Earlier this week we heard from Astraweb members who were experiencing slow download speeds. At first we referred them to the Astraweb speed troubleshooter and Astraweb tech support since a number of factors can cause slower than normal download speeds. After reading some helpful tips on Nzbmatrix and doing some testing of our own we found that splitting connections between news servers can help maximize performance.
In a moment we’ll share some newsreader configuration tips that might help when slow downs occur. First we’d like to mention that Astraweb performance is normally good. We’ve been using the service for years and on rare occasions we’ve experienced slow download speeds. In those cases performance typically returns to normal within a few hours. So rather than recommend alternatives we’re suggesting a workaround.
If you’re experiecing slow download speeds with Astraweb and have already taken the steps in their speed troubleshooter or know the issue isn’t on your end then try splitting your connections between Astraweb news servers. We’ll give examples for both standard and SSL encrypted connections.
Astraweb has news servers in the US and Europe. To maximize download speeds during times of slow performance we suggest you setup two servers and split your connections between them.
Here is the Astraweb news server info:
Secure (SSL encrypted):
- ssl-us.astraweb.com (U.S. servers)
- ssl-eu.astraweb.com (European servers)
- using port 443 or 563 (we recommend port 443)
- set each server to use 10 connectionsStandard (non-SSL):
- us.news.astraweb.com (U.S. servers)
- eu.news.astraweb.com (European servers)
- using port 119, 23, 1818 or 8080
- set each server to use 10 connections
Not to confuse anyone. Setting up two Astraweb servers is the same process you would take to setup news servers for two different Usenet providers. You set each one up individually. Perhaps using names like Astraweb US and Astraweb EU to easily differentiate between them in your newsreader. If you run into any completion issues take a look at our Astraweb completion tips post from last summer.
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