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marigolds
Gainfully employed, finally
Premium,MVM
join:2002-05-13
Saint Louis, MO
| [MO] Springfield
Moving grfxgawd's stuff over here:
said by grfxgawd  :
I live in Missouri, so I'm hardly local to most of the posters in this thread. But I'm having serious connectivity issues, not just bad ping times. The thing is, IT ONLY HAPPENS AFTER 8PM.
No conspiracy theory there at all. You tend to see more people online during peak evening hours and thus smaller problems become much bigger due to the shared nature of cable internet. The question I would have (since you mention drop outs in another post) is whether or not your tv is affected to?
said by grfxgawd :
If this isn't solved in a week I'll be forced into contacting the BBB, the State Attorney General, and probably the FCC. This has absolutely got to be fixed. I have no idea why it is so hard for them to locate a problem on their own network.
Just some advice, these probably won't work unless it is a TV issue. The BBB rarely responds to cable complaints if at all, most State Attorney's have been uncooperative on cable complaints unless it looks like a class action matter, and the FCC is worthless as far as anything cable modem related. Try working with your city or county government or try to work higher up in Mediacom if you cannot get a resolution.
It sounds to me though that you are experiencing a problem that is difficult to solve rather than a problem that they are not trying to solve.
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IronDragon
Premium
join:2003-06-25
Des Moines, IA | grfxgawd,
If you can pm myself, Bainch, or Rapt0r32 we can have someone look into your concerns
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Once a Geek always a Geek | |
grfxgawd
join:2003-01-28
Springfield, MO
| reply to marigolds
There is supposed to be a tech out to do a complete sweep of the lines today. I really, really, really hope they find something. Anything!
Some people are trying very hard, others seem to be very unconcerned. Terry Woods from the local office here is doing just about anything she possibly can to help, and I'm very grateful for her efforts. A very good (my opinion) tech came out last night at 9:30 pm to try and find the problem since it was actually happening (and boy, was it ever happening).
He found an OBVIOUS problem at the connect box. The main drop that feeds the house needed its connector redone. There was a large gap in the center insulator and the very top of the connector. (The white part where the center wire comes out was down further than it should have been.)
When we came back inside - Bingo! Modem was up, line was clean, and pings were good. He hung around a bit and things were fine, we decided that must have been the problem. He left. 15 or so minutes after the modem drops again. So while we found something that was a problem, and we helped things, we didn't get it fixed. (It was down for the rest of the night as far as I know - it was already 11:30pm - I gave up and read a book)
The problem I have is this. I call the tech support number. I get the agent on the phone, and I'm blessed that they trust me enough that they do not need to walk me through my PC settings, so they look at the modem. Gone for a few minutes and one of two things happens - "Well, it looks like it's online. We can see it fine." or "Well, it looks like it was offline but it trained back up and everything looks good." End Of Call. No one seems to have the slightest interest even when they have seen the modem going up and down like a yo-yo to really DO anything. How about logging my connection? Setting up pings for a 24 hour period and check line conditions? How about hooking a device up in my home for 24 to 72 hours to log and monitor the line?
I had to finally act (well, I wasn't acting) very angry with a CSR on the 800 number and demand to talk to a supervisor. And still I got, "Call back in the morning.". Why should I have to call back? Do they provide pen and paper for CSRs? Is there no ticketing system that could have flagged this for the supervisor?
I did call back the next morning and spoke with "John" I believe. I think it's a call center in Illinois. He was very helpful. He called, multiple times, because he couldn't seem to find anyone at their desk, down to Springfield to get someone local on the problem. That's where I was referred to Mrs. Woods. And as I've said, she's working as hard as she can to help find the problem. At least, as hard I think she can. She's always taken my calls, been very courteous, and willing to talk with me. So to John and Terry I offer my most sincere gratitude. They have been wonderful so far. Also I believe the tech that was out at my house was named Rick. Rick is welcome at my house anytime. 
But it's taken more than a month, dozens of hours of work on my part, and threatening to resort to other agencies to get this cooperation. And, this is not a NEW problem. I've been plagued with intermittent problems ever since Mediacom picked up the service from @Home. Thank god they did, otherwise I'd have lost any chance at a high-speed connection.
