Gradually slowing transfer speeds

Download speeds drop gradually and quick during single transfer?

[SEOdevhead]

Hey guys, I have a dedicated server that I serve a lot of online video and downloads with. I notice that when I download large files from my server, they start off fast (say 450kb/sec) but gradually but rather quickly, fall to 150kb/sec and hold.

I was told before to check and make sure my server was not running at half-duplex, and I contacted my managed host and they double checked and said it certainly was not. I am on a 8mbs Comcast Cable connection, so it could be on my end, but it seems odd that this is happening with my server and I get fast downloads from other servers all the time.

Is this a result of my server or does this sound like my ISP? Thanks for your help and advice.

[DamonHD]

Hi,

How are you measuring the download speed?

If you are trusting what your browser reports then be aware that some start downloading while you are still in the "Save as..." dialog[ue], and count all that they have downloaded during that time as having happened instantly, so you will often see an apparent drop-off in throughput.

Alternatively, it could be that TCP/IP is slowing the connections because of packet loss and/or some intermediate router (eg at your ISP) is performing "traffic shaping" and throttling your connection after the first few kBytes to give priority to other interactive traffic.

Rgds

Damon