Why are online backups using cable Internet connections seem to be slow compared to downloads?

Cable-based Internet connections usually offer high download speeds and lower upload speeds. The difference between the two could be as high as 10 times. A typical example could be an upload speed of 150Kb/sec, and a download speed of 1.5 Mb/sec.

While the IBackup application usually runs at the maximum speed allowed by the Internet connection, it may vary depending on Internet bottlenecks at various points in the connection.

You can achieve a significantly better performance using the IBackup for Windows application for your backups due to compressed and incremental backups.

My DSL/Cable connection to IBackup appears very slow. Why?

DSL/Cable connections vary significantly with different speeds for uploads and downloads. Usually, you will get near peak capacity of your DSL/Cable connection for IBackup uploads and downloads.

Test the upload and download speed at http://www.dslreports.com/speed. Verify it against IBackup's transfer rates.

Please note the test results using DSL reports link are in Kilobits(Kb) and not in Kilobytes(KB). You can compute KB by dividing Kilobits by 8.

How long will it take to transfer, say 500 MB of 'compressed' data, with my high speed Internet connection?

The time taken for online backups of your data depends on the speed of your Internet connection. If you are doing backups, then the upload speed will be more important than the download speed.

Please note that we are assuming an average compression ratio of 1:3 for the data (i.e. a 500 MB of un-compressed data will be compressed to about 170 MB of data). The compression ratio could be higher or lower depending on the type of files transferred. A text file or an Access database could have a compression ratio as high as 8:1 or a multimedia file, which is usually compressed by design to begin with, might have no impact with the IBackup's compression. So the time taken to transfer files could vary significantly, based on the type of files you transfer.

How do I find out the proxy settings for my machine?

A simple utility called Proxy Settings Reader can get you the details of your machine's Internet settings. This utility reads your Internet Explorer proxy settings and displays the same.

Download the Proxy Settings Reader (24 KB exe file).

Is there any way I can estimate the time required to backup 'xyz' amount of data?

Yes, you can estimate the time required to backup your data by making use of the 'Upload Estimator' utility given below.

Upload Estimator Enter the file size and click the buttons provided to find out the time that it will take to upload the file at different Internet speeds. File Size Internet Speed Hours Mins Secs 128 Kbps 256 Kbps 1.5 Mbps

Note: The upload time listed above is just an estimate. The Internet connection speed will depend upon the traffic on your network and its performance. Also, the above time estimates are for the first time transfer of data. Since incremental backups significantly consumes less time but differ greatly on the changes to the file system, we cannot provide an estimate of the same.