Google maps slow on Arch Linux?

jmss · 2009-06-24 00:54:28

Hi,

I have been experiencing very slow Google Maps access for some time. I am accessing the Internet through my wireless router and cable modem.

I thought it could be an ISP issue, but then I made some tests:

- I tried at someone else's house with the same ISP, but on Ubuntu and it is fast
- At work, with a different ISP, it is also fast with CentOS
- I tried another laptop here at home (dual boot Arch Linux and Windows Vista) connected with the ethernet cable, an it is slow
- I tried this other laptop booting Windows Vista and it is fast both on Internet Explorer and Firefox

In short, I tried other ISPs, other physical connections, other OSs, other hardware, other browsers, but it all seems to indicate Google Maps is slow on Arch Linux, although as far as my humble knowledge goes, I don't see how it can affect Google Maps connection particularly!

Is this conclusion plausible? Maybe it was a coincidence in the experiments that made me conclude this...

If you have any test suggestion, I'll be glad to try it.

Regards,
João M. S. Silva

ngoonee · 2009-06-24 01:43:13

Off-hand, versions of whatever they're using (probably java) would be the most likely. Arch is the most up-to-date on those, after all. How long has this been going on? I know I got a jvm update last week or maybe a bit before. You may want to try with icedtea or something of that nature.

jmss · 2009-06-24 14:47:44

This is happening for months, maybe a year or even more.

OK, I'll try with different jvm's.

Thanks.

jmss · 2009-06-24 23:46:00

Hum... I tried openjdk (icedtea) and it didn't work. In fact, Google Maps works without a jvm installed.

What is the most strange is the following:

Imagine I am downloading a file at the top speed on both my laptops (one connected wirelessly and the other one with the ethernet cable). When I then try to access Google Maps in one of the laptops, both connections drop to zero bps and during the next seconds, while Google Maps is suposedly loading, but very slowly, the ongoing file transfers show only very very brief (fraction of seconds) data transfer bursts. I then close Google Maps (the tab) and after some seconds (20 to 30 s) the downloads regain full speed. Somehow acessing Google Maps just strangulates any Internet traffic in my network.

Any ideas?.... This is very annoying since I like maps very much. And from my latest experiments it looked like this slowlyness only ocurred whenever Arch Linux was used.

ngoonee · 2009-06-25 00:28:33

I'm by no means an expert, but from what I recall if google maps is interrupting your transfer speeds the number of connections it uses must be crazy high?

jmss · 2009-06-25 01:53:15

Maybe one connection per map square image?...

ngoonee · 2009-06-25 05:47:54

I've just tried it out, no noticeable slowdown either to my loading or the internet connection...

jmss · 2009-12-01 18:40:22

Hi,

I repeated the experiments on Google Maps slowly loading.

I'm now convinced it is related to Linux, not just Arch Linux.

In my laptop with Arch Linux and wireless connection to the router it is slow.

In a windows laptop connected through cable to the router it is fast, either using firefox or IE.

In my 3rd experiment, I inserted an Ubuntu CD in this same windows laptop and booted "live". Loading Google Maps was slow.

I think there must be somehting in the network configuration of Linux (kernel level?) that makes it slow or maybe Google Maps behaves differently before Linux/Windows?

Any insights?

tavianator · 2009-12-01 19:44:05

Is this Arch64? Firefox doesn't have 64-bit tracemonkey support yet, though it may be coming in 3.6, so javascript is currently slower on 64-bit mozilla-based linux browsers than on 32-bit linux and windows (firefox is 32-bit even on 64-bit windows). I believe the latest webkit has 64-bit SquirrelFish Extreme (webkit's javascript-to-machine-code compiler), so you could try a webkit browser. Also, firefox-pgo-beta from the AUR enables tracemonkey on 64-bit, so you could try that.

jmss · 2009-12-01 20:32:50

The fist laptop is 32 bit.

The second laptop I think it is 64 bit (it's an Intel Core Duo T2330) but I never thought of installing Arch Linux 64 bit there. I always installed Arch Linux 32 bit everywhere.

