Eircom changing IP address while online

Skittle

Hi All,
I'm on Eircom's Home Plus DSL product and along with a friend of mine we've started playing co-op Ghost Recon. Generally the game is great and we use Ventrilo for voice comms etc. He's also on Eircom Home Plus.

Now here's my problem:
It seems that after about an hours playing time, Eircom suddenly decides to change my IP address! Needless to say that this results in my friend being dropped from the Ventrilo server I'm running and the Ghost Recon game I'm hosting. I know my ip address has changed because after he get's dropped I check my router and it reports that I have a new IP address. If I text him the new ip address then he can reconnect no problem. However the bad part is that we have to restart the Ghost Recon mission we're on, which is very frustrating:mad:

Dynamic IP addressing I can live with, but not this dynamic!

Anyone else experiencing this?

ando

your routers disconnecting/desyncing with the exchange. could possibly be your lines condition

Hobbes

go to the dos prompt and type

ipconfig /all

it will tell you when your IP address will expire. Most DHCP servers are set to 3-4 days lease.

jd

It is not dhcp-ppp assigns the ip

XcellorV2

Originally posted by ando
your routers disconnecting/desyncing with the exchange. could possibly be your lines condition

I second that... Had a problem with my phoneline that was causing DSL to cut out every 5-15 minutes... Sometimes it would stay on longer... reported the fault to Esat BT but they just sat on it (escalated it ;P). So we got in contact with Eircom and dealt with them directly, reported the fault and an engineer came out. He isolated that the problem was actually on the pole a house down from us...

You should not be given a new IP unless you are not using the connection... but if you are actively using the connection you should hold onto that IP.

X

Skittle

Thanks for the replies so far, but I think I can discount the line condition. The reason I can do that is that I've stayed online downloading files for hours on end (at 50-55k download rate), in between the times I've played Ghost Recon with my friend. This only seems to happen when I'm playing a game that I host. Also it doesn't happen whenever I play Battlefield 1942 on one of the normal dedicated servers on the internet, and I've played that for hours;)

seamus

Just on that point - does anyone know if there are safeguards in place on the ISP side to prevent people running servers over their DSL connection?

Also a stab in the dark - are their any firewall programs which will deliberately release and renew an IP address if they detect a persitant external connection to a machine?

ando

Originally posted by Skittle
I've stayed online downloading files for hours on end (at 50-55k download rate), in between the times

doesn't mean sqwat I also get full download speeds but also get disconnected around 20 times a month according to DslStats. You do know that when you disconnect/reconnect that you get a different IP... thats what your problem is, your connection is dropping

ando

look at my dsl stats so far for March (attached)

already been disconnected at least 10 times but I havent noticed it disconnecting (so far !)

each time I got a different IP when the router reconnected

Supercell

Have to say it does appear to be a line problem. When i used eircom , the only time my IP ever seem to change was on reconnection, if its happening when you are in the middle of using it frequently , strongly suspect a line or maybe exchange problem.

Tenshot

When Eircom force a disconnect for administrative reasons (usually done after midnight), the DSL connection itself doesn't get brought down, just the PPP session. Depending on your router, you may be able to check how long the DSL connection has been up (which may be much longer than that shown in dslstats.eircom.net.)

If the DSL line itself is repeatedly going offline, then that indicates a dodgy line connection.

Another thing to check: some routers can get overwhelmed by large numbers of packets (especially upstream UDP packets) and start discarding packets to try and keep up. PPP connections usually send an echo request every few seconds to check that the link is still alive, and if several consecutive echo requests are discarded, the PPP connection is brought down and then up again. This will often (though not always) cause a new IP address to be assigned.

This was happening to a friend recently, and he fixed it by changing the PPP settings so that 1,000 consecutive dropped echo requests were required before the line would disconnect.

OfflerCrocGod

ando is right - get a BT file that takes 3-4 days to download and you will see when you get a new IP - the download drops to 0KB and it takes ages before your back up to speed:rolleyes:. There is very little you can do about this other then paying €ircon for a fixed IP (€65 or something like that I think).

Frank Grimes

Originally posted by OfflerCrocGod
There is very little you can do about this other then paying €ircon for a fixed IP (€65 or something like that I think).

