Intermittent packet loss, jitter
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Intermittent packet loss, jitter
23-12-2016 7:26 PM
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I am suffering intermittent packet loss and lots of ping jitter on my Plusnet ADSL connection.
I thought it might be the router, so I ordered a NETGEAR D6220 a few days ago and have done some testing with that, but it displays the same problems as the Plusnet-provided TG582n. I tried a TP-LINK Archer VR900 a few months ago and had the same issues.
I noticed with both alternative routers that, when any upload is being performed on the network, ping becomes incredibly high (>1 second) and packet loss increases significantly. With the TG582n, this doesn't happen, but all of the routers show intermittent packet loss the rest of the time. I've attached the connection information from both the TG285n and D6220 to this post.
I have two separate lines coming into my house, one for a home office (supplied by BT) and one for family broadband (supplied by Plusnet). The family master socket is connected to a couple of extensions in the rest of the house, one of which is the socket I normally have the TG582n connected to.
I suspected there might be an issue with either the internal wiring for the extension or a line fault. I performed the quiet line test on the family extension socket, the family master socket and the office master socket.
Family extension socket: quiet regular clicking noise, fades in and out
Family master socket: quiet regular clicking noise, fades in and out
Family master test socket: completely quiet
Office master socket: quiet regular clicking noise, fades in and out
These results leave me somewhat baffled as to where the clicking sound is coming from - if it were the fault of the family extension, I wouldn't have expected to hear it on the separate office line. However, if it were an external fault, I would have expected to hear it on the family master test socket.
To try and isolate the issue, I used PingPlotter to make recordings with two different laptops, using both the NETGEAR and Technicolor router, using wifi, built-in ethernet and a USB-to-ethernet adapter. I also used a new ADSL filter (the one that came with the D6220) to perform this testing. All of the combinations show random packet loss and intermittent high ping, but to different degrees.
I couldn't get all the images onto this forum post, so I've uploaded them to imgur: http://imgur.com/a/rR51A
These problems have been going on for months now. What should I do next? Is this likely to be a line fault?
Re: Intermittent packet loss, jitter
23-12-2016 7:59 PM
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Hi Norclo,
Welcome to the forums!
How close can you put your router to the master socket and do you have a PC / Laptop in reach of it too? If not wifi may work but always best to avoid wifi if you can when diagnosing problems.
Ideally first off plus the filter into the master test socket, and check for noise there, you mentioned that the master test socket is totally clear so that is good to start with. If with the microfilter in it is also quiet then it rules the filter out.
If you can then put the modem into the filter in the test socket and connect up. If you can put a PC LAN cable or laptop into it here then test for packetloss here to see what you get. (so you only have test socket, microfilter + modem plugged in, nothing else)
Do you ever get any packetloss/jitter on your BT line?
2 tests to run, first ping 192.168.1.254 (or 192.168.1.1) depending on which router you are using. That should always be sub 1ms and no errors or spikes at all as that is just the other end of the ethernet cable.
Second run pings to pingbox1.thinkbroadband.co.uk This box is designed to respong to pings, lots of other things like 8.8.8.8 arent, so they work but may drop them if busy so dont use for troubleshooting!
Also pingplotter spams all the links in a route, we jsut want to know about the end one, so jsut run "ping -t pingbox1.thinkbroadband.co.uk" to get a constant stream of pings in windows, then after leaving say 5-10 minutes press crtl-c and it gives you a summary,
let us know how you get on and we can see what to try next!
One of the plusnet guys may be able to run a line test too if they are on just to check and errors its picking up.
Re: Intermittent packet loss, jitter
24-12-2016 12:57 PM
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I ran the quiet line test on the test and master sockets with a wired phone and three different filters.
1) Filter that came with the NETGEAR D6220:
Master socket: quiet popping
Test socket: very quiet popping
2) Filter currently plugged into my phones:
Master socket: quiet popping
Test socket: nothing
3) Filter currently plugged into my TG582n:
Master socket: quiet popping
Test socket: nothing
The test socket popping for 1) was so intermittent that it may have also been audible on the other two filters, but I didn't hear it.
I then ran the ping test on the same two machines, with the each machine connected by ethernet to the TG582n, connected through filter 3) to the test socket. The results don't look too bad at the moment, though I have been seeing 192.168.1.254 ping times >1ms on a couple of machines. I think the packet loss problem is worse in the evenings.
Machine 1, 192.168.1.254
Ping statistics for 192.168.1.254:
Packets: Sent = 271, Received = 271, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 7ms, Average = 1ms
Machine 1, 80.249.99.164
DNS wouldn't resolve pingbox1.thinkbroadband.co.uk properly for some reason, so it was hitting 198.18.1.24 and timing out. Passed the IP address to ping explicitly.
Ping statistics for 80.249.99.164:
Packets: Sent = 368, Received = 368, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 12ms, Maximum = 21ms, Average = 13ms
Machine 2, 192.168.1.254
Ping statistics for 192.168.1.254:
Packets: Sent = 409, Received = 408, Lost = 1 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 1ms, Average = 0ms
Machine 2, pingbox1.thinkbroadband.co.uk
Ping statistics for 80.249.99.164:
Packets: Sent = 406, Received = 406, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 12ms, Maximum = 102ms, Average = 18ms
Re: Intermittent packet loss, jitter
24-12-2016 7:57 PM
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Thanks, be interesting to see again at peak time when you were getting the loss previously.
If from machine 1 you get stats like "Minimum = 12ms, Maximum = 21ms, Average = 13ms" that is pretty good, average 1ms more and spikes of only 20ms.
Sometimes when you ping 192.168.1.254 the first ping can get lost, seen it many times, so 1 poss i wouldnt worry about, and even a max of 8ms its not a problem, as long as they all arent 8 (although even then it would work well). The average of 1 shows the router itself looks good.
If the tests are done at peak time today when you had the problems and they are ok, can you post the results, and then it will be a case of gradually introduce your extensions until we hit one that starts causing loss.
Re: Intermittent packet loss, jitter
30-12-2016 10:09 AM
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You snuggest making this very simple - if testing on the family master test socket (without filter) is silent, then the filter / extension wiring is picking up interference.
Go around the house unplugging bits of electrical equipment until you find the clicking has stopped. This could be a duff switched current power supply, so stuff needs to be switched off at the plug (not put into standby / powered down).
Can you describe the extension wiring - from the master socket back plate or from the front of the plate? Do the wires to the extensions run in one or two directions?
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