You can make a number of adjustments to how CloudStor Rocket uses your available internet connection. These settings may need to be changed depending on the file sizes of datasets you are uploading, the speed that the data can be read and the internet speed of the PC you are running Rocket on.
A note about download and upload speeds
When we talk about downloads and uploads, we’re indicating the direction that information is travelling. If you’re pulling files from the internet onto your local machine, you’re downloading. If you’re moving files from your local machine onto the internet – like Rocket does when it moves files from your machine to CloudStor – you’re uploading.
Most residential internet connections offer significantly faster download speeds than upload speeds. This is because most consumers download a lot more content than they upload. Standard NBN services usually include upload speeds around 40% of the download speed. This is why NBN services are usually described like NBN 50/20: the first number is the best download speed you can expect from the service, and the second number is the best upload speed you can expect.
Even if your internet connection is quite fast for downloads – like streaming movies and TV shows – it might be comparatively slow for uploads.
Choose your internet speed
Rocket offers preset configurations designed for common internet connection speeds. Use these as a starting point for tuning Rocket’s upload behaviour.
- Open CloudStor Rocket.
- Click Configure.
- Select a configuration from the Presets drop down.
If you’re using a slow connection, like a mobile hotspot, choose Basic.
Fine-tune Rocket’s upload behaviour
- Upload Chunk Size: To make file uploads more reliable and predictable, Rocket breaks up or combines files into chunks of an approximate size as it uploads them. This doesn’t affect the end files; they’re recombined or broken up to exactly match their pre-upload state. However, it can affect the speed and reliability of your upload. As a general rule, choose a larger chunk size for faster connections.
- Parallel Uploads: The maximum number of file chunks that Rocket will upload at once. As a general rule, choose a larger parallel upload number for faster connections.
- Data Buffer: The maximum number of chunks that Rocket will keep in memory while waiting for file chunks to upload. This number is dependent on the chunk size and the number of parallel uploads you’ve chosen, and the amount of memory (RAM) your machine has available for Rocket to use. Setting the data buffer too low will make Rocket run slower than it needs to; setting it too high can cause your machine to run out of available memory, possibly causing Rocket to freeze or crash. If the data buffer is set lower than the parallel uploads, Rocket might not be able to maintain the maximum number of parallel uploads.
- Max Files Per Chunk: The maximum number of files that Rocket will add to a chunk. The more files in a chunk, the more processing that Rocket needs to perform on each end. If you have a fairly low-performance machine – slow hard drive or limited memory – leave this fairly low.
- Failed Upload Retries: If a file fails to upload, Rocket will automatically retry this number of times. The higher this number, the more time Rocket will spend trying to upload files with issues.
- Compare Checksums: If this is enabled, Rocket will use an algorithm to compute a unique checksum for each file it uploads. It will then compute the checksum again for the uploaded file, and compare them – if the checksums are different, the file has been corrupted or compromised in transit. This adds time and processing power for each file you’re uploading, but improves security and ensures that uploaded files are readable and useful.
- Register files ASAP (slower upload): If this is enabled, Rocket will push CloudStor changes through faster per file. This adds time for each file you’re uploading. If you need to have your uploaded files available as soon as possible, enable this option.
Use non-system proxy settings
On most modern networks, you won’t need to worry about configuring special proxy settings. However, if you have a proxy server that you want to use with Rocket, enter its server name or IP address and port number under Proxy settings.
Test your connection speed
If you’re not sure what your internet speed is, Rocket can help you to figure it out.
- Click Show/Hide Network Testing.
- Tick the file sizes that you want to test with.
If you think your internet connection might be fairly slow, just tick the top row – 100 KB to 10 MB.
If you think your internet connection is probably very fast, tick all of the checkboxes – 100 KB to 1.5 GB.
- Click Run Tests.
Rocket will display test results like this:
Starting tests 1 x 0 B in 3.12s 1 x 100 KB in 0.07s 1.39 MB/s (11.16 MBits/s) 1 x 500 KB in 0.52s 961.54 KB/s (7.51 MBits/s) 1 x 1 MB in 0.66s 1.51 MB/s (12.12 MBits/s) 1 x 10 MB in 5.47s 1.83 MB/s (14.63 MBits/s) 1 x 20 MB in 11.51s 1.74 MB/s (13.9 MBits/s) 2 x 0 B in 0.05s 2 x 100 KB in 0.1s 1.95 MB/s (15.63 MBits/s) 2 x 500 KB in 0.7s 1.39 MB/s (11.16 MBits/s) 2 x 1 MB in 1.01s 1.98 MB/s (15.84 MBits/s) 2 x 10 MB in 9.49s 2.11 MB/s (16.86 MBits/s) 2 x 20 MB in 19.46s 2.05 MB/s (16.44 MBits/s)
These test results show on each line:
[number of chunks uploaded simultaneously] x [chunk size] in [time it took to upload chunks] [speed in megabytes per second for the upload] ([speed in megabits per second for the upload])
Look for:
- The average mbps speed across all uploads. This is the figure in brackets after every test upload. This can vary quite a lot depending on the files uploaded and the conditions, but if you look at all the measurements, you should get an idea of the base upload speed for your connection. In the above example, 15-17 mbps seems to be the average upload speed.
- Any sharp drop-offs. This could show that the testing got too intense for the connection or the local machine to handle. Look for sharp drops in speed on larger files or when more chunks are being uploaded simultaneously. In the above example, there aren’t any obvious drop-offs, so the tester could safely set Upload Chunk Size to 100 MB and Parallel Uploads to 8.
- Long upload times. The longer it takes Rocket to upload a file chunk, the more that can go wrong with the upload – like disconnections and line noise. Aim for less than 30 seconds.
Save your settings
The Save Settings button will flash a darker orange when you have unsaved configuration changes.
- Click Save Settings when you are happy with your chosen configuration.
- Close the Upload Settings window.
Suggested settings for home NBN connections
The following settings are appropriate for large volume uploads using a home NBN connection that supports 10-20 Mbps upload speeds:
- Upload Chunk Size: 20 MB.
- Parallel Uploads: 4.
- Data Buffer: 2 for standard laptops; 4 for high performance machines.
- Max Files Per Chunk: 10.
- Failed Upload Retries: 5.
Suggested settings for AARNet network connections
If you are connected from your workplace – for example a university or AARNet-connected research organisation – and you will be regularly running Rocket, it is recommended to test the configurations for optimum performance.
- Upload Chunk Size: 100 MB.
- Parallel Uploads: 4.
- Data Buffer: 2 for standard laptops; 4 for high performance machines.
- Max Files Per Chunk: 10.
- Failed Upload Retries: 5.