[Computerpro3]

This is among the more frustrating computer experiences I've ever had. During the day, I get 45mb/s down and 15mb/s up on most speed testing websites. After 4:00PM though, I get 56k speeds. My latest result: 46k/s. It takes a good 30 seconds or more for webpages to load. It's like browsing on a ****ing iphone.

Could they be initiating some sort of artificial cap? Or are the billions of dollars they receive every year being pocketed instead of buying us at least ISDN speed internet access?

I can't even do homework they castrated the internet so much. It takes well over a minute for the blackboard academic websites to load. Forget about logging into Steam!

Is there a way to tell if this is being artifically capped? If I know that I can at least start lobbying against it...

 

[Edwood]

LOL, when I was at UC, I lived in an apartment and had dial up access only. Of course, the internet was brand new back then.

-Ed

 

[RockCity]

All universities are like this because thousands of students are using up bandwidth. Some, like my friend, download 10GB a week. It's not the company's fault so calm down.

 

[Computerpro3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood /img/forum/go_quote.gif LOL, when I was at UC, I lived in an apartment and had dial up access only. Of course, the internet was brand new back then. -Ed

So you had faster internet than me. I would be 100% willing to pay an independant ISP to give me my own damn FIOS line if my dorm if they let me. Hmmm, I wonder if they let me....

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Computerpro3 /img/forum/go_quote.gif So you had faster internet than me. I would be 100% willing to pay an independant ISP to give me my own damn FIOS line if my dorm if they let me. Hmmm, I wonder if they let me....

Uh, I had blazing 14.4K modem back in the day.

So you're saying you don't have a laptop with wifi, and there isn't a single Starbucks or unsecured wifi access near you.

-Ed

 

[Salt Peanuts]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Computerpro3 /img/forum/go_quote.gif So you had faster internet than me.

LOL.

I remember when my alma mater started getting wired for broadband, I think it was my last year there. The progress was rather slow and we joked around that by the time they were done, it would be time for them to upgrade again.

Before that, they had archaic proprietary dial-up network that most folks on my floor could not figure out how to make it work.

 

[Salt Peanuts]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood /img/forum/go_quote.gif Uh, I had blazing 14.4K modem back in the day. So you're saying you don't have a laptop with wifi, and there isn't a single Starbucks or unsecured wifi access near you. -Ed

I remember when 14.4K was considered FAST. Ahh, memories.

Of course, that was also around the same time you could buy an HP flat-bed scanner that cost over $1K.

 

[Computerpro3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood /img/forum/go_quote.gif Uh, I had blazing 14.4K modem back in the day. So you're saying you don't have a laptop with wifi, and there isn't a single Starbucks or unsecured wifi access near you. -Ed

Unfortunately I don't have a laptop, while my desktop is wireless capable, there are zero unsecured wireless networks in range.

 

[nibiyabi]

The school doesn't have a wifi network? Weird.

 

[Computerpro3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nibiyabi /img/forum/go_quote.gif The school doesn't have a wifi network? Weird.

They do but it's the same network as the wired, except slightly slower due to 2 bar signal strength.

 

[SysteX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RockCity /img/forum/go_quote.gif All universities are like this because thousands of students are using up bandwidth. Some, like my friend, download 10GB a week. It's not the company's fault so calm down.

Definitely not true at all. Here I am, sitting at my computer at prime internet time-- ~11pm and I get:

 

[vagarach]

You need to try some internet at the University of Waterloo

. It will randomly just slow down so much that sites will timeout, which makes doing an online assignment in your dorm a risky business.

Luckily the wireless works properly.

Oh, and how could I forget, a limit of 500MB per day is also in effect!

 

[BradJudy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Computerpro3 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is there a way to tell if this is being artifically capped? If I know that I can at least start lobbying against it...

It's more likely that traffic is capped during the day to reserve bandwidth for business use and the cap is removed in the evening. Then all of the student file sharing and downloading eats all of the bandwidth. I've heard of some places using that type of configuration.

Ask the IT department, but I expect the only way to restore your evening bandwidth would actually be to lobby for an artificial cap.

 

[granodemostasa]

I have a similar complaint against berkeley

the internet here is absolutely shaky... in any library, in any building, the speed varies considerably. the connection goes in and out without warning and without consistency. I am repeatedly told by the security thing to put in my ID numbers and so forth... as one person sarcastically put it "I can’t imagine how skittish the wireless would be if the University of California was merely the second-finest public university in the country."

on a not so funny note, the problem here has repeatedly killed my research in the middle of doing something... library searches are hellish.

 

[AlanY]

It may not be being artificially capped at 4pm. I've heard that lots of dorms at universities are having problems with students coming home after classes and playing multiplayer games that really thrash the network with packets, slowing the network for everyone. Sounds like that may be happening for you. Halo 3 is apparently a big culprit, but there are lots of others. Plus I'm sure people bring their laptops back from class around 4pm or so, and the Bittorrent clients all thrash the network. They really do need some kind of packet shaper to help control this, but they're expensive, and UofCincinnati doesn't sound like a school with that kind of IT budget for their dorms. (Plus once you start packet shaping people start complaining anyway.)

Anyway, I'd take a look at the traffic on the wire with a packet sniffer. I'd be willing to bet it jumps dramatically around 4pm as people come back from class.