It will depend on the O/S you're using?
Windows 7 and upwards has TCP Window scaling. Google it.
Congestion on your local VM connection is also a factor.
If your repeated tests via
http://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest.html never get a green line similar to the yellow line then you may have local congestion on your DOCSIS channels. Or it could be congestion over your wifi.
My connection over wifi:
[img]Download Failed (1)[/img]
This will also give you a clue about factors when connecting to web servers at a distance:
http://bradhedlund.com/2008/12/19/ho...istance-links/
The computer and cable modem will need to ramp up the throughput by negotiation with the end server.
Most if not all servers are rate limited. That is they will only deliver a limited speed per connection to the server. So multiple connections are required in order to get more throughput.