some n00b questions

[saroofio]

Hello,

I'm new to newsgroups and know only the very basics on downloading and such. Im set up with newsDemon and using AltBinz. Also, i have a 5mb cable connection but am only downloading at about 500k/sec. i did an online speed test and dl maxed out at around 4600k/sec. I have 20 connections and tried both SSL and non-SSL ports but get the same result.
1. am i not configured correctly?
2. am i being throttled by Charter cable?
3. any advice or link to good tutorials and beginners guides are very welcome.

TIA

[Skiz]

Yes, Charter Cable throttles bandwidth for standard customers.

http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/16900.cfm

[saroofio]

Yes, Charter Cable throttles bandwidth for standard customers.

http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/16900.cfm

do you think this is the reason i'm downloading at only 500k/sec even with ssl?

[ericab]

5 megabit = 5120 kilobit

&
4600 kilobits = 4.4921875 megabits



your getting your advertised speed no throttling is going on, however skiz is correct that charter throttles.

[zot]

Yes, Charter Cable throttles bandwidth for standard customers.

http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/16900.cfm

do you think this is the reason i'm downloading at only 500k/sec even with ssl?
That's a monthly limit mentioned in the link, not a throttle. (Two entirely different things.)

I'm assuming that you might be confusing bits with bytes.

500 kilobytes per second = 4 megabits per second

A download speed of 4megabits/sec on a 5 megabit line is generally not a sign of throttling, but of not having enough connections/streams/threads to the server. I suspect that your newsreader is set up with only one connection -- as most are by default, including AltBinz. Try changing this to at least three connections, that should bump speeds to 90% or more of download capacity.

Are you aware that Charter Cable offers free unlimited newsgroups from Highwinds? It's throttled to 512kilobits, and headers are only about 2 weeks, but the NZB retention should be around 300days. Newsdemon uses Highwinds as a backend server, as does Charter.

Altbinz allows you to set up multiple servers as well as a primary and secondary(backup) server.

I suggest you consider dumping Newsdemon and using another service that uses a different backend server than Charter, such as Astraweb. That way, any files that are missing from one provider/server are more likely to be available on the other. Also, Astraweb includes a lot of (minor) groups that Charter/Newsdemon/Highwinds does not, and vice-versa.

[saroofio]

do you think this is the reason i'm downloading at only 500k/sec even with ssl?
That's a monthly limit mentioned in the link, not a throttle. (Two entirely different things.)

I'm assuming that you might be confusing bits with bytes.

500 kilobytes per second = 4 megabits per second

A download speed of 4megabits/sec on a 5 megabit line is generally not a sign of throttling, but of not having enough connections/streams/threads to the server. I suspect that your newsreader is set up with only one connection -- as most are by default, including AltBinz. Try changing this to at least three connections, that should bump speeds to 90% or more of download capacity.

Are you aware that Charter Cable offers free unlimited newsgroups from Highwinds? It's throttled to 512kilobits, and headers are only about 2 weeks, but the NZB retention should be around 300days. Newsdemon uses Highwinds as a backend server, as does Charter.

Altbinz allows you to set up multiple servers as well as a primary and secondary(backup) server.

I suggest you consider dumping Newsdemon and using another service that uses a different backend server than Charter, such as Astraweb. That way, any files that are missing from one provider/server are more likely to be available on the other. Also, Astraweb includes a lot of (minor) groups that Charter/Newsdemon/Highwinds does not, and vice-versa.

wow. many thanks to all of you. i was confusing bits and bytes. i will check out Highwinds. has anyone had experience with it along with charter?

[zot]

There's not much to check out with Highwinds-Media. Highwinds is a wholesale provider; a retail consumer can't buy service directly from Highwinds. But Highwinds also owns several (formerly-independent) usenet provider companies, including UsenetServer, Easynews, and Newshosting, that now get their feed from Highwinds.

Maybe you didn't know that Charter provides free usenet? You don't need to fill in a username/password, just the server address (news.charter.net I think) and port 119.

I suggest checking out Astraweb's 'Kleverig' special

http://www.news.astraweb.com/specials/kleverig-11.html

That's probably less then you're paying with Newsdemon.

(Personally, I would get Astraweb's block account to supplement Charter's free usenet service)

It's not that I'm trying to push Astraweb in particular, but just to encourage you to diversify from your ISP provider (Highwinds) server which you can then use as a backup, as long as your premium paid-provider is not a Highwinds reseller.

As it stands now with having usenet service with both Newsdemon and Charter, if Highwinds has a problem (like a datacenter being down) then both Newsdemon and Charter will experience that same problem (while Astraweb won't).

[JustDOSE]

Road Runner cable is the best, 40$ a month plus you get a special for a year if your a new customer. I max out 7.5mbs all day, every day. owned :D

[saroofio]

thanks zot. i tried Charter's service and got decent speeds. my only concern is will they monitor what i download. i like the premium providers because they have SSL and from what i understand, that makes what i download private. am i wrong about this?

[SonsOfLiberty]

Your news provider still knows what you download & upload.

So if anyone really really wants to bust you, then they can ask the news provider.

[turin]

Your news provider still knows what you download & upload.

So if anyone really really wants to bust you, then they can ask the news provider.

yes, but they are the only ones who knows. The ISP can not see what you are downloading with ssl, right?

[zot]

The SSL encryption used on newsgroups, 256bit, is very secure and highly unlikely to be broken by anyone - ISP, government, whatever.

But if you are suspected of something illegal, the g-men can always go to the usenet provider and order them to log what you download (they already log what everybody uploads) and then it makes no difference whether you have SSL or not.

But that said, there are still reasons to have SSL. ISPs are being pushed to start using software that will identify and filter out illegal stuff, like certain types of pictures (based on a list of banned filehashes)