Arch Linux

majiq

Member

Registered: 2009-03-06

Posts: 259

Optimizing IP forwarding

I've been using my laptop (HP Pavilion DV8000) as a wireless access point for my XBox360, and sometimes when watching something on Netflix, the XBox says that the connection has slowed. This could possibly be because of actual network issues (from my router outwards; I'm the only heavy traffic in the network), but I suspect that it's a computer related slow down. Is there any way to optimize/give the most resources to the packet forwarding?

I'm just using IP masquerading with iptables, so any suggestions?

brucebertrand

Member

Registered: 2006-07-24

Posts: 52

Re: Optimizing IP forwarding

Yes, its possible to optimize iptables, but as you you haven't indicated that you have a large/complex forwarding table, it probably won't make any noticeable difference.  Assuming you have a relatively small number of hosts being routed through your laptop, process prioritization should not be an issue with your hardware.  That is, unless you're running some other processor/memory intensive app on the laptop.

I'd suspect issues with wireless signal before anything else.  Do you have another wireless device connected to your laptop?
Also, have you verified that Netflix streams properly on devices that are on wired network connections?  I'm in NY on a Time Warner cable modem (which is supposed to be 10Mb/s) and I have problems with almost every streaming service I've tried.

majiq

Member

Registered: 2009-03-06

Posts: 259

Re: Optimizing IP forwarding

Hmm. No, it is a very simple table, really, so that can't be it, and I don't think anything processor intensive is running. That said, I do run the scripts in a GNOME session, so maybe I should try it without GNOME loaded and running. The only reason I normally use it is because connecting to the wireless by commandline seems to take several attempts and I never know whether or not it actually picks up the connection without a five to ten second timeout while pinging.

I haven't tried it with a wired connection from my house. I'm used to just connecting the XBox to the internet via a proper ethernet connection, but that's when I'm at school. At home, the router's basically just directly one floor above the XBox, so I don't have a cable for that.