Decreasing cable speeds

carage · Post by **carage** » Mon Jan 13, 2003 11:30 pm

I just realized that my cable modem speeds have significantly decreased compared to what I had when I installed my cable modem 3 months ago.
I've applied all the patches for XP and ran the TCP/IP Optimizer for cable settings as well as limiting QoS to 0.
3 months ago, bandwith tests at numion.com sometimes go as high as over 1,000k, but usually around 500k
Today, when I ran it, the speeds were between 80k-200k.
I wonder what has happened?
Could this be a side-effect of the recent AT&T BI/Comcast merger?

OS: Windows XP Pro
NIC: Realtec 8139 (Driver: 5.05 , 10/2002)
ISP: AT&T Broadband Internet
Location: Seattle

carage · Post by **carage** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 12:00 am

Just did another bandwidth test at Numion.com testing connections based in US.
The result is only 81 kbps....
Something is seriously wrong here!

carage · Post by **carage** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 2:53 pm

I called AT&T BI, and they said the signal strength appears to be normal.
I did another power cycle, and speeds still seem slow.
Anything I could do? (Other than buying a 3Com PCMCIA or USB NIC, which I wonder if it will solve the problem)

RiderGZ · Post by **RiderGZ** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 3:50 pm

I doubt if you download speed was at 2000kbs. Most likely you was looking at bps instead of the right chart.

carage · Post by **carage** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 3:55 pm

Originally posted by RiderGZ
I doubt if you download speed was at 2000kbs. Most likely you was looking at bps instead of the right chart.

Where did that 2000 come from?

I guess it might be necessary to clarify:
kbps = kilobits per second
If I was getting 80 kilobytes per second, then I don't really have much to complain about.
However, now I am getting 80 kilobits per second, then that makes me ponder

DaveM · Post by **DaveM** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 8:22 pm

Why don't you perform a max speed text based on file transfer.

http://www.dslreports.com/stest

Testing the speed of how data is sent to a web page is completely different that the raw performance of your internet connection!!!!

I get only 701 kbits/sec on that silly test site as well, but I get true performance ratings at the DSLREPORTS test site:

2003-01-14 20:21:47 EST: 1602 / 221
Your download speed : 1602094 bps, or 1602 kbps.
A 195.5 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 221827 bps, or 221 kbps.
Seems like broadband .. above the 1mbit barrier!

carage · Post by **carage** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 8:36 pm

your
download 916 kbps

your
upload 48 kbps

carage · Post by **carage** » Wed Jan 15, 2003 4:18 am

Now it is 1:17 AM and this is what I got:
Download: 384 kbps
Upload: 220 kbps

carage · Post by **carage** » Wed Jan 15, 2003 12:45 pm

1/15/2003 9:43 AM (PST)
Download: 1078 kbps
Upload: 189 kbps

Seems normal?

DaveM · Post by **DaveM** » Wed Jan 15, 2003 10:11 pm

No, with those results this doesn't sound normal.
It looks like your network is over crowded.

Have you run traceroutes to places like yahoo.com or some other large bandwidth site and look at the responses along the way?

You may be having local packet loss or just plain high latency getting to your network gateway in your neighborhood. Or you may have a very baddly tweaked registry and you need it cleaned up and need more help than I think I can provide.

Just ask for it and the right people will come in and help you diagnose your problem.

I am in Auburn Wa, south of Seatttle, where you have your ATTBI service and I get 1800/256 service 24 hours a day. However, there have been times where my service was as bad as yours. And the Local node was the problem, but it usually takes The ISP a while to admit there is a problem to individual callers.

