet, and I'm used to the look and feel. As long as Norton sticks with Symantec (Broadcom)'s definitions, it should be just as good. But go with one that gets all "6" across the board on av-test and is the most cost effective with the features you want.

I was a Norton user for a couple of decades. It might be time to check them out again. Thanks for the detailed explanation - it's extremely helpful!

 

[drinkingbird]

I was a Norton user for a couple of decades. It might be time to check them out again. Thanks for the detailed explanation - it's extremely helpful!

The other nice thing about Symantec is there is no annual subscription. It is a corporate product meant to be volume licensed, but it is available "out there". Just need to ensure you get it from a trusted source.

I'm not a fan of the tie up between Norton and Life Lock, but so far the Norton seems to be mostly left alone, they've probably added a couple spots in there that encourage you to sign up for Life Lock I'd assume, but the software itself is pretty much the same as it was, last I saw it anyway.

Of course Broadcom owning Symantec doesn't make a ton of sense either, but again, it is operating as its own entity with the same employees etc.

 

[rmiller1959]

So I'm now protected by Norton's security suite, and it had no impact whatsoever on my Internet speed. I also updated the Intel I225V network adapter driver, and again no negative impact on speed. I'm ready to do business!

Thanks again for your time and advice!

 

[ddaenen1]

2.5G has the same requirements as 1G. Cat5e standard. But yes couplers are always suspect, suggested they replace it with a good branded one assuming it is a cheap/no name one which may very well be Cat3 or less. May have managed 1G (probably with some errors), but can't push more sensitive 2.5. The rare occasions I have to use one I use a punchdown keystone jack - punch one side and plug the other. Unless both cables are stranded, then a keystone coupler with RJ45 on both ends is the way to go.

My vote is that it is either the horsepower of the PC (AV/Firewall can't keep up) or the coupler, but guess we'll see if they ever reply.

I have a small question here. Can you overcome the usage of a coupler by soldering the 2 ends together and isolate them from eachother with shrinkwrap. I also had to use one coupler because i moved my router to a server cabinet some time ago and pulling a new cable all the way to the socket seems risky to me as i used this plastic bendable conduit which isnt the best for pulling new cables afterwards. If it gets stuck, i am scr3wed. However, if i can rid of of the coupler, i would instantly as i don't trust them very much either.

 

[drinkingbird]

I have a small question here. Can you overcome the usage of a coupler by soldering the 2 ends together and isolate them from eachother with shrinkwrap. I also had to use one coupler because i moved my router to a server cabinet some time ago and pulling a new cable all the way to the socket seems risky to me as i used this plastic bendable conduit which isnt the best for pulling new cables afterwards. If it gets stuck, i am scr3wed. However, if i can rid of of the coupler, i would instantly as i don't trust them very much either.

That would likely be worse than the coupler. I pull cables through flex duct frequently, as long as you leave nothing to snag it should be fine. If you are pulling with the RJ45 end attached then yeah that can be tricky, probably want to tape down the tab.

The coupler is really no different than using a wall jack, most have punchdown on one side which is a bit better (if done right) but some are just couplers with RJ45 on both sides. Wouldn't worry about it if you know you can get full speed through it from your testing.

 

[Tech Junky]

@ddaenen1

You can do whatever you want but, the certification for cabling would be degraded and may/not provide the top speeds you're looking for with the introduction of a break in the cable. The coupler as long as it's static and not moving about should be preferred over soldering IMO. Of course a new full length cable would be preferable but, cost + time and bad conduit choices come into play.

It all depends on how much agony you want to experience when something weird starts happening on the network.

 

[drinkingbird]

I have a small question here. Can you overcome the usage of a coupler by soldering the 2 ends together and isolate them from eachother with shrinkwrap. I also had to use one coupler because i moved my router to a server cabinet some time ago and pulling a new cable all the way to the socket seems risky to me as i used this plastic bendable conduit which isnt the best for pulling new cables afterwards. If it gets stuck, i am scr3wed. However, if i can rid of of the coupler, i would instantly as i don't trust them very much either.

