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kazbear
join:2001-08-18
Dacula, GA

kazbear

Member

Lag Spikes

I have had poor internet service for over a year now. After several years of no problems, suddenly its all whack.

I thought it might be due to my equipment, since i had the same stuff since I originally started with bellsouth.net. So, I bout a new AT&T modem, and even a new Wireless router.

Still, its the same thing.

I have had AT&T out here a couple times. The tech isolated my DSL line so I dont have to worry about filters. He tested the line and said it was good.

After some research I have come across a few people experiencing similar issues. I would like to figure out if its on my end or AT&Ts.

I notice in my modem log I have lots of DNS errors.

I ran a pathping test to the dns ip shown. I did it a few times and got different results, but they all show packet loss. I just dont really know what its telling me.

If someone could look it over and let me know if this really tells me something....

Tracing route to dns.asm.bellsouth.net [205.152.37.23]
over a maximum of 30 hops:
0 spartacus [10.0.0.19]
1 READYSHARE [10.0.0.1]
2 192.168.1.254
3 70.159.160.3
4 70.159.176.159
5 12.81.0.117
6 dns.asm.bellsouth.net [205.152.37.23]

Computing statistics for 150 seconds...
Source to Here This Node/Link
Hop RTT Lost/Sent = Pct Lost/Sent = Pct Address
0 spartacus [10.0.0.19]
0/ 100 = 0% |
1 2ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% READYSHARE [10.0.0.1]
0/ 100 = 0% |
2 2ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 192.168.1.254
1/ 100 = 1% |
3 450ms 1/ 100 = 1% 0/ 100 = 0% 70.159.160.3
1/ 100 = 1% |
4 493ms 2/ 100 = 2% 0/ 100 = 0% 70.159.176.159
0/ 100 = 0% |
5 --- 100/ 100 =100% 98/ 100 = 98% 12.81.0.117
0/ 100 = 0% |
6 460ms 2/ 100 = 2% 0/ 100 = 0% dns.asm.bellsouth.net [205.152.37.
23]

Trace complete.
ham3843
join:2015-01-15
USA

ham3843

Member

Hi Kazbear, I believe I too suffer from this issue.
I noticed that when you run the AT&T speed test
that often times, but not always it appears that the response to
my modem requesting data packets appears to be "ignored" for as much as ten seconds (but usually it is about 5) until the transfer starts.
I have noticed that BOTH modems I have a moto 3360 and a replacement Netgear 6200 (aka Westell 6100) when the issue occurs for me the ethernet light will flash quickly 3 -5 times and then finally the activity light will be flashing and the NORMAL operation of single pulses alternating between ethernet and activity light will occur.
To eliminate the possibility of the computer being the issue I have used three PCs of different makes years and OS and they all show the same issue with the DSL signal. So it is NOT the network cards and NOT the local modem. I use NO router and my connection is totally wired. I would describe what I am seeing as a "hiccup" before speed ramps up to normal speeds...

I had a premises tech out TWICE and he said my line is good, excellent in fact and he claims he even replaced the F card
(as I requested) because it was falling apart. LOL
I know quite a bit about how DSL works and the networking equipment and the only other thing I can think of is that we are on over crowded routers at the CO (or there is another problem at the CO) and that is where the problem lies. I requested that the tech support person transfer me to a tier 2 or 3 tech support person and he flat out refused. He claimed that there was nothing else ATT could or would do and that the only alternative was to subscribe to U Verse
as did the prem tech. I indicated that I do not need that kind of service (do not want TV or phone) and the basic 768k/128k was sufficient for my basic needs (no video or such )

Interestingly my folks have the exact same service I do and they do NOT have this issue (their CO is about 7 miles or so away and their house is about 8 miles from my home)

Does your modem act the way I indicate mine does??

Post back soon.

I am ready to send a certified return receipt requested snail mail to the Vice President of AT&T Networking Operations in TX.
(NOT to be confused with the office of the president which is a joke)

I had to send a CRRR to the VP of Consumer Operations to get my service connected to begin with so it looks like I will be doing the same to resolve this issue.
kazbear
join:2001-08-18
Dacula, GA

kazbear

Member

Thank you.

Yes, I feel my modem acts the same way as you describe, although, I really do need to do the tests without the router... Just putting that off because I really believe that is not the issue.

But durring the speed tests, it seems to spike. I get good speed, then the needle starts to drop, as if its getting no response then it spikes... and so on. Sometimes its consistent and gives me the results I would expect (Always when I am on the phone with Tech Support, of course).

One of the Tech guys replaced a card as well, as he said its easy enough to do and he had the on hand...

I do have a lot of devices that could be connected at any given time though... Of course, not all being used at once though... only 6 people in the house!

Wireless:
3 laptops
1 tablet
3 iphones
2 ipods
1 ipad
1 desktop
1 Wii
1 Roku

Wired
1 Xbox 360
1 PS3
1 DirecTV DVR

But I experience this poor connection even if its only a couple devices.

