Newbie: Need some initial guidance

[Starman311]

I'm a little new to some of the networking configuration & terminology and need some guidance on how to follow your recommendations and do further tweaking.

I have two pc's connected on a wireless home network. My primary one is a P4 running Win XP Pro. It is connected to a Broadxent DSL modem thru a USB port. The modem is connected to a Netgear WGR614 wireless router which connects to my pc's network card. My other pc (P3 Win 98SE) has a Netgear wireless card to get internet access and file and printer sharing with the first. I'm also running Sygate Personal Firewall Pro 5.5 and Norton Antivirus 2002 on my P4 pc. On my P3 pc, I am running AVG antivirus software but no software firewall. I have a Quest DSL phone line connection.

Internet connectivity and file and printer sharing is all working on both pc's although I'm currently experiencing some related issues on my P4 pc. When I first boot up my Win XP pc, it takes from 2-4 minutes for it to completely load Windows (i.e., all startup programs, processes, and then play the Start Windows wav file indicating completion). Once this has completed, all apps, internet connectivity on my P4, file & printer sharing, etc. works fine. Its just this long delay to load that I would like to eliminate. I've done all the suggested maintenance to eliminate any spyware, maximize operating efficiency (delete temp files, reduce startup programs & services), etc. but I'm still experiencing this startup delay. It appears that the delay seems to occur when the home network is loading/configuring since these are the very last icons to show in my Start bar before the Start Windows wav file plays.

I have setup my network on both pc's to auto detect IP addresses and am wondering if this could be causing the startup delay I'm experiencing. I have reviewed the "Tips on Tweaking - Please Read" and have implemented some of the suggestions but have questions on how to do the others.

Here is summary info I have:

1. DSL connection:

2004-08-27 13:26:44 EST: 502 / 208
Your download speed : 514572 bps, or 502 kbps.
A 62.8 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 213333 bps, or 208 kbps.

2. AOL/Quest is my ISP provider. Don't know the advertised speed.

3. TCP/IP Analyzer test results:

TCP properties for IP = xxxxx
Browser/OS = Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)

TCP options string = 0204052a0103030201010402
MTU = 1362
MTU is not fully optimized for broadband. Consider increasing your MTU to 1500 for better throughput.
MSS = 1322
MSS is not fully optimized for broadband (although it might work well for slower connections). Consider increasing your MTU value.

Default Receive Window (RWIN) = 256960
RWIN Scaling (RFC1323) = 2 bits (scale factor of 4)
Unscaled Receive Window = 64240

For optimum performance, consider changing RWIN to a multiple of MSS.
Other values for RWIN that might work well with your current MTU/MSS:
507648 (MSS x 48 * scale factor of 8)
253824 (MSS x 48 * scale factor of 4)
126912 (MSS x 48 * scale factor of 2)
63456 (MSS x 48)
bandwidth * delay product (Note this is not a speed test):

Your RcvWindow limits you to: 10278.4 kbps (1284.8 KBytes/s) @ 200ms
Your RcvWindow limits you to: 4111.36 kbps (513.92 KBytes/s) @ 500ms
MTU Discovery (RFC1191) = OFF
Time to live left = 54 hops

TTL value is ok.
Timestamps (RFC1323) = OFF
Selective Acknowledgements (RFC2018) = ON
IP type of service field (RFC1349) = 00000000

4. Win XP Pro SP1

Some questions:

1. What MTU should I use and how do I set my MTU value for my connection? (Don't understand what PPPoA and PPPoE are. I do not have to log in separately each time to my ISP. I have it set in my router properties to connnect to ISP using my AOL userid and password.)

2. How should I use TCPOptimizer and Cablenut programs to do any further tweaking? (What settings should I use in these?)

3. Not sure if I have my DSL modem connected as you suggest. It is connected to my pc using a USB cable. It is also connected to my router using a network cable. The router is connected to my pc's NIC using a network cable. Is this correct?

Thanks.

[mccoffee]

ftp://downloads.netgear.com/files/wgr614v5_webdoc/pdfs/wgr614v5_ref_manual.pdf here is copy of manual in adobe pdf file if you don't have adobe reader iyou could get it at www.adobe.com (http://www.adobe.com) it's a free plugin so you could follow along i don't have a netgear in front of me.


window xp box goto start ,run, type cmd hit ok in the black command prompt type ipconfig /all look for dns server settings and write them down the two sets of numbers that are simillar for example 64.250.64.1 , 64.250.64.2 Exit the prompt

This is in the manual in appendix c with diagrams if that helps for both windows versions

In xp goto start control panel network click on view network connections or if you see a connection with two blue connecetions that is called lan connection double click that. highlight tcpip and click properties.

