You can sometimes use traceroute to HELP resolve a problem.
Traceroute shows the "path" (via hops & nodes) taken to the destination. It also shows individual "latency" to each node. This MAY help to determine where the problem may lie: need to consider many factors first.
The route to the Primus TBB server consists of the part within your LAN (the DVG ATA to the MODEM in the simplest case), the ISP's network, the interconnection to Primus' network, and Primus' network itself including the path to the TBB server(s).
The VOIP call itself does not include the TBB server, but includes hops through Primus' network and then the nodes to connect either to a phone on TBB, the PSTN, or another VOIP provider. For VoIP to VoIP calls, the voice packets may never travel on Primus' network.
Run traceroute to the Primus TBB server until it times out. The default is to try for 24-30 hops before quitting, so if you let it continue, it should show all nodes in the path. However, if traceroute is throttled, the results may be misleading. If traceroute is blocked, it simply shows nodes with * * * .
You should use a wired connection when using traceroute, to minimize any artificial LAN delays in the results. Using a WiFi connection will introduce variable delays which may be erroneously interpreted as jitter.
Mac and Unix users may have difficulty doing a traceroute. Unlike Windows, which uses ICMP to perform a traceroute, UNIX systems use UDP (although that's a really simplified explanation). On Linux you can add the -i option to the command to force it to use ICMP instead of UDP, but Panther unfortunately doesn't support that switch. There is a freeware application for the Mac platform called WhatRoute that will perform an ICMP traceroute. It also defaults to UDP, but this can be turned off under Preferences or Traceroute Options. I am not aware of a similar Unix application.
There is an extensive traceroute primer available here.
 feedback form
 feedback form
by canoe 
last modified: 2005-07-17 21:29:40 |
