Overriding your isp's download limit.

[Craig Tucker]

Is there any way to override the cap set by your service provider. I am on 512k broadband which is about 70kB/sec. I notice sometimes when using P2P software that when a connection is first established the download rate can be 200kB/sec for about a second then reduces to the set limit.

Just wondering if any of you guys had any tweaks or workarounds to exceed the capped limit.

Craig

[devinemi83]

Sorry no. If it is set by your ISP you cant get around it. Only your ISP could then change your speed.

[Craig Tucker]

OK, thanks

Craig

[wellmashed]

I notice sometimes when using P2P software that when a connection is first established the download rate can be 200kB/sec for about a second then reduces to the set limit.

Craig

That's called a SPIKE and it comes from the file being in the servers cache.

As p2p is run off users harddrives it will happen if the people you are downloading off are not doing anything and when you connect you will take up every bit of bandwidth available and then their computers will level out to the normal speed.

You will get spikes off web servers as well when the file is just sat there doing nothing.

[Craig Tucker]

Thanks for the info wellmashed

Craig

[rplant]

I'd been wondering the same thing, and I've heard a lot about how you can mod your cable modem to get rid of local capping. In fact, I just read today about someone on some other forum who did just that. Apparently, a lot of download capping occurs at the cable modem itself, and if you change something (I have no idea what) on it, you can get faster transfer rates. I think it's worth reading more about. Here's the link to the other forum, if you want it:

http://www.sharkyforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=149619

(I don't think this thread says anything about actually modding your modem, but I know it says something about some caps being local. I'd also check out www.dslreports.com)

[pacmania_2001]

I have also heard something similar to this from a cable modem technician who worked for Comcast. Here is the conversation that we had on mIRC:

<Paco420> this is how they cap it:
<Paco420> when you first plug your modem in to the cable
<pacmania_2001> yeh
<Paco420> it sends a request to their server that it wants to get online
<pacmania_2001> yeh
<Paco420> it sends a unique MAC address
<pacmania_2001> yeh
<Paco420> they check to make sure you got account, etc etc
<Paco420> no when you do have account
<Paco420> now
<pacmania_2001> yeh
<Paco420> then send back to your modem
<Paco420> a 'boot configuration'
<Paco420> file
<Paco420> a small 4k file
<pacmania_2001> yeh
<Paco420> it is routing information and speed caps
<Paco420> and allows multiple ip addresses
<pacmania_2001> yeh, so you can hack it if you knew how
<Paco420> so is how you trick it
<Paco420> you have a diagnostic program you can download
<pacmania_2001> yeh
<Paco420> and you get the IP address of the TFTP server which is the name of the server that sends the boot file
<pacmania_2001> yeh
<Paco420> and the filename of your boot configuration file
<pacmania_2001> yeh
<Paco420> then you configure your computer to be the IP address of your cable modem and you download the boot configuration file
<pacmania_2001> yeh
<Paco420> now you use another program that edits the right bits
<Paco420> in the boot config file
<pacmania_2001> yeh
<Paco420> and now you configure your computer to be the IP of the TFTP server
<pacmania_2001> yeh
<Paco420> and run another program that is a TFTP server program
<pacmania_2001> yeh
<Paco420> and you send your cable modem the new modified file
<pacmania_2001> yeh
<Paco420> by doing that you could also reactive your service
<Paco420> but you would have to download a good boot file to edit first

[rplant]

Did you (pacmania_2001) manage to get any of that to work?

[pacmania_2001]

I never tried it myself because the guy said that you have to set up the fake server in Windows 2000/XP or Linux and I couldnt be bothered upgrading from my currently stable 98SE installation

[SupremeDementia]

http://www.xtechnet.net/content/uncap/home.htm

Maybe this will shed some light on the subject. I haven't tried it tough.

[hardbody6pack]

I've been messing around with that for a few days now, but my system does not let me receive the tftp server configuration filename or ip address. It's different from one cable modem to another. I have a terayon tera pro and I have read that it doesn't work on them. The best ones to mess with are the surboards by motorola.