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View Full Version : Ipaq 2215 Activesync Benchmark, Review by Jason, cross-posted at end of his review


netnem
08-19-2003, 10:31 AM
Sorry, but 200+ posts, i didnt think it would get read, so I am starting a new thread, as it is a problem I am sure some others are having.

Perhaps the most shocking difference in speed for me was, strangely enough, ActiveSync speeds. I connected my iPAQ 2215 to the front USB 2.0 port on my Shuttle SS51G, and when I transferred 20 BMP images that were 250 KB each, the entire process only took a few seconds – I was amazed!

umm, maybe you were really tired, or maybe i have a bad ipaq 2215. After reading your review I said to myself "Well, it takes bloody forever to sync anything with my computer." So I downloaded your guy's famous SPB Benchmark and ran the active sync speed test. While yours is getting a ~2500 benchmark, I am getting ~275. Orignally, I thought it was my usb 1.1 ports being the problem. But after I got thinking Usb1.1 has a bandwidth of 11mpbs. WAY faster than anything a Pocket Pc could ever need. I ended up taking back a USB bluetooth dongle because it was waaaay to slow for internet browsing/syncing. After taking the BT dongle back I tryed again to get USB to sync at your speeds. I tested with nothing else but the cradle plugged in, so it wasn't being limited by any other usb devices. I backed up all my data and did a hard reset (ugh). I uninstalled/reinstalled Activesync 3.7 without any problems whatsoever. I installed your benchmark program to the now "clean slated" ipaq, and the benchmark speed is STILL ~275. Before I read your review I almost bought a CF/SD reader so that I could get mp3's/movie files on my Ipaq 2215. After I read your review I was extremely confused because my unit has caused me no problems, and has activesynced perfect (except for the extremely slow speeds). Have any of you other Ipaq 2215 users had as quick of sync speeds as Jason? "Twenty 250kb files in a few seconds"...I replicated this test, using twenty ~150kb files...it took exactly 1 minutes and 11 seconds. I am very upset over this, and I don't think it is anything hardware/software with the ipaq. I read that MS Activesync was programmed around serial, so it creates an overhead that doesn't go much faster than serial. Also, I have read other posts that people who have switched from Serial to USB "can't tell any difference." I'm not sure what version of Activesync they are using but I certainly can't tell any difference between my Ipaq 2215 and serial speeds. Anyone else who has suffered [and preferably fixed] this problem please post for the rest of us who are having slow speeds with activesync/Ipaq 2215 right out of the box. Thanks! -Dan

bitbank
08-19-2003, 04:00 PM
netnem,
I'm working on something that will help with your iPAQ file transfer speed. I just did a test of transferring 13 2.1 MB JPEG files (over 27MB) from my PC to my iPAQ 2215 over a direct USB connection (no ActiveSync) and it took about 40 seconds. That's averaging 500-600K BYTES per second. It's going to be a few more days before I can release a beta of my app, but things are looking good.

Larry B.

netnem
08-19-2003, 04:08 PM
That is the type of speeds I would expect, based on his benchmarks. That new prgram sounds great! However, I wonder if Jason was using something like Intellisync or another Activesync alternative. If he was, I think it needs to be specified. Oh, I "think" I forgot to mention that I was using an Xp machine just in case any one needs to know. Did you do those jpeg transfers over a Usb 1.0? or 2.0? It theoretically "shouldn't" matter, as bandwidth is way above what is needed for usb 1.0. I just want to know out of curiosity.

SHoTTa35
08-19-2003, 04:12 PM
well 720+Kbps is more than fast enough for any PPC if you ask me. This is Bluetooth i'm talking about. If you are surfing thru ActiveSync then of-course it wont be that fast. ActiveSync uses up half the bandwidth CONSTANTLY to keep the device in sync. So if you're browsing that way then hell no it'll be waay too slow. You have to bridge or share your internet connection with the bluetooth dongle and that way you have a direct connection to the internet instead of thru activesync. Pages load almost instantly depening on the site but even if you connected the PPC to a 100Mbps line it still wouldn't use that much since the PPC's CPU can't handle the data flow plus the bus isn't wide enough for all that.

Now with that said i can say that my iPAQ is tons faster than anything i've had before, like 400% faster in rough estimation.

bitbank
08-19-2003, 04:14 PM
netnem,
As far as I know, there are no ActiveSync alternatives that can communicate over USB (until now :) ).

I am running WinXP and my machine has USB 2.0 (high speed) ports, but the Pocket PC USB client runs at 12Mbs, so it will run (at best) at 12Mbs.

Here is a screen shot of my app in action with a SmartPhone:

http://www.bitbanksoftware.com/vce_sp.jpg

Larry B.

netnem
08-19-2003, 04:30 PM
well 720+Kbps is more than fast enough for any PPC if you ask me. This is Bluetooth i'm talking about. If you are surfing thru ActiveSync then of-course it wont be that fast. ActiveSync uses up half the bandwidth CONSTANTLY to keep the device in sync.

