Dropping Packets

[hat]

It seems we're having issues dropping packets today. If I call the ISP about this, I want to be armed with the correct knowledge so I can avoid jumping through all the kiddie bullshit (turn off the box and turn it back on, that kind of thing).

I know there is a sort of... connection point at your xxx.xxx.xxx.1 address matcing your IP (like 32.200.150.1 when your IP is 32.200.150.152). If I repeatedly ping mine, I'll occasionally see high pings or timeouts. Usually it's 7-9ms, sometimes up to around 24, sometimes jumping to the 50 range, and occasionally shooting up to around 500 or timing out altogether. I can ping my own modem all day with no issue, so the problem has to be between me and the, uh, connection point. What is the correct term for this point?

 

[Solaris17]

well. That point is called a hop. thats when you enter their network space. Here is the issue. That isnt going to get you anyware. Depending on how they setup their customer edge router it could simply be blocking ICMP requests. Which means they are dumping packets because you are spamming them. This is pretty normal in ISP land. DNS servers actually do ICMP prioritization as well which is why its a no no to use public DNS servers like google to show you uptime.

What you WANT to do is see if your gateway (when logged in) and see if reports SNR and DB levels. These are the measurements for broadcast strength and noise/signal ratios.

If it doesnt you can call and simply ask them to check. Just tell them you are a networking student and are having odd latency issues.

Dont mention ping or anything else. they get calls a million times a day from speedtest cowboys with 90second network degrees.

Ask them to check the SNR level to your modem, your experiencing high latency intermittently.

 

[hat]

Okay, what do you think of these values?

 

[Solaris17]

unfortunately those are pretty close to perfect.

Which leaves a few things. The router be it internal to the modem. or your personal one. or the circuit that ISP has you using.

You could potentially ask them to change your routing circuit. however that isnt usually afforded to home consumers and is more of a business class request. Still you might get lucky.

the unfortunate part is if requesting a circuit change they will put you on another available route. The unfortunate part is it might be worse than the one you are currently on.

 

[jboydgolfer]

unfortunately those are pretty close to perfect.

Which leaves a few things. The router be it internal to the modem. or your personal one. or the circuit that ISP has you using.

You could potentially ask them to change your routing circuit. however that isnt usually afforded to home consumers and is more of a business class request. Still you might get lucky.

the unfortunate part is if requesting a circuit change they will put you on another available route. The unfortunate part is it might be worse than the one you are currently on.

Who is your ISP ?

the reason i ask is ISP's in my area offer sercies like "wire maintenance service" which is like an insurance, you pay $5/month, and it covers You if , for example Your connection has a high noise/interferance reading, and its due to a bad coaxial cable, or adapter, they will come out and physically inspect the line. Ive had it happen, and it turned out to just be a bad adapter, that was fine one day, and shit the next. but as solaris said , those readings look normal.

 

[hat]

The problem seems to have sorted itself out now...

The ISP is Armstrong. They're a local company, so it's no surprise if you haven't heard of them.

 

[jboydgolfer]

The problem seems to have sorted itself out now...

Glad ita resolved.

 

[hat]

And it's back. This time I called the ISP and they're seeing data loss at the modem so they're coming out monday morning.

 

[Solaris17]

And it's back. This time I called the ISP and they're seeing data loss at the modem so they're coming out monday morning.

well done!

 

[hat]

It was actually pretty painless. I merely mentioned dropping connections from games and pages not loading properly and he already did whatever test he did at his end. I mentioned already rebooting the modem and router, but I didn't have to argue at all.