That won't stop him from getting disconnected.

ando

are everybody else getting disconnected on a regular basis??? If you check your dsl stats you can see. Im wondering if its normal for this to happen

OfflerCrocGod

He is getting disconnected when he gets the new IP - he has a fixed IP he wont be disconnected.

Frank Grimes

Originally posted by OfflerCrocGod
He is getting disconnected when he gets the new IP - he has a fixed IP he wont be disconnected.

That's not the case, it's probably something with the line/exchange.
Why would an ISP disconnect someone to change an IP address?

Ripwave

Originally posted by OfflerCrocGod
He is getting disconnected when he gets the new IP - he has a fixed IP he wont be disconnected.

No, he's getting a new IP address when he reconnects - he'd still be disconnected if he had a fixed IP address, he'd just reconnect with the same IP address.

The changing IP address isn't the problem - it's only a side effect of the problem. The key question is why is he being disconnected.

OfflerCrocGod

Oh my God:rolleyes:, his friend is getting disconnected he hard wires an Ip into the game that is no longer a game server - cause the poster has a new IP address. Easy enough?;).

Ripwave

Originally posted by OfflerCrocGod
Oh my God:rolleyes:, his friend is getting disconnected he hard wires an Ip into the game that is no longer a game server - cause the poster has a new IP address. Easy enough?;).

So you want to treat the symptom, rather than fix the problem.

Of course next week, when he decides that he needs to use a session based application, he'll still be screwed by the disconnects, even if he has a permanent IP address.

Mutant_Fruit

Well, wouldn't it solve of the problem if he got a dyndns account? Then his IP would always be accessible through thisismyip.dyn-dns.org. So for game servers, all he'd have to do is hit reconnect.

That would have to be an intermediate measure, until his ISP gets the disconnecting/reconnecting problem sorted.

OfflerCrocGod

LOL, I originally^^ said there was nothing he could do about it unless he wanted to get a permanent IP - all you guys waffled on about this and that to stop his disconnections and none of it would have helped his friend cause once he has a new IP it doesn't matter to his friend that he is still connected - his friend still has to be told the new IP to connect to the game server.

ando

Originally posted by Mutant_Fruit
Well, wouldn't it solve of the problem if he got a dyndns account? Then his IP would always be accessible through thisismyip.dyn-dns.org. So for game servers, all he'd have to do is hit reconnect.

I cant see how this solution would work if it is based on dynamic dns. It takes time for dns to replicate

That would have to be an intermediate measure, until his ISP gets the disconnecting/reconnecting problem sorted.

Yeah, that'll happen. Honestly

Ripwave

Originally posted by ando
I cant see how this solution would work if it is based on dynamic dns. It takes time for dns to replicate

DNS doesn't "replicate". A DNS server for a given domain tells querying servers how long the DNS record is good for. This querying server then caches that answer for however long it was told that the address would be "good". In the vast majority of cases, this is set to days (or even weeks). The whole point of Dynamic DNS services is that the "timeout" is set to minutes or even seconds, so that when you ask your local server for the address again, it sees that the answer has timed out, and goes to look it up again.

The reason Dynamic DNS services work is because it's the originating DNS server that specificies how long the address will be good for, so your local DNS server will cache the address for www.microsoft.com for 1 hour, for www.boards.com for 1 day, www.dyndns.org for 10 minutes, etc.

Ripwave

Originally posted by OfflerCrocGod
LOL, I originally^^ said there was nothing he could do about it unless he wanted to get a permanent IP - all you guys waffled on about this and that to stop his disconnections and none of it would have helped his friend cause once he has a new IP it doesn't matter to his friend that he is still connected - his friend still has to be told the new IP to connect to the game server.

that's what Dynamic DNS services are for - you get to keep the same DNS name even when your IP address changes - it's a lot cheaper than wasting your money on a fixed IP address.

(It always amuses me to be accused of "waffling" by someone who doesn't even know how the internet works )

Ripwave

Originally posted by ando
Yeah, that'll happen. Honestly

Ando, what's with the URLs? Is there something wrong with the smilies that boards provides?