We've switched modems once (problem solved for quite a while), had at least 6 to 12 people out to my house over the last three years, spent possibly hundreds of hours on support calls, bought my own modem (Toshiba PCX 2600 - the one I was told to absolutely not buy), and now I'm paying DSL reports to try and monitor my line.
This is nuts. I've worked for ISP's. Two in fact. DialNet.net and Jesscom.net. I am not a network technician, and I never will be. But in my experience connection problems CAN be very hard to diagnose, but it shouldn't take more than a month to get some action on a reoccurring problem. Especially on an account that has been plagued with problems for years.
Last night was the first time shortly after we moved in that the TV didn't have noise on it, thanks to Rick. We've been in that house almost 4 years, and last night I saw channel 2 without noise.
I love using the service when it works. I'm grateful to have high-speed access. But if there was ANY feasible option, I'd switch so fast it would leave the cable line sizzling.
I have been blessed over the years with some techs on the 800 line that have gone way past the call of duty to fix problems. I’d hug those guys and buy them a beverage if I could. So some of my experience with Mediacom has been reaffirming and positive. But enough is enough. I don’t know what else I can do.
(Yes, I’m known for writing lengthy tomes. But the extraordinary length of this one is due to my extraordinary frustration with the situation I’m in.)
Thanks to all who have replied in this thread, and thanks to a mod for splitting it off. It’s a good feeling to be helped by someone with this. | |
grfxgawd
join:2003-01-28
Springfield, MO
| reply to IronDragon
To IronDragon:
Thank you very much. I'm hoping the Springfield office can resolve this very soon. If however they can't/don't, I'll take you up on your offer and PM one of you.
I don't want to go any further over peoples heads than I already have. The people working this should be given a fair chance to resolve it at this point.
Even though I desperately want this fixed, I think it would be rude and upsetting if I were to try to escalate this right now. Some people are working on it, and the effort to me seems obvious. Most times, as long as I see something being done I'm fairly well placated.
And again, thank you very much. | |
ptweasel
join:2001-07-29
Springfield, MO
| reply to marigolds
Up until recently, I lived in the Grand/Pickwick area, and had problems similar to yours since the @Home switch as well. I had countless techs out, who consistantly found either no problems or never even knocked and left a note on my door saying I wasn't home.
Fortunately, we just moved to a different part of town about three months ago, and I haven't had a single problem since. I know that doesn't help much, but at least you know you aren't the only one in Spfld who's had the same problem before. | |
grfxgawd
join:2003-01-28
Springfield, MO
| Well.... we are planning to move this spring...
But that doesn't help the connection now.
It is however intersting to know some other springfieldian has had a similar problem.
Thank you for posting.
I'll be going home soon and (hopefully) setting up the dynamic dns stuff (right this time) so I can monitor the line a little at least. Hopefully it will help me establish if my claims are true.
What I'm really wishing for is that someone solved the problem, or it found someone else to plauge. Maybe the cold will make it subliminate? lol | |
grfxgawd
join:2003-01-28
Springfield, MO
| reply to marigolds
ptweasel: Was there a specific time frame this happened? My problem seems to manifest dominantly after 8pm.
I'm grasping for straws, looking for patterns, trying to get some type of information that can be used to combat this.
Thanks in advance! | |
grfxgawd
join:2003-01-28
Springfield, MO
| reply to marigolds
It's 9:19pm as I type this, and so far the connection looks very solid tonight.
Per IronDragons suggestion I have another monitor set up on the router (since it has the capability for dynamic dns). I seem to have done a better job, or something, because it's graphing ping times. The other graph doesn't seem to be (I guess I still haven't gotten it completely configured).
Rick, the tech who was out last night at 9:30 pm, called during dinner tonight to ask a few questions and exchange some ideas and suggestions with me. He did this on his own, and it was very nice of him to do. I appreciate his continued efforts.
Maybe something was found earlier today? Maybe a cloned mac address that I asked to have changed to the native address helped? I'm not certain, but I'll post what I learn as this unfolds.
