I've been struggling with my work VPN lately. Whenever I connect using Cisco AnyConnect, everything becomes unbearably slow; simple tasks like opening emails or accessing shared files take ages, and video calls frequently freeze. My IT department insists that the issue is with my home internet, but my speed tests show I have 500Mbps download speeds and the ability to stream 4K video without any hiccups. I'm using Windows 11, and when I disconnect from the VPN, everything runs smoothly again. Is this kind of slowness typical with corporate VPNs? What specifically should I ask my IT team to investigate? They seem to think this performance is acceptable.
7 Answers
Check for packet loss while connected to the VPN by pinging 8.8.8.8 continuously. If you notice any drops or high latency, it strengthens your case that the VPN, not your internet connection, may be the source of the issue.
It could be helpful to check your upload speed, too. Sometimes, a slow upload speed can impact VPN performance. I have a fast download, but my upload is limited, which really affects how AnyConnect performs. Maybe request a hardware VPN router from your IT—that can make a big difference.
I have around 60-80 Mbps upload and it still can feel slow sometimes.
Consider asking if your company has evaluated any alternatives to the current VPN setup. At my last job, we moved to a SASE platform and it completely solved our slowness issues. It might be worth bringing this up with your IT department.
Run a traceroute while connected to the VPN. It can help you identify where packets are getting slowed down. If all your traffic is rerouted back to the corporate server before accessing the internet, that's likely the bottleneck causing the slowdown, not your home connection.
You might want to ask your IT to look into the split tunneling settings. If AnyConnect is routing all your traffic through the corporate network, it can severely slow down your connection. Split tunneling allows you to bypass unnecessary traffic on the VPN router, which might help improve your speed.
Just be aware that some companies prefer not to enable split tunneling due to security concerns.
There’s a known issue with Cisco AnyConnect and Wi-Fi on Windows. Try plugging your laptop directly into the router and see if that improves your speeds. If so, I have a helpful PowerShell script that can fix it. If not, consider asking IT about split tunneling or checking your MTU settings.
It sounds pretty typical for a corporate VPN to slow things down, but not to that extent. Have you measured your speed with and without the VPN? Taking screenshots of any significant differences could be useful when you talk to IT, since they might not realize how disruptive it is for you.
Totally agree! Also, it might help to see if your VPN performance is still an issue on a different network, like your mobile hotspot.
Yeah, it's tough when most home internet is optimized for downloading. Getting decent upload speeds can be a challenge!