Sorry to come late to this party. OP - (I think OP was Swan??) you need more bandwidth and your upload is probably the thing killing you not your download. Slow upload speeds can throttle your download because confirmation data can't be uploaded fast enough to keep up with download capacity. I was just joking with a guy the other day on an on-site field call... They were running a FiOS 150/50 line through a crappy Linksys home router (a WRT54G). Most home/retail routers can't push more than 10-35mbit through them sustained. Depending on the wireless configurations and depending on how old they are they can be pretty slow and terrible to trade on. Here is a $150-$200 solution that'll get your home setup to equal or rival most businesses and small hedge funds: (I wish someone would sticky this because I'm sick of typing it out) First of all - plug your computer directly into the modem (I know its a pain in the ass and i scream bloody murder when TWC tells me to do it but they have a point) and redo your speedtest. I have no idea what type of computer/motherboard you are using but consider using an extra add-in NIC vs. the onboard Motherboard NIC. The onboard ones use CPU and system memory and bus bandwidth wheras you can buy a server-grade NIC that's got it's own onboard processor and buffers, etc. so it'll help to both speed up your machine AND make your internet connection more reliable. I recommend Intel's Pro 1000 NICs. Get them on eBay used - they are cheap... buy two if you are uncomfortable with used. They are only going cheap because they are a bit old for datacenters but they are awesome NICs. I buy the Intel Pro 1000 MT (PCI-X) and the Intel Pro 1000 PT (PCI-e). Dual-port is fine. The MT is going to be less than $15 shipped and the PT is going to run a bit more (plan on spending $50-60 but you can get lucky and snag them for $25-$30 each... I look all day every day for those deals though ). They are both MORE than fine to handle your needs. The PT can handle really up to a full gig connection but the MT is starting to get a bit old and I don't like using them in applications requiring over 100mbit sustained @ full duplex. So re-test with your machine plugged in. Spend $15-$20 on eBay and get a decent NIC. Next... What kind of router are you using? Do you have TWC's SMC modem (the DOCSIS 3.0) or do you have one of those tiny grey square ones? Computers should never be plugged directly into routers. You should always have your WAN >> Modem >> Router >> Switch >> Computers & Devices. Or in the case of a wireless access point... WAN >> Modem >> Router >> Switch >> Wireless Access Point >> laptops, phones, POS devices, etc. Spend a bit of cash and buy a Linksys RV042 dual-WAN wired router. $50 on ebay - get a used one, upgrade the firmware and be done with it. This is the lowest end of their RV line (they make RV042, RV082 & RV016). This is all 100mbit (NOT gigabit) however this is small business and these routers can handle 100mbit traffic at full duplex (meaning download 100mbit at same time as you upload 100mbit). They have dual-WAN and they have plenty of VPN capacity. They are lacking in the port-forward area but for most people that's OK. VNC is fine but multiple Remote Desktop gets to be a pain because port forwarding is only A:A not dynamic like A:B or A:F (where A, B & F are all port numbers). Your home internet connection is never going to be over 100mbit on TWC so don't waste the $$ on a gigabit small business router when you only need 100meg. Or if you have the cash - spend the $600 on a decent gig router but if you do send me a PM because I'll either have some decent used stuff to sell you or keep trying to talk you out of it. So at this point you spend hopefully $15 on a Intel Pro 1000 MT dual-port NIC. $50 on a Linksys RV042 router (and have updated the firmware) and now you need a switch. I'm partial to Dell. I like them even though the latest firmware is a bit buggy with Chrome & IE9. They are awesome, reliable and a few years ago used to be really expensive. I like Dell's PowerConnect 2716 (16-port) managed gigabit switches. The 2708 is fine but 8-ports go quick and the 2724 has a built in fan and its pretty darn loud (which sucks at home). You can turn the rack mount ears 90 degrees and mount them to a wall, or lay them on a shelf. Easy, cheap ($50) and REALLY robust for a home network. That's $115 so far and all you need to do is plug your existing home/retail wireless router into your Dell PowerConnect 2716 switch and you have a wireless access point plus 14 open ports on your switch to attach computers, printers, etc. You can control your wireless network (throttle your kids during school vacation weeks so you can still trade) separately from your wired network, setup VPNs or even get a second DSL/dialup connection to