Help me settle an ongoing work based network speed dispute!

[Chandler_90]

Hello OCUK!

I’m hoping you can settle an ongoing dispute at my workplace regarding the effect of multiple browser tabs on network performance.

I will attempt to keep this vague and unbiased.

The office setup is as follows:

3 PCs:

Managing Director has an Intel Pentium Dual core with 4GB of RAM, they are connected to the network via WIFI.

Person A has an Intel Core I3 with 8GB of RAM, they are connected to the network via Ethernet.

Person B has an Intel processor (unsure of which) and an unknown amount of RAM (I’d assume a minimum of 4GB), the are connected to the network via a power line adapter roughly 4m from the router.

The router is an ASUS RT-AC68U AC1900.

The broadband connection, if you can call it that, operates between 1 and 2mb.

Here is the situation:

Person A is sitting at their desk, during the length of the day (say a 6 hour window) they have opened 15 tabs on their browser of choice, the websites they have open are not websites such as YouTube or Netflix but websites such as suppliers like RS components or perhaps Amazon or Reddit. They are currently working within outlook on an email or perhaps using word to formulate a letter.

Person B enters the office of Person A to close Person A’s internet browser (Microsoft Edge) as they state having 15 tabs open is negatively affecting the network performance within the office environment.

Person A states that this cannot be the case due to the way the browser downloads the data into locally stored cache and that the issue is down to the broadband speed.

Person B states having so many browser tabs open absolutely does affect network performance.

This has been an ongoing topic of discussion in our workplace for a few years, even when we had an 8mb line at our old premises.

Who is right and who is wrong?

 

[Rroff]

There isn't an easy answer - web-pages can maintain keep-alive sessions, etc. with data flow even after the page has loaded so without looking into specifics you can't be sure. Generally multiple tabs will mean more connections being initiated and on a page with active elements this can continue even after the initial page load - higher connection numbers can reduce the responsiveness or even speed of a connection even with minimal data flow but in general this should be fairly negligible.

Really you need some kind of analysis tool that can show connections and the flow of data - task manager in Windows 8 onwards has the ability to break it down by process somewhat and resource monitor has a Network tab that can show individual connection's data traffic but there are 3rd party tools that are more effective.

I have 14 tabs open right now and when I'm not doing anything specific with a page the Internet connection utilisation of the browser is averaging 600-700byte/s.

 

[SupraWez]

You want to see how much data your spitting out install WireShark, it’s free.

 

[Caged]

I wonder how much time that company is wasting having arguments over browser tabs impacting on the connection, walking around closing tabs, having to remember what tabs were open to revisit them later in the day, over a period of several years, vs. the cost of just installing a good internet service.

If you're using powerline adaptors to go 4m then throw them away and run a cable.

Amazes me there are businesses that try and operate like this.

 

[Avalon]

Here’s a shockingly obvious suggestion - why not look at the pretty traffic graphs and totals per client on the router? Then get some bloody work done and stop being .... now what’s the word?

 

[pepp77]

Person B is an idiot.

 

[Quartz]

Who is right and who is wrong?

Bring up Task Manager and look at the network usage. I have over 50 tabs open and my network connection is basically idling.

Person B is probably experiencing problems due to the Powerline rubbish. Just put them on a wired connection.

 

[sideways14a]

Company needs to look at how crap there computers and internet connection is if they want more speed
Something like pihole on this lan could do wonders as well.

 

[APM]

Person A closes the browser but saves the session when working on emails or word etc so next time he/she opens the browser he/she still has access to all the tabs that were open previously.

See if that makes Person B happy.

Run speccy on Person B's machine and see if some more RAM would help.

Run a cable for Person B.

Clear Person B's browser cache and cookies etc now and then.

Run a speed test on all 3 machines and see if there are any differences.

Get another line installed and dedicate that to person B.

Go to the beach.

The choices seem endless.

 

[Steveocee]

Managing director needs to invest more into infrastructure and connectivity.

 

[Deleted member 77746]

This sounds like homework kids would be asked. I think you should know the answer.

EDIT: If this is genuinely your office I suggest you ask for a budget for an IT overhaul.

 

[alexakasloth]

I had a gnome extension that showed network usage, it was very minimal when there was no interaction with webpages (similar to what Rroff has said). Get person B a cable.

 

[james.miller]

Open the task manager and check the net usage?

It's very very unlikely that an open browser will have any real affect on the network.

 

[Steampunk]

It's like someone saying they can't run the water in their house because their next door neighbour poured a couple of glasses of water and have them sitting on their kitchen counter.

