I think the answer is no... a modem is not slower with Linux... but I didn't find how to improve my connection...

I use the following configuration :
- HP 443 with internal modem 56kbps
- Linux RedHat 8.0

Modem did not work, so I had to update my configuration :
- install pctel-0.9.6.tar.gz
- change kernel parameters adding pci=biosirq

Now the modem works (I'm happy !), but it seems to be slow (about 2 to 4 kbps when downloading with ftp), when I use windows-xp I got a 40 kbps rate.

1) Is there any standard tool under redhat 8.0 / linux 2.4.18 to analyze the transfer rate ?

2) Is there some magic command to improve the transfer rate ?

any help appreciated...
thank's,
Bernard

Winmodems are just that, Windows Modems. They rely on the computer to do all the processing and they are designed for windows. The reduced rate is probably because linux is pretending to be windows, i.e. slow . In all seriousness the problem is probably due to the overhead of data processing and the drivers are probably not the most efficient in the world.

I would seriously consider getting a hardware modem, these are pretty much garanteed to work with linux and will probably solve your problem.

i agree with pnh73, "winmodems" are always going to cause problems for Linux. Hardware support for Linux is actually very strong, but as far as modems go a lot of people complain about winmodems, either for lack of drivers or lack of performance.

Think of all that cash your saving with all that free software - im sure you can afford to buy another cheap modem (and some really are cheap these days )

by santiano
about 2 to 4 kbps when downloading with ftp, when I use windows-xp I got a 40 kbps rate.

are we talking kilobits per second or kilobytes per second. for xp you must be talking in bits because 40 kilobytes per second is impossible on a 56K modem. but 2-4 kilobits per second is approximately 30 seconds just to download the linuxquestions main page, never mind the time it takes for the dns query so i think there is the possibility that youve just got your bits and bytes mixed up. i suggest you find a 1-2 meg file and download it from both linux and windows and see if there really is that much(20x) of a time difference. and as the others have said you can get an external hardware modem for less than £10 these days.

I remember playing quake 2 online a long time ago and the big thing back then was having a hard modem. The extra overhead associated with softmodems (winmodems) made your online playing quite crappy. I would suggest finding yourself somekind of hard modem off of ebay for a few bucks. Or, shell out a little more dough and get DSL/Cable.