Good luck!!!
Leave your IP address without the last number....

ie 12.229.219.xxx (which is for my area in Auburn)

I don't want to know your exact computer, I just want to run traceroutes to check the network between us. I am on the same metropolitan backbone, so, in theory, our connection should be about 12 MS.

carage · Post by **carage** » Wed Jan 15, 2003 11:36 pm

IP: 12.231.112.XXX
C:\Documents and Settings\Daniel Fang>ping http://www.attbi.com

Pinging http://www.attbi.com [204.127.198.9] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 204.127.198.9: bytes=32 time=63ms TTL=52
Reply from 204.127.198.9: bytes=32 time=67ms TTL=52
Reply from 204.127.198.9: bytes=32 time=56ms TTL=52
Reply from 204.127.198.9: bytes=32 time=50ms TTL=52

Ping statistics for 204.127.198.9:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 50ms, Maximum = 67ms, Average = 59ms

C:\Documents and Settings\Daniel Fang>ping http://www.yahoo.com

Pinging http://www.yahoo.akadns.net [64.58.76.222] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 64.58.76.222: bytes=32 time=112ms TTL=49
Reply from 64.58.76.222: bytes=32 time=100ms TTL=49
Reply from 64.58.76.222: bytes=32 time=109ms TTL=49
Reply from 64.58.76.222: bytes=32 time=128ms TTL=49

Ping statistics for 64.58.76.222:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 100ms, Maximum = 128ms, Average = 112ms

C:\Documents and Settings\Daniel Fang>ping http://www.seattletimes.com

Pinging http://www.seattletimes.com [192.251.219.138] with 32 bytes of data:

Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 63.251.0.234: Destination net unreachable.

Ping statistics for 192.251.219.138:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 1, Lost = 3 (75% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms

C:\Documents and Settings\Daniel Fang>ping http://www.washington.edu

Pinging http://www.washington.edu [140.142.15.233] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 140.142.15.233: bytes=32 time=48ms TTL=54
Request timed out.
Reply from 140.142.15.233: bytes=32 time=44ms TTL=54
Reply from 140.142.15.233: bytes=32 time=48ms TTL=54

Ping statistics for 140.142.15.233:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 3, Lost = 1 (25% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 44ms, Maximum = 48ms, Average = 46ms

C:\Documents and Settings\Daniel Fang>

carage · Post by **carage** » Wed Jan 15, 2003 11:48 pm

My default gateway is 12.231.112.1
ping results:

C:\Documents and Settings\Daniel Fang>ping 12.231.112.1

Pinging 12.231.112.1 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 12.231.112.1: bytes=32 time=47ms TTL=254
Reply from 12.231.112.1: bytes=32 time=38ms TTL=254
Reply from 12.231.112.1: bytes=32 time=38ms TTL=254
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 12.231.112.1:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 3, Lost = 1 (25% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 38ms, Maximum = 47ms, Average = 41ms

C:\Documents and Settings\Daniel Fang>

carage · Post by **carage** » Wed Jan 15, 2003 11:55 pm

TCP/IP Analyzer results
TCP properties for IP = 12.231.112.xxx (12-231-112-xxx.client.attbi.com)
Browser/OS = Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; .NET CLR 1.0.3705)
Note: Read the FAQ if the above is not your IP address.

TCP options string = 020405b401010402

MTU = 1500
MTU is fully optimized for broadband.

MSS = 1460
Maximum useful data in each packet = 1460, which equals MSS.

Default Receive Window (RWIN) = 64240
RWIN Scaling (RFC1323) = 0 bits
Unscaled Receive Window = 64240
RWIN is a multiple of MSS
Other values for RWIN that might work well with your current MTU/MSS:
513920 (MSS x 44 * scale factor of 8)
256960 (MSS x 44 * scale factor of 4)
128480 (MSS x 44 * scale factor of 2)

bandwidth * delay product:
Your RcvWindow limits you to: 2569.6 kbps (321.2 KBytes/s) @ 200ms
Your RcvWindow limits you to: 1027.84 kbps (128.48 KBytes/s) @ 500ms

MTU Discovery (RFC1191) = ON

Time to live left = 114 hops
TTL value is ok.

Timestamps (RFC1323) = OFF

Selective Acknowledgements (RFC2018) = ON

IP type of service field (RFC1349)= 00000000

THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP...

DaveM · Post by **DaveM** » Thu Jan 16, 2003 12:50 am

wwell,
Running trace routes from me to your gateway and to a bunch of your neighbors gave me a heck of a lot of super good results.
No packet loss, 12 to 30 ms trace routes, basically you should have the same great reliable speed that I do.

