Steam Download speeds

crpgnut · October 14, 2019

Anyone notice Steam slowing down a bit? I'm getting 14.4 MB/s peaks recently and I used to hit around 18 or so....My ISP (Charter/Spectrum) hasn't really changed from its top/average speeds in the same time frame.

JDR13 · October 15, 2019

Steam has been very inconsistent for me recently, although I can't say for sure whether the issue is on their end or mine.

Have you reset your modem lately? That can make a significant difference sometimes. My download speeds in general had been very slow the last few days, but they seem to be back to normal now after I did a reset.

crpgnut · October 15, 2019

Yep, rebooted my modem and router as part of the testing. Hmmm...I haven't looked at firmware updates in a while.

Shagnak · October 15, 2019

Have you tried playing with your download region in the Settings -> Download tab?
I went through a slow patch once (in NZ), so changed to an Australian server for a bit for a speed boost. No problem with NZ these days, though.

I have a 100Mbps connection that maxes out at 12MB/s, so 14MB/s sounds pretty fast to me

Pladio · October 15, 2019

Last thing I dled was at 21MB/s, so I thought that was amazing

I live in the UK so probably uses a different server though nut.

crpgnut · October 15, 2019

Well, part of my deal is that I typically download at the same time as the rest of the US

Drithius · October 15, 2019

Whenever I see discussions like this, I can't help by recall downloading mp3s at 1mb/HOUR 20 years ago on my 56k modem that only connected at 26,400 baud.

Carnifex · October 15, 2019

I'd have to say my speeds seem to vary wildly, usually pretty quick in the morning but if I try downloading something in the evening, it's at crawl speed.

you · October 15, 2019

Steam uses Akamai for downloads. If you can grab the ip and check the latency that might explain the issue. Each time you issue a download you will almost certainly grab a different ip given how Akamai mapping works and a modest change in latency is enough to change the mb/s.
-
You can probably grab the ip via netstat or most routers will have a web interface that should allow you to see the connections.

crpgnut said:
Yep, rebooted my modem and router as part of the testing. Hmmm…I haven't looked at firmware updates in a while.

SpoonFULL · October 15, 2019

you said:
Steam uses Akamai for downloads. If you can grab the ip and check the latency that might explain the issue. Each time you issue a download you will almost certainly grab a different ip given how Akamai mapping works and a modest change in latency is enough to change the mb/s.

Oops - I noticed Akamai service and start up schedule in my computer and thought that was a virus or a malicious program and removed it from my computer!

bjon045 · October 15, 2019

SpoonFULL said:
Oops - I noticed Akamai service and start up schedule in my computer and thought that was a virus or a malicious program and removed it from my computer!

Akamai is a "Content Delivery Network". You shouldn't see any services or anything on your computer, it's just when you try to download something it may come from one of their servers.

SpoonFULL · October 15, 2019

bjon045 said:
Akamai is a "Content Delivery Network". You shouldn't see any services or anything on your computer, it's just when you try to download something it may come from one of their servers.

It was actually in the Windows start up program list, and installed on the hard disk (I think in one of the system data/hidden folders). It had an uninstall program and I used it to remove it.

you · October 15, 2019

The only thing akamai has for download is a streaming agent but you have to manually install it so perhaps you did have a virus

Hum. They might also have had a download agent but not sure if they still do. Anyway these entities would be unrelated to steam downloads.
-
The streaming agent allows for multicast and error correcting packets as well as p2p (though i'm not sure if they are still experimenting with p2p)

SpoonFULL said:
It was actually in the Windows start up program list, and installed on the hard disk (I think in one of the system data/hidden folders). It had an uninstall program and I used it to remove it.

joxer · October 15, 2019

Not sure if it matters but for ages Steam download gave no problems on me except when Windows is downloading some silly "critical" update in the background, then I see some suspiciously low speeds but that doesn't last for long.

But I can't be 100% sure there are no hiccups or slowdowns on Steam's side. The thing is I set something to download then watch a movie or two, play some other game or go out and get drunk - I'm not watching what is happening during the whole download.

you · October 15, 2019

I believe you live in a more central location. In certain small territories the chances of getting a not-as-close server are smaller. In other areas it is much higher. Latency can have a huge impact on speed.
-
For those who are curious another thing you can do is tcp dump and see the negotiated window size - or conversely you can watch the tcp buffer size as well as measure packet loss and other factors that can impact performance.

joxer said:
Not sure if it matters but for ages Steam download gave no problems on me except when Windows is downloading some silly "critical" update in the background, then I see some suspiciously low speeds but that doesn't last for long.

But I can't be 100% sure there are no hiccups or slowdowns on Steam's side. The thing is I set something to download then watch a movie or two, play some other game or go out and get drunk - I'm not watching what is happening during the whole download.

Ivanwah · October 15, 2019

I've had it max out my bandwidth and I had it download at 50% speed with nothing else using the network in the background that would impact the download speed in a noticeable way. But most of the time it goes full speed.

Zloth · October 17, 2019

It's still all over the place for me. Sometimes it will cruise along at 500Mbits/s, other days it will just spit out tiny bursts of 10Mbits/s with big pauses in between.

Carnifex · October 17, 2019

Weekends tend to be quite slow for me if I'm downloading anything from Steam, Monday and Tuesday mornings tend to be just fine speed-wise. Not sure if that's a steam issue, an area thing, or perhaps my computer.

crpgnut · October 17, 2019

Yeah, my best download speeds are in the early mornings too. I just wonder if Steam needs a few more servers in flyover land.

you · October 17, 2019

Could be your internet provider being saturated - have you checked for packet loss or general latency outside your netblock ?

crpgnut said:
Yeah, my best download speeds are in the early mornings too. I just wonder if Steam needs a few more servers in flyover land.

Steam Download speeds

SasqWatch

SasqWatch

SasqWatch

SGLF Founder

Guardian of Nonsense

SasqWatch

Magic & Loss

SasqWatch

Lazy_dog

SasqWatch

SasqWatch

SasqWatch

Lazy_dog

The Smoker

Lazy_dog

Keeper of the Watch

I smell a... wumpus!?

SasqWatch

SasqWatch

Lazy_dog