WFThor
join:2006-01-08
Saint Louis, MO
| GameRail/Charter
In the interest of disclosure, yes, I work for GameRail.
Charter does not "offer" GameRail, nor are they "partnered." All Charter does is peer with GameRail. Any subscription fee goes to GameRail, not to Charter. I don't think we would be able to secure peering will all the other ISPs like we have if we were favoring, or paying, one over the others.
This is a prime example of what GameRail can offer the consumer. If you don't have an option for ISPs in your area, and the one you have is unwilling to fix a problem, is oversold, or any other of many reasons for bad performance, GameRail may be able to help.
From the description of the problem, it sounds like Charter is oversold in this market, and getting traffic off of their network and on to ours is fixing the problem. Simple as that. |
|
DHRacer
Fire Survivor
join:2000-10-10
Lake Arrowhead, CA
 ·Charter Pipeline
 ·Verizon west (ex G..
| Still has to travel over their "oversold" network to get to you. It's not like you suddenly become the customer's headend ISP, where in that case, the customer would not be on Charter's network like you say.
But at that point, you'd be an ISP, but you'd still be reliant on the owner of the cable/dsl lines and plants to supply the initial connection which still leaves the customer with the "oversold" network node/plant so I don't see how Gamerail really helps.
All you'd be is a peering arrangement to specially optimize the existing ISP connection for a fee. Now you're profiting off making a connection "good" when that is something that the customer, when they pay the ISP for internet service, should already be getting.
If the above is true, I wouldn't be happy that my ISP intentionally cripples me just to benefit both themselves and make me pay again to another company to have it work right. That's not the way the internet should be, where the customer loses either way.
--
"No one will believe you solved this problem in one day! We've been working on it for months. Now, go act busy for a few weeks and I'll let you know when it's time to tell them." (R&D Supervisor, Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing /3M Corp.) |
|
WFThor
join:2006-01-08
Saint Louis, MO
| I don't deny that you should get good service from your ISP, but that is out of our hands. I'm simply taking exception to the thread that seems to be blaming us for Charter's problems in this market.
Re:Still traveling over the oversold network, it depends on where his traffic is getting onto our network, and where Charter's problem is. Since we seem to help this user when he has problems with his Charter connection, it looks like the problem is further down the line than where we pick up his traffic.
GameRail is primarily intended for long haul gaming, where routing problems and overloaded routers have a higher chance of affecting your gaming. One of our users is Dallas gets routed to the west coast before heading to servers he wants to play on in Chicago; using GR he drops 70ms.
The fact that we can solve other problems I see as only doing more to help you, the end user. Ultimately it is up to you if you are willing to pay for that help, and I suspect that has a lot to do with if you have a choice in ISP or one that is willing to work with you to fix problems. It seems that most people don't however, and we offer them an option that they otherwise wouldn't have.
I would love to be able to provide GameRail for free for ever, but the realities are that maintaining a nationwide fiber network, with carrier class equipment, a software development team, and a network team isn't cheap. |
|
deadi
Premium
join:2001-08-26
Perry, OH | If Gamerail can do it, why cant Charter? You would think that ISPs would want to provide good service for there customers. |
|
moonpuppy
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD
·Verizon Online DSL
| said by deadi  :If Gamerail can do it, why cant Charter? You would think that ISPs would want to provide good service for there customers. Quoted for truth. |
|
SylphFi
Premium
join:2007-06-07
Moses Lake, WA | reply to deadi
Probably, Charter is bottlenecking at their upstream (L3, MCI, Globabl Crossing, etc), because they excessively oversubscribed the bandwidth available to them. |
|
BryanOnRR
join:2007-06-22
Brandon, FL
1 edit | Waste of money.
The money you will shell out to these scammers, you could get a better isp and tier and not worry about any latency.
Problem solved. |
|
TechieZero
Tools Are Using Me
Premium
join:2002-01-25
Wesley Chapel, FL |  reply to WFThor
Gamerail Purchase ?
