PS3 Bandwidth issues?

[Sun Tzu]

Ahoyhoyhoyhoyhoy.

Anyways, my download speeds typically vary between 6 and 12 meg down. Yes, it's a big gap, but the cable company in Hawai'i is a f'ing joke. When I do bandwidth tests on my PS3 (which is hardwired) I usually get around 800k down, and 600k up. The performance reflects the shitty bandwidth too, meaning I think that's what I'm actually getting. This is waaaaaaay different than any of the 3 PC's on my network....any reasons this would happen?

Thanks,

Sweetcheeks McGee

[rowech]

I have no idea what all your numbers mean but the PS3 network sucks. I can't tell you how long some of my downloads take. In addition, often times one will start and then just stop halfway through. Online play is always lagging as well.

[Eaglesfan27]

You get what you pay for and the PS3 network, despite me going with the wired route to try to help the speed, consistently gives me slower speeds than any other device on my network including my wireless devices.

[Kodos]

In probably more than 30 attempts, I have never successfully downloaded the second patch for Madden 2010 on my PS3. Actually, I can't remember if I ever successfully downloaded the first patch. It always dies before finishing. Often when the download dies it was less than 10 percent complete.

[MikeVic]

I have a PS3 and I don't experience laggy play or troubles downloading, but I don't play often either so maybe I've just gotten lucky.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Kodos

In probably more than 30 attempts, I have never successfully downloaded the second patch for Madden 2010 on my PS3. Actually, I can't remember if I ever successfully downloaded the first patch. It always dies before finishing. Often when the download dies it was less than 10 percent complete.

I used to be unable to download patches/system updates, but since I've gone wired, I've never had one completely drop. I think they used a really cheap internal wireless adapter that has a poor performance profile. I get slowdowns on patches/updates, but it never stops any more.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I used to be unable to download patches/system updates, but since I've gone wired, I've never had one completely drop. I think they used a really cheap internal wireless adapter that has a poor performance profile. I get slowdowns on patches/updates, but it never stops any more.

Yeah, that'd be a complaint of mine. I haven't used a 360 so I don't know how it compares, but I had to go wired otherwise it was too slow.

[Alan T]

I don't own a PS3, so am only speaking from hypothetical situations here...

It really isn't that difficult to produce hardware ethernet adapters or write drivers for them, so I'm guessing Sony didn't run into problems there. What does happen fairly often however might be issues where it is detecting the port settings incorrectly. A very common reason for slow downloads to the point of being unusable can simply be the adapter not negotiating the Speed/Duplex settings for your network correctly. It could also be a case where for some people it works fine and others it does not simply because you use a different type of switch/hub. Other factors may complicate it, if you use a gigabit network and it does not, or vice versa as well.

Once again, this is just a guess so could be entirely wrong. In the network configuration screen, does it have any ability to define the settings for the network adapter? (to set it as auto-detect, or 100/full-duplex for instance) If it does, you could try to force it to match your network (ie if you are using a standard fast ethernet dumb-switch, set it to 100/full-duplex).

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Alan T

I don't own a PS3, so am only speaking from hypothetical situations here...

It really isn't that difficult to produce hardware ethernet adapters or write drivers for them, so I'm guessing Sony didn't run into problems there. What does happen fairly often however might be issues where it is detecting the port settings incorrectly. A very common reason for slow downloads to the point of being unusable can simply be the adapter not negotiating the Speed/Duplex settings for your network correctly. It could also be a case where for some people it works fine and others it does not simply because you use a different type of switch/hub. Other factors may complicate it, if you use a gigabit network and it does not, or vice versa as well.

Once again, this is just a guess so could be entirely wrong. In the network configuration screen, does it have any ability to define the settings for the network adapter? (to set it as auto-detect, or 100/full-duplex for instance) If it does, you could try to force it to match your network (ie if you are using a standard fast ethernet dumb-switch, set it to 100/full-duplex).

