FCT Promotion for the DLS.....

[VinnyBarb]

I just received this email where the powers that be from AURAN/N3V promote the buying of a First Class Ticket for using the DLS. Reading this email is bringing a wry "smile" to my face. I bet you will ask why?

There it is stated among other things that DLS access speed with a FCT is "unlimited". Which it is NOT. It is governed by your own connecting speed to your IP, by how many other people access the DLS at a given time and/or other factors.

Further stated there maximum DLS server connections are supposed to be 10 000 globally and per user individually are supposed to be a maximum of 10 (per user) with a FCT.

Well, in my case I had been buying a FCT continuously for DLS access for several years (5 or more in fact). At the moment I have a current yearly FCT going until July this year from whence another "unlimited" or "livetime" period FCT (only for 10 years in fact) already purchased by me last year will continue for DLS access by me. (That shows how much faith I have in AURAN/N3V or I wouldn't have bought this "livetime" FCT).

This is all well and good so far as I thought my money contribution towards a FCT is helping AURAN/N3V which then is supposed to work both ways, I help them, they help me. In theory this is all well and good but let me explain my experiences with the DLS lately (in the last couple of months till present). I should also state I only d/load through FTP a .cdp at a given time from the DLS.

Instead of the "unlimited" d/load speed I am supposed to get, I get often a measly 5-40 kb/sec whereas my maximum d/load speed with my IP is 150 kb/sec which is most of the time reached when d/loading torrent, other stuff from several 3rd party TRS/TS web sites etc.

Instead of the quoted max server connections of 10 for a FCT holder I often only get 4 or so, only to be told the server is full, max users connected are reached etc. when the globally max connections are listed as 10 000 connections or users. Where the blazes are the 10 000 users connected at a given time or is this meant 10 000 connections of to be d/loaded items in total? Well, lets do the sums here, this would mean at the most 1000 users who d/load 10 items each simultaneous at a given point in time from the DLS if these all had FCT. With others d/loading without a FCT at the same time the user numbers to be able to d/load should even be more as I don't think 1000 FCT holders use the DLS at the same time at all times of the day/night.

I don't think the maths bear me out as I don't think there would be so many d/loading at a given point in time. Lets also look at the time of day or night this happens to me. I live in Australia, so my afternoon or evening is someone else's night or working day time across the sea to the US of A or to Europe. Which means LESS people globally are accessing the DLS at that times.

So what gives? Can someone from AURAN/N3V point me in the right direction where I can access the DLS with a FCT at the data quoted in that FTC promotion email.

Cheers

VinnyBarb

 

[Tanvaras]

Hello Vinnybarb

I currently hold a year FCT with about 10 months to go. Before that I had another. I have never had any issues connecting to the DLS, and speed has been exceptionally good. Averaging around 700+ kbs and not once had a sever full. (Bigpond ADSL 2+ connection)

I would possibly check its not something your end causing it to slow/not connect. A friend of mine had his firewall conflicting with Trainz and was having major issues connecting on and off. Due to the way the internet is our systems have to be more and more security wise and that can make connecting to servers etc alot more unstable if something is not allowed to do so at our PC end.

Just a thought. But hope it sorts itself out for you mate.

Cheers

Trent

 

[johnwhelan]

My DLS connection is typically 300+ kbs or about as fast as anything else I download.

The servers are in the US which means you are not quite as close to the network as it might appear. When you connect you connect via hops, and what you see is the slowest speed link in the hops. It can depend on what speed links your ISP has purchased to get connected to the states.

Plus whatever other problems you may have on the machine with firewall configuration etc.

Cheerio John

 

[HiBaller]

I agree with Trent, Vinnybarb. No matter which content manager I use (2004/2006/2009/2010) or FTP, my download speed is, in fact, limited only by my ISP at 700Kb. I often reach those speeds again and again on long downloads. I can put literally hundreds of content items in my CMP panel and click Start. They will all download and install very speedily.

When I first changed from dial up (yuk) to DSL It took several emails and telephone calls to straighten out why I wasn't getting my full, advertised, throughput. It turned out my telephone line wasn't a "copper pair" and this was messing up my DSL. Once they fixed that, I began receiving huge files at very high speeds.

If I were you, I'd begin by gently bugging your ISP to check your lines out. You could also find a couple of those "see how fast your connection" sites and test your capabilities. When I did that, I found I was only getting about half the speed I should have been getting and rattled AT&T's cage.

