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[WIP] Network Optimisation for Windows Vista and Windows 7


enigma#
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I've heard people complain about the CSS updates and etc... We have had multiple contributions to the pool of fixing them. What I noticed however, is that no one has talked about optimising the Windows network stack (Windows Vista and Later Only).

 

Although it is a work in progress, here is my contribution for those looking for a better Internet experience.

 

With the advent of Windows Vista and now Windows 7, Microsoft has completely rewritten the network stack. For consumers and gamers, it means a lot of different things. I will not go into technical detail as to what they did. Alas, Windows Vista and 7 aren't exactly optimised right out of the box.

 

Note: Make sure to backup your computer whenever you engage in any registry editing or netsh- editing. (We'll be doing that here)

 

Here are a few things you can work with in order to speed things up using the Internet. Personally, I haven't seen magical improvements but I know there are a lot of benefits in optimising your network stack and drivers.

 

A few things before we start....

 

1. Back Up Your Computer (or create a System Restore point please)!! Very important

2. I have tested these settings on a few computers but I do not know if they will work for every computer out there.

3. You must run all of the following in "Administrative Mode". This can be done by right-clicking on your program and left-clicking on "Run As Administrator" (usually has a shield beside it)

4. To run CMD.exe in "Administrator Mode", you can either

a) Type in cmd.exe (into your search bar), hit "Control, Shift and Enter" and it will prompt you to run as Administrator

B) Find it and use the method described in number 3

It is usually found in C:\Windows\System32\ (both x86 and x86-64 variants)

 

Okay, now to the tweaking part

 

1. I have scripted a batch file to do all the network Optimisation for you. It can backup / restore / revert your Network configuration. This will not affect password for Wi-Fi networks or HomeGroup (if you're using Windows 7).

Here it is: (Right click on the link... save as....)

http://zhost.hellsgamers.com/u/hw/network_tweak_bat.txt

Because of Zhost's limitation, please rename the file to

"Network Tweak.bat"

 

 

The Batch Script itself is straight forward but you must run it in Administrator mode. It will not work otherwise.

 

2. There are network tweaks you can play around with as well.

Warning: Backup Your Computer before attempting ANY of these tweaks!

 

!Setting MTU!

netsh interface ipv4 show subinterface (should say 1500 LAN/Cable or 1492 for PPPOE)

netsh interface ipv4 set subinterface "Wireless Network Connection" mtu=1500 store=persistent

 

Personal Comment: It is basically useless unless your ISP supports JumboFrames... so playing around with this one won't affect your Internet quality most likely...

 

NetDMA

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters

EnableTCPA=1 (DWORD, 1 to enable, 0 to disable NetDMA)

Haven't played around with it myself, it's worth a try....

 

Default TTL

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters

DefaultTTL=64

TTL essentially tells your computer how long to keep a record of a certain website in its cache. If you lower it, you might notice a slower connection to a certain website but it will keep the website up to date. This is assuming your TTL is the same as your ISP's.

 

TcpMaxDataRetransmissions

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters

TCPMaxDataRetransmissions=7 (range is 3 to 10) default is 5

This registry variable tells how many times your computer will reattempt to establish a connection to a certain server. The higher the better HOWEVER, it may not work for all servers.

 

SynAttackProtect

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters

SynAttackProtect=1

As the variable implies, it is to help mitigate Syn attacks. (This is a form of DOS/DDoS for your computer) Highly recommended to enable.

 

Set DNS and Hosts Priority

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\ServiceProvider

LocalPriority=4 (DWORD, recommended: 4, default: 499) - local names cache

HostsPriority=5 (DWORD, recommended: 5, default: 500) - the HOSTS file

DnsPriority=6 (DWORD, recommended: 6, default: 2000) - DNS

NetbtPriority=7 (DWORD, recommended: 7, default: 2001) - NetBT name resolution, including WINS

This variable is important because it can determine how fast your computer resolves the name of a website (which can affect the speed of how fast you surf). Although I personally prefer DNS, you may change it as you see fit.

 

TCPTimeWait Delay (port allocation)

netsh int ipv4 show dynamicportrange tcp

netsh int ipv4 set dynamicportrange protocol=tcp start=1025 num=64511

Essentailly put, it is the time for your computer to completely reset itself when it is done with a connection. For instance, if your Time Delay is very high, your computer will not reallocate network resources again for the time being. For servers, keep it low so that multiple TCP/IP connections can remain. For consumers, leave it to default.

 

QoS Reserved Bandwidth

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Psched

NonBestEffortLimit=0 (for only Qos Applications)

Turn this off! In most consumer environments, you will not have a QoS policy established on your computer. Do not waste bandwidth by keeping it enabled! This tweak can be also utilised by removing the "QoS" service in your Network Connections stack

 

Network Memory Allocation Errors when moving large files over the LAN

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management

LargeSystemCache=1 (32/64-bit versions)

1 min use of memory

2 balance use of memory

3 optial settings for file sharing and network applications

This is more for servers. However, if you share music, video, and/or pictures over your LAN, you might want to play around with these variables. Personally, I'd leave them as is.

 

I am currently assembling more resources about this.

Edited by enigma#
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