debugging slow network

[Mark Terribile]

> From: Anton Shterenlikht <mexas at bristol.ac.uk>
> Subject: debugging slow network
<20091220132250.GA94754 at mech-cluster241.men.bris.ac.uk>

> I seem to have a very slow network connection at work.
> All local switches are supposed to be gigabit, and my
> network card is gigabit as well. But download speed
> seems to be much lower.
> 
> I'm not a networks person, but I understand there could
> many factors affecting the speed. There appear to be
> a multitute of different network related commands
> just in base OS. Which should I start with to get
> some idea of the actual network speed? netstat?
> And should I be looking for?

You might also check that all your cables are Cat5e or Cat6.  If you have a Category 4 cable in there somewhere it could be causing errors and retries or forcing the network interfaces to revert to a lower speed after enough errors.