Network Settings

NO LONGER RELEVANT

The setting at the top of the current main viewer's Preferences / Network tab is called Maximum Bandwidth, not packet size.

I think your DSL modem should probably be able to handle a higher speed than that.

What is the make and model of the modem?

Ah Bandwidth. I remember reading it has something to do with packets.

My modem is supplied by the DSL service. Westsell W327 wireless. (I am hardwire connected and this is my second modem) I have the highest speed DSL service offered. I also upgrade the PC with 2 gigs RAM and Nividia card 512M of memory.

I have spent $300+ for PC upgrades and an extra $50 month for better DSL only to use SL about 15 to 20 min per day. I do have rare occasions where I managed to stay on for one or two hours at once.

"CX"

OK help a confused girl, here -

Should that slider be all the way up, assuming you want to use up all the internet connection you have? or is there a downside in doing that?

That is where the packet connection comes in. That is exactly what I am trying to understand.

I was told if it is too high SL will time out becacause it can not transfer all of the data quick enough to satisfy the setting. With the specs on my machine I should be able to max out everything and enjoy all the features of SL. Most times I am lucky if my wig rezzes up before I crash with minimum settings.

"CX"

My post was at the bottom of page one without an answer... so



"CX"

I found a few things in the Knowledge Base, unfortunatly it does not allow me to get a URL directly to a page. Here are a few clippings...

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I know I have a fast Internet connection, but Second Life seems to download items slowly. How do I make things faster?
Go to Edit > Preferences > Network and move the Maximum Bandwidth slider further to the right. The number is measured in kilobits per second; if you aren't sure what this means, you should check with your Internet Service Provider for more details.

On a great connection, you can set it to 1000 and if your packet loss bar doesn't go red constantly, it should be OK.
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In the Knowledge Base search for
Preferences window guide
https://support.secondlife.com/ics/support/security.asp

Networks Tab
Maximum Bandwidth - Move this slider to the right to increase the download rate for data within Second Life. Decrease this slider to reduce download rates. Higher numbers may result in objects and avatars appearing more quickly. However, very large values may tax your computer and reduce performance; setting this number greater than your total available bandwidth can result in packet loss. Residents often set this value to slightly less than their upload rate, or find the maximum value that doesn't result in excessive packet loss.

Disk Cache Size - This setting indicates how much hard drive space is used on your computer to store Second Life data (object info, textures, Inventory item names, etc.). Increasing this value may cause frequently visited areas to load faster. Decreasing this value may reduce hard drive usage while you're on Second Life. The "Clear Cache" button can be pressed to remedy several problems.
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You can also improve your performance by reducing many of the graphics settings, described on the same page as the above item.

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In the Knowledge Base search for
Typical Frame Rate Performance by Graphics Card/GPU
https://support.secondlife.com/ics/support/security.asp
Lots of good information there.

I read all of that and it doesn't clear up the issue with my understanding.

A ticket requesting help resulted in a Linden cutting and pasting the same text into the response ticket.

Please don't take me wrong I appreciate the help. My graphics is set low, all special features off, sound off, voice off. When I am connected my FPS is high my packet loss is zero, yet I still lose my connection. I'll know more tomorrow after the DSL guy checks my system again.

Thanks, "CX"

So in other words I need to set my network bandwidth slider to just below my network speed, to avoid losing these "packets".

And I can tell when I am losing packets by the red packet loss bar - on wait, that went and I got the silly little search box - so how do I see packet loss? Presumably SL is sending most stuff to me when I TP to a new area, so that should be the test?

And, (apparently) I have a different speed IN than OUT on my internet - I presume I should be setting it based on my IN speed, because I'm not sending as much back to them, yes?

They turned the packet loss bar into search but in the next viewer that will be made back into an option - you can change the search box into the packet loss bar thingy.

In the mean time, there is the 'lag meter' or you can turn on your stats bar.

Re. the speed of your connection, you can find out your download and upload speeds here:
http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/

-Atashi

In the latest RC viewer there is an option to remove the search box and get back the bandwidth/packet loss meters - at the bottom of the general tab in preferences.

Or you can hit Ctrl-Shift-1 to get the stats bar up which has bandwidth and packet loss meters.

Adjust your bandwidth upwards and watch the packet loss, set it as high as you can without the packet loss going too high.



Most domestic internet connections are faster downstream (towards you) than upstream, because most of us don't want to send much data outwards. So yes, use your incoming speed as a guide.

Incidentally, in the debug settings there is a Throttle Bandwidth setting which appears to allow you to set it as high as you like. I've tried putting it up to 5000kbps, but it didn't appear to make any difference to either speed or packet loss so the limit of 1500kbps may override anything in the settings.

Ok, thanks for your help - I am using the new RC so will use that. I appreciate the clarity and non-geeky nature of your advice.

My DSL Service checked my lines, and replaced the input card at the hub. Right now I am logged into SL on two PCs with my Main and two alts.. all of us are camping on my land.

Plus I am surfing the web, posting on this forum and shopping eBay for a new camera.

So far so good.

"CX"

So I ran the speed test linked above and got results of 10,000kbps for NYC and more like 4,000 for west coast (which doesn't surprise me, since I am close to NYC).

So do I have to worry where the servers are that I connect to? Sorry to be so ignorant but I wanted to do this right.

10,000bps is around 1300 kB/sec, according to that website, so by that token, I would crank the network bandwidth slider right up. If I am connecting to the west coast I should probably put it at about half way....

So I did another test - I pulled up that detailed packet screen (wow, crazy colours! Could sit and watch that for hours!) and watched that "packet loss" number. I moved around, tped and so on, and couldn't make it move off 0%, no matter where I put the network slider.

So, if I get this right, I should run SL with the bandwidth slider at max, yes?

I really appreciate everyone's help with this.