US Cable Support > Cox HSI > Cox speed upgrade degraded my service

reply to xymox1

Re: Cox speed upgrade degraded my service

reply to xymox1
Again, no proof. Just rants.

You're expecting commercial service level agreements on a consumer level service.
You're nuts.
You're ranting about 2ms in gain.
You're choosing to say it's 15-20% increase in an attempt to make it appear worse than it is.

You're using ICMP to test.
This is not a reliable method to test or troubleshoot. It has already been stated countless times by COX people on this forum that ICMP is de-prioritized on their gateways/routers/equipment.

You're testing from a connection you're actively using. I wonder if that impacts testing?

You're not really showing any real problems, just ranting using an unreliable source of data for the reasons behind your rant.

Yes, I'm sure it's all a guise for COX to install content and protocol filters. They're also watching you pee. This is why I've lined my computer room with tin foil and chicken wire and maintain an AES256 encrypted vpn connection with multiple servers. They'll never be able to see which kitten videos my wife chose to watch today!

reply to odog

reply to xymox1
ODog, Sorry for the wide charts. I use a HD resolution so I did not notice the wide images causing the text to be unreadable. I kinda figured most people had close to HD resolutions these days, but I would imagine most computers at work would be lower rez, sorry.

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Also increasing the speed of a connection doesn't change the CMTS configuration.

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Do you understand how unbelievably catastrophic 50ms gateway latency would be?

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I will however warn you in advance that you're not doing very scientific tests.

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What odog is telling you is spot on here. You can't reliably test for latency and jitter as granular you are trying to do with the software you are using because the client PC running the software could be introducing errors in the report due to CPU load and you have no idea if the devices in the path are priority responding to ICMP.

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If you want to test this reliably, you would need to get a test set or a NID and test point on either end of the connection that could do RFC2544 or Y.1731 performance reporting.

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reply to xymox1
I think im also seeing some actual packet loss during peak internet times.

Ive started a DSLreports Smokeping. Its pinging from california so its got a higher latency and the jittery swings might not be that visible, but packet loss would be.

»/r3/smokeping.···05fe.CA1

reply to xymox1
I do like the Y.156sam performance testing, in particular the Service performance test. Does Cox use this ? Is this published someplace for Cox ?

»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y.156sam

"Packet delay variation is a key performance indicator (KPI) for real time services such as VoIP and Internet protocol television (IPTV) and is not measured by the RFC 2544"

So if Cox is just focused on using RFC 2544 they might not be quite as aware of the issues I am seeing. However they must do some testing of this..

reply to xymox1

reply to xymox1
The obvious question is what are the SLA acceptable levels for Cox ? I doubt these are published. Where is pass/fail for each service ?

It would be awesome to be able to run EtherSAM on my connection for 24hrs doing a service level test.

Cox does not provide any SLA for residential services unless I'd direct point you to the cox business class services there, If you need the SLA.

Exactly. Almost all residential services under the USA are best-effort and not guaranteed. I specifically remember a paragraph in the Cox TOS that states no speeds or anything is guaranteed.
--
~~Chris~~

Need a pro computer tech? See my profile for my website - I offer remote support services!

Obviously. However, my whole point of this thread was that my service dropped in quality when in fact it was supposed to be a upgrade..

50ms spiky latency is alot however.

There is NO doubt that Cox has its own standards for residential SLA and I was just wondering if anyone had any idea what these were.

So maybe there should be, or already is, a reasonable standard for the industry for residential service ? This sounds like a good thing to have based on Y.156sam

I think it would be good if there was some way to judge a residential ISP based on its numbers, not just "speed"...

reply to xymox1
Ive done some more testing and qualifying of my test methods..

I set Multiping to do 5 pings per second. I wanted to see a bit closer temporally what is going on.

I also added a ping at the same rate to my cable modem thru the router as a base line to show if any latency was creeping into my measurements from my testing computer, router or networking.

I see regular spikes in latency above 30ms that last anywhere from 2-3 packets out to a second. Some as delayed as 70ms after a quick glance thru the last few minutes.

