IBB packet loss and poor performance

tsue921i8wljb3 · 09-03-2008 9:07pm #1

Hi I have a 3Mb/3Mb breeze connection in Navan. I have large packet loss during peak times. Also the speed is quite poor during this time as well in comparison to early in the day.

I ran PingPlotter over a 24-hour period to a test machine on Blueface's network. Over the day the loss is approx. 4% rising to 7% over the daytime period.

The problem seems to start at the 89.127.192.41 hop.

I have had an IBB engineer at my house who said I had an excellent signal to the highsite in Navan. I have spoken to IBB support who said that the problem had been escalated to their network team on the 19th of February. Since then two emails have gone unanswered.

Can anyone in the Louth/Meath area specifically Navan confirm these problems? I believe IBB's network in this area is overloaded and unable to deal with peak time usage. Thanks.

tsue921i8wljb3 · 11-03-2008 12:55am

Just an update to this story, the routing to Blueface changed today but the packet loss still remains

My suspicion now falls on the Mt Oriel highsite. Also when using Blueface's network test the high packet loss always seems to be on the downstream link.

The speed is still terrible also.

Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

here.from.day.1 · 11-03-2008 3:11pm

+1.

Exact same situation and symptoms as yourself, in Navan too (well just outside it) but yes pathetic speeds, torrents constantly at 0kbs (1000+ seeds), around 40kbs download from sites if im lucky.

Speedtests are now usually less than 1mb down and less than 500kb up. Its Meant to be 3mb and down. Its absolutly terrible. Especially during the day, but ESPECIALLY at night and peak times. Im one day off work away from going mad at them or trying to change ISP. :mad::(

tsue921i8wljb3 · 12-03-2008 12:33am

I'm just ouside Navan also. Anyway they rang me today and arranged a callout for next Tuesday to replace the equipment. I still think the problem lies within their network though.

Could you download the network test from Blueface at http://forums.blueface.ie/showthread.php?t=9 and run it a couple of times and post the results here. Perhaps also install PingPlotter and do some tests with it.

If we can show that we have similar problems they will be forced into resolving this issue. Thanks.

here.from.day.1 · 12-03-2008 7:48am

Yea well I live and work in Dublin during the week but ill be home at the weekend and will run them then.

here.from.day.1 · 13-03-2008 12:48am

Got my bro to run a speed test.

819kbs down, 1828kbs up, 143ms ping.

I mean that is ridiculous, and at 12.30am. Imagine it at peak. :mad: The upload is strangely high, not close to the 3mb but high compared to usuall.

here.from.day.1 · 14-03-2008 9:42pm

Absolutly horrible.

I got the Blueface net test but seems to stay stuck at calling forever. Is there any settings I can change?

tsue921i8wljb3 · 16-03-2008 1:31am

I'm not sure, I installed it and it ran ok. I see you dual boot, perhaps try running it in XP if you haven't already. Also I presume you've granted it firewall access. If all else fails post a thread on the Blueface forums, the guys are helpful there.

Have you tried PingPlotter? This will also show up packet loss and is an excellent tool.

My problems are still continuing. Here is a test from early yesterday showing 2.5% packet loss on the downstream even at a quiet time.

here.from.day.1 · 16-03-2008 4:41pm

I was using a Vista desktop back at home. Well I rang them on Saturday, explained what was happening and he asked me to run the blacknight isp test and send him a screenshot of the results..? Tried to run it and got a Java error. Will have to wait till next weekend before im back and have an xp machine. :mad:

mrplop · 16-03-2008 6:57pm

here.from.day.1 wrote: »

I was using a Vista desktop back at home. Well I rang them on Saturday, explained what was happening and he asked me to run the blacknight isp test and send him a screenshot of the results..? Tried to run it and got a Java error. Will have to wait till next weekend before im back and have an xp machine. :mad:

Are you using Firefox?

Blacknight crashes Firefox in Vista for some wierd reason but it works in
Internet Explorer.

tsue921i8wljb3 · 18-03-2008 5:45pm

I had the engineer callout today. It was the same guy as last time. He said he had been sent to replace the radio unit on my roof and that it probably would be a waste of time. He was right. He showed me the SNR of 31dB which he said was quite good. The packet loss problem persists though:

6% within IrishBroadband itself:

5% to Blueface:

It's getting beyond a joke now. How long does it take to realise that they've got a problem within their network?