Click on i wish to manually assign my ipadress
type
192.168.0.3 for the ip address
subnet is 255.255.255.0
default gateway is 192.168.0.1
for dns use the numbers you wrote down.
shut down computer


On the windows 98 box goto my computer control panel network look for tcpip click properties

click I wish to manually assign my ip adress

ipaddress 192.168.0.4
subnet 255.255.255.0
default gateway 192.168.0.1

Dns is the numbers you wrote down
dns host name coud be any word you want such as home dog

shutdown computer or reboot

Let me know if you get this done b4 i move on

[Starman311]

Thanks for your help Mccoffee.

Since my first post, I had gone ahead and tried some of what you suggested along with some other tweaks. Apparently, what I did was not very good, however, since my current speed values have decreased significantly:

2004-08-28 13:28:49 EST: 360 / 197
Your download speed : 369348 bps, or 360 kbps.
A 45 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 202377 bps, or 197 kbps.

These test results seem to vary somewhat depending on when I do them and which server I use, but this is about the highest values I've attained since my tweaks. (I even restored a previous version of my registry before making some of the tweaks mentioned in this site and some others related to a program called DRTCP. Hope I didn't screw up anything too bad.

When I did the ipconfig /all, it only gave me one value for DNS Servers (205.188.146.146). What should I use for the second value?

Also, for my network connections on the XP box I have 3 values:

1394 Connection (I disabled this one since I didn't think I was using it)
DSL Modem (Creative Broadband Blaster 8012U-V)
Local Area Connection (Intel PRO/1000 CT Network Connection)

Should I implement the changes you suggest for TCP/IP properties for both the DSL Modem and Local Area Connection?

[mccoffee]

NOt to be a jerk don't do any other reg tweaks except the ones i give you on this thread with aol tweaks don't work what i'm doing below is to fix that lan dely and restore defaults to get you up and running smooth.
Do the ip addresses just for the local area network or lan Dns use this one 205.188.146.146 that's alright sometimes there is two a primary and secondary sometimes it's just one that's fine were almost done


1.in your internet explorer type 192.168.0.1 login using your username and password i'm not sure if this extectly how to get to this tab look for wan setup options look for mtu size change your mtu to 1400 on the router. If you can't find it do a quick search for mtu in the manual it's in there. This should help on web page delay

Try thease in the optimizer which is below me to download and install with aol you cant and souldn't try tweaking it thease settings are resetting to defaults

elect - dsl
check - custom settings
network adapter selection -
check modify all adapters
maxmtu -1400
TTL - 64
TCP Receive Window leave Blank
MTU Discovery - yes
Black Hole Detect - no
Selective Acks - yes
Max Dup ACKs - 2
TCP 1323 nothing is checked

[Starman311]

Thanks again Mccoffee. Sorry about going ahead on my own. Won't do anything more w/o your advice.

I had already made the TCP/IP settings to the DSL modem also. Should I undo these and just leave the setting to get IP address automatically for that network device? Or is it ok to leave these set to specific IP addresses for that device?

Re: Router Setup Screen, under the Basic Settings, there is a setting for the DNS Address. This is currently set to "Get Automatically From ISP". Should I also set this to the specific DNS address I'm using in the TCP/IP settings for the LAN device (i.e., 205.188.146.146)?

I made the MTU change to 1400 on the router. I also made the TCPOptimizer changes you suggested.

I did another speed test. Results below:

2004-08-28 18:17:15 EST: 338 / 203
Your download speed : 346924 bps, or 338 kbps.
A 42.3 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 208170 bps, or 203 kbps.

This is significantly slower for the download speed than my original posting.

TCP Analyzer Results:

TCP properties for IP = xxxx ()
Browser/OS = Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)
Notes: Read the Analyzer FAQ if the above is not your IP address.

TCP options string = 0204052a01010402
MTU = 1362
MTU is not fully optimized for broadband. Consider increasing your MTU to 1500 for better throughput.
MSS = 1322
MSS is not fully optimized for broadband (although it might work well for slower connections). Consider increasing your MTU value.

