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FizzyPop
join:2014-11-17

FizzyPop

Member

VMedia cable internet latency issues

I've been with VMedia on the 45/4 cable internet plan for a while now. I live in the Kitchener/Waterloo are in Ontario. So far my speeds have always been as advertised. However, for the last month or so I have been experiencing some serious latency issues. These latency issues are very annoying as it causes issues when gaming, which I do fairly frequently.

I do not share my connection with anyone so I am positive it is not caused by traffic in my local area network. My desktop is always wired in and even when it's the only device on the network I usually get pingtest.net results like such:








While these may appear "decent" at a glance. When I did the same pingtests on my old rogers connection I would get no higher than low 20 ms in ping, 1-2 ms in jitter and 0% packet loss. Considering the connection was from the same location, I don't see why this should be acceptable.

I do not have any excessive firewalls or router security features enabled on my router that could cause such a decrease in connection quality.

I'm very happy with the throughput, I can download and stream stuff without any issues. However the latency issues have become rather frequent. How has the quality been for you guys? Is this just a limitation of CIK Telecom's network?

jmck
formerly 'shaded'
join:2010-10-02
Ottawa, ON

jmck

Member

can you get mtr/winmtr and run it on gaming servers you play on for a good minute or so and post the results? also run it on www.cbc.ca or www.google.ca too.

my guess is you're getting a bit of packet loss but the tests aren't running long enough and obviously aren't showing where the issue is, mtr will do that.

d4m1r
join:2011-08-25

d4m1r to FizzyPop

Member

to FizzyPop
I think Cik Telecoms rating on speedtest.net (2.5/5 stars) visible on your own speed tests speaks volumes....Vmedia uses Cik Telecom underneath.

HenryA
join:2011-05-28

1 edit

HenryA

Member

What's your point? It's more likely an issue of an over subscribed Rogers node. It's fall, everyone is inside so there's an upswing in traffic, lots of new games are coming out (again an upswing) and everyone is ratcheting up the pvr and Showmi/Netflix. Traffic is traffic. Rogers is the primary, Ciktel is the secondary. I'd say it's a Rogers issue.

Not trolling, just pointing out there are lots of reasons for this.

fanboi
@38.122.43.x

fanboi

Anon

Considering that Vmedia has already admitted that it's a capacity issue on their end (don't have enough for the amount of customers they signed up), I fail to see why you would blame Rogers in the least.....
Trentelshark
join:2002-12-11
London, ON

Trentelshark

Member

Packet loss/latency isn't necessarily related to the capacity issues. I'm hitting the same peak capacity issues as everyone else on the rCable network at peak, but I have near 0% packet loss and latency hasn't changed when gaming. There's more to a cable based network than just capacity between Rogers/CIKTel's router, that's all he's getting at. Example, I had horrid packet loss for weeks and noticed my modem stats were creeping up until I hit T3 timeouts when this occurred. After lots of trial and error I determined it was environmental, made the necessary changes and it was fine since. In this instance it had nothing to do with Rogers network, or CIKTel's capacity.

HenryA
join:2011-05-28

HenryA

Member

Exactly what I was getting at. A problem can be localized at times fanboi. It's not always an issue with the provider on the whole. Maybe he lives in a neighbourhood where everybody and their brothers subscribes to Rogers ultimate fibre and there's a shit load of collisions with shared frequency. How do we know?
FizzyPop
join:2014-11-17

FizzyPop to jmck

Member

to jmck
How exactly would I go about using winmtr? I haven't used it before and I'm not too sure what exactly I'm supposed to do. Do you know of any quick guides that would show me what exactly to do.

jmck
formerly 'shaded'
join:2010-10-02
Ottawa, ON

jmck

Member

just put in the server IP that you're playing on in the winmtr and hit start and let it run for 1-2 minutes. then you can save the results as text and post them here. each line is a router until it reaches the game server. the results should show if/where the issue.

TypeS
join:2012-12-17
London, ON

TypeS to HenryA

Member

to HenryA
Evening node congestion on rogers' network is a lot more rare than you imply with your posts.

jmck
formerly 'shaded'
join:2010-10-02
Ottawa, ON

jmck

Member

said by jmck:

just put in the server IP that you're playing on in the winmtr and hit start and let it run for 1-2 minutes. then you can save the results as text and post them here. each line is a router until it reaches the game server. the results should show if/where the issue.

if you don't know the game server, then simply enter www.cbc.ca and run it for a minute and post the results here, but ideally you'd want to do it on a game server IP you're playing on.

