very slow file transfer between my 2 macs

bustthis · 08-19-2003, 01:07 PM

hi,

i have a airport network that connects a g4 mdd dual 1 ghz and a ti powerbook 400 mhz. the abs is connected to 1 cable modem and both computers share the modem. the base station is extreme and both makes have older airport cards.

i find that when copying any size file between computers the transfer speeds a very, very slow. a 300 mb file can take over 30 mins. i have file sharing turned on both macs.

i know it was this slow before i even had a airport, so maybe i am doing something wrong.

any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

thank you,

-c

yellow · 08-19-2003, 05:17 PM

Please correct me if my math is bad..

AirPort transfers at 11 megabits / second
That is 11,000,000 bps, divided by 8 (1 byte = 8 bits)
= 1,375,000 Bps
1,375,000 / 1024 (1024 bytes in a kilobyte) = 1342.773 KBps
1342.773 / 1024 (1024 kilobytes in a megabyte) = 1.311 MBps

300 MB file / 1.311 MBps = 228.83 seconds to transfer the file
228.83 seconds = 3.814 minutes.

Defintely something wrong here. Are you using AFPoverTCP or Samba or Appletalk?

Or is my math wrong?

bustthis · 08-19-2003, 05:49 PM

i just use afp - command-k through the finder. i have the mdd g4 set to 10.0.1.201, abs- 10.0.1.1 and the powerbook is 10.0.1.3. i use my g4 as a ftp server so i can can transfer large files from work to home.

before i had the airport network, i had a netgear 10-100 router and it was just as slow. we have a network here at work set up the same way between 10 macs and it's super fast.

it's so painfully slow...

yellow · 08-19-2003, 06:11 PM

Try using the FTP server to see if the transfer is faster. Also, when you use cmd-k, are you just selecting the other machine from a list or are you entering it's IP?

stetner · 08-19-2003, 06:20 PM

Don't know if this will go anywhere, but how about an 'ifconfig en1' (I think it is en1 for airport) for both machines. As well, do you get better transfer rates from the internet?

bustthis · 08-19-2003, 06:59 PM

ok, here is what i just came up with. bothe tests use the same 11.3 mb jpeg file.

afp:

tibook to g4- 3 mins
g4 to tibook- 2 mins

pureftpd:

pb-g4- 5 mins

wtf?????

it's slow.

yellow, when i command-k i just select the name of the computer i am connecting. i connect as the admin account.

when i transfered the file from the g4 to tibook itunes 4.0.1 started stutering and quit.

please help me, this is awful!!!!

yellow · 08-19-2003, 07:22 PM

Try entering the remote computer's IP address rather than selecting from the list. Then we're using AFPoverTCP rather than straight AppleTalk. This should be faster. However, since your FTP client upload was so slow, there's something else at work here.

grrl_geek · 08-19-2003, 07:28 PM

If you're regularly transferring large files, you might use Target Disk Mode (where one of the computers acts as a FireWire drive). Hold down T during startup on the computer with the file you want to transfer.

You'll need a FireWire cable to string between the two computers.

I don't bother coping large files over Ethernet if I can at all avoid it.

bustthis · 08-19-2003, 08:06 PM

it's still just as slow, if not worse. i find that if i copy a 28 mb file from my g4 to the tibook it will take 2 mins. however if i copy the same file back to the g4 it will take 5 mins.

what can cause such a thing? my tibook is further away from the abs and i get a weaker signal than the g4.

bustthis · 08-19-2003, 08:08 PM

firewire target disk mode is way to inconvienent...
i would rather burn a cd or use my ipod to transfer the file. thanks anyway.

we have a similar setup at work without a airport and a imac as a server. there are 10 users that copy huge files and a 28 mb file would take 30 secs.

yellow · 08-19-2003, 08:10 PM

Are there a lot of apps running at the same time on both machines? Possibly there's not enough CPU cycles to run all your apps and copy large files? I'm struggling here. You might want to check out the man page on tcpdump and try to see exactly what's going on on your little network. Maybe a neighbor has hijacked your signal/bandwidth?

