Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

Hi Folks.
Been reading loads on the site to find help for my problem but had no luck.

I recently got a modem upgrade from my old Terayon modem to the ntl 250 and since then things have gone from bad to worse.
My Browsing speed and file downloads from major websites are great but my download speeds from my usenet provider have dropped to next to nothing.

I'm with newshosting and have been for a long time and never had any problems before. I am now getting speeds of 30-40 KB/sec at best.
I've been on to tech' support and they say there are no problems but have promised to look into it and get back to me.
I'm trying to remain positive but am starting to feel that this may have been implemented by NTL as a form of capping.

Has anyone else had similer problems and if so, how were they resolved.

I've tried the various ports on newshosting but it stays the same.

In 5 years with NTL broadband, i have never had any problems with usenet access and as i say, it only started when i got my modem upgrade.

Sorry to ramble on and thanks in advance for any help/ideas.

Thanks

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

Just out of interest what is usenet???

Just another P2P??

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

Yes.


Do you have any other news hosts to try? You have news.cable.ntlworld.com.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

not really, usenet is an 'add on' to email, that lets you read messages posted in the 'public domain', not just your own 'inbox' - encoding systems such as YEnc enable compatibility of the basic newsgroup text format with 'multimedia' files :)

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

I'm the same on news.cable.ntlworld.com

Since I was upgraded to 10mb i've been having trouble keeping a consistant speed. Been getting 50-200k/s and it starts and stops all the time.

I also have the ntl:250 modem.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

Hi Darone, I also use news.hosting, I max out most times at 1.2mb/s I also use the ntl news server news.ntlworld.com that sometimes kicks in at 700Kbs... try adding the same unlimited.newshosting.com server I think your allowed 8 connections thru the same server? this will help max out your connection.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

do traceroute to the news server, use their site to do traceroute's to yourself. Raise your rwin to 256960 and enable large tcp windows.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

What happens if you try another port?
From http://newshosting.com/support/faq/#7

Although it's not blocked, I'd give 3128 a spin.

Lordy

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

Hi again folks,

I've tried all the ports listed and it's just as bad. I know it's not a problem with newshosting as i've always managed superb speed from them.

I just find it strange that its only my newsgroup access that has slowed to a crawl.
I'm gonna try the ntl servers and i'll let you know.

I have been on to tech support but found that a deppressing experience. They used to have some very smart people there but now all i get is "reboot modem, shutdown computer, etc, etc."

Thanks again for your interest.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

I remember reading somewhere that Newshosting keeps having trouble with NTL based customers (don't know why). Maybe you should try out another provider? I use powerusenet and max out 2mb all the time.

---------- Post added at 07:41 ---------- Previous post was at 07:38 ----------

No, it's not another P2P. Usenet is much, much better. Check out www.slyck.com and read the tutorials on usenet, fire up a binary reader and kiss Bit Torrent/Edonkey and their sorry, spyware laden, IP advertising derivatives goodbye.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

I have been using newshosting for months now. Never seem to have a problem with them. You can use ports 7000,8000,9000 with newshosting. I have been using port 7000 with 8 slots open. hope that helps

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

Tried port 7000, 8000 and 9000 plus all others listed but it makes no difference.

I've just tried the news.ntlworld.com server and it maxed out my connection.
Very strange.
I know many others have reported that newshosting is great for them and it has allways been great for me. I'm at a loss to understand whats happening.

UPDATE,

I've just signed up with Giganews and have a 1gb trial and my download speed is amazing, completely maxing out my 10mb connection. Still don't know why newshosting should have dropped so slow for me as i have been very impressed with their service till now and it seems to be great for others.

Oh well, one of lifes mysteries i guess.

Cheers

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

Probably a bit late now but also check out Easynews. They allow direct binary downloading (not via NNTP which increases the file size by about 25%). This means that
1) You get you files even faster. (if not when you max out your shiney 10mb connection you are still wasting 2.5mpbs)

2) You get more before you hit any caps.

3) You dont have to mess about with binary newsreaders. As a die hard ex 'xnews' user for many years - I've found it MUCH better simply using a web based interfaced and downloading stuff using a regular download manager.

Also they have
4) AutoUnrar feature.
5) Roll-over gigs.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

Well you didnt do the traceroutes which would have helped to diagnose, its possible there is congestion problems with ntl's peering that affects some areas to newshosting since we know ntl do not route their entire userbase over the same external routes.

Here is my trace to the unlimited server.