HenryA
join:2011-05-28

1 edit

HenryA to TypeS

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to TypeS
Probably. But why jump the gun? Jmck provided a great app to find out if and where the latency is. Let's see the results first.
mt99808
join:2008-11-05
Chatham, ON

mt99808 to FizzyPop

Member

to FizzyPop
I was ready to make the switch to Vmedia and the iptv. I went so far as to cancel my Bell TV but I chickened out after reading posts like this all over the internet. I get that it happens with all ISP's at various times but Vmedia sure doesn't seem to have a grasp on their issues if you read message boards around the internet, especially the one on their own site. As much as I'd like to pay about 40% less for TV, a stable internet connection is worth twice that for me.

giggabotch
join:2006-12-16
York, ON

giggabotch

Member

said by mt99808:

I was ready to make the switch to Vmedia and the iptv. I went so far as to cancel my Bell TV but I chickened out after reading posts like this all over the internet. I get that it happens with all ISP's at various times but Vmedia sure doesn't seem to have a grasp on their issues if you read message boards around the internet, especially the one on their own site. As much as I'd like to pay about 40% less for TV, a stable internet connection is worth twice that for me.

Had you'd been paying attention you would have noticed that virtually all the the issues are related to Cable Internet users. There are many reasons why this is. Anyone considering switching to VMedia TV delivery service should strongly think about using FTTN DSL.

HenryA
join:2011-05-28

HenryA to mt99808

Member

to mt99808
You seem like the kind of subscriber that would probably be happier with Rogers. Go that route.

blinders
@66.49.183.x

blinders

Anon

Why? Because he can look at things objectively versus burying his head in sand, ignoring everything and spouting off repeatedly how great Vmedia is?
mt99808
join:2008-11-05
Chatham, ON

mt99808 to giggabotch

Member

to giggabotch
said by giggabotch:

said by mt99808:

I was ready to make the switch to Vmedia and the iptv. I went so far as to cancel my Bell TV but I chickened out after reading posts like this all over the internet. I get that it happens with all ISP's at various times but Vmedia sure doesn't seem to have a grasp on their issues if you read message boards around the internet, especially the one on their own site. As much as I'd like to pay about 40% less for TV, a stable internet connection is worth twice that for me.

Had you'd been paying attention you would have noticed that virtually all the the issues are related to Cable Internet users. There are many reasons why this is. Anyone considering switching to VMedia TV delivery service should strongly think about using FTTN DSL.

I currently have cable with Teksavvy. They have their issues at times but for the most part they are quite reliable and their customer service is pretty top notch. I can't get speeds faster than 5 mbps on DSL or I'd already be there.

HenryA
join:2011-05-28

2 edits

HenryA to blinders

Member

to blinders
No, because he appears to be happier with his present ISP, or would probably be happier with a larger company like Rogers.
Expand your moderator at work

giggabotch
join:2006-12-16
York, ON

giggabotch to mt99808

Member

to mt99808

Re: VMedia cable internet latency issues

said by mt99808 See Profile
I currently have cable with Teksavvy. They have their issues at times but for the most part they are quite reliable and their customer service is pretty top notch. I can't get speeds faster than 5 mbps on DSL or I'd already be there.


Your call... Things should be improving for VMedia Cable subscribers who are having issues come December 1st, and in the future Rogers will be the cable Internet provider for VMedia which should stabilize things greatly.
FizzyPop
join:2014-11-17

FizzyPop to jmck

Member

to jmck
said by jmck:

said by jmck:

just put in the server IP that you're playing on in the winmtr and hit start and let it run for 1-2 minutes. then you can save the results as text and post them here. each line is a router until it reaches the game server. the results should show if/where the issue.

if you don't know the game server, then simply enter www.cbc.ca and run it for a minute and post the results here, but ideally you'd want to do it on a game server IP you're playing on.

