Topic: Certain downloads kill my network

[W7RE]

Xbox One downloads
uTorrent
Blizzard downloader
Steam downloads

XB1 is the worst, it will kill everything and make it hard to load simple web pages. uTorrent varies from the same, to barely noticeable. Blizzard downloader and Steam downloading will make it noticeable for Netflix or gaming, but web browsing is mostly ok. PS3, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360 don't do anything noticeable, nether does Netflix (regardless of device used). All problem devices/programs are connected through wired to the same router. We've actually tried 2 routers, with the same results.

Linksys WRT54G
Linksys WRT54GX2

Our internet connection is DSL, fiber up to the house (but we don't pay for fiber speeds). We get the exact speed we're paying for:



Since we're experiencing the same thing with other devices it may not matter, but I've got the following ports always forwarded to my Xbox One (in order for it to show my NAT as open):
Port 88 (UDP)
Port 3074 (UDP and TCP)
Port 53 (UDP and TCP)
Port 80 (TCP)
Port 500 (UDP)
UDP Port 3544 (UDP)
UDP Port 4500 (UDP)




OK so the obvious answer would be that anything using all of our bandwidth will clog the network. What I don't understand is why some applications/devices do it more than others. Why can we have 3 Netflix streams going and maybe see a little loss in quality on them, but browsing is fine? Then I start a 400MB download on my Xbox One and you can't connect to anything until it's done. I'd blame the router, but we've tried 2 different ones. (though both are older routers of the same brand. Maybe Linksys routers from that era have issues?)

[scottws]

I don't know about Xbox or Steam, but uTorrent and Blizzard use BitTorrent so it could be the number of connections and your router is struggling with that.

[W7RE]

Yea a long time ago when I first noticed something like this, it was with P2P transfers. I remember complaining when Blizzard started doing it, and more and more game clients do it now.

Would limiting the bandwidth maybe help? I see Steam has an option to limit bandwidth, maybe setting it to 5Mb would ensure there's bandwidth available for other things?

[scottws]

I doubt it is bandwidth but you could give it a shot.

[W7RE]

I see that my router has a Quality of Service section for limiting bandwidth. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I can give hard bandwidth caps. I can just give higher/lower priority to specific devices or applications.

[Cobra951]

You can limit bandwidth in the uTorrent application itself.  You can also limit the maximum number of connections, and this should do the trick, as far as torrents go anyway.  (See Preferences->Bandwidth)

As for the XB1, no idea.  Don't have one.  I'll guess that it's sucking up resources other than bandwidth--resources that the router's smarts don't ration properly.  I routinely use most of the pipe here for torrents, and I have no issues with concurrent devices (another PC plus the Xbox 360, plus the main PC doing general browsing/youtube/etc while torrenting) sharing it at the same time.  I hope you find the answers.

One idea: check upload speeds.  Those are typically way more limited than download speeds, and they could create a bottleneck for communications in general.

[iPPi]

I had this problem when I was on DSL and using the router my ISP provided.  I've moved to cable now and this no longer happens.  I never did find a way to 'fix' it though. 

[W7RE]

I'm guessing if I got a better/newer router it would help a lot. I've got my uTorrent set to limit the bandwidth to just under my cap and it helps, but other people I live with don't want to limit it, and they know how to change the setting.

The Xbox One is probably the biggest issue, beause of auto-updates. It auto-updates games and the OS just like Steam does, even if it's in standby. I like it doing this, but suddenly the internet gets bogged down and everyone starts asking eachother who's downloading and killing it.