I thank everyone following this and assisting. | |
Techy1
join:2004-01-23
Springfield, MO
| reply to grfxgawd
I am a tech in the Springfield system. I just came across your postings here, and was interested in your problem. Remember, I am speaking about a problem sight unseen so there may be other problems I don't know about. I can say though that some of the replies I have read are incorrect. One of them says something about internet traffic being so much greater after a certain time and this is causing a slow down. Theoretically, this is possible but highly unlikely. That is to say, that type of slow down is miniscule if the cable modem is functioning properly. If your having packet loss and abnormally slow speeds, there are a few things in my experience that can do this. I know these things will sound far out to you, but I assure you these things happen and will cause just the problem you describe. In order, #1. Voltage feed back somewhere on your electrical system. If you have a "Hot Chassis" on any appliance in your house it can feed back to ground on your cable. It can be anything, even your computer or monitor or printer or even the freezer in your basement. In a few cases I have found the power neutral to the house has become loose or corroded. Usually though it's something simple like an ungrounded electric outlet or reverse polarity. If you have that nifty little ground lug cut off of your power strip behind the computer, this is usually the culprit. Aside from being hard on sensitive equipment like Cable modems and computers, the electricity flowing back to ground through the cable changes the impedence of the cable and it eventually chokes out the signal for the upstream on your modem. This is why your transmit level is maxed out and the modem can't comunicate any longer. This also happens slowly, when you or a service tech disconnects the cable from the modem or outside the voltage goes to zero because it is no longer grounded. When it is connected back up, the voltage slowly changes the impedance again until it gets to a certain point that the modem can't over come it and the problem returns. This makes sense in another way with regards to the time it happens, like in the evenings when you and everybody else is home. Appliances and such that are not on during the day, i.e. Little Johnnies T.V. in his room may not be causing any problems until they are switched on. I have solved this kind of problem many, many, times by simply checking for voltage feed back, and from what I've read of your postings this sounds just like the culprit. #2. A program on your system is causing it. Antivirus,Peer to Peer programs like kaazza or bearshare or napster, firewalls, or even a program you don't have anymore and still has settings hidden in your registry. I can't tell you how many times just shutting down these programs has solved the problem. Happens all the time and people are usually stunned when you just click a couple of buttons and the speed returns. I will admit though this doesn't sound like your problem because it is not happening all the time. If you are using a peer to peer though, make sure you have the option to "act as a supernode" disabled. This can cause problems because you are acting as a node point for perhaps thousands of different users and hence dramatic slow down. #3. This is the final thing and highly, I repeat highly unlikely but has happend a couple of times to me so can't dissmis it. Every once in a while you can get a bad IP address issued to you from our system. If all else, and I mean every other thing checks out or has been tried I will atempt to get a new IP address registered to the account, though this has only been a succesfull fix a couple of times in the entire time cable modems have been availiable in our area. Ok, that about covers it, hope this helps you. All things being equal, I would just about bet #1 is your problem, but I've been wrong before and without knowing your specific situation it's difficult to know for sure. Good Luck. | |
grfxgawd
join:2003-01-28
Springfield, MO | reply to grfxgawd
2:22 am - still up. This is a good thing. I'm going to bed. | |
Rapt0r32
join:2001-05-09
Chillicothe, IL | reply to marigolds
Actually The Sup you spoke to was Jason  ( in Illinois )
and that would be me... | |
grfxgawd
join:2003-01-28
Springfield, MO | Thank you Jason! Sorry about the mixup. I left my papaer with everyone's name and such on it at work.
Your help is apreciated. | |
marigolds
Gainfully employed, finally
Premium,MVM
join:2002-05-13
Saint Louis, MO
| reply to Techy1
said by Techy1 :
I can say though that some of the replies I have read are incorrect. One of them says something about internet traffic being so much greater after a certain time and this is causing a slow down. Theoretically, this is possible but highly unlikely. That is to say, that type of slow down is miniscule if the cable modem is functioning properly.
I was only refering to the peculiar timing of his issues (only after 8 pm). Such timing issues may look bizarre at first, but can end up being noticable at those hours because of peak local node traffic at those hours. The peak internet traffic itself does not actually cause the problems (unless you were in one of the cities that had 1200 homes passed per node). Also, some more bizarre transient problems that normally involve people doing abusive things (i.e. cable theft) tend to pop up during peak hours. While it is unlikely that this was such a case, often times the hardest problems to crack are actually being caused by someone else.