A lot of the games I play either do not provide server IPs (like Titanfall) or are P2P. So I don't really have any reliable way of measuring latency in respect to game servers. However I did run winmtr on cbc.ca. I did 2 tests each an hour apart and these are my results:

|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------|

| WinMTR statistics |

| Host - % | Sent | Recv | Best | Avrg | Wrst | Last |

|------------------------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|------|

| 192.168.1.1 - 0 | 90 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |

| 10.121.85.129 - 0 | 90 | 90 | 7 | 11 | 29 | 9 |

| 209.148.241.241 - 0 | 90 | 90 | 13 | 17 | 28 | 26 |

| 24.156.157.81 - 0 | 90 | 90 | 12 | 16 | 27 | 26 |

| 204.197.190.137 - 4 | 90 | 87 | 12 | 17 | 37 | 16 |

| 10ge15-1.core1.tor1.he.net - 0 | 90 | 90 | 26 | 36 | 120 | 35 |

| 100ge13-1.core1.chi1.he.net - 4 | 90 | 87 | 23 | 36 | 123 | 26 |

| 184.105.255.30 - 2 | 90 | 89 | 25 | 28 | 65 | 26 |

| 66.109.1.67 - 8 | 90 | 83 | 35 | 40 | 55 | 40 |

| 107.14.19.35 - 7 | 90 | 84 | 44 | 53 | 67 | 49 |

| 107.14.17.172 - 0 | 90 | 90 | 38 | 43 | 57 | 54 |

| 66.109.9.30 - 3 | 90 | 88 | 42 | 49 | 90 | 45 |

| ae-0-0.cr0.dca10.tbone.rr.com - 4 | 90 | 87 | 56 | 63 | 116 | 61 |

| so-1-1-1.c1.buf00.tbone.rr.com - 30 | 89 | 63 | 42 | 48 | 90 | 45 |

| 107.14.40.216 - 3 | 89 | 87 | 44 | 48 | 62 | 47 |

|________________________________________________|______|______|______|______|______|______|

|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------|

| WinMTR statistics |

| Host - % | Sent | Recv | Best | Avrg | Wrst | Last |

|------------------------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|------|

| 192.168.1.1 - 0 | 61 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 1 |

| 10.121.85.129 - 0 | 61 | 61 | 8 | 10 | 21 | 9 |

| 209.148.241.241 - 0 | 61 | 61 | 14 | 17 | 36 | 15 |

| 24.156.157.81 - 0 | 61 | 61 | 12 | 16 | 29 | 14 |

| 204.197.190.137 - 5 | 60 | 57 | 14 | 17 | 26 | 17 |

| 10ge15-1.core1.tor1.he.net - 4 | 60 | 58 | 25 | 32 | 42 | 34 |

| 100ge13-1.core1.chi1.he.net - 10 | 60 | 54 | 24 | 30 | 93 | 29 |

| 184.105.255.30 - 5 | 60 | 57 | 25 | 29 | 60 | 28 |

| 66.109.1.67 - 5 | 60 | 57 | 35 | 39 | 52 | 38 |

| 107.14.19.35 - 2 | 60 | 59 | 49 | 54 | 65 | 55 |

| 107.14.17.172 - 4 | 60 | 58 | 39 | 43 | 53 | 44 |

| ae-4-0.cr0.dca20.tbone.rr.com - 2 | 60 | 59 | 44 | 47 | 61 | 61 |

| 107.14.17.178 - 2 | 60 | 59 | 45 | 51 | 64 | 61 |

| ae1.pr1.dca10.tbone.rr.com - 4 | 60 | 58 | 40 | 51 | 137 | 45 |

| 107.14.45.66 - 0 | 60 | 60 | 44 | 48 | 71 | 46 |

|________________________________________________|______|______|______|______|______|______|

I ran a speedtest after the second winmtr test and got results similar to this on all the servers in the region:



Resetting my modem did not accomplish anything. Having only latency issues was one thing. But now I appear to be having throughput issues as well. Should I consider contacting them about this?

jmck
formerly 'shaded'
join:2010-10-02
Ottawa, ON

jmck

Member

on the first mtr resulted, you're getting about 3% packet loss to www.cbc.ca server and it's hard to pinpoint exactly where the issue might be with how routers ignore pings sometimes, but it looks like it might be starting somewhere on Cik's network before it reaches their upstream provider (He.net):

| 24.156.157.81 - 0 | 90 | 90 | 12 | 16 | 27 | 26 |

| 204.197.190.137 - 4 | 90 | 87 | 12 | 17 | 37 | 16 |

after 204.197.190.137 the packet loss is still ~3% down to www.cbc.ca. the second test seems ok as you're not getting packet loss to the last entry.

so while it doesn't tell us that much, looking at the latency and packet loss in the first few hops, it at least says the issue isn't local or a node being overloaded as those usually have higher latency and usually a bit of packet loss in the first few hops.
Trentelshark
join:2002-12-11
London, ON

Trentelshark

Member

If the OP experiences the issues during peak, that 4% loss at CIK's router would be the capacity shortage currently present on the Rogers network.
FizzyPop
join:2014-11-17

FizzyPop

Member

said by Trentelshark:

If the OP experiences the issues during peak, that 4% loss at CIK's router would be the capacity shortage currently present on the Rogers network.