1 8 ms 7 ms 8 ms UBR [10.8.143.254]
2 13 ms 13 ms 12 ms leic-t2cam1-b-ge914.inet.ntl.com [82.3.35.213]
3 21 ms 20 ms 30 ms leic-t2core-b-ge-210-0.inet.ntl.com [82.3.33.134
]
4 10 ms 48 ms 44 ms nth-bb-b-so-230-0.inet.ntl.com [62.253.188.114]

5 45 ms 12 ms 20 ms pop-bb-a-so-100-0.inet.ntl.com [213.105.172.14]

6 15 ms 19 ms 24 ms pop-bb-b-ae0-0.inet.ntl.com [213.105.172.77]
7 122 ms 22 ms 19 ms amst-ic-1-as0-0.inet.ntl.com [62.253.188.94]
8 20 ms 19 ms 19 ms j1.ams.sc.net [195.69.145.42]
9 103 ms 105 ms 104 ms unknown.iad.scnet.net [205.234.191.253]
10 133 ms 106 ms 122 ms gw5-newshosting.iad.scnet.net [66.225.244.162]
11 117 ms 107 ms 103 ms 63.218.45.254

As you can see it goes to america but via amsterdam which isnt the most direct path which would possibly affect speeds to them. All the return routes look good but they are to my ntl proxy server and not myself so there is a small chance the routing is different.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

Newshosting maxing out for me in cambridge.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

Very strange, im using newshosting and maxing out my 10mb connection, have you tried opening up more connections. Im on the unlimited package, but I still need to open 8 connections to get the max out of my 10mb connection.

If i only use 4 connections, i get about 500k/sec.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

I can get my 10mb from easynews with 4 or 5 connections generally.
I've been considering Giganews because they have a good name and also a euro server, but the speed test for them is very bad on NTL from about 12pm onwards here, which is amazing being as it only needs to go to Amsterdam, looks like more poor peering at NTL :(

http://www.giganews.com/test_connect.html

Gives 10mb or almost so early in the morning and late at night, but the rest of the time its lucky to go above 1 mb...could be the proxies I guess.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

I've tried opening upto 8 connections but it's just as slow.
On Giganews, i also got a slow test speed from the above site, but when connecting with my newsreader, it downloads at full 10Mb.

The whole newshosting thing is very bizarre, i used to get full speed but in the last two weeks it went downhill fast.

Oh, by the way, i've still had no response from Ntl tech' support but Newshosting responded within 12 hours. I have nothing bad to say about them and their service. I firmly believe Ntl are at fault here.

Cheers

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

Did u try other ports apart from 119... try 7000 8000 or 9000. I am maxing out on newshosting, but need 8 connections I also have 2 NTL connections open that when in use are downloading way faster than the newshosting server. and when testing my connection on that giganews site, on both tests I only get 1mb.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

interesting so the slow speedtest isnt true reflection of giganews speed. You would think they would make sure the speedtest gives good results to get customers.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

Maybe the web site speed test does give a true reflection, perhaps the NTL proxies are once again to blame ?

I'd be interested to hear from any other NTL 10mb customers that use Giganews as to the speeds they can get from their Euro server at all times of the day....

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

I'm on 10 meg and giganews. Great speed early morning till about 11am then it is complete pants. When i was on 3 meg i could max out the connection any time of day, since 10 meg has been introduced giganews after lunchtime is a complete waste of time. In the evening i'm lucky to get 1 meg let alone 10. :(

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

I got the same results from giganews with and without proxy.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

using the ntl news server i'm getting terrible speeds for the past week (or nothing at all) - maybe it will settle down in a week.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

I usually get nothing at all (idle) from the NTL servers, thats because the item I'm looking for isnt available thru the NTL servers... but when the item I want is on the NTL server, I get very good speeds. :tu:

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

yeah i usually get good speeds - its only been bad since i got back home from xmas - hopefully it will clear itself up soon :p:

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

yeah it is the proxies, using my squid which is hosted on a telia connection in germany I got 6mbit which isnt bad considering its going from .nl to .de then back to .uk. Using ntl direct it barely hits 1 megabit at 2.15am.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

Newshosting still maxed out in Cambridge using port 9000 and 15 connections in Newsleecher.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

15 connections !

I only need 3 or 4 to max out Easynews, I guess I'll scrub Newshosting off the list.

The NTL server is all but unusable here for bodies, headers are great, but bodies either time out or take about 6 seconds to start to come in and then time out...

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

My Giganews access (Woking) has been stuffed ever since the 10mb rollout. Ok up until mid afternoon or so then down to 1.5mb or less. Used to max out the 3mb connection no problem. I assume its down to saturated NTL peering.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

I had the same problem with newshosting which is why i changed to giganews. A common problem with NTL and newshosting apparantly

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

same here in london i used to max out my 1mbit now i hardly get 20k

im using news.cable.ntlworld.com

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

I used Usenet years ago, when i first started using a PC, then stopped.

Having seen this thread and a few others, i thought i would give it another bash. I cannot believe i spent the last 5-6 years without it... what was i thinking of :erm:

Currently downloading from NTL servers at a respectable 350-400kb/s.

Could i ask though when you peeps are talking about having more than one connection to servers what do you mean exactly, its been a long time ;)

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

i'm using news.ntlworld.com and it seems to be a lot better last night and now, touch wood.