Nevyn · 18-03-2008 5:47pm

It's not how long it takes them to cop on it is how long before they do anything about it, it could be a week, 3 weeks or once we were told 12 weeks due to new equipment being on order from Israel.

sicruise · 19-03-2008 10:48am

What high site are you connected to? Maybe we should all get together and complain to ibb about this... it is a joke, it has been going on since christmas for me... the service was fine for the last 5 years, something obviously changed!

I'm connected to Rochestown Ave. Previously 3Rock

Nico Quaint Performance wrote: »

I had the engineer callout today. It was the same guy as last time. He said he had been sent to replace the radio unit on my roof and that it probably would be a waste of time. He was right. He showed me the SNR of 31dB which he said was quite good. The packet loss problem persists though:

6% within IrishBroadband itself:

5% to Blueface:

It's getting beyond a joke now. How long does it take to realise that they've got a problem within their network?

colferma · 19-03-2008 11:26am

How're ya lads,
Another crusader here. I've been with IBB (2mb) for the mandatory year now in Navan and have been becoming increasingly insane and resentful towards life as a result. I was in contact with the tech support and they told me to run a load of tests which I duly did, only to find out that the speeds (miraculously) worked when downloading their crap. I wouldn't be able to give any technical details, but I can say that my ping on games and other things is about 150-180, normal downloading usually occurs between 12-35kb/s, and general browsing is also quite slow. I've more or less determined to switch providers out of sheer hatred for the arrogance of the tech support lad who was designated to "help" me, rather than work for change. Have any of you thought of Chorus (3mb / 6mb) or BT 3mb? That's what I'm leaning towards and it'd be great if you's had any feedback. M.

tsue921i8wljb3 · 19-03-2008 3:16pm

Thaedydal did they eventually fix your problem and if you are still with them how is your service?

sicruise I'm on the Navan highsite and had assumed it was a local issue as there had been few complaints on boards about IBB recently. Perhaps it's a wider problem though.

colferma as I said to here.from.day.1 if you could run the network test from Blueface at http://forums.blueface.ie/showthread.php?t=9 and also install and run PingPlotter. It might help if we can show similar issues.

I have also been speaking to their technical department today. Not a pleasant experience. Before the guy realised I had some technical knowledge he tried to fob my speedtest off by saying ftp downloads from heanet were not to be realied upon as a guide. He also gave the gem of their routers dropping UDP packets at peak times. The fact is they are used to dealing with a largely technically ignorant customer base who'll believe their lies. When I mentioned this thread he accused me of trying to bully Irish Broadband. All I want is the service I'm paying for.

colferma · 19-03-2008 5:53pm

Well lads, I did the tests and have a screenshot for the speeds here on Blue Face. Which address should I use in PingPlotter to check my speed? M.

tsue921i8wljb3 · 19-03-2008 6:17pm

That's terrible packet loss you're getting, 13% on the downstream and 35% on the upstream. Are you using a wireless connection to your computer, if so this may add to the loss you're getting? If possible run the test again with the machine connected by cable to your router or even better to the IBB radio unit. Also the test has an option to save as a PNG image, just right-click and save image as.

You can use smtp.irishbroadband.ie or www.heanet.ie in PingPlotter to test it. Also set it to use UDP packets (Edit > Options > Packet > Packet Type)
For the UDP engine settings I use the "Fixed target port" and service type IAX (VoIP) ping.

If you have any questions just ask.

colferma · 19-03-2008 7:53pm

Thanks for that navi. I am indeed using a wireless router but to be honest there was such little difference between the hard-wire and the wireless that I stuck the router way up at the back of the attic where the signal strength is excellent and left it there. I know that my conditions aren't ideal for proving a case against IBB but taking the router down involves a lot of dislodging up in the attic and re-running of the wires outside the house and back in again. Sorry! As an aside, my ping with PingPlotter averages a delightful 160. I'm not sure if this is any good to you.
M.

tsue921i8wljb3 · 19-03-2008 8:22pm

Can you run PingPlotter again and post up the image of your test (File > Save Image)? It's best if you leave it running for a while, set the number of times to trace to a least 1000 with a trace interval of 1 second. Also it's best if you're not downloading or uploading anything during the test. Try testing the Bluface machine at 194.213.29.136

IBB packet loss and poor performance

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