jdhorner · 08-19-2003, 08:30 PM

i'm going to add my $0.02 here and say that i, too, have this problem. i have a snow airport basestation that distributes my DSL connection to two laptops. one is a 15" TiBook (roommate) and the other is a brand-spankin'-new 12" AlBook (mine

)

i have tried two different methods of connecting the two computers via airport. (1) using cmd+k in the finder and selecting his computer from the list or sometimes i type in the IP directly. and (2) using the airport.menu to create an ad-hoc computer-to-computer network with just the two computers joining.

both result in absolutely horrible data transfer rates. i know that i can rule out the airport cards in both machines because both can indepently download larges files from outside the network at great speeds via the DSL.

here is the result of ifconfig en1 on the TiBook:

Code:

en1: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1492
	inet6 fe80::230:65ff:fe15:f0ca%en1 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x5 
	inet 10.0.1.201 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 10.0.1.255
	ether 00:30:65:15:f0:ca 
	media: autoselect status: active
	supported media: autoselect

and here is the result on my 12" AlBook:

Code:

en1: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
	inet6 fe80::203:93ff:feef:2e15%en1 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x5 
	inet 10.0.1.202 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 10.0.1.255
	ether 00:03:93:ef:2e:15 
	media: autoselect status: active
	supported media: autoselect

there are usually NO other programs open at the time of transfer, and neither of us run any third party hacks or other such nonsene things. we also run a secure Wi-Fi network, so unless someone is sitting out there packet sniffing like a mad man, i don't think my bandwith has been compromised.

bustthis, i hope some people have some suggestions for the both of us.

bustthis · 08-19-2003, 08:39 PM

i do see another name in my airport menu sometimes called thecrib85, but i have a closed network and have posted here about it.

my g4 has 1.75gb ram and is dual 1ghz. i have illustrator, photoshop and mailsmith open, the tibook has nothing open.

my g4's ifconfig looks like this:
lo0: flags=8049<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 16384
inet6 ::1 prefixlen 128
inet6 fe80::1%lo0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x1
inet 127.0.0.1 netmask 0xff000000
gif0: flags=8010<POINTOPOINT,MULTICAST> mtu 1280
stf0: flags=0<> mtu 1280
en0: flags=8822<BROADCAST,SMART,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
tunnel inet -->
ether 00:03:93:da:ab:30
en1: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
inet6 fe80::230:65ff:fe0c:76b7%en1 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x5
inet 10.0.1.201 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 10.0.1.255
ether 00:30:65:0c:76:b7
media: autoselect status: active
supported media: autoselect

bustthis · 08-19-2003, 09:01 PM

and this is ifconfig en1:

en1: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
inet6 fe80::230:65ff:fe0c:76b7%en1 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x5
inet 10.0.1.201 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 10.0.1.255
ether 00:30:65:0c:76:b7
media: autoselect status: active
supported media: autoselect

dhayton · 08-19-2003, 09:26 PM

At the risk of being *really* simple here, what sort of signal strength do you get when transfer files? I ask because I have an airport network and when I try to transfer from my desktop to my TiBook, I find that the transfer times vary markedly on the strength of the signal (for both machines).

My desktop gets good reception at the end of the hall, but the TiBook doesn't do so well in that room. When I transfer files that way, it takes forever. If I walk down and sit closer to the router with my TiBook, transfer times improve dramatically.

Finally, if I enable computer to computer networking and sit in the same room, the transfer rates are great!

Obviously, I can't move my desktop around very easily, and it's signal remains steady at 85-90%. The TiBook signal varies from 60-95%, depending on where I use it. As the signal strength improves, so too do the transfer rates.

Just a thought.

Best,
darin

stetner · 08-19-2003, 09:32 PM

I have no experience with airports, but does the 1500 mtu cause it grief? I notice jdhorner's roommate has his set to 1492 (as I have on my normal ethernet as some devices choke on 1500).

