Newbie question regarding Server Settings

[Slinky]

Ok, firstly, thank you for an excellent little program, that even i can use !

Now for my queries, first some info
1. OS = WinXP 32bit
2. Alt Binz v0.25.0
3. Primary Newsgroup Server is from my ISP - VirginMedia, 7 day retention, unlimited quota
4. Backup Newsgroup Server is from Astraweb, on a prepaid basis ($25 for 180GB) using the SSL server(s)
5. Currently using a backup PC connected via wifi, so connection speed is not going to be running anywhere near max of my connection, so speed issues are not related to that.


Now, the settings i have work fine, however i have noticed some anomalies..

Primary server is set as per my ISP requirements and works fine, running around 1500KB/s solid, 10 Connections
Backup Server is set to my Astraweb account details, SSL, 10 connections also

I have a second Primary Server configured, but NOT ticked, the details for this one match exactly the Backup to my main Primary Server.

Everything works as expected, on connecting it shows connected to VirginMedia, and will download quite happily at the full speed i can expect from the wifi connection,
now, should the files i want be over 7 days old, the download request, filters through to the backup AstraWeb server i have set, just as you would expect, however, here is where things get odd...

1. on trying to get the file the server column in the connections panel will initially show VirginMeda, then switch to AstraWeb.... this i understand and assume is normal
2. it makes no difference if i set the AstraWeb Server details to use less or more connections than the primary, it will ONLY use the number of connections set in the Primary Server... is this correct ?
3. when grabbing files older than 7 days, i notice a speed drop of approximately 50% ..... This is what i don't understand, and the main reason for this post (see next point)
4. during a situation where i am grabbing files older than 7 days, and experiencing the 50% speed slow down, if i disconnect, then disable my main Primary Server and select the spare Primary Server i have configured with the AstraWeb details (exactly the same as the Primary Backup Server) and reconnect, the download speed returns to normal, or slightly slower at about 1400KB/s for example (the slight difference i just assume is a side affect of different servers).... but no where near the 50% drop i see when running through the Primary into Backup Server....... why would this be, is there something i have set wrong or is this just a side affect/symptom of using backup servers ?


Any help would be appreciated, i have tried searching through some of the various posts, but found no direct question regarding this issue, or at least not with such a simple setup as one server with a backup, the posts all dealt with running multiple servers at the same time etc etc

[davidq666]

1.) correct
2.) yes the number of con. of backup is always equal to the primary
3.) the reason would be the time it takes to diconnect from primary and connect to back up which will be this way for each block of each article
4.) thats normal again

[Slinky]

ahhhhhh i see, i was mistaken in my line of thinking here, i was assuming that once it had switched or filtered through to the backup, that it would apply that server selection to the whole article and not to each block.... now the "slow down" makes more sense, and explains the difference i see when switching manaully

I do normally allow for this and switch manually, but occasionally things slip by me, or i have a number of things stacked up waiting download and can't be around to switch back and forth all the time manually, it would be nice if it only checked the once and then didnt suffer the slow down, but having the backup server option is better than nothing

As for the number of connections through each, as it's disconnecting and reconnecting to the backup server, reading and applying the new settings i would have thought would not be a major issue.... wonder if this might be implemented at a future time?... i will have to go look through the threads and see if someone has requested it, but at least i know now it's not something i have set wrong.


Thank you for the simple straight forward answers btw, appreciated.