How does this make sense?

[EnvyMiA]

I am about an hour west of Toronto, Canada. I switched download servers to Ottawa, a city thats east of Toronto by about 4 1/2 hours, and the download speed is double. I switched to Winnipeg, which is about 20 hours and the speed jumped by 25% or 0.25 times faster.

Are Toronto servers really just that bad?

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Sometimes, sure.

[Crazy Tiger]

It's not relevant how close you are to a server for it to work "good", it's the congestion around it that matters.

Switching to download servers that are in countries on the other side of the world, actually can lead to great download speeds.

[EnvyMiA]

Originally posted by Crazy Tiger:

It's not relevant how close you are to a server for it to work "good", it's the congestion around it that matters.

Switching to download servers that are in countries on the other side of the world, actually can lead to great download speeds.

wouldn't that technically just mean that Steam decided that Toronto server should always be at a maximum congestion and not really upgrade it?

Its been YEARS of slow download speeds, at multiple households and ISPs. I only switched servers now.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

I use Toronto quite a bit along with Seoul. Never had issues.

[Crazy Tiger]

Originally posted by EnvyMiA:

Originally posted by Crazy Tiger:

It's not relevant how close you are to a server for it to work "good", it's the congestion around it that matters.

Switching to download servers that are in countries on the other side of the world, actually can lead to great download speeds.

wouldn't that technically just mean that Steam decided that Toronto server should always be at a maximum congestion and not really upgrade it?

Its been YEARS of slow download speeds, at multiple households and ISPs. I only switched servers now.

Not necessarily. It can be related to factors outside the Steam servers, for example.

I just switched to Toronto (I live in the Netherlands) and I get my max speed.

[Satoru]

The can depend on a number of factors. Rogers and Bell have different exit nodes depending on where you are, what service you're on etc. As such you could be routed entirely differently by using different content servers.

Another factor is that Toronto is a high density region and as such many users are likely to use it. Ottawa being home to basically literally nothing, will likely have less users on it. Of course that can be offset by the fact that lesser used regions may have lower bandwidth limits etc.

[feytharn]

Originally posted by EnvyMiA:

wouldn't that technically just mean that Steam decided that Toronto server should always be at a maximum congestion and not really upgrade it?

The network congestion around the server would play a part in that, too - something that is out of Valves reach.

[nullable]

Originally posted by EnvyMiA:

How does this make sense?

It makes more sense if you don't base your entire understanding off oversimplified assumptions.

There's lots of variables between your PC and a server. Mediocre speeds to one server isn't necessarily an issue with the server. Could be issues with your ISP and how it routes traffic. Or any number of things. "Closer should be better" is oversimplified, partly because you ignore how the Internet actually works, not everything is necessarily as the crow flies or the fewest hops. And you have no control over how traffic is ultimately routed and handled by all the intermediaries.

So it may not make sense according to what you imagine or assume. But that's more of a problem with your imagination and knowledge.

[Spawn of Totoro]

Don't think of it as going from point A to point B as that never happens over the internet.

Think of it as an actual highway. There are multiple ways to get from where you are, to the destination and back, but the shortest route isn't always the fastest and there are many roads that can be taken. Each intersection is a "Node" on the internet and sometimes you run into traffic on the Nodes and that extends the overall trip.

So to get from point A , you need to go through B, C and D. Sometimes you are diverted and go to to B, E, F, C, D to get the destination.

The internet is a very complex way to send and receive information and sometimes going further out can be quicker then somewhere close, depending on the surround traffic.

[SIMIX]

Better downloada but higher ping if you keep it and play online multiplayers.

Notice it or not while playing, it could be a factor.

[MeKLiN]

i get suggested to use detroit, im in cleveland, but detroit is through chicago which is the biggest net gaming hub in usa, so new york is faster for me (since 2003 using steam) :)