Might be worth a try doing

Code:

/sbin/ifconfig en1 mtu 1492

on both ends and see if thing speed up....

jdhorner · 08-19-2003, 09:35 PM

Quote:


	Originally posted by dhayton At the risk of being really simple here, what sort of signal strength do you get when transfer files?

well, both computers and the basestation are almost always in the same room. and for testing purposes, i have ruled that out anyway. bustthis... what about you.

bustthis · 08-19-2003, 09:37 PM

well, my g4 is 4 ft away from aebs and i get full signal and the tibook was on the same desk when i was copying the 28 mb file. it's usually about 15 ft away from the aebs, but it was pretty slow before i even had a airport.

how would i know if someones stealing my connection? last month my super was stealing my cable, he lives in the basement, i live on the 4th floor. from time to time i see another available airport network called thecrib85 in my airport menu. it's weird it will only appear there after i click the drop down menu a couple of times in a row. i posted here a while back about this and someone help me make a closed network. i have a lot ports mapped to my g4. because i need to use it remotely from work for file transfers via ftp.

bustthis · 08-19-2003, 09:49 PM

i think /sbin/ifconfig en1 mtu 1492 made it slower, if you can beleive that one!

my itunes craps out when copying the 28 mb file back and forth between both computers. the sound gets muffled until it quits. i have no clue!!!

mervTormel · 08-19-2003, 09:54 PM

i just woke up my TiPB/500 and it has a wifi connection to a wifi access point hanging of my router.

i had abysmal xfer speed over AFP.

i switched it to the wired enet port and got 7-8MB/s

switched it back to wifi and then got the expected 7-8 xfer rate.

so, does a sleeping wifi connection get eyeglue and need a wipe?

08-19-2003, 01:07 PM	#1
bustthis Triple-A Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: brooklyn, ny Posts: 203	very slow file transfer between my 2 macs hi, i have a airport network that connects a g4 mdd dual 1 ghz and a ti powerbook 400 mhz. the abs is connected to 1 cable modem and both computers share the modem. the base station is extreme and both makes have older airport cards. i find that when copying any size file between computers the transfer speeds a very, very slow. a 300 mb file can take over 30 mins. i have file sharing turned on both macs. i know it was this slow before i even had a airport, so maybe i am doing something wrong. any suggestions are greatly appreciated. thank you, -c __________________ charles

08-19-2003, 05:17 PM	#2
yellow Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 10,677	Please correct me if my math is bad.. AirPort transfers at 11 megabits / second That is 11,000,000 bps, divided by 8 (1 byte = 8 bits) = 1,375,000 Bps 1,375,000 / 1024 (1024 bytes in a kilobyte) = 1342.773 KBps 1342.773 / 1024 (1024 kilobytes in a megabyte) = 1.311 MBps 300 MB file / 1.311 MBps = 228.83 seconds to transfer the file 228.83 seconds = 3.814 minutes. Defintely something wrong here. Are you using AFPoverTCP or Samba or Appletalk? Or is my math wrong? Last edited by yellow; 08-19-2003 at 05:30 PM.

08-19-2003, 05:49 PM	#3
bustthis Triple-A Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: brooklyn, ny Posts: 203	i just use afp - command-k through the finder. i have the mdd g4 set to 10.0.1.201, abs- 10.0.1.1 and the powerbook is 10.0.1.3. i use my g4 as a ftp server so i can can transfer large files from work to home. before i had the airport network, i had a netgear 10-100 router and it was just as slow. we have a network here at work set up the same way between 10 macs and it's super fast. it's so painfully slow... __________________ charles

08-19-2003, 06:20 PM	#5
stetner MVP Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 1,108	Don't know if this will go anywhere, but how about an 'ifconfig en1' (I think it is en1 for airport) for both machines. As well, do you get better transfer rates from the internet? __________________ Douglas G. Stetner UNIX Live Free Or Die

08-19-2003, 06:59 PM	#6
bustthis Triple-A Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: brooklyn, ny Posts: 203	ok, here is what i just came up with. bothe tests use the same 11.3 mb jpeg file. afp: tibook to g4- 3 mins g4 to tibook- 2 mins pureftpd: pb-g4- 5 mins wtf????? it's slow. yellow, when i command-k i just select the name of the computer i am connecting. i connect as the admin account. when i transfered the file from the g4 to tibook itunes 4.0.1 started stutering and quit. please help me, this is awful!!!! __________________ charles

08-19-2003, 06:11 PM	#4
yellow Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 10,677	Try using the FTP server to see if the transfer is faster. Also, when you use cmd-k, are you just selecting the other machine from a list or are you entering it's IP?