(to the guy above - many newsgroup programs (the one i use does) can download multiple files at one time, thats all it means)

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

ATM, NTL's news servers are having serious problems. Using Newsbin as I've always done to download from NTL news and it's giving all sorts of errors:

Read or Write Timeout (dozens of these in Newsbins 'Status Messages'. It seems to timeout, then connects and downloads a few chunks then times out again and repeats this cycle.)
Body Failed - Post not on Server (retrying the failed file starts it downloading again proving the post IS on the server!!)
Error talking to Server: 400 Too Many Connections (not many of these)

These errors cause the download speed on my 2mb connection to plummet to about <512k speed!

Tried: news.ntli.net, news.cable.ntlworld.com and news.ntlworld.com. All giving roughly the same errors! This is in the Nottingham area.

Checked the Service Status page and Phoned the Service Status line and there is nothing outstanding for anything!! Anyone elese experiencing abysmal downloads from the news servers?

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

;) It's the newsreader(NEWSLEECHER) thats using 15 connections to download ONE file(it splits it up unlike other newsreaders), this gives you better speed. I wouldn't change Newshosting for anything it rules at that price (£8.60odd/mnth). :)

So unless i'm mistaken i'm only using 1 Newshosting connection with 15 newsleecher bots/connections. If i was using Newsbin as my newsreader i'd be using 3 or 4 real Newshosting connections.

Hope i haven't confused anyone as i've sure confused myself. ;)

---------- Post added at 23:09 ---------- Previous post was at 23:02 ----------

Newshosting said using port 9000 should help things. It was on their front page a few months ago.

---------- Post added at 23:19 ---------- Previous post was at 23:09 ----------

When you loadup your Newsreader software, Newsleecher,Newbin etc in the options it lets you set how many connections you want to use to connect to usenet(newshosting). In newsbins case if you set 4 connections in the options it will download 4 files at once which means it will utilise your connection speed far better than it would do if you only had 1 connection.

I remember when i tried 1 connection on newsbin i was getting 60k/sec but on trying 4 connections i was able to get 250k/sec which maxed out my 2Mb connection.

Also the .NZB file format makes it all worth the while. :) No more needing to download headers. You just load in the .nzb file into your newsreader and it gets the stuff you want.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

>In newsbins case if you set 4 connections in the options it will download 4 files at once which means it will utilise your connection speed far better than it would do if you only had 1 connection.<

The latest Newsbin opens many connections on the same file.
It also has the facility to simultaneously download all your group headers which can really speed things up.

Unfortunately the routing problems to easynews are no better, I currently need 20 connections to max out my 10meg conn. Actually it's only 8.1meg as I have a Tjet. :-(

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

I use newsbin and download 9 slots leaving one (with giganews) for headers. I also use easynews to create and export my own nzbs

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

Many thanks for replies, i will look at my settings for connections after work later. :)

I am using Forte Agent. Only reason i chose this one is because it is the one i used years ago, so i am familiar with some of it's workings. But a LOT of things have changed since i last used the service.

Just trying to get my head around PAR files and NZB files now. None of this was around when i last used the service (which i might add, was on good ole 56k) :erm:

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

use quickpar to repair your broken files as for NZB files they are just associated with NewZBin.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

Not anymore there not ;)

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

Just like to say thanks to everyone here for info.

I have now installed NewsLeecher and all i can say is.....

:D :D :D :D :D :D


Got 8 connections going now, what a program :Yikes:

/me waves goodbye to Agent :waving:

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

Well done. Now all you need to install is QUICKPAR to fix missing or broken files. http://www.quickpar.org.uk/

Message me if you need help finding links to Nzb sites as i'm not sure i'm allowed to post them?

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

oops! Maybe I should have said... NZB files were developed by the folks at NewzBin.com, a commercial newsgroup indexing site. :D

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

Lol found a nice looking free NZB writing website here ;) (free) http://binsearch.info/ (not fully looked so use at own risk)

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

lol keep looking ;) it took me a while but u get the good free ones in the end.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

there are quite a few about including this one http://alt.binaries.nl/

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

As others have posted links to NZB sites i thought i'd join in. Please delete if i've broken forum rules.

[edit] links removed as i thought better of it.

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

Don't need to m8 create my own anyway ;)

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

Seeing this too now..

I have been using powerusenet and hitting around 8Mbit (limited by my terayon), however it seems the past week I am seeing each thread max out at around 100kbit, if I open more threads I can go faster.... Friend is using Nildram and see's each thread hit around 200k/sec......

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

I can get great speeds from Giganews after 1am ....just tested and was getting 9614kbps but during the day and early evening it is a bag of cobblers, there's definately somethng not right and as has been said this has come about since the 10mb rollout

alanp3

Re: Very slow usenet access (newshosting)
 

Good read here: Who Is The Fastest News Provider