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grfxgawd
join:2003-01-28
Springfield, MO
| reply to Techy1
I don't think it's traffic related either, unless it has to do with traffic across my equipment internally going out. For that to be viable (outbound load related) there's either a bad component, or something creating a problem (like ac voltage into the line). The traffic would only make it worse, not the source cause.
For idea #1.
The voltage idea has been discussed. If its voltage related, I feel that it's from outside this house. One reason is because I checked the polarity and grounds on every outlet inside the house when we first moved in. (Don't remember checking garage and external). I was surprised to see that they all operated correctly. Wiring can deteriorate, and I've not rechecked them lately but I think I might. Also, I'd never cut a ground plug off of anything nor use equipment where it was removed or damaged. Anyone with a little electrical knowledge knows it's just a bad idea.
I'm pretty aware of all the equipment in our house and its condition. I'm also pretty aware of what is on when. My kids are 5, 4, and 18 months. There's no electronic device that would produce significant RF or plugs into an electrical outlet in their bedroom (aside from a clock) and quite often while this problem happens while they are asleep. The only other people in the house are my wife and I. My wife may use the TV, and that's about it. The problem seems to be completely independent of weather any device is operating or not inside our household.
This seems to only happen after 8 pm. Fewer devices in our house are used during these hours. The only "new" devices on after 8pm would be my Xbox, or my PS2. And this problem has happened regardless of those being on or off.
For idea #2
I've changed PC's during the time this problem has happened (almost 2 years now intermittently), and any scheduled software that runs does so on a very regular basis. The problems with the drops are random as is the severity.
Just an example:
Friday night, clean line, no drops, no problem.
Thursday night, bad drops and eventually circuit went down completely.
Wednesday night, drops every 35 to 45 minutes. It eventually quit about 11pm.
Tuesday night, very bad and frequent drops, eventually completely stops working.
Monday, clean line no problems.
Any application or process that I know of on this PC runs the same regardless of day. And even if that weren't true, it doesn't explain the couple months where I had very few problems, and no new software has been installed. I load up what I need at set up for the most part.
I don't use P2P programs and none have ever been installed on this PC. There had been some on the old PC, but it took a very short period of time for me to become disenchanted with them. Way too many reasons to not use most of the programs out there, it isn't worth the hassle.
I will say one thing, Norton anti virus often likes to run about 8pm. Interesting, no? But, again, why no problem last night then?
For reason #3
I've had this happen. But if I remember correctly, shouldn't power cycling the modem and the router cause the IP to change? Once the modem is disconnected and there's no signal to or from it, doesn't that IP go back into the pool? And let’s say once reconnected it DOES reassign me the same IP. How many times in a row is this possible? The other night I unplugged it at least six times hoping that at some point it might train back up.
I was told once that my IP was being used by another device on the network, and I think once was told another device was using the same MAC address. But that's been at least a year ago now.
I think scenario #1 is possible, but only from voltage feedback by another device on the same cable segment that I am on. Maybe we've developed a problem with the grounding in our house, but that seems iffy. The cycle you describe with the voltage ramping up and the connection being dropped sounds similar to the way the problem manifests. But, the signal isn’t maxed out that I know of. The modem simply quits communicating with the outside network. The old surfboard (rented device) used to just sit there and endlessly power cycle, not just retrain but completely shut itself off and on.
This happened one time while I was on the phone with a service rep and he told me that he could still see the modem, and there was nothing wrong with it. When I told him that I thought that was pretty unlikely because every light on the device was off, he put me on hold for a while. 5 to 10 minutes later he comes back and says "well, it looks like you're having some problems. The modem is power cycling, but we don't see a reason why. Voltage is good. Signal strength is good. Everything looks fine from this end."
I'm no tech, never gonna be. But above are my observations and reason (faulty as they may be) for my thoughts on the subject. My suspicion is that it's a problem some place outside my residence, and maybe even the result of a couple problems combined. I've got no way to prove it, and even less technical expertise to even make such assertions in the first place. But these are my thoughts and what I've observed.
Any additional thoughts? I really appreciate everyone trying to help. It's good to hear the situations you've encountered in the past. It's helpful to know what can happen and why.