08-19-2003, 07:22 PM	#7
yellow Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 10,677	Try entering the remote computer's IP address rather than selecting from the list. Then we're using AFPoverTCP rather than straight AppleTalk. This should be faster. However, since your FTP client upload was so slow, there's something else at work here.

08-19-2003, 07:28 PM	#8
grrl_geek Major Leaguer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Berkeley, CA Posts: 270	If you're regularly transferring large files, you might use Target Disk Mode (where one of the computers acts as a FireWire drive). Hold down T during startup on the computer with the file you want to transfer. You'll need a FireWire cable to string between the two computers. I don't bother coping large files over Ethernet if I can at all avoid it.

08-19-2003, 08:06 PM	#9
bustthis Triple-A Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: brooklyn, ny Posts: 203	it's still just as slow, if not worse. i find that if i copy a 28 mb file from my g4 to the tibook it will take 2 mins. however if i copy the same file back to the g4 it will take 5 mins. what can cause such a thing? my tibook is further away from the abs and i get a weaker signal than the g4. __________________ charles

08-19-2003, 08:08 PM	#10
bustthis Triple-A Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: brooklyn, ny Posts: 203	firewire target disk mode is way to inconvienent... i would rather burn a cd or use my ipod to transfer the file. thanks anyway. we have a similar setup at work without a airport and a imac as a server. there are 10 users that copy huge files and a 28 mb file would take 30 secs. __________________ charles

08-19-2003, 08:10 PM	#11
yellow Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 10,677	Are there a lot of apps running at the same time on both machines? Possibly there's not enough CPU cycles to run all your apps and copy large files? I'm struggling here. You might want to check out the man page on tcpdump and try to see exactly what's going on on your little network. Maybe a neighbor has hijacked your signal/bandwidth?

08-19-2003, 08:30 PM	#12
jdhorner Major Leaguer Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Montréal, QC, Canada Posts: 331	i'm going to add my $0.02 here and say that i, too, have this problem. i have a snow airport basestation that distributes my DSL connection to two laptops. one is a 15" TiBook (roommate) and the other is a brand-spankin'-new 12" AlBook (mine ) i have tried two different methods of connecting the two computers via airport. (1) using cmd+k in the finder and selecting his computer from the list or sometimes i type in the IP directly. and (2) using the airport.menu to create an ad-hoc computer-to-computer network with just the two computers joining. both result in absolutely horrible data transfer rates. i know that i can rule out the airport cards in both machines because both can indepently download larges files from outside the network at great speeds via the DSL. here is the result of ifconfig en1 on the TiBook: Code: en1: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1492 inet6 fe80::230:65ff:fe15:f0ca%en1 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x5 inet 10.0.1.201 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 10.0.1.255 ether 00:30:65:15:f0:ca media: autoselect status: active supported media: autoselect and here is the result on my 12" AlBook: Code: en1: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 inet6 fe80::203:93ff:feef:2e15%en1 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x5 inet 10.0.1.202 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 10.0.1.255 ether 00:03:93:ef:2e:15 media: autoselect status: active supported media: autoselect there are usually NO other programs open at the time of transfer, and neither of us run any third party hacks or other such nonsene things. we also run a secure Wi-Fi network, so unless someone is sitting out there packet sniffing like a mad man, i don't think my bandwith has been compromised. bustthis, i hope some people have some suggestions for the both of us.

