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Mediacom internet speeds slow as I use my allowance (it's my fault)So, I've tried on the official forums to no avail and I though maybe a third party forum would be more helpful where there are more eyes. » mediacomcable.com/Custom ··· =17362.0This is the current thread. I am being told if I want to use my internet at the speed that I am paying for and not have my speeds drop down to barely usable (3mbps download and literally 0 upload to 200kbps with 200 ping, although all of those bounce around like crazy so the 3mbps isn't even usable) then I should upgrade to use at the current speed I am paying for. Treating your customer this way is absolutely astounding. This is the thread after a month of this going on and a tech coming to my house I finally get told that the issue is me using my upload within the constraints of my contract! I stream to twitch and I see others having the same problem as I am, after streaming for a bit there speeds go haywire, I tried notifying a member on the forum that his issue maybe the same as I am having but that post was deleted my the moderators. He hasn't finally gotten to the true reason his speeds are dropping out. |
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That's weird. I have 105/10 and my internet is fine while I stream. I was streaming DayZ SA a few hours ago and it was all good. |
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to TheDudeMan
What is your download/upload limits?
How many people are connecting to your feed when you are having the issues?
What are you using to "I stream myself on an internet TV site"?
Have you experimented with the different qualities to see if lowering the quality helps?
Depending on your upload limit you may be exceeding them. For example you may have a 5 meg upload limit and streaming out to your "internet TV site" at 1 meg. Depending on how many people are watching your stream you could very quickly max out the upload limit if each person ends up causing a new stream when they are connected. |
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It is actually twitch, so there is no direct uploading to other users. Twitch handles all of that.
Interceptor: It is apparently only because I am maxing out my upload speed, which I do not think should be a problem since I am still within the constraints of my contract and it is impossible for me to exceed my limit. My internet merely "drops out" for a bit becoming very erratic and unusable for awhile. They are saying it is MY fault this happens because I use all of my upload that I am paying for and if I want to use the bandwidth that I am currently streaming at with no problems I should upgrade my contract. So basically if I want to use the internet I am already paying for I should pay more lol. That logic.... |
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k9iua6
join:2004-05-23
Dubuque, IA
1 edit |
k9iua6
Member
2013-Dec-17 8:46 am
People forget or don't realize that there is overhead associated with all internet traffic. More with TCP protocols and less with UDP. And depending on the size of packets being sent, the overhead can reach as high as 20 percent, with larger packets having a relatively smaller percentage than a whole bunch of small packets. That is because the overhead (addresses, etc.) are more-or-less fixed in size. Same is true for upload as for download. So when one has 1 mbps upload, in reality it is more like 800-900 kbps that is actually available for data. And in DOCSIS technology, every upload request is actually two requests - the first to the CMTS asking to send an upstream packet(s), and then the sending of the actual data packet(s) itself when scheduled by the CMTS. In other words, it is very easy to saturate your upload with too many packets and packet upload requests. And with cable internet as the technology, the Mediacom techs who have advised you may very well be right that you need a higher tier, with higher potential upload, just so your data upload works within the designs of the technology. Or you need to adjust your resolution/quality of picture to be less, as another user advised. No TCP/IP internet system is designed to work at 100% of utilization, with 80% or lower being the desired limits. |
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rfnut
Premium Member
join:2002-04-27
Fisher, IL |
to TheDudeMan
Since several people have mentioned a "higher" tier, I think it is important to note that your software may use all of this higher tier as well which will result in the same problem. Does the software you are using have any settings that allow you to customize the bandwidth so it does not saturate the upload? Most do, and it will correct the issues your having.
based on a quick google search, Twitch does not have much in the way of bandwidth customization. Seems like only way to reduce it is to lower the quality / frame rate / resolution. Not much help there, but there is more to it than my quick search.