I have a FCT but before I broke down and bought it, I kept getting extremely slow (worse than dial-up) speeds, no connections, and 'try again next century' errors. It depends on how frustrated you get with that type of connection before you give in to the hype and buy one. You already have one so I'd be investigating why you aren't getting the connections you deserve with a FCT.

Bill

 

[Originalwelshborder]

I've generally had good access and speeds here in the UK under FCT's, apart from blips at the same time others have had them through server faults etc. (especially the recent transfer to alternative servers, when the FCT appeared to be ignored and the 100mb daily limit re-appeared rather annoyingly-and "server full"). OK again now though.

I do though wonder whether the promotion has more to do with hoped for performance from the "new" servers, which remains to be seen......

 

[JCitron]

I too have had very good luck with the DLS. The idea of unlimited high speed of course is all relative to what's available by your ISP.

The new servers have helped with the smoother transfer because the machines themselves can now keep up with the network they're connected to.

Vinny, what are you running for a firewall, and what else is running in the background on your machine? I have found that if I don't do anything else while I have CMP open, I have the best results with consistent good speed and connectivity with the software.

John

 

[DeRiCo]

Hi VinnyBarb

I just checked where Orroroo is.

I see it is out in the country, which means you may be on a shared DSL line.

That means you will get reduced speeds whenever others are using it too.

Dennis

 

[HiBaller]

A shared DSL line is what our cable TV companies call their connections. As Dennis says, the more connections on a given line, the more times a fixed rate of, say, 1Mb gets divided, In some areas, it is not unusual to have a DSL line, but get speeds barely above dial-up speed.

Bill

 

[VinnyBarb]

Hi VinnyBarb

I just checked where Orroroo is.

I see it is out in the country, which means you may be on a shared DSL line.

That means you will get reduced speeds whenever others are using it too.

Dennis

I am on a satellite INet connection (IP Star) which is limited to 150 kbs max on the plan I am on, I am not on any ADLS as the nearest Telstra exchange is more than 10 km away and I can not get ADSL. This d/load speed is enough for me and this speed I get with most other connections, whether I d/load some torrent or something else be it a large file, say, from AVG or AntiVir to get the latest anti virus program.

Or even the latest ATI driver, these sites have fast servers and I get my selected IP plan's d/load speed. All these files are larger than 40 MBs, hence these give a good indication of time and speed to d/load. I also operate a web site from an Oz web site provider with fast servers, just for a test I uploaded a 100MB file to d/load again as a test. I do get around 150kbs most times I do this test at all times of the day, hence my query here.

I have ZoneAlarm running on my PC and the only other program running in the background is AVG antivirus (no scanning done when I am online) and a d/load metering program which records data transfer and d/load speeds.

If I d/load a torrent where my torrent program gives me the d/load speed at any given moment, the same with FireFox's d/load manager which also tells me its d/load speed. If these program show all similar d/load speed I am sure this is what I am getting.

As said I d/load from the DLS only in FTP mode, perhaps this is different to, say, CMP or DL Helper d/load speed as I d/load these CDPs with FireFox's DL manager.

As from today I reached my d/load limit with my IP, I have to wait until the 28th to get my full d/load speed back to do some further testing.

Thank you all for your replies, by the look of it, AURAN/N3V's servers seem to do so OK, I will do some more testing soon, once I get my proper d/load speed back after being "shaped" back to 6kbs at the moment.

Cheers

VinnyBarb

 

[HiBaller]

Vinnybarb:

If you are running Vista or Win7 try turning Zonealarm completely off (stop it from booting with the computer) and just turn on the Windows firewall.

I had some pretty severe throughput problems until I took a hint in the Microsoft Vista Newsgroup and uninstalled Zonealarm completely. Now I just use the Windows firewall to monitor both directions (which you can do from the Control Panel). My throughput is now right up to the limits imposed by my ISP.

I have a friend out in California with a satellite connection and he has a variable throughput that can drop to almost nothing and then go back up to max in minutes. He hates it, but since he lives in the mountains a long way from the telephone substation he cannot get DSL either.

Bill

 

[VinnyBarb]

Vinnybarb:

Snip: If you are running Vista or Win7 try turning Zonealarm completely off ........

I wouldn't go near these OPs, I still use WinXP Pro SP3, the best OS ever from M$.

I had both of the above installed on a couple of my PCs but I reformatted my hard disks and reinstalled WinXPPro. Much faster loading and I still play the latest games with it without hassles .

Cheers

VinnyBarb