Well, my cable modem is only 512kpbs, and half of 720kbps is plenty fast for surfing the web. I automatically assumed that it was a usb 1.0 as my BT dongle was connected via usb and it was slow as the USB cradle connection. The usb connection to the internet takes an incredibly long time to load anything, assuming it loads at all [ie: ping timeout]. I had my Ambicom BT usb to connect using the lan profile, and downloading stuff/syncing was exactly the same speed as the usb cradle. Shotta35, just out of curiousity...are you using usb 1.0 or 2.0? The only way I could get the Ipaq 2215 to connect to the internet was thru activesync. I will try and connect my ppc to another computer in a bit, to retry the test results. I will post the results. I may go out and buy a usb 2.0 pci card just to test to see if there is a activesync speed difference [you can never have to many usbs anyways :) ] I'll keep you posted. P.S. If your program is available to download, I'll try it, too, in a bit, and post the results of that as well.

netnem
08-19-2003, 09:13 PM
Ok, preliminary testing is done. I installed activesync on another computer running Usb 1.0 ports. Damn that was fast. I did this on my full loaded Ipaq [after I restored it from previous hard reset]. 8 megabyte movie clip took probably about 13 seconds. So that narrows it down to the software/possible hardware on this PC. I am going to uninstalled activesync again, only this time delete any registery settings and any folders it leaves behind [ie: "Kill Activesync totally"]. I will post if this resolves the problem or not. -Dan

P.S. [My Ipaq 2215 just got a hell of a lot better with those transfer speeds :), now if i can get it on MY computer that will be great.]

netnem
08-19-2003, 09:51 PM
Still no go.

The Activesync uninstaller actually cleans the registry of itself for you [I searched anyways]. I also searched in the registry for "WinCE" until I came across a key that says something like "known CE devices" and deleted it. I then installed Activesync and when it was time to connect Ipaq to the pc I took out all USB devices, and plugged in only the ipaq into the usb.

I ran Windows Update and there wasn't anything useful there that relates to my problem. I plugged in my digital camera to the same USB port and it transfered about 10 megs of jpegs in about 10 seconds. So its not a USB driver problem. ugh, troubleshooting this problem is getting old real quick. Any other ideas? I'm running out of them pretty quick.

I am running Windows XP Media Center on my PC while the other computer I tested on [the one that had fast Activesync speeds] is Windows XP Professional. But since Media Center is just XP Pro with the "Media Center" program installed, I don't think there is any problems with my version of XP.

hdsalinas
08-19-2003, 10:48 PM
Are you willing to reformat your PC? 8O

I would...

hdsalinas
08-19-2003, 11:41 PM
netnem

I found that Microsoft released today a new USB driver for Windows XP.

You may want to try them.


I found this at http://www.techconnect.ws/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2082

Provides fixes for the following issues with Power Management, Plug and Play, and hi-speed devices: - Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices are not detected when you restart the computer. - USB devices are not detected after you resume the computer from hibernation or standby. - The computer uses 100 percent of the CPU time when you move the USB mouse. - The computer stops responding (hangs) when you resume the computer from standby when a USB mouse is connected. - The computer takes a long time to start or resume when a USB device is connected. - A yellow exclamation point with a Code 28 or Code 31 is displayed on a USB device in Device Manager. - USB 2.0 Hi-Speed devices are detected as Full-Speed (USB 1.1) devices when your computer resumes from hibernation even though they are plugged in to a USB 2.0-capable port.

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=822603

Maybe it fixes your problem

netnem
08-20-2003, 12:26 AM
Well the USB driver update was defiitely a good idea, but it did not resolve the slow ipaq/activesync speeds. As far as reformatting, that is a very long procedure, especially while backing up/reinstalling all my programs/drivers/account passwords/etc. I do, however, have a spare harddrive that I could install a fresh copy onto to see if its the OS. However, since my digital camera upload speeds are VERY quick, the problem can't be anything major with the OS. Everything is running fine except for the Activesync. I'll still be working on it though, as I'm sure I'm not the ONLY one who has this same problem.

netnem
08-20-2003, 01:06 AM
Well, its resolved, sort of. I ended up doing a system restore of XP to before when I didn't have the IPAQ 2215. I then reinstalled Activesync and its working just fine. I "could" try and figure out what caused it, as it must have been some software, but since it occured since the beginning, I think I'll just take it from here. It works, and all it requires is to update some ipaq software.

hdsalinas
08-21-2003, 12:32 AM
Great!

Is bluetooth faster too?

netnem
08-21-2003, 03:34 AM
Great!

Is bluetooth faster too?

Actually, I'm not sure, since I was so mad at its slow transfer speeds I took the USB dongle back. Although I am looking to invest in another one. But it should be very speedy as it connects thru activesync [which now runs fast]. I'm looking on the internet for the USB dongles this time as I can one for about $30 dollars plus whatever shipping.

netnem
09-23-2003, 03:33 AM
I FOUND THE PROBLEM!

I know this article is pretty old, but I did manage to find the problem. My slow transfer rates were because of Norton's Real-time virus scanning. As soon as i turn it off, the transfer rates were screaming. I turn it back on, and it was dead slow again. I tryed 3 or 4 times, and this is definitely the problem. I am using Norton Corporate 7.6. I hope someone else finds this article useful!

zul277
09-24-2003, 05:05 AM
This post is definitely useful because I might have the same problems later once I get my hp2215. Just out of curiosity, which version of Norton anti-vitus were you using prior to this? I currently use the NAV 2003 (9.5) so i hpe i wont get into the same problem as you did