Why are LAN to LAN transfer rates so slow?

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thesuperguy

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Apr 19, 2013
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I recently installed an asus rt-n56u router with bridge mode enabled on my modem router all in one. The thing is, when transferring from a wireless device to my desktop wired to the router, my speeds don't come even close to the advertised 300 mbps. Admittedly, my wireless adapter only supports up to 150 mbps but it doesn't come close to that either. Instead, I get a transfer rate of about 4 megabytes or 32 mbps. In case this might be part of the problem, I have my wireless adapter hooked up to a relatively long usb cable (maybe 4 feet in length) to try to get it closer to the router. Perhaps the cable is bottlenecking?
 
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BorgOvermind

BorgOvermind

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Oct 4, 2011
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Yes, in part.
USB speed is limited to a practical amount of about 25MB/s.
Part of the long story:
USB 2.0 clock speed is 480 mbps. That's 60 MB/s. Given the protocol overhead and the fact that USB 2.0 is half-duplex, the maximum data rate will be 30MB/s. The 480 megabits per second limit applies to the USB controller and is shared between the ports attached to it. The number of USB controllers per card or MB will vary.
So yes, this is a big part of the problem.


Wireless speed is dependent on a lot of factor: channel overlap, general E-M interference, devices compatibility.
Best thing I recommend is that you use a cable if there's a net/notebook. For phones, that might be a problem.
 
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MagicPants

MagicPants

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150 mbps is the theoretical maximum (If you are holding it 1" away from the router in a Faraday cage). Generally speaking you are lucky to get 1/4 of that, which is what you are getting. If you want faster, my advice is to get a wireless adapter that supports 300 mbps. I'd guess that will give you twice the speed.
 
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2x4b

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Oct 28, 2013
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A router speed is rated at megabits per second.
Windows copy shows progress at megabytes per second
1 byte is 8 bits.
150 m(bits)ps = 22 m(bytes)ps

Add into that some (RF) radio frequency congestion on the channel, some physical distance between the system and the router (decreased signal strength with distance), and some environmental interference (walls, floors, furniture, people).
Add in some latency as the the IP protocol requires an acknowledgement response for every 4k packet.
And your 4 Megabytes per second doesn't look as bad as it could be.
 
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thesuperguy

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I'm not sure whether I should be happy that this is most likely as good as it gets, or disappointed that I probably can't get any better... Unfortunately, I cannot run cable to it because it will either go right across the floor of my house or have to go around the entire length of it.

Maybe I should invest in a higher end dual band adapter... But if I do, am I better off with a USB adapter which I could extend closer to the router or a PCI(e) card which I assume allows higher bandwidth but will be approx 5-6 feet further from the router?
 
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BorgOvermind

BorgOvermind

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Get an internal PCI or PIC-Express wireless adapter.
That would get rid of the USB limitations.

As for wireless, check if there are other emitters on near-by channels and if there are, try to select a channel as far as possible from the used ones.
For example, if you are on ch5 and 2,3,7 are used, try 12 or 13.
 
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bill001g

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Dual band by itself will not increase the speed it just gives you the options of choosing a different frequency. The big lie routers tell is they add the capacity together and say crap like 600m or 900m omitting the important fact that a user interface unlike a router can not have both radios active so you must select 2.4g or 5g.

Before you get real far along replacing things make sure you have things set for the optimum speed you can get. Set your router to support N only this gets rid of the overhead to support old b/g radios. Also set it to run 40mhz only this will force it to ignore the rule that says it can only run 20mhz bands if it detects someone else using it. Problem with this is if someone else actually is using the other channel group you will likely get interference which may degrade you traffic. There are really only 2 option to run 40mhz in the 2.4g channels. You options are 1&6 or 6&11. Of course this means anyone using channel 6 is guaranteed to interfere with you. This would be the reason to move to the 5g frequencies but the downside is 5g is more easily blocked so if you do not get excellent signal strength 5g may be slower then 2.4g
 
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MagicPants

MagicPants

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I've had the best luck with a wireless usb adapter with a long cord, setting the receiver as far away from any metal as possible. I personally don't like internal wifi cards, because they have to sit inside a box (probably metal), with a bunch of other metal parts, many of which are giving off Em interference. USB 2.0 shouldn't be a bottle neck unless you're running wireless ac. CNet does some really good wireless networking reviews that tell you what sort of transfer speeds you can expect in real world conditions.
 
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