Web pages are very bursty. Unless you are streaming something, they request data, it gets sent the tab, and then the browser sits there pretty much not downloading any data. A load of open tabs on one machine not downloading anything isn't going to affect network speed on another machine unless they are actively holding open hundreds of thousands of connections up to the routers limit until it can't service any other requests. The router will close dead connections in a matter of minutes.

There's probably some sort of traffic manager/logger on the router that can confirm what's going on with the traffic.

 

[Chandler_90]

Thanks for the replies!

For clarity, I am Person A in this equation.. but that it where things stop being simple.

The company in question is run by my father, however I am not treated in the normal way you expect a relative of the business owner to be treated. I am belittled, bullied, discredited and shouted at on a pretty much hourly basis. (Little violins are currently playing!)

I have multiple IT based (dated) qualifications.. Advanced GNVQ, HNC, HND, A+ Certification etc but my advice is rarely sought and when it is it is generally discarded as Person B claims to be more IT literate.

Person B has worked at this company twice, having walked out the first time due to the pressures of the job. They have no IT qualifications. They are seen as a integral component of the business and therefore their opinions outweigh my own. Their official title is Office Manager.

I deliberately included the Powerline in the OP as it is evidence of Person B’s complete lack of understanding on the subject. I had bought a rather long CAT6 cable to run through the trucking in the office and above the suspended ceiling however it was deemed too much work.

This illustrates another key problem, in one reply there is mention of investment in the IT infrastructure.. investment in IT within this company will only happen if something breaks. It is then expected to be replaced instantly. This offers two additional internal issues.. haste of replacement often leads to poor hardware choices and costs are generally higher as there is no time afforded to locate good value deals.
The hardware is generally bought by Person B and not by myself and is generally poorly researched.

The one thing I have implemented, I had to purchase myself and setup in my own time, was a Synology NAS. The idea behind the introduction of this to our office environment was to allow full access to all documents from all machines working with the office.

I am the only one who uses the NAS, I have populated it with Risk Assessments, equipment manuals, standards documents, HSE guidance notes, customer specific directories for technical files etc. I am told the NAS is untrustworthy and Person B still saves all of their documents locally. So if I need access to anything I need to boot their machine and copy it to the NAS.

I have been copying data over on a weekend to make my life easier when Person B is not around however I have recently been reprimanded for doing so without their permission.

I am told frequently I am a narcissist when I give my opinions. So I apologise if any of the above comes across that way.

I am frustrated. I’m currently working my way through some Azure fundamentals training and expect to move on from here once I achieve a few accreditation’s.

Rant over. Well for now.

 

[james.miller]

Leave.

 

[Bluecube]

Absolutely leave. What a crap place to work.

 

[Chandler_90]

I’m planning on it.. it’s becoming clear that there is no future plans for me there and I’m only employed as I’m a relative.

Thing is.. I’m not employed in an office based role. I’m the technical guy who receives the technical queries.. but if I had to list the amount of stuff I’m expected to achieve I’d be here sometime.

As a little example.. I’m expected to read all of the inboxes plus sent messages from our email accounts every evening to keep up to speed with what everyone is doing. I have to formulate specific risk assessments and method states for all engineers for who I organise a project. I also need to read all other outgoing risk assessments and method statements to ensure I know what everyone is doing.

I have a planner in my office where I list the ongoing projects and upcoming projects to allow for easy planning of engineers, I will the create said risk assessments and method statements and forward these to the customers for HSE acceptance. However.. I am not informed of any other projects in the pipeline which may clash and therefore I have to delay or cancel the projects I have organised to make way for the projects I was unaware of.

It’s just frustrating as hell, it’s a well paid job but I’ve been there so long (11 years) that my qualifications are now null and void.

Last month I won an international award for a diploma paper I passed earlier this year.. it was voted by a committee of 54 people to be the best paper of the year. There were papers from the USA, UK, Europe and Middle East submitted.

I collected said award in person, it is now displayed in the main office and I was told this week it was the companies investment in me that made the award possible not my actual effort.

 

[Steampunk]

I’m planning on it.. it’s becoming clear that there is no future plans for me there and I’m only employed as I’m a relative.

Don't put it off, you should start looking now. You may think that your qualifications are out of date, but when you explain what you actually do day in and day out, versus certificates for courses where you learned stuff but didn't actually do it in a business environment... well, I think you'll be surprised at how many companies want IT people who can actually walk the walk, rather than produce pieces of paper that say you learned about it in class.

It's easy to find reasons to put it off, but you'll be happier and wish you'd done it sooner when you move to somewhere better and work with better people.

 

[APM]

It can be hell working with families.

Would the place collapse if you left?