Internet Tweaking: Maximizing speed of broadband and dial-up

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TCP/IP Tweaking
Tweaking Software
Online Testing

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Recommended programs:

webROCKET
is a powerful, easy-to-use program for Windows® 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000 and XP   which boosts your Internet connection speed by up to 200%.

ActiveSpeed
Unlike other Internet boosters, ActiveSpeed actually learns while you surf, boosting your connection faster and faster over time.

Dr. Speed
Dr. Speed will automatically super charge the Internet connection you already have by optimizing and boosting Internet data transport efficiency. Dr. Speed works with your modem or high-speed connection to bring your surfing speeds and computer efficiency to their maximum potential.

TweakMASTER
TweakMASTER can substantially improve your download speeds for all types of connections from dialup to DSL, Cable, and Wireless. Even AOL users will be amazed at how much more responsive their system will be!

Turbo Surfer
automatically optimizes your internet connection boosting your internet speed by up to 220%. Works with ALL connections - America Online, Cable Modem, ALL phone modems, even DSL.

Online Testing

There are a number of resources on the Net you can use to learn more about your connection. Some of the best of these are aggregated at www.DSLReports.com. If you go to this link you can test the speed of your connection through a couple of simple Java-based routines, and have the results graphed against other users. The system isn't just for DSL users, of course. The same site can also provide you with detailed feedback about your TCP stack set up, packet loss to and from your ISP, and how your ISP rates against others nationally. Check out their Tweak Tests under the Java Tools heading at the above link.

The Internet Traffic Report – www.internettrafficreport.com -- is probably the most famous of the Internet health monitors. If nothing seems to be going right, take a peek at it to see if there is a general network problem that may be affecting more than just your neck of the woods.

Linux users who want to learn more about how well their TCP stack is doing may want to look into the tcphealth kernel modification, available at heron.ucsd.edu/tcphealth/. It adds a file to /proc (namely, /proc/net/tcphealth) that lists several statistics for the network connection. This is for experts only, but if you're really gung-ho about getting the most from a Linux box, and you know how to interpret raw network stats intelligently, this information can be very revealing.

Changing ISPs
If you find another ISP that ranks better than yours, you may want to switch ISPs. This assumes your area has a choice of ISPs (some people don't have this luxury), and that there will be variety between them. There is no guarantee that you will wind up with something worse than what you had before. Still, if you keep detailed trial records of your throughput on more than one ISP, using tools like the ones described above, you can get a good idea of what improvements, if any, you're getting

There a number of arguments in favor of at least provisionally trying a new dial-up ISP including the following:

• Better modems. Some ISPs use cheap modems for their dial-in centers. A good ISP will have a more robust bank of modems that are less prone to dropping connections or negotiating poorly.
• Better line conditions. Calling a different area may cause your call to be routed through less noisy phone lines, in itself a boon.
• Better routers, upstream links, and DNS servers. Any one of these things can slow things to a grinding crawl, and if another ISP in your area does them better, they will be worth the change-over.
• The possibility of broadband. The bigger the carrier, the better the odds they'll have some variety of broadband to you sooner rather than later. Upgrading to broadband is in itself a boost, but outside the scope of this piece. (Don't assume, however, that a bigger carrier will automatically give you better service.)

If you're going to tweak, tweak with care, and never tweak at random. Analogies about cars come back to mind -- I've got many instances of people who've come to me with breathless anecdotes about a gasoline additive or other gimmick, only to be unable to duplicate their results. Make your changes, test them thoroughly, and make sure you can undo whatever changes you do make. That said, there is a lot to be said for getting what you can out of what you have, especially through changes that are documented to pay off -- such as DNS caching or increasing the Receive Window. Don't expect everything to change, but the things you can change, embrace them.