Introduction

So you have DSL, cable or another type of broadband connection and feel like a king now? No? Or are you expecting more speed? That's what I thought! In this guide you will find out how to optimize your broadband connection to get the maximum speed, the right way, without any fancy programs or hacks!

However first of all here are a few words I want you to understand before we get started:

Cable modems: A cable modem is a box that uses the coax cable your cable company uses for TV signals, to transmit data. Since cable TV was designed as a broadcast system, the cable is shared amongst many people in a small area, and speeds depend on the network usage amount. If you have packet loss on a cable connection and have tweaked your system, know that the problem might be from an overcrowded network. Internet usage on a cable modem during peek times is frustrating sometimes, especially for gamers, so if you have no other choice than cable, then go for it.

DSL (Digital Subscriber Line): DSL is the next generation of internet access technology. A house or business with DSL has a data socket that looks like a phone socket. DSL is a direct connection to the Internet, always on. There are few types of DSL services:

- ATM: Asynchronous Transfer Mode is a high speed network protocol, especially good for real time voice and video. DSL lines normally use ATM as the underlying data-transport protocol beneath TCP/IP.

- Local loop: The local loop is the line between your house, and the local central office where telephone travels on twisted pair of wires.

- ADSL: Most popular type of DSL where speeds as asymmetric. Download speed is usually much faster than upload speed. You will need to be close to a central office (where all the phone lines connect in a neighborhood) in order to get 1.5mbps download/128kbps upload speeds, which is the typical speed for residential products.

- SDSL: Very good alternative to a T-1 for business users where download speed and upload speed are the same. SDSL uses two pairs of wires where data and voice is split inside the phone jack compared to a filter on ADSL. You will need to give up a phone line completely if you plan on installing SDSL. SDSL is usually more stable than ADSL since speeds are symmetric and the connection is better maintained for business purposes such as running servers. Also, SDSL is excellent for gaming on the Internet.

- HDSL: High bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line is a DSL modem that delivers T1 speeds (1.5mbps/1.5mbps). This requires two lines. HDSL isn't for residential, but for commercial zones.

- VDSL: VDSL offers the highest speeds of the DSL types, but is only in limited commercial use. Companies require you to be 1000 to 4500 feet away from the central office but it promises data rates of up to 50mbps. VDSL has been previously called VASDL or BDSL or even ADSL. In June 1995, VDSL became the official title of this standard. As of early 2000, VDSL has appeared in some US-West areas; for example, Gilbert and central Phoenix. Those subscribers report great service, highly integrated -- TV, phone, Internet all down one short line from a local fiber connection.

- IDSL IDSL is DSL at 144 kbps down and up. IDSL uses ISDN transmission coding both ISDN channels and voice all on one circuit. IDSL does not use any kind of dial up nor involve call fees. IDSL is usually the only option for those who are too far from the CO to receive regular ADSL or SDSL, but recently there has been a project launched named "project pronto" which installs mini-CO's in neighborhood and increases the chance of getting ADSL or SDSL by a big margin. That's actually how I received ADSL; through project pronto. IDSL is a little more expensive than any regular DSL service but IDSL can still be a very satisfactory solution to dialup, coping very well with online gaming, and medium quality streaming audio/video.

And now, here are a few words that make up the Internet:

TCP: TCP is like UDP, but the transfer is not constant. However, the packets are more likely to arrive than UDP. Slowly, UDP is becoming more popular and is used by many websites who have streams of video or audio.

UDP: UDP packets are used where delivery is not guaranteed. Of course delivery of most packets is highly likely, its just that some of it may not get there. What use is that? Well, for some information like video and audio, some loss of data can be tolerated. The advantage of UDP is that the sender and recipient agree on a constant data rate. This means that you don't have to run the link as fast as you can, which is the natural design of TCP/IP. UDP is used by multiplayer games like Quake 3, and Half-Life, ect.

Below are pictures of how a DSL connection works.