Default Receive Window (RWIN) = 65280
RWIN Scaling (RFC1323) = 0 bits
Unscaled Receive Window = 65280

For optimum performance, consider changing RWIN to a multiple of MSS.
Other values for RWIN that might work well with your current MTU/MSS:
507648 (MSS x 48 * scale factor of 8)
253824 (MSS x 48 * scale factor of 4)
126912 (MSS x 48 * scale factor of 2)
63456 (MSS x 48)
bandwidth * delay product (Note this is not a speed test):

Your RcvWindow limits you to: 2611.2 kbps (326.4 KBytes/s) @ 200ms
Your RcvWindow limits you to: 1044.48 kbps (130.56 KBytes/s) @ 500ms
MTU Discovery (RFC1191) = OFF
Time to live left = 55 hops

TTL value is ok.
Timestamps (RFC1323) = OFF
Selective Acknowledgements (RFC2018) = ON
IP type of service field (RFC1349) = 00000000

How should I proceed from here?

Also, I'm curious. When you had me reset the settings using TCPOptimizer, you indicated to use the "DSL" setting rather than the "DSL (PPPoE)" setting. I thought I read in several message threads that the "DSL (PPPoE)" setting was the one appropriate for AOL DSL. Is this not the case? Does it matter that much? What's the difference?

Thanks.

[mccoffee]

Should I undo these and just leave the setting to get IP address automaticall yep undo it


No the optimzier cable or dls setting doesn't apply that just makes the rwin for you but even if you did use ppo3 then your mtu would still be off because aol usues an mtu of 1400


Your mtu is still off reboot the machine after you setup your lan connection and also verify in the router that mtu is set and enabled

The dns on the rotuer leave that alone.

[Starman311]

Thanks again for your help Mccoffee.

I've reboot my pc several times. I've also checked the value in the router settings for MTU and also in TCPOptimizer. It says 1400. However, TCPAnalyzer still shows 1362 as shown below. Not sure why it isn't taking effect. Is there a way to set it to 1400 directly in the registry?

Are there any other tweaks I should make?

Also, some other related questions:

1. What should be the settings on the Authentification tab for TCP/IP?

2. What should be the settings on the Advanced > DNS and WiNS tabs?

3. Should I also make the changes recommended on the Tips webpage http://forums.speedguide.net/showthread.php?t=73799 under "Other important recommendations"?

4. I'm still confused re: connecting my DSL modem to router and my pc. Currently, the modem is connected to my pc using a USB connection. It also connects to the wireless router with a network cable. The router is then connected to my pc's NIC using a network cable. These were the directions provided by Netgear for making the connections. Is this the correct configuration considering one of the recommendations that the modem should not be connected to the pc thru the USB port?

5. Should I implement the Cablenut program?

6. When I run the Network Diagnostics thru Win XP on my network, I get an error on my DSL Modem indicating DHCP Server has an invalid IP address of 255.255.255.255. I'm not even sure how this value gets associated with the DSL modem since I have it set to automatically obtain an IP address. What should I do about this? (The modem gets a "Passed" rating so apparently this is not a critical error.)

Thanks.

Current speedtest values are shown below:

2004-08-29 20:46:55 EST: 500 / 206
Your download speed : 512736 bps, or 500 kbps.
A 62.5 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 211584 bps, or 206 kbps.

TCP Analyzer results:

TCP properties for IP = xxxxx()
Browser/OS = Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)
Notes: Read the Analyzer FAQ if the above is not your IP address.

TCP options string = 0204052a01010402
MTU = 1362
MTU is not fully optimized for broadband. Consider increasing your MTU to 1500 for better throughput.
MSS = 1322
MSS is not fully optimized for broadband (although it might work well for slower connections). Consider increasing your MTU value.

Default Receive Window (RWIN) = 65280
RWIN Scaling (RFC1323) = 0 bits
Unscaled Receive Window = 65280

For optimum performance, consider changing RWIN to a multiple of MSS.
Other values for RWIN that might work well with your current MTU/MSS:
507648 (MSS x 48 * scale factor of 8)
253824 (MSS x 48 * scale factor of 4)
126912 (MSS x 48 * scale factor of 2)
63456 (MSS x 48)
bandwidth * delay product (Note this is not a speed test):

Your RcvWindow limits you to: 2611.2 kbps (326.4 KBytes/s) @ 200ms
Your RcvWindow limits you to: 1044.48 kbps (130.56 KBytes/s) @ 500ms
MTU Discovery (RFC1191) = OFF
Time to live left = 55 hops

TTL value is ok.
Timestamps (RFC1323) = OFF
Selective Acknowledgements (RFC2018) = ON
IP type of service field (RFC1349) = 00000000

[mccoffee]

answer for 1. don't need that don't change anything
2. Goto startmenu run type cmd then type ipconfig/all write down what it saids for dns server settings and that is what you use for dns. You don't need wins

your subent mask should be 255.255.255.0


Why isn't your mtu up to 1400

[Starman311]

Mccoffee, thanks for your response, however, I'm still unclear. Re: Authentification question in my last message, the current setting indicates that "Enable IEEE802 Tx authentification" is checked. Should I leave this checked?

