"IPNetTuner" is a simple control panel like application
that allows you to optimize TCP/IP network performance under
Macintosh Open Transport by tuning internal TCP/IP parameters
to match your network environment. IPNetTuner supports over 30
adjustable parameters including the TCP Window Size, Time Out
intervals, Maximum Segment Size, and MTU.
You can save your settings in IPNetTuner settings
documents and invoke them each time you startup by placing
the corresponding document in your Startup Items folder.
As currently implemented, the IPNetTuner is best
suited for configurations where TCP/IP is permanently
loaded since there is no automatic way to remember custom
settings when TCP/IP is unloaded (TCP should not be set to
"load only when needed" as commonly used for dial-up
connections).
2. Features
* Full on the fly access to Open Transport (Mentat/TCP) tuneable parameters.
* Fine grained control of the best commercial TCP/IP stack on the market.
* Outstanding compatibility, does not modify any Open Transport or networking files.
* FAT application runs native on both 68K and PPC processors.
* Retrieve low level IP routing and other information.
* Experiment with confidence, easily restores factory default settings.
* Auto-configure allows you to restore your settings transparently upon restart.
* 21-day free trial.
3. System requirements:
MacOS 7.5.3 through 9.x
Open Transport 1.1.1 or later
4. Companion Applications
Whether you decide to purchase IPNetTuner or not, we also have other software that can enhance your Mac's networking capabilities. Like IPNetTuner, they all include a 21 day free trial.
IPNetMonitor (IPNM) provides a suite of integrated Internet tools which allows you to see how well TCP/IP is working on the fly. Perfect for tuning with IPNetTuner.
IPNetSentry (IPNS) blocks port scanning automatically without you having to know what that means! Its automatic blocking and enhanced notification features compliment IPNetRouter's IP Filtering and IP Masquerading.
IPNetRouter (IPNR) provides advanced Internet sharing, routing, and IP firewall capabilities for Macs. Using IPNR's NAT features you can share a single Internet connection with one or more other IP capable computers (including Windows boxes) from a single Macintosh.
You can download any of these software packages from our website:
<http://www.sustworks.com/site/downloads.html>
5. Installation and Removal
To install the application, simply copy it to your hard drive.
Click on the question mark in the lower left corner of
the tuner window for basic operating instructions.
The installed files include:
IPNetTuner application
ReadMe document
License Agreement document
Registration application (Kagi)
Release Notes document
4 Preconfigured Tuning documents:
-Download+Browse
-Cable Modem
-Disable Mac Attack
-OTTCPSlowLinkTuneup
To remove the application and any accompanying files from your hard disk, simply throw them in the trash.
6. How to Get Started
Two of the example files provided can be tried instantly to improve the performance of your network. Just double click the example file and observe whether performance improves.
For dialup modems, try the "Download+Browse" settings file.
For DSL and Cable modems, try the "Cable Modem" settings file.
These examples are designed to quit IPNetTuner automatically after changing your settings. To prevent the application from quiting so you can view the corresponding settings, press and hold the Option key when launching a settings file.
If these settings do not result in a noticable performance improvement, there are several possibilities: (1) Your Internet link is already operating at close to maximum performance so no tuning is necessary; (2) There is a more subtle interraction between your Mac and networking environment not addressed by these examples. To understand the settings files and their contents, some knowledge of TCP/IP tuning is required.
Since IPNetTuner "settings documents" are text files you can easily view their contents to get an idea of what parameters might be appropriate to tweak. To see what parameters are set in a particular settings file, just drop it on a text editing application.
The general approach to network tuning is to measure the actual performance using tools such as IPNetMonitor and then compare this with the expected performance based on the type of network connection used. If you are getting above 80% of your theoretical maximum throughput, tuning is probably unnecessary. If not, it is worth doing some detective work to understand what if any tuning problems are slowing your network and how to address them.
It is difficult for us to tell you which parameters to tune without measuring the
actual performance of your network.
Don't be afraid to experiment with various parameters. If performance suffers, just restart your Mac and all Open Transport parameters will be reset to their defaults. IPNetTuner does not modify any network parameters except in RAM (temporary memory).
There's lots more information about TCP/IP network tuning available from our website at:
