I take it 100 mbps is faster than 10 mbps

[Brendan]

Hi
I`m running xp pro with a a cable modem as internet
access.
a realtek rtl 8139 network card is installed.

in windows task manager > networking tab
my link speed is 10 Mbps (dslreports.com says 1050 Kbps),
I needed to connect a second pc so I got a router(edmax 6104s) and set the
network up ok.
now in windows task manager it says my link speed is 100Mpbs
(dslreports.com says 2348 Kbps)
if I disconnect the router my speed goes back to 10 Mbps.
I take it 100mbps is faster than 10 mbps
so why is it faster with a router?
and how can I get my link speed to stay at 100mbps without the router ?

Thanks
Brendan

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

Hi
I`m running xp pro with a a cable modem as internet
access.
a realtek rtl 8139 network card is installed.

in windows task manager > networking tab
my link speed is 10 Mbps (dslreports.com says 1050 Kbps),
I needed to connect a second pc so I got a router(edmax 6104s) and set the
network up ok.
now in windows task manager it says my link speed is 100Mpbs
(dslreports.com says 2348 Kbps)
if I disconnect the router my speed goes back to 10 Mbps.
I take it 100mbps is faster than 10 mbps
so why is it faster with a router?
and how can I get my link speed to stay at 100mbps without the router ?

Thanks
Brendan

What you're seeing is normal, Brendan, and it doesn't indicate a
problem anywhere.

The reported link speed is the maximum rated speed of the device that
your network card connects to. It's always higher (sometimes much
higher) than the actual data transfer speed between your network card
and the other device.

Your network card can connect at either 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps. It
connects at 100 Mbps to devices (like the router) that are capable of
that speed. It connects at 10 Mbps to devices (like the cable modem)
that can only run at 10 Mbps.

So, you can't make the link speed stay at 100 Mbps when connecting
directly to the cable modem, since the cable modem's maximum rated
speed is 10 Mbps. Even if you could, it wouldn't make any difference,
because the maximum actual data transfer speed supported by your ISP
is probably less than 3 Mbps. A connection with a rated speed of 10
Mbps is more than sufficient.

Speed test results like the ones from dslreports.com can vary widely,
since they depend on the entire path from their sever to your computer
over the Internet.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

 

[Larry]

Brendan, your link speed between any 10/100 devices would
move to the higher speed, as long as both devices are
capable of 10/100. the cable modem has no need to connect
at a higher rate due to the cable access is usually 1.5mb
or less. if your network has numerous computers useing
10/100 network cards and as well uses a 10/100
switch/router/hub...then the connection speed between the
computers should be 100. Unless, there is some sort of
issue stopping the faster connection of 100.

 

[David Geesaman]

Task Manager reports the speed of the network card. This means the
connection between your computer and router are 100Mbit/s. The connection
from your computer to the cable modem appears to be 10Mbit/s when set up
that way. Windows tries to automatically find the right connection speed
for your card and whatever it's connected to. Check your cable modem to see
if it's designed to connect at 100Mbit/s. Many aren't.

DSL Reports is reading the download speed from your cable modem to their
site. This is usually much slower than the network cards, no more than
2Mbit/s for download and .2Mbit/s for upload. Internet traffic and other
factors can reduce it further, so YMMV.

Doing the math, you will see no difference in performance for Internet work
if your network card is running at 100Mbit/s or 10Mbit/s. You'll still be
throttled by the cable modem speed. Only if you move files from one local
computer to another or play seriously fast network games will you see a
difference using 100Mbit.

Dave