BroadbandOptimizer - more speed for browser in X

In case you're curious what Broadband Optimizer actually does to your system, here are the commands it runs at startup:

sysctl -w net.inet.tcp.sendspace=65536
sysctl -w net.inet.tcp.recvspace=65536
sysctl -w kern.ipc.maxsockbuf=524288
sysctl -w net.inet.tcp.delayed_ack=0
sysctl -w net.inet.udp.recvspace=73728

These parameters increase the size of the buffers that TCP/IP uses for moving data around, which reduces the number of times packets have to be snagged and cached. It also removes the requirement of a delay before handling an ACK message as part of the TCP protocol. The settings (under 10.1.1) default to these measly values:

net.inet.tcp.sendspace=32768
net.inet.tcp.recvspace=32768
kern.ipc.maxsockbuf=262144
net.inet.tcp.delayed_ack=1
net.inet.udp.recvspace=41600

There, doesn't it feel good to know it really does something?
 
One way to get to the "Library folder at the root level of your startup disk" is to go to the Finder and press Command-~ (the "Go to folder..." command) then enter "/Library" in the dialog that appears. The prepended / (slash) character means, literally "the root of the startup disk."

Another way to get to this folder is to open a Finder window, click on the Computer icon in the toolbar and then double-click on the hard drive where Mac OS X lives. (Because this is the "lowest point" where you can view the contents of that hard drive it's known as the "root" of the disk. In this case it's your "startup disk.") Within the "root" folder you just opened you'll see a folder named "Library."

You should be able to follow the Broadband Optimizer instructions from this point...
 
what are the potential drawbacks to the changes broadband optimizer makes? are there any reasons i would want to temporarily remove it for other tasks. i figure apple set it like they did for some reason. also, would these changes differ in their actual effiency depending upon the mac-chine (eg, ram, processor, connection)? the only reasons i could imagine is because the imac is the #1 seller and they push the built-in 56k modem which maybe needs less to work better, or just to set things at lowest common denominator for increased compatibility across models and setups.
got a guess?
 
I'd guess the kernel settings are the way they are because they're trying to be reasonable about the distribution of resources (there are lots of other kernel settings to consider) but I can imagine no harm could come from the changes made by BO, especially if you've got a decked-out system.
 
So far so good for me. Seems to have increased speeds quite significantly.

For those who can't get it to work:

Open your hard drive that has OSX installed by double clicking it in the finder. There will be a folder there called Library. Open that folder called Library. Search for a folder called StartupItems. If you don't have one then create one with the exact name above. Drag the entire folder called BroadbandOptimizer into the folder called StartupItems.

Now as far as I can tell, you either have to re-start your computer so that the script is run, or you can go into terminal and type:
sudo /Library/StartupItems/BroadbandOptimizer/BroadbandOptimizer
and enter your password. The script will now be run and you won't have to restart your computer. Next time you start your computer, the script will run as well.
 
i don't exactly have a decked out system but i rarely internet and do anything else at the same time. At least nothing that requires other hardware or constant vigilance so i guess it's alright then. I have noticed i have had to refresh my dsl modem a little more often lately. I don't know if that has anything to do with BO or if it's pachell. Even if it was BO, the occasional 30 sec down time is still worth the gain.

ericbrian2 - have you got it working yet?
 
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