Re: DNS tab under Advanced, should "Append primary and connection specific DNS suffixes" be checked? What about "Register this connection's addresses..." Currently both of these are checked.

Re: the subnet mask, I have set this value in the TCP/IP settings for the LAN connection. However, as I indicated in my last message, the DSL network device is set to automatically obtain an IP address yet the network test I did indicates "DHCP Server has an invalid IP address of 255.255.255.255"

What should I do about this? (The modem gets a "Passed" rating so apparently this is not a critical error.) Do I need to set this specifically somewhere else in my network settings for the DSL modem?

Re: the MTU setting, as I mentioned in my last message, I've reboot my pc several times. I've also checked the value in the router settings for MTU and also in TCPOptimizer. It says 1400. However, TCPAnalyzer still shows 1362 as shown below. Not sure why it isn't taking effect. Or is the TCPAnalyzer program not picking up the correct MTU value? Is there a way to check or set it to 1400 directly in the registry?

Could you also address questions 3, 4, and 5 in my previous message?

Thanks.

[mccoffee]

Enable IEEE802 Tx authentification" unchecked

TCP/IP settings for the LAN connection. However, as I indicated in my last message, the DSL network device is set to automatically obtain an IP address yet the network test I did indicates "DHCP Server has an invalid IP address of 255.255.255.255"
"You don't need it in the dsl connection leave that one alone

For the mtu if your router has any features called vitrual private network disable them

With the mtu my guess is that analyzer is reading it wrong

[Starman311]

Thanks again Mccoffee. Just a few more questions.

Re: DNS tab under Advanced for LAN connection TCP/IP, should "Append primary and connection specific DNS suffixes" be checked? What about "Register this connection's addresses..." Currently both of these are checked.

Is there a way to check or set the MTU value directly in the registry?

Should I also make the changes recommended on the Tips webpage http://forums.speedguide.net/showthread.php?t=73799 under "Other important recommendations"?

I'm still confused re: connecting my DSL modem to router and my pc. Currently, the modem is connected to my pc using a USB connection. It also connects to the wireless router with a network cable. The router is then connected to my pc's NIC using a network cable. These were the directions provided by Netgear for making the connections. Is this the correct configuration considering one of the recommendations that the modem should not be connected to the pc thru the USB port?

Should I implement the Cablenut program and associated settings for DSL?

Is there anything else I can do to fine tune my settings?

Thanks.

[YeOldeStonecat]

Starman your questions about the advanced DNS settings, and WINS...WINS you will not use on broadband, those are for legacy networks with NT servers. As for the register DNS and other advanced settings, you also will not be using those on broadband, those are for Active Directory networks....something in business/enterprise networks, not home broadband setups. Just leave those DNS settings as default.

[mccoffee]

Thanks again Mccoffee. Just a few more questions.

Re: DNS tab under Advanced for LAN connection TCP/IP, should "Append primary and connection specific DNS suffixes" be checked? What about "Register this connection's addresses..." Currently both of these are checked.

Is there a way to check or set the MTU value directly in the registry?

Should I also make the changes recommended on the Tips webpage http://forums.speedguide.net/showthread.php?t=73799 under "Other important recommendations"?

I'm still confused re: connecting my DSL modem to router and my pc. Currently, the modem is connected to my pc using a USB connection. It also connects to the wireless router with a network cable. The router is then connected to my pc's NIC using a network cable. These were the directions provided by Netgear for making the connections. Is this the correct configuration considering one of the recommendations that the modem should not be connected to the pc thru the USB port?

Should I implement the Cablenut program and associated settings for DSL?

Is there anything else I can do to fine tune my settings?

Thanks.

Don't do any tweaks with aol and tweaks it doesn't work aol cannont be tweaked to begin with

[Starman311]

Thanks Mccoffee. What about the MTU setting? Do I still need to try to change that? Is there a way to view/change it directly in the registry?

I'm also still experiencing the slow startup problem I initially described in my first message. It takes a full 2+ minutes to fully load my network connections. It also takes approx 1 minute to shutdown Windows.

Furthermore, since making the changes above, I am getting an error every other time (approx) I boot up that says: get_enumEveryConnection. This forces me to reboot to get an operable network connection. Is there anything I can do to eliminate this problem?

[mccoffee]

I would try a repair install in xp just to get you back at defaults and setup the static or manual ips on your computer again and see if your mtu get's to 1400 also that repair will revert back to default and hopefully undo every tweaked you did

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm