Can basic user permissions cause drastic decrease in download time compared to an Administrator level?

Question

This is an edited repost,

Currently one of our departments utilizes a web-based system to access, upload, download documentation/licensing for employee's. Our company has two corporate headquarters, North Carolina and Arizona.

In North Carolina, the system works fine, no real issues aside from the blue moon crash of Internet Explorer. (Internet Explorer is required for this system!). IE 9 for anyone who wants to know.

In Arizona, it takes three times longer for a domain/local user to download and view a file within the system than an NC user. The same goes for upload.

NC Setup - 15 Down/1 Up

AZ Setup - 20 Down/10 Up

Here is the fun part...

You would think that this could be a networking issue of some kind, although when a domain or local administrator logs in, it works perfectly fine (usually downloads an app/file within 1m 20s). Regular download time for a basic user in AZ if you're lucky would be 3m.

Notes:

• Local Admin and Local User have same times as Domain Admin and Domain User.
• Both sites are identical when it comes to network device configurations. Routers, switches, and WAPs.
• The download times of the requested files are both same for wireless and wired.
• If I give the user Domain Admin privileges, everything is good to go! Although not going to happen permanently.
• Happening to any user/machine on the AZ network.
• Same group policies applied to both locations, NC and AZ.
• NC laptop has same settings/applications/OS version/IE version as patient zero laptop in AZ.
• No malware involved to knowledge.
• As stated beforehand, have tried with "barebones" PC without anything domain (Local Admin and Local User) with no such luck.
• All directories that the application uses I've given the user Full Control over.
• No form of content filtering applied.
• Have disabled Windows auto-tuning, firewall, etc.
• Same results whether on network or off network for the user. I have yet to have the user attempt admin off network, needed to give them a rest when testing on their machine.
• System utilized is Windows 7 Professional 64-bit on all tests and actuals.

I've attempted to talk with the company providing this product to us and it has been stated that they cannot help us troubleshoot anything internal, the problem doesn't seem to be on their system, etc.

The MAIN QUESTION here is... Why would a domain/local user be restricted on download time 3x more than a domain/local Administrator account? No content filtering, no proxies, etc. I'm pretty certain I've covered all bases at least for starters and it's driving me up the wall. I want to believe it is a network issue although it points directly to perms.

Answer 1

Unless there is software for restricting the bandwith, which can be done with basic windows elements such as robocopy, no it wont affect it.