upload speed question

[y2khardtop]

been uploading TONS of files, archiving photos etc. Anyway, I have an upload speed of 400kb/s. I understand this to be 400kilobytes/secon, or 0.4Megabytes per second.

However, while ftp-ing large files, I get actual speeds of around 30 kbps. In other words, it takes about 30 seconds to upload one megabyte.

Is something throttling me back, or is this the old Kilobits vs kilobytes issue (1byte=8bits).

Thanks

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

Upload /download speed are not only depending on your connection, but also with the target server capacity.

[-pops-]

400kb/s is 400 kilobits/second, not kilobytes, as you say.

This is all part of the terminology used to confuse the unwary into thinking they are getting better performance than they actually are.

Internet service providers try give the impression that their speeds are much higher than they actually are by using the "bit" as their standard unit whereas most others use "byte". A speed of whatever it is you think you are uploading at is not at all as impressive as your ISP would like you to think.

To be correct, the abbreviation for "bit" is "b", the abbreviation for "byte" is "B".

[y2khardtop]

thanks to both of you..... question answered!

[mcb2001]

just to add some even later replies...

The upload speed is also depending on the protocol (http, ftp, and so on), cause some protocols use loads of checks to see if the file is actually complete, and f.x. ftp often uses a small fraction of the bandwith to keep the line open (this can be disabled in most ftp programs), but this could easily add 1% less upload, which might also slow the dl.

Then there is the matter of TCP vs UDP which indeed also have large differences...

TCP checks all packages, UDP just goes on if one packet is lost.

And at the end, if your ISP (internet service provider) tells that you have 400kb/s in upload, that means that your upload is limited to roughly 400kb/s to the connecting server at your ISP, not to the outside world. this means that you can easily loose roughly 30% on top, cause they are only obligated to offer you 400kb/s from your computer to their server...