Those tests were done during peak hours. For comparison I ran another winmtr on www.cbc.ca and another speedtest during the morning. Here are my results:

|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------|

| WinMTR statistics |

| Host - % | Sent | Recv | Best | Avrg | Wrst | Last |

|------------------------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|------|

| 192.168.1.1 - 0 | 61 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |

| 10.121.85.129 - 0 | 60 | 60 | 8 | 10 | 23 | 12 |

| 209.148.241.241 - 0 | 60 | 60 | 13 | 17 | 28 | 17 |

| 24.156.157.81 - 0 | 60 | 60 | 12 | 16 | 29 | 16 |

| 204.197.190.137 - 0 | 60 | 60 | 12 | 14 | 49 | 14 |

| 10ge15-1.core1.tor1.he.net - 0 | 60 | 60 | 13 | 18 | 34 | 29 |

| Paix-tor.netarch.akamai.com - 0 | 60 | 60 | 13 | 15 | 30 | 15 |

|a184-84-243-224.deploy.static.akamaitechnologies.com - 0 | 60 | 60 | 12 | 16 | 26 | 26 |

|________________________________________________|______|______|______|______|______|______|



There's a pretty clear difference in the results. I suppose the conclusion to draw from this is that there's a capacity shortage either on Rogers or CIK side.

So here's are my questions for you guys. Do you think this will eventually be sorted out and this issues will disappear or decrease in frequency? Given how a lot of the networks are shared between ISPs, is there any provider I could switch to where I would be unlikely to experience issues like this on peak (at least in the K/W region)?
Trentelshark
join:2002-12-11
London, ON

Trentelshark

Member

Then you are definitely affected by the peak capacity and unfortunately nothing you can do about it from your end to resolve it. There's a sticky on the VMedia forums about this but there is a substantial upgrade planned for Dec 1 to address peak capacity. They are installing another 10G link and increasing capacity by 1400M on the same day in an attempt to alleviate the saturation.

VMedia has been working very closely with CIK to get this sorted out, I believe the plan is to stabilize on Dec 1, monitor from there and address peak capacity as required moving forward. I am patiently waiting this out as they have been quick to address this in the past and Rogers refused to expedite the upgrade which I believe was requested in late October/early November, can't exactly remember when.

Thankfully should peak capacity continue to be an issue on cable Bell finally installed a 7330 in my neighbourhood and confirmed I am eligible for VDSL. While I'd rather avoid the load installation costs and dry loop cost, I would have to consider the option. This was an issue once before and VMedia/CIK dealt with it swiftly so I have confidence it will be the same this time around as long as CIK can properly forecast capacity requirements. I suspect the rush of students coming online when school returned threw forecasting out the window since all their plans are unlimited, but that's just a guess.

HenryA
join:2011-05-28

2 edits

HenryA to FizzyPop

Member

to FizzyPop
I think George has said it's a priority for Vmedia to sort out (capacity), so I take George at his word. A lot of us have been with vmedia since the beginning, and they have always worked on keeping the customer happy and addressing problems.

Edit. What a surprse....
Compatico
join:2014-10-21
Ontario

1 edit

Compatico

Member

December 03 my cable modem went offline for about 4 hours, between 2300 and 0300. After the modem came back online I was at the new profile of 30/10 mbps instead of the previous profile of 20/10. Since then my latency during primetime has improved quite a bit along with the speed increase. And no change to the price I pay.

Works for me...and I'm a happy camper.
FizzyPop
join:2014-11-17

FizzyPop

Member

Here's a speedtest I ran very recently:


I don't see any improvement from the upgrade that was done on December 1st. This is starting to get rather frustrating at this point.
GeorgeBurger
join:2011-12-30

GeorgeBurger

Member

Hi I know speeds are bad tonight, we are going through a transition in the way we get service with one of our cable internet providers, and should have our specific capacity needs addressed tomorrow.We are almost there.
taraf
join:2011-05-07
Ottawa, ON

taraf

Member

said by GeorgeBurger:

Hi I know speeds are bad tonight, we are going through a transition in the way we get service with one of our cable internet providers, and should have our specific capacity needs addressed tomorrow.We are almost there.

I shall hold you to that, and do speed tests every 30 seconds. You know. To simulate normal Internet usage patterns and stress test it. :P (instead of just complaining if Netflix gets cut off like normal)