Skittle

Hi Guys,
Me again the original poster. Thanks for all the replys! I have started using the dyndns.org site, but it only allows ou to update the DNS server every 10 minutes which isn't good enough for the game. I'll try another tact, my router is a D-Link 504 and it's 3 versions behind the latest firmware, so I'll try flashing the firmware and se how it goes. If I screw up the firmware flashing, then it's bye bye router and bye bye internet:eek:

So fingers crossed!

Supercell

Would STRONGLY suggest that you read everything on http://shadow.sentry.org/~trev//dsl50x.html before flashing the firmware on this, have one of those routers myself, and this site is pretty much the web bible for it imho

Ripwave

Originally posted by Skittle
Me again the original poster. Thanks for all the replys! I have started using the dyndns.org site, but it only allows ou to update the DNS server every 10 minutes which isn't good enough for the game.

They used to allow lower settings than that.

Try some of the other providers on this list

Frank Grimes

Originally posted by Skittle
I have started using the dyndns.org site, but it only allows ou to update the DNS server every 10 minutes which isn't good enough for the game.

no-ip.org puts 60 second TTLs on the A records.
You can update them whenever you like. It's free also.

MrPinK

Will not the connection momentarily hang when the other computers have to make the fresh dns request, causing latency spikes? I assume these dynamic dns servers are in the US, so you're looking at maybe a +300ms jump. I'm no ping obsessed gamer, but I'd imagine that sort of thing pisses them off. The shorter the TTL becomes, the more frequest the spikes.

Mutant_Fruit

No, the thing is once a computer is connected to an address (like www.boards.ie) it doesn't requery the DNS server.

And, if his connection drops, his IP resets, so yes, there will be a delay while the DNS updates.
BUT anyone playing on a server on his computer will be dropped the second his internet goes down. So, if they wait 60seconds after dropping, they'll be able to reconnect normally. No ping spikes

Ripwave

Originally posted by MrPinK
Will not the connection momentarily hang when the other computers have to make the fresh dns request, causing latency spikes? I assume these dynamic dns servers are in the US, so you're looking at maybe a +300ms jump. I'm no ping obsessed gamer, but I'd imagine that sort of thing pisses them off. The shorter the TTL becomes, the more frequest the spikes.

The only reason you'd want to set the TTL that short is because you're trying to deal with the symptom of a system that disconnects totally a couple of times a day.

Even with dynamic DNS, hiding the symptom, and ignoring the underlying cause of the problem is just a cosmetic exercise. If you sort out the frequent disconnects, then you don't need a 60 second TTL. A Dynamic DNS service can be useful, even if you get a new IP address only once a month.

Ripwave

Originally posted by Mutant_Fruit
No, the thing is once a computer is connected to an address (like www.boards.ie) it doesn't requery the DNS server.

That really depends on the application - some applications will make frequent DNS lookups, some won't. (Though a TCP based application, that opens a session and keeps it open for the duration, should only need to make a DNS lookup when it opens the connection).

If the application being described here can survive an actual reset of the DSL connection, then it's not using a session based protocol, so it probably does make frequent DNS lookups.

(Of course, if the server PC doesn't even know that it's IP address has been reset, it's not going to know to update the DNS record automatically - it will still require manual intervention).

Mutant_Fruit

I'd assume that the Dynamic IP will be entered into the server, so the server will know the IP changed as soon as the DNS knows its changed.

Either way, this is still only a temporary solution, and it really needs to be fixed at eircoms office.

OfflerCrocGod

Originally posted by Ripwave
(It always amuses me to be accused of "waffling" by someone who doesn't even know how the internet works )

Good lord the router is showing this guy "disconnects" when he gets a new IP in reality thats not what happening the ADSL line is still up its just he is being given a new IP (He has NO CHOICE about this he WILL get a new IP with any of the res services - every 24 hours or so). Now what I was saying is that the only way to fix this "problem" was to get a permanent 'line' which his friend can use so that he knows were the server is; I mentioned fixed IP cause it was the first thing I though of dyndns is also a solution but it does the same thing - they both solve his problem.

Ripwave

Originally posted by Mutant_Fruit
I'd assume that the Dynamic IP will be entered into the server, so the server will know the IP changed as soon as the DNS knows its changed.

