Motorola 2442 + FTP on LAN = Suddenly very slow!

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: Dec 10, 2007 Posts: 3

Howdy folks - I tried searching for an answer to my problem, with no avail.

I've used Vonage for about eighteen months now, and the last month a new problem has arisen - my home (LAN) FTP speed has plummeted dramatically when my Vonage 2442 is plugged in. It's a simple fix - unplug the 2442, my FTP speed is 6m/sec... plug it back in again, less than 100k/sec, and wildly fluctuating. This happens both when talking on the phone and when NO call is made.

In an effort to troubleshoot, I stopped using anything else that seems likely to sap bandwidth (No iTunes, Bittorrent, IM programs, whatever). However, I have used Bittorrent during the time span that the problem popped up, so I can't guarantee it didn't impact my connection.

I use Charter cable 1.5/512 and a Zyxel router. I'm not prepared to blame either of these, though... since I've used the same equipment for the past eighteen months with no problem until recently. Additionally, my Vonage router is outside the Zyxel, and I tried replacing the cable already.

Charter---Modem---Zyxel---PCs, Xboxes and Vonage---Phone

Like I said, simply removing the Vonage 2442 cable from the router has an immediate impact, and the cable is good. My phone quality is also pretty poor of late (even on 90k), so I wouldn't be surprised if the problem lies in the router settings... still, I get in the 3.0-3.6 range on Testmyvoip.com.

Any suggestions? I haven't touched the 2442 settings since I installed the thing a year and a half ago, so I don't recall if I cloned the PC or not. Thanks!

Posts: 8 · New Forum Member Joined: Dec 10, 2007 Posts: 8

Can you describe your setup? ie. cable modem - vt2442 - router.... etc.

Often a simple reset of your Vonage device can help -

Also, check for datastorms - some routers can magically throttle connections that seem to be data storming - it's possible that you may have a hidden piece of software that is sending hidden packets, or simple packet requests.

A spyware scan may be valuable.

Doc

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: Dec 10, 2007 Posts: 3

My setup is like this:

1. Charter cable
2. Motorola SB5120
3. Zyxel Wireless-G Router
4a. Vt2442 - To one phone
4b. Xbox via Cat-5
4c. Xbox 360 via Cat-5
4d. PC via Cat-5
4e. Three other PCs via Wireless-G

So you're saying that if there were significant spyware activity, it would be bouncing around in the Vt2442, thereby slowing the connections to a crawl, but the Zyxel router would be essentially disregarding these garbage packets?

That makes some sense, because the only slowdowns occur when the Vt2442 is plugged into the Zyxel - every other computer in the house could be pinging away like mad, and I'm still getting 6-7M/sec until I plug the Vt2442, then it plummets to 10-200k/sec. I'll try the idiot test first, though... I'll turn off the wireless functionality, then test, then unplug each PC, and see if the problem continues.

Thanks for a potential solution - I'll update with results.

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: Dec 10, 2007 Posts: 3

Okay, so I did the following:

- From my primary PC, I began an FTP xfer at ~150k/sec.
- Then, I disabled the Wireless-G on the Zyxel router, and confirmed that the laptops had no Internet (to confirm that they weren't sending packets). FTP jumped up a little, to maybe 300k/sec.
- Next, I unplugged the Xbox 360, and this caused a little greater jump.
- After shutting everything down except the FTP REC box (X-Box) and the FTP Send Box (Primary PC with Cat-5), I was ~1m/sec. An improvement, but far from preferable.
- At this point, the only things plugged into the router were the two FTP boxes and the 2442.
- I unplugged the 2442 - transfer jumps to 6m/sec. (Not surprising)
- So, I then stopped the FTP xfer, and unplugged the PC with Cat-5.
- Attempted to xfer FTP using the same Cat-5 cable as the FTP Send box, but FTP fails with the laptop. I'm not sure what to make of this, though, since I never use the laptop's ethernet port, and it may not even have the right ethernet drivers.
- Attempted to xfer from Wireless-G to Xbox, with 2442 plugged in, or removed, the xfer speed was ~1.2m/sec. So, the 2442 isn't infringing on the speed of the Wireless-G xfers. Neither is the FTP Send box with Cat-5... I plugged it back in during the xfer, and the speed maintained exactly the same.

I'm left thinking now that there's a conflict between the Cat-5 cables of the 2442 and the FTP-Send box, which is surprising, because I've replaced the 2442's cable completely, and replaced the ethernet connectors on both ends of the Cat-5 to the PC.... and also because the speed is so fast with the 2442 off - with a 6m/sec transfer, it seems like that cable is working pretty well.

My next step is to find a long replacement cable for the PC and try it with the new cable - I'm not sure how the 2442 and PC cables could be clashing, but if that's the fix, I'd be happy to replace the cable.

Posts: 8 · New Forum Member Joined: Dec 10, 2007 Posts: 8

It might be cheaper to simply go wireless with the pc at this point. Part of the problem may be QoS overhead on the router, but based on what you said earlier (if I'm remembering right) that this is something new and different... Though I have to admit that it seems a bit weird that the laptop won't even function.

It could also be crosstalk on one of the cables if they are incorrectly crimped... hell you COULD blame it on sunspots for that matter Smile

.

Does it make a difference if you are on a call? (just wondering out of curiosity)