Slow downloads with Ubuntu!!!!!
 

For some reason or reasons my downloads being on the net or threw apt-get are very slow compared to my XP system. I am currently using Ubuntu. Its the same internet connection so I do not see why it would have changed. I am currently upgrading from Ubuntu 7.04 to 7.10 and I am suppose to download 610 Mo or so and it says it'll take me 6 hours!!! I used to do that in 20 minutes give or take a few minutes. Is this behavior normal??? I must be forgetting somehthing??? Please help!!!!

Thanks!

Fexter

Six hours to do what? Just to download the necessary packages or to do both that and perform the upgrade? It's a know fact that upgrading takes a lot longer than getting a new install cd and installing from scratch. An upgrade has to check each installed package before replacing it with a newer one and that can take a lot of time. Of course, you may also be connected to an overloaded mirror. I tried to get a copy of the mandriva dvd on the day it was released and it would have taken me an estimated four days. There were just so many people connected that the servers got unbearably slow. So I waited for about a week and then I was able to get the dvd in just under an hour ...

Forget the upgrade....my overall downloads are very slow compared to my downloads in XP...there has to be something wrong...other forums show that other user are experiencing the same thing...anyone has a clue????

How do you connect, through dhcp or a fixed IP address? Have you checked your name servers in /etc/resolv.conf? They need to match the name servers of your ISP (you could call them to find these out but you can usually find them out by searching google too). Which NIC have you got by the way? Any routers involved? Does it happen when you boot straight into Ubuntu or only when you boot into Ubuntu after having used XP? Are you on a local network that involved other windows computers?

I connect thru a router with DHCP. There are no names in the /etc/resolv.conf file, only IPs. It happens when I boot up in Ubuntu right away. Yes I am on a network that involve other XP computers but it is this one. My XP is on a different HD. I rarely use my laptop which is XP also. My nic I am not too sure. I think its an INtel pro 10/100. Do I need to forward some ports???

you shouldn't have to forward ports, considering port 80(http) is usually open anyways

Since you mention port forwarding, I'm wondering whether you are downloading from a mirror or through p2p. If the latter, yes, you do need to make sure that proper port is forwarded on the router. But regular internet communication doesn't require any forwarding.

You are right, the entries in resolve.conf are not names, they are the IPs of your ISP's name servers. As long as those are correct, you shouldn't have a problem. Sometimes, however, the IPs in resolv.conf do not refer to the name servers of your IP but to other name servers. In such a case, it is perfectly possible for internet communication to be noticeably slower. Which is why I asked whether you have checked whether the IPs really refer to those of your ISP.

Sharing a network with XP computers has been known to disturb Ubuntu connectivity in some cases. Another potential problem is booting from XP straight into Ubuntu, whether they are on the same disk or not. Apparently XP does something to a NIC that can only be undone by turning the computer completely off and waiting for five to ten seconds before booting up XP. If you find that your issue persists if you turn off all XP computers on the local net and if you boot straight into Ubuntu, then clearly it has another cause.

Could you post the output of netstat -rn?

Here it is:

Kernel IP routing table
Destination Gateway Genmask Flags MSS Window irtt Iface
192.168.0.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 eth0
169.254.0.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.0.0 U 0 0 0 eth0
0.0.0.0 192.168.0.1 0.0.0.0 UG 0 0 0 eth0

It would be great to have some help cause I can still see/feel the slowness!!!

I love Ubuntu but I use my PC primarly to download stuff if I dont have the speed I will switch back to the Microsoft world!

Thanks!

That looks OK to me and your NIC - if the information you gave is correct - should be well supported.

Is it something that you experience with all browsers? Firefox? Opera? Netscape? Konqueror? SwiftFox?

If you are using Firefox, you may want to type about:config in the address bar and adjust these:
network.dns.disableIPv6 -> true
network.http.pipelining -> true
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests -> 8
network.http.proxy.pipelining -> true

Of course, if this issue is p2p related, it's probably a matter of forwarding the proper port.

Thanks it seems to be better! If ever there is anything else please let me know.

Thanks for your help!