. Normally, a dynamic DNS client running on the PC tells the dynamic DNS server what the new IP address is when it boots up (or goes online, for a dialup connection). But if the PC is behind a NAT firewall, then the PC might not even know that it's IP address has changed. So you'd have to trigger the update manually (or run some kind of process that kept checking to see if the service was down).

Some DSL routers support dynamic DNS services, but I don't remember off hand whether the 504 does.

Either way, it makes sense to fix the disconnects, rather than wasting money on a fixed IP address.

Xcellor

Don't know if anyone has mentioned this but the router IOL ship has built in Dyndns.org capabilities... You don't even have to run an app... Zytel 630 Prestige? I think...

X

Ripwave

Originally posted by OfflerCrocGod
Good lord the router is showing this guy "disconnects" when he gets a new IP in reality thats not what happening the ADSL line is still up its just he is being given a new IP (He has NO CHOICE about this he WILL get a new IP with any of the res services - every 24 hours or so).

Now who's waffling? He's not being forced to take a new IP address. He's being disconnected, and when he reconnects, he's asking for a new IP address. The server can't force a new IP address onto a client that doesn't ask for one, it can only disconnect the client, and force the client to ask for a new one.

(Though if he's not getting the same IP address most of the time, then that suggests that there's something odd about the way addresses are being allocated. maybe it's all those "always on" routers that eircom and IOL are giving out!)

OfflerCrocGod

Originally posted by Ripwave
Now who's waffling? He's not being forced to take a new IP address. He's being disconnected, and when he reconnects, he's asking for a new IP address.

Everyone is being disconnected every 24 hours and they get given a new IP because thats how they measure the cap, difficult?.

Frank Grimes

Originally posted by OfflerCrocGod
Everyone is being disconnected every 24 hours and they get given a new IP because thats how they measure the cap, difficult?.

What are you basing this on?

Skittle

Guys, just a quick post to let you know that the firmware flash was successful.:D

Mutant_Fruit

do you mean you flashed in the new firmware successfuly, or that the new firmware successfully reolved the problem?

Hopefully option B.

OfflerCrocGod

Originally posted by Frank Grimes
What are you basing this on?

Sorry surely you know that the cap is adjusted everytime a session ends?, they know that ppl have routers which could stay on for months on end (except my crashing piece of hot crap:rolleyes:), so if you are on for more then 24 hours (its about that) PPP goes down and you get given a new IP - if you haven't broken the cap :ninja:. Hey Skittle what fw version do you have?, it seems as if there is a version 8 out (b18uk) for our router but I can't find it on the D-Link site, have you had any luck? - I'm using b14uk.

Skittle

Ok, in answer to the first question: The firmware update was successful, I haven't checked whether it fixed the problem yet as I haven't pplayed again with my friends.

OfflerCrocGod: I flashed the firmware up to version 14uk and I have the 18uk firmware files if you want them. PM me with your email address and I can send them on.

Also after flashing the firmware I noticed that the router wouldn't connect on demand any more. I set the Connect on Demand to disabled, save the changes, set it back to enabled, save the changes and now it works again. Did you have this problem OfflerCrocGod?

Frank Grimes

Originally posted by OfflerCrocGod
Sorry surely you know that the cap is adjusted everytime a session ends?

Yes, but I didn't ask how they calculated it.
What are you basing this 24 hour disconnect on? Or is it just some theory you have and you're trying to pass it off as fact?

OfflerCrocGod

I didn't have that problem personally but other ppl on the boards have had it (past threads/posters commented on it), anyway thanks for the offer but I heard that NAT was fu5ked in 18uk fw so I dont want it(I was hoping that it had been updated but D-Links site shows no update).

Originally posted by Frank Grimes
Yes, but I didn't ask how they calculated it.
What are you basing this 24 hour disconnect on? Or is it just some theory you have and you're trying to pass it off as fact?

My router logs, PPP is brought down and then brought up again leaving me with a new IP address, it's ham-fisted but its nothing do with me; as 4 the 24 hours I dont know the exact length of the lease but its around that. Otherwise ppl with routers would be able to smash the caps cause they never disconnect.