Massively's guide to reducing your Second Life lag: The network
3. The network
This is a tricky one, but it is one we have at least some influence over. First, we need to know how to detect it.
Once again, go back to the statistics display (press SHIFT CONTROL 1 if it isn't currently visible). There are two numbers we want to look at: Packet Loss and Ping Sim.
Checking the performance of the network
Any packet loss causes lag. Lots of it will cause disconnects, and sometimes crashes. Ideally, Packet Loss should be at (and remain at) 0.0% -- all the time.
Ping Sim represents how long it takes for data packets to travel through the network between the Second Life servers and your computer. Lower numbers are better, but there are a few factors that are difficult to tweak (the speed of light is a limiting factor for most networking). Plus packets may have to queue up at routers and at Internet Service Providers while packets ahead of them are processed and routed down the correct cables and wires.
The cure
Turn off applications that are using the network heavily or that are using large numbers of connections. This includes BitTorrent clients and other file-sharing applications. That World of Warcraft patcher can completely slaughter your network performance for Second Life. Likewise, if there are multiple computers at your home or office where you access Second Life from, their network traffic from those applications can severely lag your network connection to Second Life servers.
Increase the size of your Second Life disk cache. Go to Edit > Preferences > Network. Increase the Disk Cache Size to maximum (1000MB) if you can spare the disk space.
If you are still experiencing packet loss, turn your Maximum Bandwidth slider down. That might seem counter-intuitive, but there are good reasons as to why it works. Especially if your viewer FPS is low, you may need to reduce your Maximum Bandwidth slider (just above the Disk Cache Size slider) to avoid packet loss. Try reducing it a little, then apply it and check the results (it can take a couple of minutes before you see any change). Look for a figure that eliminates packet-loss. Depending on where you are in the world, or which ISP you are using, you may not be able to eliminate it entirely. Generally values below 300 are not helpful, unless your connection (or your ISP's own connection) is very slow indeed.
Get your viewer FPS up. Follow the steps to increase your viewer FPS. If you computer is bogged down with rendering fancy graphics, it doesn't have a lot of time left over to deal with the network, which can lead to packet loss or higher Sim Ping times.
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The network