This is often the reason for the slow speeds. I'd guess that most users use the 'Automatic' setup option when setting up their wireless connection. While that is the easier way to do it, it often doesn't optimize the speed available with the network. I had 500K speeds for awhile on my PS3 when I first set it up. I notice some discussions on the tech threads about optimization and tried a manual setup the second time. I average around 2-3 Mbps now. I hardly ever see lag anymore. It's definitely a situation that needs to be addressed by Sony. If they had better auto setup tools on their machine, they'd be much better off.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I used to be unable to download patches/system updates, but since I've gone wired, I've never had one completely drop. I think they used a really cheap internal wireless adapter that has a poor performance profile. I get slowdowns on patches/updates, but it never stops any more.

Sadly, my attempts were all wired. And the same cable works fine with my 360.

[SackAttack]

I used Speedtest.net last night when I saw this thread, and got the same ~17.9 Mbps download with my PS3 that I typically do with my PC (and, in fact, the PC dropped from 17.9 to the high 11's when I tested it with the PS3 on, and then jumped back up when I turned the PS3 off again).

Hardwired here as well. So, whatever impact the PS3 can have on your home network, the hardwired connection shouldn't be causing issues. PS3 wireless has always blown goats in my experience, though.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

I used Speedtest.net last night when I saw this thread, and got the same ~17.9 Mbps download with my PS3 that I typically do with my PC (and, in fact, the PC dropped from 17.9 to the high 11's when I tested it with the PS3 on, and then jumped back up when I turned the PS3 off again).

Hardwired here as well. So, whatever impact the PS3 can have on your home network, the hardwired connection shouldn't be causing issues. PS3 wireless has always blown goats in my experience, though.

That is kind of what I was meaning, the behavior as described sounds like a negotiation issue between the PS3 hardwired nic and the individual home network.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Alan T

That is kind of what I was meaning, the behavior as described sounds like a negotiation issue between the PS3 hardwired nic and the individual home network.

But that would only be the case if someone was using a hub, and not a switch. A switch would isolate the negotiation issue to the link between the port on the switch and the PS3.

[Sun Tzu]

I'm using a linksys WRT54G2 router. I am actually microsoft certified, but I got the cert back when XP was the latest OS, and I've had enough alcohol since then to kill a small Russian family. Any recommendations on the manual settings?

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

I'm using a linksys WRT54G2 router. I am actually microsoft certified, but I got the cert back when XP was the latest OS, and I've had enough alcohol since then to kill a small Russian family. Any recommendations on the manual settings?

Try 100MB full duplex

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by cartman

But that would only be the case if someone was using a hub, and not a switch. A switch would isolate the negotiation issue to the link between the port on the switch and the PS3.

I have seen various hardware negotiate incorrectly with switches, depending on the make of the nic and the make of the switch. If for whatever reason the PS3 negotiated as 100Mb/half-duplex while the switch was 100/full, you would get exactly these symptoms.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Alan T

I have seen various hardware negotiate incorrectly with switches, depending on the make of the nic and the make of the switch. If for whatever reason the PS3 negotiated as 100Mb/half-duplex while the switch was 100/full, you would get exactly these symptoms.

But that wouldn't affect the other machine's speedtest.net figures.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by cartman

But that wouldn't affect the other machine's speedtest.net figures.

I might have misunderstood. My understanding was that he was getting the normal 6-12 Mbps download speed on his PC, it was only his PS3 that was getting 400-800k tops. Others in this thread posted similar things that their download speeds on the PS3 only were horrible, while yet others said they had no issues with the PS3 download speed.

That is what I was basing my thought process on. If I misunderstood the symptoms, then yes I could be off.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Alan T

I might have misunderstood. My understanding was that he was getting the normal 6-12 Mbps download speed on his PC, it was only his PS3 that was getting 400-800k tops. Others in this thread posted similar things that their download speeds on the PS3 only were horrible, while yet others said they had no issues with the PS3 download speed.

That is what I was basing my thought process on. If I misunderstood the symptoms, then yes I could be off.