As of last night I've seen NO down time or disconnects. I had nearly 100 packet loss at one point, but it was fairly brief and I've not seen it since then.
I think weather may make the problem worse. It wasn't that cold last night, not like some previous nights this week. But Mrs. Woods said that she had a tech scheduled to come out and do a full sweep of the lines yesterday. Maybe something was found and fixed? Maybe not. Regardless, it was really good to be back on line last night. I love uptime. | |
grfxgawd
join:2003-01-28
Springfield, MO
| reply to marigolds
said by "marigolds":
... The peak internet traffic itself does not actually cause the problems...Also, some more bizarre transient problems that normally involve people doing abusive things (i.e. cable theft) tend to pop up during peak hours. While it is unlikely that this was such a case, often times the hardest problems to crack are actually being caused by someone else.
I do think it's something external to my house. Again, I've got no solid technical nor provable reason for this. | |
grfxgawd
join:2003-01-28
Springfield, MO
| One thing to note: My join date. Know why I joined in January 2003? Constant connection problems.
I think we finally fixed that problem with a modem swap.
Strikes me as moderately ironic. | |
Rapt0r32
join:2001-05-09
Chillicothe, IL
| reply to grfxgawd
No problem. I am glad Terry was able to help out. Took me awhile to find someone....
"one time while I was on the phone with a service rep and he told me that he could still see the modem, and there was nothing wrong with it. When I told him that I thought that was pretty unlikely because every light on the device was off, he put me on hold for a while. 5 to 10 minutes later he comes back and says "well, it looks like you're having some problems. The modem is power cycling, but we don't see a reason why. Voltage is good. Signal strength is good. Everything looks fine from this end."
We do see this from time to time that the CMTS will indeed show a device "online" when the device is currently off. What is normally needed is for the device to be cleared ( manual reset command ) and then the device will show offline. | |
grfxgawd
join:2003-01-28
Springfield, MO
| said by Rapt0r32 :
We do see this from time to time that the CMTS will indeed show a device "online" when the device is currently off. What is normally needed is for the device to be cleared ( manual reset command ) and then the device will show offline.
That would explain it. Well, heck, now I have one less "silly tech support person" story to tell.
From discussion I've heard over the last couple years, it seems that before the purchase there were more robust tools at your disposal. I hope in the future those tools are made available to you and your people again, or something comparable.
You can only diagnose something you can find. And better tools provide a better chance at finding the answer.
You, and Terry, and Rick, and the guys here on the board all make a very different impression upon me about Mediacom.
And besides, my connection has been up for at least close to 24 hours straight now again. That alone makes me a much happier camper. | |
Rapt0r32
join:2001-05-09
Chillicothe, IL
| When we had @home we did have a tool called "CAPS" which ISR's would be able to ping the computer and modem from their desk ( now that is back in the days when I was still on the floor answering calls )
Since we have gone over to MCHSI we do have a tool that we continue to tweak and it gives the same functionality that we used in CAPS to the ISR's today. So the tool is coming and is real close. We will also be able to declare outages quicker since the tool will poll the devices every X-amount of minutes rather than us ( sups ) having to go looking for outages via telnet. ( that alone can take a Supervisor 10 mins just finding the device that is out since there are so many in each Division. ) I have played around with the tool and it is nice and will be handy in the future. | |
grfxgawd
join:2003-01-28
Springfield, MO
| As a designer, and having worked for two (dialup) ISPs in the past, I can say the right tools can make all the difference.
It's exciting to hear that there is a new software package being honed.
And the connection is still up.
Quick question maybe someone can field.
On the dslreports monitor my computers IP is listed as 12.218.129.106
The Routers IP is being reported as 12.218.139.106
When I go to the Router and check the stats it lists 12.218.129.106 as the IP address it currently has leased.
Is this just an anomaly because of two devices "thinking" they have the same IP address? Maybe something I've configured incorrectly in the monitor setup?
I may not have given enough information to answer my question accurately.
The reason I ask is because the graph for the router shows a "considerable" amount of packet loss, like 40% to 80%. The PC though does not.
I'll stop posting for a while. Lunch time at the zoo, then naps, then we take them all to the circus tonight. | |
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