Are uploads supposed to affect download speed?

[John73John]

I've had Hughes for several years now and so far I've been pretty happy with it.

I'm trying to upload a 4GB video file to YouTube. This is the first time I've done a large upload. I noticed that whenever the upload is running it absolutely KILLS my download rate. Streaming (on any platform) becomes impossible. It even loads IMAGES slowly, and sometimes I try to go to a site and get a momentary "cannot be reached" message (I haven't seen a connection THAT slow since the 1990's!).

Conventional wisdom with any other type of internet connection is that uploads don't affect downloads -- so I didn't think it would in this case? Or does Hughes throttle it to limit the total data rate?

My computer is plugged directly into the Hughes modem with an ethernet cable. No other devices are on right now (either ethernet or wifi). My data plan just reset for the month so I have a full meter, and everything is "green" on systemcontrolcenter.com.

[C0RR0SIVE]

It can, depending on protocol in use.  Some protocols require your computer to say, "Ok, I got that bit of data, send me some more."  Or, "Sorry, but that chunk doesn't look right, I need you to resend it, but these other chunks look fine".

If you ever log and look at upload/download bandwidth over a period of time, and initiate a large download, you will see your upload also increase ever so slightly.  A good example is from a graph below, green is download rate, blue is upload rate.  You can see that the blue has a small increase when the green has a large one.

In theory, if you are getting maximum upload speeds, or are on a heavily congested beam, when uploading, it can cause the issue you are seeing in particular.

[John73John]

This sounds like this would explain a "slight" decrease in download speed, if it's even noticeable. I'm sending data to YouTube. For them to reply "I got that chunk, send the next one" or "please resend this chunk, it's wrong" should only be a few bytes, shouldn't it? Or did I misunderstand something?

I was on a DSL connection before I switch to Hughes about 8 or 10 years ago, and when I'd upload a school project I never noticed any slowdown when also downloading something. Could it be Hughes simply saying "Your plan allows X MB/s, you're using most of that that for uploading so you only get a trickle for downloads"?

[GabeU · Accepted solution]

@John73John 

HughesNet has implemented a prioritization policy that, while favoring work and schooling related activities, is de-prioritizing streaming/video and certain types of downloads (and likely uploads of the same type).   

Though I don't know exactly what the system does when it identifies a video signature, or that of a video site, it may very well be that when the system is detecting your upload, and especially to a site like Youtube, it's de-prioritizing everything done through your service while that upload is happening.  i.e. both upload AND download.  Like throttling, if you will, though as a result of the file type and/or site.

That's just a guess, but with the policy that's currently in place, that may be what's happening.  And, if this is what's happening, it's unlikely that there is any way to address it. 

[John73John]

I see. I had heard about the prioritization. I'm curious about how they decide what's schoo/work related and what's not, for example many professors are putting video lectures on YouTube.

Anyway, I guess I'll just wait until the pandemic is over before I try a large upload again.

[GabeU]

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@John73John wrote:

I see. I had heard about the prioritization. I'm curious about how they decide what's schoo/work related and what's not, for example many professors are putting video lectures on YouTube. 

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From what I've seen, or rather read, streaming/video gives a specific kind of signature that the system can recognize.  And there's no doubt that educational videos being put on YouTube are going to get caught in the mix, unfortunately.  😞

It's just an idea, but maybe try uploading it during the Bonus Zone (2-8AM), while you're sleeping.  It may even go faster with there being fewer people online at night, though lately a lot more people are taking advantage of the Bonus Zone with file downloads/uploads.  The prioritization is supposed to be primarily during periods of high system load, though again, that can be late at night now too.  Still, it may be worth a try.