Dear support.

I have read numerous threads where you are explaining about factors affecting upload speed to your servers. However, I have a relyable ADSL connection and in no way can I only get a 2KB/s upload speed. If it was my connection, I would not be able to do video conferencing etc which works very well despite it being ADSL and not SDSL.

Even if you talk about small files and overheads there is no way you can be stuck on 2KB/s. I have just subscribed to an enterprise account and trying to get some data uploaded. Since I am based in the UK, shipping a disk to you is not an option. In any case, with as little as 100KB/s I can shift a lot of data in the time it takes to ship a disk.

Do you have server/bandwidth issues at the moment, or have I hit a snag in the software?

There is no server/bandwith issue reported to us.  In most cases, the upload speed for the majority of our UK customers is around 100 KB/s, Perhaps, you may check with your ADSL provider and see if anything went wrong. However, you are always welcome to contact us at support@drivehq.com if you still experience the same problem.

Every so often, a few customers will report slow upload speed. DriveHQ has over one million customers around the world, and with such a large user base, it is normal that some users may experience slow upload speed at certain times. Usually it is not a DriveHQ server related issue. We have very fast servers and virtually unlimited network bandwidth. There are several reasons why you might be getting slow upload speed:

(1) Connection type: A lot of Internet connections (e.g. ADSL/Cable Modem) are asymmetric. The download bandwidth is much bigger than upload bandwidth.

(2) Misunderstanding of bps and B/sec: 1Byte=8bits. In reality, 100KB/sec is about 800Kbps-1Mbps. DriveHQ client software displays upload speed as KB/sec. Other companies' software might display transfer speed as bps.

(3) Your file type and file size: Smaller files have more overhead. If you upload a lot of small files, the speed is usually slower. Also, if you upload image files, DriveHQ’s server will automatically create thumbnails and preview images, causing slower transfers.

(4) The biggest factor affecting transfer speed is the "slowest link" between your computer and DriveHQ’s data center. The connection from your computer to DriveHQ’s server goes through many links (similar to the highway system). Each link is operated by a different telecom backbone operator. The slowest link determines the actual connection speed. Please note the speed usually changes from time to time, so you will get different transfer rates at different times of the day. If you experience very slow connection speeds often, contact your ISP and ask them to troubleshoot your connection to DriveHQ’s server or change the routing to DriveHQ server.

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Solutions:

While the above problems are generic and affect all companies, DriveHQ has developed many technologies to mitigate the problem.

(1) Incremental upload/download: when you upload a large folder, DriveHQ’s client software (FileManager and Online Backup) automatically skip files that have not been changed, i.e. it only uploads and downloads new files or modified files. Your initial uploads may take some time, but subsequent uploads/downloads will be much faster.

(2) Data compression: File Manager and Online Backup automatically compress data for faster uploading/downloading. If your files are compressible, such as Microsoft Office documents and database files, upload speed can be 3-7 times faster. (.Zip, .JPG, .MP3, .mov, .wmv files are already compressed and cannot be compressed further).

(3) Local caching: When you use File Manager to open a remote file, it is automatically downloaded and cached in a local cache folder. If you open the file later, it will open immediately.

(4) Automatic resuming: when you have a slow connection speed, the connection tends to be less reliable. If upload/download is interrupted, DriveHQ client software can automatically resume when the connection is good again. This way, you can leave the software to run in the background while you work on other projects. It will finish uploading eventually.

(5) Magic Upload: In certain cases when "Magic Upload" can be used, upload speeds can be exponentially faster.
 

if you need to upload/backup a lot of data and if the connection speed is too slow,

. We can upload your data from our data center, which is much faster. Normally, we charge $49.99 for this service. But please feel free to contact us if you feel your upload speeds are unacceptable.

.

My upload speed has dropped considerably 400k to 60k. Same files and size. What is going on? Download is still good. The upload speed is a BIG problem.

Please read the previous support message carefully. I copy it below:

(1) Connection type: A lot of Internet connections (e.g. ADSL/Cable Modem) are asymmetric. The download bandwidth is much bigger than upload bandwidth.

If download speed is fine, it usually means our site is working fine. The slow upload speed is usually caused by your local connection speed. For example, a 6Mbps ADSL only has maximum 768Kbps of upload bandwidth, which is roughly about 90KB/Sec.

Dear Support,

Now you claim that it is the ISP upload speed: My current upload speed is around 60kbyte/s and download around 100kbyte/s. I get these numbers on a 10Mbit/40Mbit Cable. The 10/40 is guaranteed and I've never experinced slower bandwidth.

Yoy might take a look at latency times. When tracing the route from my computer to www.drivehq.com I can roughly devide the route into two segments. One fairly quick from my computer to 10gigabitethernet1-3.core1.sto1.he.net at 108 ms and a much slower segment at 684 the rest of the mesurable way. Tracert never get to see the whole route. Some of it apears to be hidden or not responding at all.

Ohh: I used Webdav when I mesured the transfere rate. FTP is actually a bit slower.

/Peter