However, I did randomly test IP addresses and there is one at 12.231.112.233 that is having an identity crisis. I get two computers responding with that IP address in my traceroutes. Furthur more there is a lot of packetloss from that IP address, which would be the case if 2 computers actually do indeed share that IP address.

Just by chance, thats not you, is it?

Do you have your network set to get it's ip address by DHCP. Rather than being set up as static?

Also a couple of months ago, IP addresses were reasigned based on MAC addresses of your computers network card. You only get 1 IP address per account anymore.

You wouldn't happen to have 2 computers in your house both set up to use the same IP address would you?

Or your pc set up to use a static IP address? Which could mean you might accidently be sharing an IP address with somebody else on the network and they are having the same problem as you are.

The reason I ask is that exact same scenario happened to me. I had my satic IP programmed in, and my IP addressed had been changed.

Two people in two different homes that are set up to use the same IP address causes problems.

On the flip side, you could be set up just fine, and somebody else could have your IP address plug in and they could be the second computer with the same IP address as you.

One way to test this is to be online with tech support and have them ping your computer. Then turn off your modem's power and have them ping your computer again.
If there is a response, it's not from your computer then, and would be from some other computer that is set up to use your ip address.

carage · Post by **carage** » Thu Jan 16, 2003 1:28 am

Nope, that is not me.
I've only got one laptop directly connected to the CM, no other PCs around.
Yes, IP address is assigned by DHCP in network settings.

DaveM · Post by **DaveM** » Thu Jan 16, 2003 1:33 am

Well, it still could be that somebody has your IP address set up on their machine as a static address.

But then, as we narrow things out of the ordinary out of your possibilities list, that your computer could have been tweaked too many times by too many different programs and your TCP/IP stack is grossly harmed by conflicting registry entries.

I'd take the previous post of yours with the statistics of your connection and start a new thread with the subject "Please help me optimize my connection".

But just for giggles, try that thing I said to try with tech support and have them ping you with your modem on, then with it off.

You could also have a friend that you know, with an internet connection and a free phone line at the same time, do this over the telephone with you!

What ever your problem ends up being, once you fix it, your neighborhood node is smoking!
I have enough testing ability to see your node isn't having any severe packetloss or latency, and you share the same dns lookup servers and attbi backbone for Seattle, as I use. And we get 1800/256 service that is rock solid 24 hours a day!!!

Good luck, I know there is help for you, and it's not the Comcast/AT&T merger's fault.

carage · Post by **carage** » Thu Jan 16, 2003 12:20 pm

Thanks
I got several friends to ping me
None reported getting double response
Just tried the speed test again (9:17AM)
http://www.dslreports.com/speedtests/17 ... 1042737170
Well 1771/246 seems right.

http://www.dslreports.com/archive/attbi.com?r=576
But how are these ppl getting speeds over 10000 kbps?

carage · Post by **carage** » Thu Jan 16, 2003 9:16 pm

Thanks for all the help. Performance is generally better now.
I actually noticed a pattern, performance is good during the day especially around noon time, but starts degrading around 4/5 PM. I guess the node got overcrowded.

I am asking some other friends who are also using ATTBI to do the test and see what they are getting.

Besides, are you the legendary DaveM who created the Tribe? If so, please accept kudos from all my friends who still live in the dorm for providing such a wonderful tool. Though some of them are using DirectConnect more often now, and I have never used the Tribe since I live off-campus.
If someone with your level of network knowledge can't solve my problem, I really don't know what type of guru can help me!

Thanks for everything.

DaveM · Post by **DaveM** » Thu Jan 16, 2003 10:36 pm

They are doing something to make a false report by caching their browser.

Your speed test shows you have a very good connection. Thats great to see!

If you notice, none of those people who were able to trick the download test were able to trick the upload speed test at all.

I noticed one person's smug response "i r winnar". Truly some people get a kick out of corrupting something as simple as a good speed test web site.

