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Windows 10 uses your bandwidth to send other people updates

thenextweb.com

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Re: Windows 10 uses your bandwidth to send other people updates

#11

Post by dangero »

Wow "Microsoft says that the feature “helps people get updates and apps more quickly if they have a limited or unreliable Internet connection” and “does not slow down your internet connection” as it uses a “limited portion” of idle upload bandwidth."

Sorry but Microsoft cannot know that. They can know how much bandwidth your machine has access to on some level, but they cannot know what kind of strain is being put on any shared router upstream including your home wifi router. It absolutely can slow down your internet. Maybe the author paraphrased Microsoft's response, but with that wording it's not accurate.

Re: Windows 10 uses your bandwidth to send other people updates

#12

Post by acdha »

They're walking back the click-bait title (it used to say “steals your bandwidth”) but it's still somewhat hyperbolic: it could be described as “Windows 10 uses other peoples’ bandwidth to give you updates faster” with equal accuracy.

If it's worth discussing a documented feature, could we at least link to the actual source:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/windows-update...

It's a valid concern for people with really low bandwidth caps who might want to set the metered flag but given the short duration it seems unlikely that this would be an issue for most people.

Re: Windows 10 uses your bandwidth to send other people updates

#13

Post by bgirard »

smhenderson wrote: post #5

I'm all about peer to peer to make efficient use of resources but this, to me, is another feature that should be opt in by default. If you are like me you have a decent connection, know for a fact you're not utilizing as much as you're given and understand how a P2P protocol can help you and those around you. But your average user doesn't really know what this all means without explanation. IMO most people probably h…

Even people that have a good connection might not have a ton of upload bandwidth. I only get 8 Mbps for instance.

Re: Windows 10 uses your bandwidth to send other people updates

#14

Post by arbitrage »

dangero wrote: post #11

Wow "Microsoft says that the feature “helps people get updates and apps more quickly if they have a limited or unreliable Internet connection” and “does not slow down your internet connection” as it uses a “limited portion” of idle upload bandwidth." Sorry but Microsoft cannot know that. They can know how much bandwidth your machine has access to on some level, but they cannot know what kind of strain is being put on…

You actually can. Look into TCP slow start and backoff, congestion avoidance, etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TCP_congestion-avoidance_algor...

Re: Windows 10 uses your bandwidth to send other people updates

#15

Post by dm2 »

I think that they have a list of approved ISPs or some dependable way to make sure it doesn't happen on metered connections.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/windows-update...

"As with Windows 8.1, Windows 10 won't automatically download updates or apps if it detects that your PC is using a metered connection. Similarly, Delivery Optimization won’t automatically download or send parts of updates or apps to other PCs on the Internet if it detects that you're using a metered connection."

Re: Windows 10 uses your bandwidth to send other people updates

#16

Post by unsignedint »

smhenderson wrote: post #5

I'm all about peer to peer to make efficient use of resources but this, to me, is another feature that should be opt in by default. If you are like me you have a decent connection, know for a fact you're not utilizing as much as you're given and understand how a P2P protocol can help you and those around you. But your average user doesn't really know what this all means without explanation. IMO most people probably h…

Or perhaps the default should have been "PCs on my local network."

I knew this feature was coming (wasn't paying attention to the details of it, though) and actually thought it is a great feature for actually "reducing" bandwidth usage.

Re: Windows 10 uses your bandwidth to send other people updates

#18

Post by ubersync »

Another point to notice is, they are probably doing this to save money on bandwidth, at the cost of the user. Commercial bandwidth connections are usually at a "wholesale" price, and consumer connections are really really expensive. They might be able to save less than a cent for every dollar users lose because of this feature.

Re: Windows 10 uses your bandwidth to send other people updates

#19

Post by unsignedint »

dm2 wrote: post #15

I think that they have a list of approved ISPs or some dependable way to make sure it doesn't happen on metered connections. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/windows-update... "As with Windows 8.1, Windows 10 won't automatically download updates or apps if it detects that your PC is using a metered connection. Similarly, Delivery Optimization won’t automatically download or send parts of updates or apps…

Don't you actually have to specify that your connection is metered in order to that to work?

I think it's for tagging things like wireless hotspot, etc.

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