Very Low Bandwidth

[MarcianoVitali]

Statistics bar showing bandwidth of 30kbps and less. Spikes around every 30 secs. Preferences max bandwidth set at 1500kbps. Changes to this setting do not change statistics.  N.Y. to Dallas- Pingtest.net 76ms   Speedtest.net 13mbs 1mbs.  N.Y. to San Fran- Pingtest.net 115ms  Speedtest.net   2.22 download 1mbs up. 0 packet loss. Would the download speed in bold be the cause of the low bandwidth? Should I expect this to get better at some point? Obviously bandwidth of 30kbps makes it immpossible to stay logged on for very long.  Thanks in advance!

[Storm Clarence]

There are about 15-20 points of failure between your mind, keyboard, NIC, router, cable, outlet, ISP, etc.  Are you complaining you are not able to be in-world and enjoy your experience? Or you are a numbers person and want to know what they mean?  Use the options>edit>  to reply.   Are you being logged out?

[Venus Petrov]

If you are competing with other applications on your computer, other computers on the home network and/or other computers sharing the same cable service you use, your real available bandwidth shrinks and things slow down.  Your speed may improve even if you leave it set at 1500kbps if competition for the bandwidth declines.  Distance can also be a factor.

[Rolig Loon]

The bandwidth number that you see in the Statistics Bar may be misleading because it's not only a measure of your own bandwidth but also a measure of how much bandwidth is available on whatever server you are connected to in SL. This number varies wildly depending on what bandwidth settings you've used, where you are inworld, what's going on, whether you are streaming audio/vieo or using Voice, and whether you're still loading some things (objects/textures/etc) that are in your field of view. If bandwidth is 0kbps, something may be wrong (you may be partially disconnected).  However, if the bandwidth number in the statistics bar is 30kbps or less, as you indicate, it is likely to also be an indicator of in-world lag.  (And you are right .... a low bandwidth value may cause you to crash.  This used to be a serious problem on some very busy sims in SL, and can still be a problem in some places.) 

You can improve your own contribution to the bandwidth number by reducing your draw distance, using streaming audio/video sparingly, and connecting to SL by direct cable instead of wireless.  Changing the Maximum Bandwidth setting in Preferences makes no apparent difference (In fact, Torley Linden has advised cranking it all the way to maximum.).  Other than that, you can expect low numbers whenever you are in a busy area.

[Peggy Paperdoll]

Three possibilities come to mind:

1.  The sim you are experiencing this has a problem (as Rolig eluded to).  If you are on Mainland and are a Premium member contact Live Chat and request a sim restart......if you are not Premium request a sim restart using the Support Ticket.  If you are on a private estate contact the owner (or someone with the abilities) and request a sim restart.

 

2.  Your ISP may have a policy of throttling what they consider excessive bandwidth usage.  SL is extremely heavy on bandwidth usage due to everything you see (and a lot of what you do) in SL is streamed.  Some ISP's throttle such bandwidth usage.  Contact your ISP.

 

3.  You are on a private network and to maintain enough available bandwidth for other users of the network the Network Administrator has throttled individual users use of bandwidth.  Contact the Network Administrator.

 

Meanwhile try resetting your router and modem.  Check what else is going on with your computer and/or network while you experience this problem.  Check your router setup........is it open to anyone connecting to it wirelessly (WiFi).  If so, lock it down.