Anyway, I think this has to do with the way Linux is handling multiple connections at the same time. My connection is not very steady (it has highs and lows) but when, let's say, 20 or more files are being transfered at the same time (be it images in a web page or Google Maps map squares) the transfer rate drops to 0 for about 30 s, then it get's downloading the files very slowly.

graysky · 2009-12-01 20:36:51

Hmmm.... I used xvidcap (in the AUR) to capture a bit of google maps on an x86_64 system. Does it seems slow to you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0Bi_FKYMro

jmss · 2009-12-01 22:46:03

Thanks for making the video, it seems very fast! In my case, xvidcap creates the video with a 2x playing speed (the video seems faster than it really is, I suppose it is the same in your case).

Check my video response: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6lF_DBs-tQ

I enlarged the capture window so that you can see the real time running (green font HH:MM:SS clock) and network monitor on lower right: yellow bars=upload, magenta bars=download.
The green bars are the CPU usage (almost always 100% because of xvidcap is running).

Sometimes I move the mouse pointer when the connection is simply "stalled". I also put the mouse pointer over the network monitor so that you can see the current transfer rates. But I don't know if the video resolution allows you to see that clearly.

I realized I was running bittorrent in the background, but I don't think it affects the connection, since the connection is never fully used (if I download a single file I get full magenta bars, though).

jmss · 2009-12-13 01:40:27

Hi,

I now have a new testcase for this same problem.

I was downloading the kernel from kernel.org. The transfer rate was at full speed (~640 kbyte/s).

Then I start transmission (bittorrent client) with only 1 download, but about 10 peers.

The transfer rate of the kernel drops to 0, and then the transfer takes form in bursts of few seconds full speed, heavily interrupted (most of the time the transfer rate is 0).

Then I close transmission.

The kernel download resumes full speed to the end of the transfer.

I think that there is nothing wrong with the transmission channnel but with its management. Since this happens only in Linux (be it with 1 or other laptop, 1 or other distro, one or other application, 1 or other network media) it must be related to how the linux kernel or the network module manage simulataneous network connections.

Can someone help?

jmss · 2009-12-13 01:42:08

(cont.)

I am now compiling the kernel with ipw2200 debug=yes, in hope that the module says something about what happens that causes this network connection unstability.

graysky · 2009-12-13 02:05:36

Dunno what to say about that 2x thing. I didn't notice it before.

Last edited by graysky (2009-12-13 02:07:49)

jmss · 2010-10-30 21:13:04

It was a hardware problem. My ISP exchanged the cable modem. Probably a firmware upgrade.

Arch Linux

#1 2009-06-24 00:54:28

Google maps slow on Arch Linux?

#2 2009-06-24 01:43:13

Re: Google maps slow on Arch Linux?

#3 2009-06-24 14:47:44

Re: Google maps slow on Arch Linux?

#4 2009-06-24 23:46:00

Re: Google maps slow on Arch Linux?

#5 2009-06-25 00:28:33

Re: Google maps slow on Arch Linux?

#6 2009-06-25 01:53:15

Re: Google maps slow on Arch Linux?

#7 2009-06-25 05:47:54

Re: Google maps slow on Arch Linux?

#8 2009-12-01 18:40:22

Re: Google maps slow on Arch Linux?

#9 2009-12-01 19:44:05

Re: Google maps slow on Arch Linux?

#10 2009-12-01 20:32:50

Re: Google maps slow on Arch Linux?

#11 2009-12-01 20:36:51

Re: Google maps slow on Arch Linux?

#12 2009-12-01 22:46:03

Re: Google maps slow on Arch Linux?

#13 2009-12-13 01:40:27

Re: Google maps slow on Arch Linux?

#14 2009-12-13 01:42:08

Re: Google maps slow on Arch Linux?

#15 2009-12-13 02:05:36

Re: Google maps slow on Arch Linux?

#16 2010-10-30 21:13:04

Re: Google maps slow on Arch Linux?

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