Either way, it is the mechanical structure of TCP/IP that is creating the issue, not anything Mediacom is doing. If you hook two computers together back to back and saturate the upload between them, the download will die. It is normal. The solution is to not saturate the upload. |
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 DocDrewRF Medic
Premium Member
join:2009-01-28
dv streaming
Technicolor TC4400
ARRIS TG1672
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to TheDudeMan
You're hitting a limitation of TCP/IP, not something Mediacom is imposing. » www.google.com/search?q= ··· oe=utf-8Maxing out your upstream doesn't leave any bandwidth for necessary TCP/IP communication overhead done in the background. Those needed packets (like ACK) get delayed by the upstream getting saturated and that causes your speeds to drop. You need to set aside 5-10% of your upstream bandwidth for overhead. |
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to TheDudeMan
What are the speeds you are paying for? |
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to DocDrew
said by DocDrew:You need to set aside 5-10% of your upstream bandwidth for overhead. No you don't. The overhead is automatically pulled from your bandwidth streams. Setting aside more would just cause the same issue to happen. Also his net is dropping out and that doesn't happen by maxing out your bandwidth... why because the overhead needed is already in use. For the net dropping issue I think it's something else hardware or twitch related. Twitch(justintv) is notorious for having streaming issues on lower uploads speeds. |
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silbaco
Premium Member
join:2009-08-03
USA |
to TheDudeMan
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DocDrewRF Medic
Premium Member
join:2009-01-28
dv streaming Ubee E31U2V1
Technicolor TC4400
ARRIS TG1672
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to Pringlescan
said by Pringlescan:said by DocDrew:You need to set aside 5-10% of your upstream bandwidth for overhead. No you don't. The overhead is automatically pulled from your bandwidth streams. The app sending the streams can only set aside the overhead for the streams it generates, unless it has settings to otherwise limit it in general. Other apps will fight for any remaining bandwidth on the connection not used by the app uploading. Once all the upstream bandwidth is used, other packets are delayed and waiting in a queue for their turn at being sent. Packets like acks to servers waiting on downloaded data received confirmation are important for a well working and speedy connection. Basically if you have a 1 mbps upload connection, don't let the app dominating the upload bandwidth use more than 900 kbps. Leave the other 124 kbps for other apps trying to upload data. adjust as needed up or down for the performance the other apps need. Actually from the link silbaco just posted: Twitch Encoder Settings It recommends using no more than 80% of your upstream bandwidth. 
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k9iua6
join:2004-05-23
Dubuque, IA |
k9iua6
Member
2013-Dec-18 12:15 pm
Right. And if the idea here is to stream yourself playing an online-connected video game, one obviously needs to leave room for the game itself to communicate over the internet. A computer can only send data upstream if the CMTS in Mediacom's local head-end grants you time to send data upstream, and if you've maxed out your allocated bandwidth for a specified period of time, the CMTS won't grant you a time slot, which introduces pauses to data flow. Setting your video bitrate to slower than your allocated upstream bandwidth will produce an overall smoother flow of data. |
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to TheDudeMan
If you max out your upload your download will be crap and it doesn't matter what your tier is. You need to limit your upload to about 80% of advertised upload. If you have multiple users you need to lower the limit more.
The upload is the reason most people upgrade their tiers. I used to get service calls for the same problem. Waste of my time... |
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PissedInDave to TheDudeMan
Anon
2013-Dec-18 4:55 pm
to TheDudeMan
As much as I hate Mediacrap, This is because of the limitations of what you subscribe. It does not matter how much data your allowed. For the package you signed up for you only have so much download and so much upload. When you do something that uses it all, you are going to run into problems. in this case you are using all of your upstream. It is not Medicraps fault that you are maxing out your upstream. You get what you pay for. If you want to keep doing what your doing you will need to upgrade to higher speeds |
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DocDrewRF Medic
Premium Member
join:2009-01-28
dv streaming Ubee E31U2V1
Technicolor TC4400
ARRIS TG1672
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to k9iua6
said by k9iua6:Right. And if the idea here is to stream yourself playing an online-connected video game, one obviously needs to leave room for the game itself to communicate over the internet. A computer can only send data upstream if the CMTS in Mediacom's local head-end grants you time to send data upstream, and if you've maxed out your allocated bandwidth for a specified period of time, the CMTS won't grant you a time slot, which introduces pauses to data flow. Setting your video bitrate to slower than your allocated upstream bandwidth will produce an overall smoother flow of data. Unless the CMTS ports are congested, the issue I'm talking about doesn't even get to that low of a level. This is usually a TCP/IP issue where the overhead of the TCP connection is just delayed by the rest of the data stream. Those delays cause the flow to get interrupted. This can happen on any network when the bandwidth is saturated, it's not specific to cable. |
