BitTorrent/Torrent issues

WaterfallSandSun

It seems that just recently whenever I have the BitTorrent or any other torrent client running with downloads, my internet connection for only the computer running the torrent client super lags... to the point where websites will stop loading. After a while the torrent client itself will lag so much that it becomes unresponsive, and the only option would be to close it via Task Manager. The internet connections for the rest of my computers are fine with the downloads going on in the computer running the torrent client.

I have 17mbit+ download and about 1.5mbit upload speeds. The torrent's download speed is set to no more than 100kbps download and no more than 10kbps upload. My connection is capable of download speeds of up to 2mbps+ (2000kbps+) and near 200kbps for upload. There is nothing wrong with my internet connection.

I thought that there may be something weird going on with my computer (as my computers often seem to come up with errors/problems that Google doesn't have knowledge of) but then the same issue arises when I switched my downloading to a different computer.

Ideas?

Dhalphir

You may have unintentionally set up QoS throttling (basically bandwidth limiting) on your computer. Have you tried resetting the router to factory defaults? The fact that it persists across computers means that it is most likely something to do with the router.

The other possibility is that it is something to do with the torrent client you're using. Have you tried another?

Skeith

See what happens when you go straight through the modem. If your speeds skyrocket, then yeah, it's time for router voodoo.

WaterfallSandSun

- My ISP's router has been swapped just recently for an unrelated problem, same issues.

- Same issues with different torrent clients.

- It is a modem/router combo (AT&T U-verse).

Ego

To me that sounds like traffic shaping by your ISP. But on the off chance it isn't, have you tried reducing the maximum number of connections in your torrent preferences? That's usually what trips routers up regarding torrents (in my experience) as routers with default firmware have a bad habit of opening a connection and never closing the damned thing, and then getting bogged down and crashing.

naporeon

This usually has something to do with the number of connections occurring at once, as opposed to the actual bandwidth being consumed.

Most modern torrent clients allow you to throttle your number of connections. Try lowering your total number of connections allowed, and see if this helps you.

It ought to look something like this:

naporeon

Dang. Beat by @Ego. I don't think this is traffic shaping, but if you have reason to believe it is, simply use a VPN tunneler. They are completely safe and legal, and obscure the nature of your data traffic, preventing torrent-related traffic shaping.

I personally use VPN4ALL, but there are lots of options out there, both free and paid.

WaterfallSandSun

Thanks for the info guys. I am going to try occasionally "resetting" the number of connections by setting the value(s) to 1 then resetting it to its defaults and see if that helps.

TheKoolEagle

isp could also be throttling your connection when it sees a constant stream of data being downloaded/uploaded, i've seen it before doing audio streaming and could be doing the same for torrenting.

try doing a speedtest when it lags to shit, if your download/upload speed are complete shit you are most likely getting throttled

Foomy

Run the Glasnost test it will examine your traffic and see if it's being throttled or shaped

WaterfallSandSun

After a while, the torrent download speeds will do no more than 1-3kbps... and I have just discovered that every time I restart my computer, the download speeds will shoot back up to normal for a short time (from a couple of hours to about half a day) then go back down to 1-3kbps download. Upload remains at a consistent 10kbps (the max I set for upload).

It seems just restarting the torrent client does not help, the entire computer will need to be restarted.

MushroomStick

Just to make sure, have all the standard virus/malware/etc. tests been run on the computer in question?

TheKoolEagle

WaterfallSandSun wrote: »

After a while, the torrent download speeds will do no more than 1-3kbps... and I have just discovered that every time I restart my computer, the download speeds will shoot back up to normal for a short time (from a couple of hours to about half a day) then go back down to 1-3kbps download. Upload remains at a consistent 10kbps (the max I set for upload).

It seems just restarting the torrent client does not help, the entire computer will need to be restarted.

Most likely being throttled then, try unplugging your rj45 after the speeds go down and give it a minute, plug it back in, if you are back up to speed its because the flag has been reset by your isp, then when you cross their threshold again it throttles again

WaterfallSandSun

TheKoolEagle wrote: »

try unplugging your rj45

Yeah... why didn't I think of that (instead of waiting for a reboot...).

I guess that will be my best solution. Thanks for all the help guys.