If you really want to do it right, invest in a crimper, punchdown tool, and a spool of cable. Keep in mind for CAT6 the RJ45 ends are different (but will work with a standard RJ45 crimper). CAT6A and up can be even more tricky, depending on whether it has the plastic divider in it or not. But 5e can do up to 2.5G, and 6 can do 5g at full 100M and 10G at shorter lengths. Both are easy to work with and crimp (once you get the hang of it) as long as you get CAT6 ends, which are backward compatible with 5e.

Just keep in mind you can't punch down stranded wire, only solid. You can crimp either one.

But I wouldn't worry too much about it. Many copper runs go through several patch panels and that is essentially a coupler (sometimes literally a bunch of couplers).

 

[ddaenen1]

I have all that gear as i run my own wire and crimp my own connectors. Also have a punchdown to connect all cables to the patch panel in my server cabinet. Even have the tester. I might give it a shot to run an entire new one as it is 5e right now which is not really very future proof.

 

[drinkingbird]

I have all that gear as i run my own wire and crimp my own connectors. Also have a punchdown to connect all cables to the patch panel in my server cabinet. Even have the tester. I might give it a shot to run an entire new one as it is 5e right now which is not really very future proof.

Just keep in mind as you go up in category and speed, you need to follow much stricter standards when working with the wire. For example cat 5/5e was pretty forgiving if you untwisted it to punch it down, with 6 and up you want to push one of the twists right over the tab and punch it down so it is twisted all the way to the punchdown. Remove as little jacket/shielding as possible too. With crimp you want to trim off any excess so that only what is needed to fit into the connector is untwisted. Granted at shorter lengths and sub 10G speeds it isn't quite a critical but if you want to be future proof, might as well get it right the first time.

 

[rmiller1959]

Just a quick follow-up; my network continues to play nice with Norton 360 running on the desktop and the same network path I had before. Whatever it was in my Windows configuration that was hindering my download speeds, it's a thing of the past:

 

[Tech Junky]

Just a quick follow-up; my network continues to play nice with Norton 360 running on the desktop and the same network path I had before. Whatever it was in my Windows configuration that was hindering my download speeds, it's a thing of the past:

Download speed is consistently lower than upload speed on one PC (Lumos Networks fiber Internet)

After awhile I took things into my own hands and made my own router and consolidated several devices into a PC instead. Threw a 5ge quad port card init it as that's the max speed my raid setup needed and wne from there. Check PM - Not wanting to take this thread way off range, but it would be...

www.snbforums.com

I beat Asus to the punch but, it might have gotten overlooked. MSFT is sometimes a real PITA when it comes to the quirks of how it works. Mine likes to get stuck on 2.4 instead of 5 sometimes and requires some intervention. Wired though typically doesn't have these issues which is kind of odd that it was shaving so much speed off the DL side for no apparent reason.

 

[drinkingbird]

Just a quick follow-up; my network continues to play nice with Norton 360 running on the desktop and the same network path I had before. Whatever it was in my Windows configuration that was hindering my download speeds, it's a thing of the past:

View attachment 49433

Dunno I think it should be getting more like 1950

 

[rmiller1959]

Download speed is consistently lower than upload speed on one PC (Lumos Networks fiber Internet)

After awhile I took things into my own hands and made my own router and consolidated several devices into a PC instead. Threw a 5ge quad port card init it as that's the max speed my raid setup needed and wne from there. Check PM - Not wanting to take this thread way off range, but it would be...

www.snbforums.com

I beat Asus to the punch but, it might have gotten overlooked. MSFT is sometimes a real PITA when it comes to the quirks of how it works. Mine likes to get stuck on 2.4 instead of 5 sometimes and requires some intervention. Wired though typically doesn't have these issues which is kind of odd that it was shaving so much speed off the DL side for no apparent reason.

