neofate
Caveat Depascor
Premium
join:2003-11-11
Birmingham, AL
| reply to TPoise
Re: [Speed Issues] 35147 - Chelsea Alabama Packet Loss
Yup, we are probably on the same uBR port -- Maybe not, but within spitting distance I'm sure 
Anyhow... 6-10% IS enough for them to worry. Whoever you talked to is an idiot.
Any consistent packet loss approaching 10% or even 5% is not acceptable. Any system tech/engineer and many Level I tech's would concur.
A CSR rep should also concur,.. but I digress.
With that kind of packet loss, no, you can't enjoy many aspects of your HSi connection.. especially Gaming. With FPS you will simply get disconnected or at best just die alot.
With a less demand for ping, such as an MMORPG, you will disconnect 'some' and lag out for X seconds or minutes often -- Resulting in a frustrating sometimes unplayable experience.
The packet loss also effects normal browsing, transfers, and everything else the HSi connection is meant to serve.
Bottom line, what I'm getting at is this is something they should fix, no doubt about it. So don't think it is within acceptable parameters for the monthly fee you are paying. While they don't guarantee 100% uptime,.. while it IS up,.. it should be working at 99.9% if not 100% stability. Anything less is a problem in the network (plant) .. or residence. If in residence, they WILL fix the problem,.. if you have line maintenance on your package (like 4$ a month extra) they won't charge for the fix. If you don't , they still many times don't charge you.. all depends. (that is a hint..  )
I still question your modem for some odd reason -- It might be worth a shot to lease one from charter for a month. (Its a couple bucks.. no big deal) See if that helps anything.. if not you haven't lost anything.
Glad a truck roll is coming. Definitely show the Tech your packet loss through ping. Go ahead and have a ping -t 4.2.2.2 -- or ping -t www.google.com or ping -t www.charter.com
going well before the tech arrives.. Just drop to the command prompt and have it running in the background for a few hours before he arrives. So when he does, you can immediately show him the command shell, and simply scroll up through the hours of pinging, and it should have your sections of 'time outs' over and over as your scroll. Then you can also talk to him a minute while it is currently still pinging, and show him when it starts dropping packets/timing out in real time.
That will establish definitive problem instead of a 'intermittent so says the customer'
Have the modem hooked directly to the computer, no router in between on the trouble call day, and for these pings.
Make sure the tech doesn't just come in see it and leave. Have him use his HUK meter to test all the levels applicable and potential noise/ingress/egress etc on your line to see if it could be causing any regular errors. Perhaps having the meter running long enough for the loss to occur and monitoring if any signal change occurs would be beneficial. (All techs are of differing levels of experience/knowledge and equally import, diligence to solving the problem).
So, basically:
Hopefully he tests everything he can with his equipment and know how.
Hopefully he brings a spare modem, and gets it provisioned on the spot real quick just for T/S purposes (if the problem isn't found).
If nothing is found inside, he should at least go to your Demarc, and your Tap to measure levels there as well.
Finally, if he can find nothing wrong, but can't deny the problem.. A follow up needs to be set in motion. Be it a system technician to come out and sweep your residence/node (neighborhood) -- Or, perhaps, a senior technician who is better able to diagnose such problems with more experience with what to look for and how to utilize their equipment.. and so on.
Just don't let him leave without a resolution or a 'next step' per se. As that just wastes everyone's time and money.
Lastly,.. On your DSL question: The answer is Yes and No.
In our area, currently, DSL is not 'as fast' if you are on the 10meg package.
If you are on 5meg -- You can get 6meg DSL. So it is equivalent or slightly faster than the mid grade package.
Compared to your current connection with charter , with its problems,.. Yes, DSL would be more reliable. (Unless for some insane reason you had line issues with DSL as well).
For the time being I would at least give them a shot at resolving the issue, and if it becomes a hassle with no resolution in sight... then perhaps, entertain the idea of DSL.
If you want,.. in the mean time download:
»www.pingplotter.com/downloads/pngplt_1.exe
pingplotter -- (free version).
Run it, and set it to trace: unlimited, Delay 5-10seconds, and include all Samples.
Then add an address of your choosing, google, yahoo, level 3 dns 4.2.2.x, etc and leave it on .. (very low TSR proggie).
After several hours.. take a screenshot of it and post the image in this thread,.. (again if you want to.. this will just show the trace path and you packetloss/error/latency , current/avg) -- Handy program to have around imo.
Hope you get things taken care of,
--
Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced. |