The chart clearly should show that my testing rig does not seem to be introducing any amount of latency in its measurements.

This chart shows 60 seconds of pings..

reply to xymox1
Yea I am seeing packet loss too... the DSLReports Smokeping sees it too..

Its a lot like the long latency spikes, these are short duration.



The smokeping is showing them right now as a 2.83% average over 3 hours. As high as 98% loss..

»/r3/smokeping.···05fe.CA1

I looked back over the months leading up to the change and i had zero packet loss. So this is brand new and started at the moment I got changed over to the higher speeds..

2.8% packet loss over 3 hours is significant.

reply to xymox1
You know... This is bad enough that maybe it is just some issue that might get fixed. I was worried it was some issue that i would be stuck with forever, but I think this is bad enough it might indicate a actual issue that can be fixed..

Also i want to point out again, as I have earlier in this thread, I love my Cox service. I have for YEARS. Zero issues. My intereactions with cox reps has always been great. The Cox guys here on the forum have been awesome..

My *only* issue is that my upgrade was more of a downgrade. Hopefully we can fix the issue.

reply to xymox1
Seriously, there are no SLA standard for residential service, you may want to considering that the business service if you do need the SLA what Cox business has offer.

there are some things that suggestion way to improve your connection if you are serious gamer then the follow some steps, you have to disable the QoS packet scheduler by uncheck the diaglog box and you'll have to disable the TCP nagle algorithm to improve the TCP ping times.

reply to xymox1
Your suggesting that I need to swith to Cox buisness at more then $1200 / mo because Cox "upgraded" and degraded my residential service ? Seriously ?

And hehehe, I remember doing those changes in the registery in XP like 10 years ago. But indeed very good advice for people who are new to windows tweaks.

reply to xymox1
I'm based out of Gville FL, the vast majority of my traffic gets routed through 56 Marietta (Atlanta). For the last 3-4 years, 20-30ms + increases in latency depending on the time of the day has been the norm, ever since QoS was implemented.

I feel your pain... but welcome to the Cox network.

Your worst day on Cox, is still generally better than your best on ATT or Centurylink .

If you want to get into a customer service discussion, how many techs understand the difference between upstream and downstream power levels?

In my anecdotal experience:
Comcast answer = 1/19 techs
Cox answer= 11/13

Techs skipping out of work early by stating that no one was home= Comcastic customer service (I've never once had this issue with Cox).

While far from perfect, in the last 7 years:

I've needed two node splits that required several months of communication; two neighborhood plant issues; and three wiring issues from poll to house.

In-general, its been better to be a Cox customer than not.

As an aside, Cox's billing department could use some serious retrofitting.

reply to xymox1
That's right. what i am suggest. you may want to consider to make switch to the cox business class service that is SLA and if you'll able to shell out lots more.

EDIT: I have the two cable modems connected to my single PC that window 7 do the load balancing it is 136 dollars a month that has 600GB/cap month that is alternative to the costly of cox business class service.

As I have mentioned a number of times in this email, I have completly enjoyed my MANY years of Cox. This is mostly why im upset. It caught me completly be surprize. I was expecting even better performance when they upgraded my service. I did not expect there would be a tradeoff and latency spikes in the 50ms+ region. Ive just come to expect such great service this took me by surprize.

I have clients using Centurylink DSL.. Its, ummm,,, awful...

ikyuaoki, yea ive been tempeted to use 2 modems and load balancing. However I dont use the bandwidth. I dont think that would help my latency or jitter, i think that might increase my issues. One connection is great for my use. If only it was not so spiky in latency..

I think residential users can expect some QoS and minimum SLA. The cable co being able to get away with not having one needs to end. I think it time we have some standards that need to be enforced by gov regulation. A Cable co will drift to the most profitable rather then whats best for the client.. Lets face it, its not like you have a choice in cable companies. Monopolies need oversight.

I dont think I should have to spend $1000+ / mo just to get a SLA. Not to mention if I went buis it would not help my situation as its all connected to the same plant.