You undoubtedly beat them to the punch, and I want to acknowledge that! Because of the time and effort involved, I was reserving that as the option of last resort. It worked, and I want to give you credit for recognizing the OS might have been wonky! I need to create a Linux boot drive; that's not a tool in my PC tool kit, and it sounds necessary.

 

[Tech Junky]

You undoubtedly beat them to the punch, and I want to acknowledge that! Because of the time and effort involved, I was reserving that as the option of last resort. It worked, and I want to give you credit for recognizing the OS might have been wonky! I need to create a Linux boot drive; that's not a tool in my PC tool kit, and it sounds necessary.

Takes a couple of mins to make one and boot to it. Very handy when you want to sanity check things quickly when you have gremlins running a muck in your PC.

I had a weird power issue on my laptop that I finally was able to pin down to being a Windows problem and not an actual HW issue. I even swapped power bricks trying to nail it down and the problem followed. Turned out to be an Intel driver issue causing he spontaneous reboots. All it took was booting to Linux and the reboots stopped for a couple of days. I was about to start digging into swapping power ports on the MOBO it was getting so frequent.

The Linux idea works for more than simple troubleshooting though as well. Great for recovering data from drives and bypassing security. Works well to strip out Windows components you can't remove while booted into Windows. I use it on my server as a router / NAS / DVR / etc. because it's stable for 24/7 operation. It's a worthwhile investment of time to play around with and get familiar with the commands.

 

[drinkingbird]

Takes a couple of mins to make one and boot to it. Very handy when you want to sanity check things quickly when you have gremlins running a muck in your PC.

I had a weird power issue on my laptop that I finally was able to pin down to being a Windows problem and not an actual HW issue. I even swapped power bricks trying to nail it down and the problem followed. Turned out to be an Intel driver issue causing he spontaneous reboots. All it took was booting to Linux and the reboots stopped for a couple of days. I was about to start digging into swapping power ports on the MOBO it was getting so frequent.

The Linux idea works for more than simple troubleshooting though as well. Great for recovering data from drives and bypassing security. Works well to strip out Windows components you can't remove while booted into Windows. I use it on my server as a router / NAS / DVR / etc. because it's stable for 24/7 operation. It's a worthwhile investment of time to play around with and get familiar with the commands.

Sometimes it can be frustrating though as you'll boot into it and have a similar/same issue and it ends up being coincidence that the inbuilt drivers aren't as good, have had that happen a couple times. Of course you can update the drivers once booted into it.

 

[Tech Junky]

Sometimes it can be frustrating though as you'll boot into it and have a similar/same issue and it ends up being coincidence that the inbuilt drivers aren't as good, have had that happen a couple times. Of course you can update the drivers once booted into it.

True. I have a nic port on my z690 that for some reason doesn't Ike the default driver used and required blacklisting it and it loads the correct one from there. However it loads the correct driver for the quad port nic just fine. Overall though it's miles away from what it was when it comes to drivers on the past.

 

[drinkingbird]

True. I have a nic port on my z690 that for some reason doesn't Ike the default driver used and required blacklisting it and it loads the correct one from there. However it loads the correct driver for the quad port nic just fine. Overall though it's miles away from what it was when it comes to drivers on the past.

Yeah I'm always pleasantly surprised at just how much stuff gets recognized on both old and new PCs from the usb boot, 9 out of 10 times everything works fine (maybe not 100% optimized or with all options available). Even 10+ years ago it did pretty well, but not nearly as well as 22 and 23.

I just worked on a new Lenovo T14 Gen 3 where windows wouldn't recognize either the wired or wireless NICs during setup using the latest win 10 image from MS. The only way is to either add the drivers to the image yourself or use Lenovo's restore image. So that one might have issues with Ubuntu too, but at least can load the drivers from a USB key (unlike windows setup where it will only allow you to set up with local account then you load the drivers after setup is done). Didn't try win 11. That's the first time I've seen a wired NIC not get recognized during setup, though I suspect the Win 11 image might recognize it.