I am curious to see if this is really the server that is the root cause for the slowdown or the client. Can you try it again -- this time when the server shows signs of slowing down, move to another machine and fire more clients?
I don't have another machine to use at the moment. I could expose the port and get someone to connect externally. I may also try resurrecting my dead portable and see if I can get that to network with my machine.
Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
Lingua non convalesco, consenesco et abolesco. -- Rule 1 has a caveat! -- Who broke the cabal?
"Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".
In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.