DaveM · Post by **DaveM** » Thu Jan 16, 2003 10:55 pm

Try this speed test
http://www.lagmonster.org/utilities/spe ... est500.asp

then hit the refresh button. You will see your speeds skyrocket, because the test data has been "cached" in your browser for all subsequent tests after the first one.

Not every test is fool proof, but some are better at others for constantly giving the average user a very accurate representation of their web performance.

DaveM · Post by **DaveM** » Thu Jan 16, 2003 10:57 pm

Originally posted by carage
Thanks for all the help. .......

Besides, are you the legendary DaveM who created the Tribe? ...
.....
Thanks for everything.

You're welcome!

And, no. I am not the same DaveM. But thanks for the flattery. But I just can't steal anybody elses fame!

Take care!

carage · Post by **carage** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 4:05 am

I am not sure what is going on...
It is midnight, and my latest results are 798/226
While my friend in Redmond reported back 1757/223
May be there are just less cable users in Redmond... but given the fact that she has twice the download speed still makes me wonder.

Uh...I actually feel the urge to buy that PCMCIA 3Com NIC again...
When I was in Taiwan, switching to a 3Com NIC dramatically improved connection performance, don't know whether the same miracle would appear here or whether this is a NIC issue at all.

DaveM · Post by **DaveM** » Mon Jan 20, 2003 9:07 pm

It sounds like your node is over crowded.
Especially if the problem happens, say from 3 or 4pm until 12 or 1am.

Monday nights are the busiest nights for people on the net.

carage · Post by **carage** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 12:41 am

Thanks...well, I just ordered a 3com cable modem and a 3com PCMCIA Ethernet card, should arrive in the next few days.

Let's see what will happen then...

Loke · Post by **Loke** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 7:23 pm

Let me know Carage. My modem (the one having the same problem as you) is a 3Com.

DaveM · Post by **DaveM** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 9:30 pm

Carage and Loki, when you speeds are good and when they are slow you need to be running trace routes to sites at least a couple states away. That way you can see where the over crowding is.

In your case carage, I know there is no overcrowding leaving the Seattle metro. And the fact that your problems happen during Prime Time, 4 to 5 pm until late at night, tend to suggest either over crowding or a Node Gateway that is not opperating correctly.

With the results your RCA modem were getting, I can't see how a different modem is going to cure a problem that exists only during prime time. Unless its a sun light heat up issue on a non cooled distribution node somewhere on the street or apartment grounds, but I really doubt thats the issue in January.

Do you know how to run trace routes and what to watch out for?
How to determine what servers are within the AT&T network and which ip addresses in the trace route ar you, your modem and your gateway???

And finally loggin in with a computer on a dial up system and running a reverse trace route to see if your gateway is also providing packet loss and unexplained high latency to real world IP addresses attempting to gain access into your neighborhood node.

These are the type of issues I have to bring forward to AT&T every few months. We usually have a good couple of months then we suck for a couple of months while I turn in test reports every day for weeks on end.

We wish you luck!

carage · Post by **carage** » Mon Jan 27, 2003 8:19 pm

Thanks, I've just started using my new 3com 3C92210
It is working fine, but nothing surprising.
I'm still getting similar slow speeds during rush hours like now....
You were right, even the best cable modem couldn't solve my problem.
So it is probably a congested local node.
Well, my 3com ethernet card is coming in on Friday, I don't think that will change the result either.
Or are there any special settings or utilities for 3com cable modems (like their ethernet adapters?)

Loke · Post by **Loke** » Mon Jan 27, 2003 8:33 pm

Just so you know Carage, I have been after Comcast about this. They asked for a bunch of ping results, etc. Of course, since I sent them... nothing. I think the fact is, we have a bad node and they aren't going to admit to the problem since it would cost money to fix. My subscription to broadband may be coming to an end. Nearly $50 a month for speeds barely above a 56k modem ain't going to cut it.