Yeah, I was going off of Sack's posting. He said the readings from speedtest.net from his PC were higher when the PS3 was on. That leads me to believe the PS3 is doing some sort of multicast or broadcast on the local network. The only way to tell is to use a sniffer, such as Wireshark, and see what's going out on the wire.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by Alan T

I might have misunderstood. My understanding was that he was getting the normal 6-12 Mbps download speed on his PC, it was only his PS3 that was getting 400-800k tops. Others in this thread posted similar things that their download speeds on the PS3 only were horrible, while yet others said they had no issues with the PS3 download speed.

That is what I was basing my thought process on. If I misunderstood the symptoms, then yes I could be off.

Alan, you are exactly right. I'll pull up the manual settings now and let you know what the options are.

[Sun Tzu]

Dola

w000000000000000t. I went into manual settings, and there I found several options.

10 base half
10 base full
100 base half
100 base full
1000 base etc...

I chose 100 base full on the recommendation of Alan T, and VIOLA it shows me as getting the full bandwidth again.

score

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Dola

w000000000000000t. I went into manual settings, and there I found several options.

10 base half
10 base full
100 base half
100 base full
1000 base etc...

I chose 100 base full on the recommendation of Alan T, and VIOLA it shows me as getting the full bandwidth again.

score

Well, thankfully after 15 years as a network engineer I have finally figured out duplex mismatches

Glad it is working for you now.

[Sun Tzu]

Thanks a ton Alan.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by cartman

Yeah, I was going off of Sack's posting. He said the readings from speedtest.net from his PC were higher when the PS3 was on. That leads me to believe the PS3 is doing some sort of multicast or broadcast on the local network. The only way to tell is to use a sniffer, such as Wireshark, and see what's going out on the wire.

Without knowing what else is going on for his network, the drop in speed could have simply been due to other resources on the network eating up bandwidth. (Perhaps the PS3 was downloading something, or some other system was). I actually have found when using higher levels of broadband, if you use the wrong speed test type, it will give you widely varying results due to the inaccuracy of the test.

Obviously if you get something back like 300k like Sun Tzu was, there is something wrong, but when talking about 10+ Mbps, I'm not sure how accurate some of the online speed tests are even.

Some of the java based ones seem to be pretty good, but I guess I didn't read too much into Sack's post as anything other than expected behavior.

[Sun Tzu]

Alan, maybe you could shed some light on a problem i've been having with the local ISP. Oceanic Time Warner Cable is, at best, terrible. They have sent a technician to my house a half dozen times, and had someone "watch" my connection 24/7 to see if they can isolate the issue.

Like I mentioned before, my speeds vary pretty wildly. However 90% of the time they're at least at 6MB downstream or better which really is plenty for what I do. Here's the problem. A couple times a day, always around the same time, the speed dips down to about 1MB and stays that way for about 45 mins or so. Since I'm forced to watch baseball games on MLB.tv, it makes viewing impossible. It happens at the following times like clockwork.

7:45 - 8:30p, M-F
4:45 - 5:30p, Weekends

I think it happens at other points during the day too, but I can't be 100% sure and my usage during the day (at least for streaming multimedia) is non-existent. Oceanic told me that it doesn't make any sense that it would happen like that, because they supposedly "open everything up" in the afternoon/evenings so the usage wouldn't get bogged down. The fact that it happens at almost the exact same time, every single day, leads me to believe that it's something f'ed up on their end. They keep harping on the fact that I use a router, which only pisses me off because it's like them insulting my intelligence. I then asked the lead technician if they knew what was wrong, and told him in very plain english to tell me if didn't have any idea, and he said "you're right, I don't know what's wrong".

So...ideas?

[gstelmack]

I just replaced my router at home (it was many years old) with a more recent version of the same model (Netgear RP614 -> RP614v4) because I was noticing some sluggish and weird behavior in my RoadRunner connection, and everything got nice and solid again.

One way to test this is when it happens, eliminate the router from the equation, go straight into cablemodem and try the test. That will tell you real quick if it's the router. It might be, it might not be.