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rfnut
Premium Member
join:2002-04-27
Fisher, IL |
to TheDudeMan
Can I get back in on beating this dead horse ? I think it has been explained from every point of view now. |
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DocDrewRF Medic
Premium Member
join:2009-01-28
dv streaming Ubee E31U2V1
Technicolor TC4400
ARRIS TG1672
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DocDrew
Premium Member
2013-Dec-19 1:10 pm
said by rfnut:Can I get back in on beating this dead horse ? I think it has been explained from every point of view now. No, from the dead horses point of view.... if there are too many people beating you, there isn't enough room for the next person in line to really get a club in. He tries to force his way into the pack, shoving others out of position, so everybody has to pause, readjust, and then continue beating. |
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rfnut
Premium Member
join:2002-04-27
Fisher, IL |
rfnut
Premium Member
2013-Dec-19 1:14 pm
Nevermind then. LOL |
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k9iua6
join:2004-05-23
Dubuque, IA |
k9iua6
Member
2013-Dec-19 1:36 pm
I've been waiting to hear a report from the OP to see if he reduced his video bit rate any and whether that has made the difference that we all imply should happen. |
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rfnut
Premium Member
join:2002-04-27
Fisher, IL |
rfnut
Premium Member
2013-Dec-19 2:04 pm
We may have overwhelmed 'em with info. |
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Actually I haven't checked this thread since it was made. Oops. First let me say thank you for all of the support and actually taking the time to explain the situation. I asked on the Mediacom site to explain why this is happening and I just received the general "well this is the problem but it could be many things that are causing it response." Basically it was above their pay grade and they had no real idea why this was happening from a technical standpoint. When in customer service I think you should try to at least get an answer because when the customer or patient, I am in healthcare, is made aware of why this problem is occurring then they will accept the problem in a much more healthy way.
Now this is happening again though I have not streamed and maxed out my bandwidth today as I have not even been home but I am still getting 0.5mbps and 0.2mbps. It was fine yesterday. When I bypass my router and connect directly to the computer I get 25/1.5. Though I have had the low speeds in the past by bypassing the router. I am at a loss here and do not know what to do. I have reset the router and installed custom firmware on the router as well. I really don't think it is the router as I have had poor speeds both ways.
Also, could you explain why this persists for a few hours after it goes to crap? I am assuming that something on their side has to "reset?" |
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k9iua6
join:2004-05-23
Dubuque, IA
1 edit |
k9iua6
Member
2013-Dec-27 8:23 am
You should private message (PM) the user MediacomChad on this forum (one of Mediacom's support staff) and provide him with your account number or cable modem MAC address. He can then monitor your system for 24 to 48 hours to see what he can spot from the inside on how it is working.
You don't say if there is a time pattern to this. Are you, for instance, trying to do your Twitching during prime evening hours, when the system is more utilized? Or does this happen at any time of the day?
Also, you never did say which brand/model of cable modem you are using, and whether you are checking its status page (usually 192.168.100.1) to see if all four channels are bonding and what type of signals strengths, SNR (signal-to-noise ratio), or lost packet counts you are experiencing. |
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rfnut
Premium Member
join:2002-04-27
Fisher, IL |
rfnut
Premium Member
2013-Dec-27 8:30 am
said by k9iua6:..........
............(usually 192.169.100.1) to see if all four channels are bonding and what type of signals strengths, SNR (signal-to-noise ratio), or lost packet counts you are experiencing. I hate typos. Get me every time.  192.168.100.1 |
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k9iua6
join:2004-05-23
Dubuque, IA |
k9iua6
Member
2013-Dec-27 9:27 am
Fixed above. Thanks for catching that. |
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to TheDudeMan
said by TheDudeMan:When I bypass my router and connect directly to the computer I get 25/1.5. I believe this means Mediacom is not your culprit... |
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to Pringlescan
said by Pringlescan:No you don't. The overhead is automatically pulled from your bandwidth streams. Setting aside more would just cause the same issue to happen. Also his net is dropping out and that doesn't happen by maxing out your bandwidth... why because the overhead needed is already in use.
For the net dropping issue I think it's something else hardware or twitch related. Twitch(justintv) is notorious for having streaming issues on lower uploads speeds. bzzz... try again. tcpip 101. As someone who has been in networking for 18 years, drdrew is correct. As you approach the max bandwidth, media com's routers start limiting the bandwidth to the max amount. However, if you max the upstream bandwidth, your ack packets start to get dropped. They have a finite time to live. If the ack packets are not received in x ms (varies by isp), the requested packet is rerequested making the overall throughput decline dramatically. Only udp allows for no ack packets. |
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