Oh, by the way, I just read on 3com's page. You do know they've discontued all home cable modems right? Once the warranty runs out, that's it.

carage · Post by **carage** » Mon Jan 27, 2003 8:59 pm

I do know the entire 3com cable modem product line has been discontinued, and I still ordered this 3com modem with this information in mind. I have faith in all 3com products.

carage · Post by **carage** » Mon Jan 27, 2003 10:04 pm

Actually now I think my 3com cable modem is way better than the original RCA.

I was finally able to watch Madonna's Die Another Day (500K version, WMP9) without lag or rebuffering.

DSL Report Speed Test
Download: 1697 kbps
Upload: 159 kbps

MSN/CNET Speed Test
1976.2 kbps

Numion.com US
489 kbps

Numion.com Canada
562 kbps

Numion.com World
593 kbps

Loke · Post by **Loke** » Tue Jan 28, 2003 7:38 pm

Well, I wish it was the modem. I could fix that. Comcast on the other hand has chosen to go the route of totally ignoring my emails. I wrote one more tongiht. If I don't get a response to this one, my cable days are over. I'm not going to spend cable modem money for 56k modem performance. They have till the end of the month and then I think it's time to cancel the subscription.

carage · Post by **carage** » Tue Jan 28, 2003 8:02 pm

when e-mails doesn't work, you should pick up the phone.
They can't ignore you on the phone, that way at least you will get some response though not always particularly useful.

Loke · Post by **Loke** » Tue Jan 28, 2003 9:43 pm

Funny you should mention that. I just got off the phone with them. I have this number that some tech gave to me. I always kept it written down and I seem to get good results with it. It's not the usual comcast number for this local area. Anyways, I called the guy and explained the problem. While doing so, I ran a speed test while talking to him and my download speed came in at 180 kbps!!!!! That's less than 20% of my pre-problem download speed. He also pinged me and acknowledged that my ping seemed "unusually high." Yea, no shiznit! Anyways, he suggested I unplug the modem for at least 45 minutes(!!!) to see if that clears it out. I don't hold out much hope. I've only had the darn thing a month. How overloaded can it be??? Anyways, I'll unplug it before bed tonight and do a speed test in the morning. If it craps out, he'll send a tech. So maybe something is finally going to happen. This thing is useless for online gaming right now.

Loke · Post by **Loke** » Wed Jan 29, 2003 8:44 pm

Well carage, if you are interested... turns out the new modem Comcast gave me, a 3com, is bad. They did a speed test with me online. This test supposedly tests the speed of the modem directly somehow by doing a form of a download. My modem chugged along at a whopping 30k a second, well below the 200 or so I should be getting. So tomorrow night, the technician is delivering a new modem to the house. Hopefully that will solve it. It's been a painful two weeks.

carage · Post by **carage** » Tue Feb 04, 2003 4:21 pm

After a week of testing, I find that my performance still adheres to the cycle that I have previously described. The good thing is that the 3com CM is able to get me better speed than the RCA during the worst times (instead of slowing down to speeds slightly higher than a dual channel ISDN, I can still get 300kbps), but it is still nowhere near the 1600 kbps 24hrs performance like DaveM and my friends in other areas are experiencing.

Another friend of mine who also lives in the U Disctrict, tells me he is having similar performance cycles.

DaveM · Post by **DaveM** » Tue Feb 04, 2003 5:47 pm

carage,
You could move down south towards Kent and Auburn, I haven't heard anybody I know of complain, lately.

Keep calling in to AT&T, when they get enough complaints racked up, they usually fix the service.

I've had to wait through problems like yours usually about once or twice a year, for the 3 years we have had our service.

carage · Post by **carage** » Wed Feb 05, 2003 2:30 am

Thanks for the advice, but I really just settled here and cable connection issues defintely doesn't justify the moving cost and transportation costs if I move out of the U district any time soon.

DaveM · Post by **DaveM** » Wed Feb 05, 2003 4:17 am

I'm sure you realize I was joking about moving!
LOL
But at times, it makes one think about it, anyhow, especially if you're going to end up with some better type of service, like a house that at best can get 21.4K connections, and moving to a neighborhood with ADSL or Cable Modem service to the home!!!

LOL

Speed Junkie!