But with cable architecture if everyone on your block starts downloading at the same time, you can lose speed. Someone else in the neighborhood doing something big before heading into work and right when coming home?

[cartman]

Since it is cable modem, your overall bandwidth is shared with all of the other folks on your network segment with the cable company. That sounds like the classic oversubscription scenario.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Alan, maybe you could shed some light on a problem i've been having with the local ISP. Oceanic Time Warner Cable is, at best, terrible. They have sent a technician to my house a half dozen times, and had someone "watch" my connection 24/7 to see if they can isolate the issue.

Like I mentioned before, my speeds vary pretty wildly. However 90% of the time they're at least at 6MB downstream or better which really is plenty for what I do. Here's the problem. A couple times a day, always around the same time, the speed dips down to about 1MB and stays that way for about 45 mins or so. Since I'm forced to watch baseball games on MLB.tv, it makes viewing impossible. It happens at the following times like clockwork.

7:45 - 8:30p, M-F
4:45 - 5:30p, Weekends

I think it happens at other points during the day too, but I can't be 100% sure and my usage during the day (at least for streaming multimedia) is non-existent. Oceanic told me that it doesn't make any sense that it would happen like that, because they supposedly "open everything up" in the afternoon/evenings so the usage wouldn't get bogged down. The fact that it happens at almost the exact same time, every single day, leads me to believe that it's something f'ed up on their end. They keep harping on the fact that I use a router, which only pisses me off because it's like them insulting my intelligence. I then asked the lead technician if they knew what was wrong, and told him in very plain english to tell me if didn't have any idea, and he said "you're right, I don't know what's wrong".

So...ideas?

I wish I had a better magic bullet answer here for you like the PS3. Unfortunately troubleshooting home connections is sometimes challenging. There are so many variables that could play a part. If you see the problem occurring around the same times every day, it likely isn't a failure issue but could possibly be a capacity issue. Really no way to say for sure what the issue is without more troubleshooting.

The one comment I would make is don't just assume your router is not the problem. Sometimes those things do go bad, or start flaking out in ways you might not notice. You can remove that doubt from your mind however by simply one day removing the router from the picture. Directly connect up your pc to the cable and see if the problem does still occur or not.

I've had my share of cable connectivity issues over the years, and sometimes it can be rather frustrating to work with people that are trying to troubleshoot the issue when I feel like I am having to speak down to their level for them to understand what I am saying. I just made it a rule that any time I do experience ISP problems, before I call them disconnect my home network. Leave it as a simple computer connected to the ISP and then they never can point fingers at my equipment. (Plus it could possibly be your router!)

Otherwise, intermittent issues with an ISP are perhaps my least favorite thing in the world. (ok second least favorite, with my least favorite being sna routing).

[Sun Tzu]

Got it. To touch on the router point, I have removed the router from the equation before only to have the problem continue. It's extremely frustrating, especially because it craps out every day around dinner time when we want to be sitting down and enjoying a game.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by cartman

Try 100MB full duplex

This worked for me too.

Originally Posted by Kodos

In probably more than 30 attempts, I have never successfully downloaded the second patch for Madden 2010 on my PS3. Actually, I can't remember if I ever successfully downloaded the first patch. It always dies before finishing. Often when the download dies it was less than 10 percent complete.

Was successful downloading the patch on only my second try. Whether I ever actually play the game now is still in question, but at least I got the patch.

[Eaglesfan27]

Doing 100 MB Full duplex also has drastically helped my connection. Now, I can finally get MLB 10's patch to download without it going at a snail's pace.

[dubb93]

Just stumbled onto this. Always wondered why my PS3 was so slow compared to my PC, 360 + Wii. Average patch d/l time on the 360 was seconds while on the PS3 most patches took me between 3-5 minutes to complete.

Changed to 100mb full duplex, deleted a patch and went to re-download it and BOOM! Done in about 3 seconds. This is awesome guys. Thanks.

[Sun Tzu]