Can you purchase Gamerail while using an ISP other than Charter? |
|
druber
join:2000-04-11
Marlborough, MA
 ·VOIPo
| reply to BryanOnRR
Re: GameRail/Charter
Are you a troll? Many (if not most) people have one real broadband solution available to them. If that sucks, they are screwed. Gamerail is charging, what, $12/month? Tell us how someone stuck with, say, charter, as their only provider, can get this far superior ISP for $12 more per month? |
|
dmggg
@comcast.net | reply to WFThor
as it is for me its either comcrap or dial-up, and comcast's routing and speeds arent too grand  |
|
SkellBasher
Yes Sorto, I'll take my Prozac
join:2000-10-22
North Tonawanda, NY
| reply to WFThor
said by WFThor :I would love to be able to provide GameRail for free for ever, but the realities are that maintaining a nationwide fiber network, with carrier class equipment, a software development team, and a network team isn't cheap. There's no way you guys built out that fiber network unless you got a LOT of venture capital up front. $11.99 an month does not pay for quality transit. 
By what I can see, you're only riding the old Broadwing (now L3) backbone, and your entry into a market is predicated on negotiating a peering agreement with the ISP at some upstream aggregation point.
As DHRacer already brought up, you have no control over the network segments upstream or downstream from your arranged peering points. As such, you have zero control (or liability) over network issues on the residential ISP's network, or the networks after traffic exits your network.
It almost seems like a play to bring more transit traffic to L3, and take advantage of the 'ZOMG MY PING SUXXORZ LOL!!11' crowd. |
|
53059959
Temp banned from BBR more then anyone
join:2002-10-02
PwnZone | we needed gamerail back in 1998. I remember trying to frag on east coast servers on 784k sdsl and being routed to god knows where. course, those were in the cais days =P |
|
IWLoneWolf
join:2005-12-09
Dallas, OR
·Qwest.net
·Charter Pipeline
3 edits | I have been testing Gamerail some it does cut my hops in half and have seen somes improvement at time using gamerail when my normal path to the server in Texas I play on give me high spiking pings.But Keep in mind this service is new,did the internet work the best everyone wanted it to when it first came out.Time and testing of this service for the user will be the real proof.If it helps a user with there connection to a game server, then they can decide if it is worth the cost or not if the performance difference is not enough to justified the cost do not use it and do not pay the cost.Example for me DSL is much better then dial-up for online gaming so I for go the cost difference for DSL,Thats my choice. |
|
JoeG4
join:2001-12-16
945941
·AT&T DSL Service
·Comcast
 ·Clearwire Wireless
·Vonage
| reply to WFThor
To me, it sounds like how someone was talking about how Comcast lag/issues suddenly go way up with VoIP when Digital Voice is introduced into a new market, and until a bunch of people complain, then comcast realizes they "have a packet routing error"
To me, it sounds like Charter's intentionally having "routing errors" for GameRail or whatever to fix.  |
|
TechieZero
Tools Are Using Me
Premium
join:2002-01-25
Wesley Chapel, FL
| reply to TechieZero
Re: Gamerail Purchase ?
said by TechieZero :Can you purchase Gamerail while using an ISP other than Charter? This question bears repeating. |
|
WFThor
join:2006-01-08
Saint Louis, MO | You do not need to have charter to use GameRail. We are peered with several ISPs in each market and are adding more as we can. |
|
TechieZero
Tools Are Using Me
Premium
join:2002-01-25
Wesley Chapel, FL
| reply to druber
Re: GameRail/Charter
said by druber :Are you a troll? Many (if not most) people have one real broadband solution available to them. If that sucks, they are screwed. Game-rail is charging, what, $12/month? Tell us how someone stuck with, say, charter, as their only provider, can get this far superior ISP for $12 more per month? No, are you a moronic jack-ass? Cause you certainly act like one. People are calling "shenanigans" on Game-rail implying that this is just a another way for Comcast to sell another tier.
If Game-rail is a solution to MORE THAN ONE ISP --- then that implication is weak. Amazingly other ISPs exist in other places in addition to more than one in a single area. The question had nothing to do with just a single area. |
|
TechieZero
Tools Are Using Me
Premium
join:2002-01-25
Wesley Chapel, FL
| reply to WFThor
Re: Gamerail Purchase ?
said by WFThor :You do not need to have charter to use GameRail. We are peered with several ISPs in each market and are adding more as we can. Thanks for the answer. |
|
