I signed up in the past week   but am of the opinion at the moment that it is a bit of a joke.

My uploads speeds are so slow that it reminds me of the dialup days.

Can only get  24 KB/SEC on my uploads which is totally useless.

I am using a 4 Gig broadband system.

Please note upload/download speed varies from time to time based on the Internet traffic. There are several things that can affect your speed:

(1) The network speed from your computer to your ISP; (local Internet speed). Note ADSL and Cable Modem have a slow upload speed.

(2) From your ISP to our data center; (Please test at different times/location as this speed is un-predictable and changes all the time)

(3) DriveHQ server speed and bandwidth;

(4) The size and types of files being transferred -- uploading large files are usually much faster; Uploading large text, html, word, excel, bmp, tiff, pdf files are usually much faster than uploading JPG/Video files. JPG/Video files cannot be compressed and DriveHQ servers will create thumbnails and preview images while uploading.

 Please be assured that DriveHQ has massive servers and unlimited network bandwidth. The speed issue is almost never our problem.

 Please also note 100Kbps = 12KB/sec. DSL service is usually asymmetric, meaning the upload speed is much slower than the download speed.

Assume you have DSL / Cable modem with 384Kbps upload bandwidth, the maximum upload speed is about:

      384K bps = 384/8 KB/sec = 48KB/sec. This is the maximum upload speed achievable with your broadband connection. (Note your download speed can be 5-10 times faster)

 With a 48KB/sec maximum, usually you can only get a speed of 40KB/sec.

 DriveHQ FileManager and Online Backup have implemented a lot of technologies to increase the upload/download speed:

(1)    Data compression during upload. If you upload text/html/pdf/doc/bmp/wav/tiff/xls files, the speed can be 5+ times faster.

(2)    Magic Upload: if you upload some common software files, tax forms, public files, the speed can be many many times faster.

(3)    Extensive caching: DriveHQ client software never uploads/downloads files that has been uploaded/downloaded, so if you are backing up your files, it can supports incremental backup.

(4)    Automatic resuming: if network is disconnected during uploading/downloading a very large file(s), then it can automatically resume if network re-connects.

Every so often, a few customers will report slow upload speed. DriveHQ has over one million customers around the world, and with such a large user base, it is normal that some users may experience slow upload speed at certain times. Usually it is not a DriveHQ server related issue. We have very fast servers and virtually unlimited network bandwidth. There are several reasons why you might be getting slow upload speed:

(1) Connection type: A lot of Internet connections (e.g. ADSL/Cable Modem) are asymmetric. The download bandwidth is much bigger than upload bandwidth.

(2) Misunderstanding of bps and B/sec: 1Byte=8bits. In reality, 100KB/sec is about 800Kbps-1Mbps. DriveHQ client software displays upload speed as KB/sec. Other companies' software might display transfer speed as bps.

(3) Your file type and file size: Smaller files have more overhead. If you upload a lot of small files, the speed is usually slower. Also, if you upload image files, DriveHQ’s server will automatically create thumbnails and preview images, causing slower transfers.

(4) The biggest factor affecting transfer speed is the "slowest link" between your computer and DriveHQ’s data center. The connection from your computer to DriveHQ’s server goes through many links (similar to the highway system). Each link is operated by a different telecom backbone operator. The slowest link determines the actual connection speed. Please note the speed usually changes from time to time, so you will get different transfer rates at different times of the day. If you experience very slow connection speeds often, contact your ISP and ask them to troubleshoot your connection to DriveHQ’s server or change the routing to DriveHQ server.

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Solutions:

While the above problems are generic and affect all companies, DriveHQ has developed many technologies to mitigate the problem.

(1) Incremental upload/download: when you upload a large folder, DriveHQ’s client software (FileManager and Online Backup) automatically skip files that have not been changed, i.e. it only uploads and downloads new files or modified files. Your initial uploads may take some time, but subsequent uploads/downloads will be much faster.

(2) Data compression: File Manager and Online Backup automatically compress data for faster uploading/downloading. If your files are compressible, such as Microsoft Office documents and database files, upload speed can be 3-7 times faster. (.Zip, .JPG, .MP3, .mov, .wmv files are already compressed and cannot be compressed further).

(3) Local caching: When you use File Manager to open a remote file, it is automatically downloaded and cached in a local cache folder. If you open the file later, it will open immediately.

(4) Automatic resuming: when you have a slow connection speed, the connection tends to be less reliable. If upload/download is interrupted, DriveHQ client software can automatically resume when the connection is good again. This way, you can leave the software to run in the background while you work on other projects. It will finish uploading eventually.

(5) Magic Upload: In certain cases when "Magic Upload" can be used, upload speeds can be exponentially faster.
 

if you need to upload/backup a lot of data and if the connection speed is too slow,

. We can upload your data from our data center, which is much faster. Normally, we charge $49.99 for this service. But please feel free to contact us if you feel your upload speeds are unacceptable.

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