run with your dual-WAN Linksys RV042 small business router and you have also helped your computer's performance by freeing up system resources and pushing them off to a dedicated server-grade network card. All for $150-$200... or if you are a good eBay'er you can get it for much less. If you do all of the above (even if you don't and your test results with PC plugged directly into the modem are similar to previous) I'd raise bloody hell with TWC. They may need to replace the cable between the pole & your house - which is THEIR COST NOT YOURS IT IS IN YOUR CONTRACT THAT THEY OWN EVERYTHING UP TO THE MODEM. Make them start replacing wires... make them give you advertised speeds... And if you can swing $100/month see if they offer the Wide-Band service (50 down 5 up) its pretty good and I've been happy with it. I know this has been a really long post but in all seriousness your router could be the bottleneck (or part of it). Think of it this way - i live in NYC by lots of Columbia University dorms/students. I can see over 50 access points & SSIDs when I look up what's out there on my laptop. If you were your router you are a dumb device - you send out a wireless signal and look for people with the right access code. Your router's CPU is probably something like 300hz (like 0.3ghz) and it's got to deal with deciding who belongs and who doesn't. My dad worked from home for a while in a very residential neighborhood and we sat there one day and I showed him how even the people walking their dogs down the street... the router saw their blackberry or iPhone and had to process it. In NYC I have to shut down my SSID and use filtering to block all - but in a residential neighborhood you can probably not worry about security as much however you still need to know that your home & kids & neighbors, etc. all have stuff that's slowing down your router. Isolate it and put it on a separate port on a switch, give it an advertised 10mbit (or 5??) bandwidth allocation during trading hours and you'll notice a massive difference. 30 paragraphs later I need to do a bit of work so I can pay the bills. Happy to answer questions or PMs about this stuff. Cheers!
Latency is true and important. Bloomberg requires only a T1 connection (1.54mbps) for 5-9 terminals - that said, if the OP's upload speed was equal to his download speed I think he'd have a different experience. I wouldn't be surprised if he's pushing close to or more than .5mbps uploads and he's testing right around there. It depends on his broker & feeds but I'd bet he's at least .25mbps upload sustained and probably closer to .35-.45 sustained. That means that no matter what the latency he'll hang before he can even get the data.
winston - thanks for all that information. i've got it put aside for when i upgrade my existing setup. swan - i have TWC and over the past few years, they've found that there is problems with: 1) wire from outside -> house 2) wiring INSIDE house 3) cable modem too old. those were not from one problem, but over the years.
Winston / gaj ... Many thanks for the input. I am weak on the tech side and it will take me time to absorb this but I am sure in the coming weeks I will benefit. Again ... MANY thanks!!
Winston, I am having basically the same issue as the OP. I suspect part of it is that my router and modem are several years old. It's not really affecting me but it is annoying to not get what you're paying for. I wish you would expand a bit on the need for a switch and why, as you wrote, you shouldn't plug the PC directly into a router. I am running a pretty basic 4 PC setup on a hardwired router and from time to time I need to free up an extra port for my wife's use. Being able to plug in a wireless router for her would be ideal.
If someone has a router and multiple computers and they want to benchmark the datarate, shouldn't they bypass the router and connect to a single computer for the most accurate result?
Winston, I am also wondering why the need for a switch? I do understand the theory of separating the wireless from the router so that the router doesn't have to deal with the wireless traffic.
Interesting. Didn't know about the NIC. I too am confused about the use of the switch with the router and would like an idiot guide please.
This is my latest result using Time Warner's speed test from their new modem to their central office: Download Speed: 30957 kbps (3869.6 KB/sec transfer rate) Upload Speed: 5159 kbps (644.9 KB/sec transfer rate) I assume, but do not know, that these two go through my router: Speedtest.net Down: 30.57 Mbps Up: 5.17 Mbps Ping: 11 ms Speakeasy.Com (To Chicago): Down: 23.57 Mbps Up: 5.09 Mbps I believe I have a 10 x 100 Ethernet Card in the three year old Dell. These numbers make sense for a guy who rarely has more than a dozen charts open? Many thanks.