08-19-2003, 08:39 PM	#13
bustthis Triple-A Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: brooklyn, ny Posts: 203	i do see another name in my airport menu sometimes called thecrib85, but i have a closed network and have posted here about it. my g4 has 1.75gb ram and is dual 1ghz. i have illustrator, photoshop and mailsmith open, the tibook has nothing open. my g4's ifconfig looks like this: lo0: flags=8049<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 16384 inet6 ::1 prefixlen 128 inet6 fe80::1%lo0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x1 inet 127.0.0.1 netmask 0xff000000 gif0: flags=8010<POINTOPOINT,MULTICAST> mtu 1280 stf0: flags=0<> mtu 1280 en0: flags=8822<BROADCAST,SMART,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 tunnel inet --> ether 00:03:93:da:ab:30 en1: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 inet6 fe80::230:65ff:fe0c:76b7%en1 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x5 inet 10.0.1.201 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 10.0.1.255 ether 00:30:65:0c:76:b7 media: autoselect status: active supported media: autoselect __________________ charles

08-19-2003, 09:01 PM	#14
bustthis Triple-A Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: brooklyn, ny Posts: 203	and this is ifconfig en1: en1: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 inet6 fe80::230:65ff:fe0c:76b7%en1 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x5 inet 10.0.1.201 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 10.0.1.255 ether 00:30:65:0c:76:b7 media: autoselect status: active supported media: autoselect __________________ charles

08-19-2003, 09:26 PM	#15
dhayton Major Leaguer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Haverford, PA Posts: 343	At the risk of being really simple here, what sort of signal strength do you get when transfer files? I ask because I have an airport network and when I try to transfer from my desktop to my TiBook, I find that the transfer times vary markedly on the strength of the signal (for both machines). My desktop gets good reception at the end of the hall, but the TiBook doesn't do so well in that room. When I transfer files that way, it takes forever. If I walk down and sit closer to the router with my TiBook, transfer times improve dramatically. Finally, if I enable computer to computer networking and sit in the same room, the transfer rates are great! Obviously, I can't move my desktop around very easily, and it's signal remains steady at 85-90%. The TiBook signal varies from 60-95%, depending on where I use it. As the signal strength improves, so too do the transfer rates. Just a thought. Best, darin

08-19-2003, 09:32 PM	#16
stetner MVP Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 1,108	I have no experience with airports, but does the 1500 mtu cause it grief? I notice jdhorner's roommate has his set to 1492 (as I have on my normal ethernet as some devices choke on 1500). Might be worth a try doing Code: /sbin/ifconfig en1 mtu 1492 on both ends and see if thing speed up.... __________________ Douglas G. Stetner UNIX Live Free Or Die

08-19-2003, 09:37 PM	#18
bustthis Triple-A Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: brooklyn, ny Posts: 203	well, my g4 is 4 ft away from aebs and i get full signal and the tibook was on the same desk when i was copying the 28 mb file. it's usually about 15 ft away from the aebs, but it was pretty slow before i even had a airport. how would i know if someones stealing my connection? last month my super was stealing my cable, he lives in the basement, i live on the 4th floor. from time to time i see another available airport network called thecrib85 in my airport menu. it's weird it will only appear there after i click the drop down menu a couple of times in a row. i posted here a while back about this and someone help me make a closed network. i have a lot ports mapped to my g4. because i need to use it remotely from work for file transfers via ftp. __________________ charles

08-19-2003, 09:49 PM	#19
bustthis Triple-A Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: brooklyn, ny Posts: 203	i think /sbin/ifconfig en1 mtu 1492 made it slower, if you can beleive that one! my itunes craps out when copying the 28 mb file back and forth between both computers. the sound gets muffled until it quits. i have no clue!!! __________________ charles

08-19-2003, 09:54 PM	#20
mervTormel League Commissioner Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 5,536	i just woke up my TiPB/500 and it has a wifi connection to a wifi access point hanging of my router. i had abysmal xfer speed over AFP. i switched it to the wired enet port and got 7-8MB/s switched it back to wifi and then got the expected 7-8 xfer rate. so, does a sleeping wifi connection get eyeglue and need a wipe?