I am in the Atlanta Ga area. And like I said, have had nothing but great service for several years... Something has changed, and I know ATT wants to tell me its on my end. They might be right, so I was hoping the pathing test would tell me where the problem was. I just dont fully understand how to read it or whats the best way to test it.

I did the pathing test to my router ip and my modem ip... both of those showed no packet loss. So seeing the packet loss using the DNS I thought might tell me something... Hoping someone can help explain...
ham3843
join:2015-01-15
USA

ham3843

Member

Kazbear...

I DOUBT that the issue is on your end, another question do you have
the REAL U Verse product vDSL available at your home? They do offer the vDSL product here but like I mentioned I have no need for higher speeds (do not watch videos on a regular basis only an occasional short one) and also with vDSL U Verse you have to pay the rental for the modem along with the increased prices for the service itself, and there is the 100$ install cost as well so I have NO interest in vDSL unless the price comes way down.

I forgot to mention that the first time the prem tech arrived, he was able to make the service work PERFECTLY! As I had never seen it function before, even when installed, so I wonder if he shifted me to a uncrowded router at the Central Office until he could "clear" the trouble ticket at the time. LOL But I have told the professional but abrupt and curt tech support rep on the phone that I want that ticket to remain open until further notice, and then I said good bye..Funny thing was prem tech (same guy they sent out both times) tried to contact me again but I didn't bother to respond to the call. ATT network operations and maintenance should either fix the problem, (or stop causing it) or expect to hear from the corporate VP of Network Operations in San Antonio TX.
kazbear
join:2001-08-18
Dacula, GA

kazbear

Member

UVerse is not available in my home. 3.0 is the best they can do. We really could use better bandwidth. Really, 3.0 is not bad if it works.

I actually used to work for ATT, before they sold our division. So I got a really good deal with employee discounts. I only pay $10 a month for Home Phone and DSL. But that deal ends in about a couple months so I will be shopping around. I just need it to work. The natives are getting restless...
ham3843
join:2015-01-15
USA

ham3843

Member

Did you work for them when they were the old Bell System and
Bell South (southern Bell) ?
Sad to see a once innovative and service driven company fall so far down in the past three decades. Not that the current AT&T is the real descendant of the original Bell System of course.

lostinms
Moo
join:2001-11-29
Grenada, MS

lostinms to kazbear

Member

to kazbear
I had DSL for 3 years up untill November when I switch back to Cable cause I was so tired of the lag spikes that I had for the last 2 years. I had called att several times and they could never seem to fix it so I started to run pathpings and tracerts. It seems it is ATT network that is having issues not my end I tried my best to tell them that they need to fix their network but alas they would not listen to me.

One game I had quit playing cause of lag spikes was WoW. Now what was funny was WoW is hosted by ATT so there for you would think you would not have any issues. After I switch to cable the lag spikes went away and I am back to playing WoW.

I think this is their way of getting rid of there DSL lines not sure but the really bad thing is it is either them , cable or satellite for internet. We know that 2 of them are not really broadband.
kazbear
join:2001-08-18
Dacula, GA

kazbear to ham3843

Member

to ham3843
I started with BellSouth in 1990. When they first started BellSouth.net, I joined up. When DSL hit, I went along for the ride. Of course, they had special incentives for employees. But still, the service has been rock solid from the beginning.
I was a little excited when AT&T bought out BellSouth. Did not really want it to happen, but AT&T was big, and had lots of innovative Ideas. It seems like it was going to be good. But the AT&T Culture was just different, and things did not go as I had hoped. Was really glad when they sold us and we ventured on as a new company...

I am disheartened that they are not doing their best with DSL. Sure, its not cutting edge anymore, and they probably make more money in UVerse, but the truth is, not everyone can get UVerse.

The service is getting worse, and for Gaming, its mostly Destiny. My son cant hardly play through a mission without getting booted from the server. He get frustrated because you have to start all over.

I will call them again and give them my pathping results... Maybe I will talk with someone who knows what they are talking about... It happens...
ham3843
join:2015-01-15
USA

ham3843

Member

I would defintely ask if they could change your line to a different router at the CO. David the former social media rep for AT&T forwarded me to these addresses for REAL help as opposed to the worthless phone support. I have tried twice with phone tech support and have not made any real headway, the only thing they did was send out a prem tech which checked the line and then supposedly changed my pair because the original one was noisy. He claimed that he also replaced an F card at the DSLAM with a newer one, but I doubt it. He lied to me a few times and was down right rude to me when I called him back because things were not corrected during his first visit. I then called the phone rep back and asked to make sure that they send a DSL network maintance engineer to accompany the prem tech so that he could actually test the DSLAM and CO connections. Of course when the prem tech returned the second time, he was alone and only checked the line and claimed to replace the f card. When I called back the phone rep I let him know that things were still not correct and he basically told me to F off (politely of course) I told him that I wanted to keep the trouble ticket open because the problems were not corrected. Then once again phone rep badgers me about
U verse. LOL