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Poor pings and general performance in evenings

Marky
Dabbler
Posts: 22
Registered: ‎13-05-2009

Poor pings and general performance in evenings

Not sure where to start really, switched to plusnet In January this year after a bumpy ride with our old isp.
For the first 2-3 months the performance was great, pings measured in-game were sitting around 30-40 constantly.
However for the last 4 or so months I start to get massive lag spikes and generally poor internet performance after about 17:00 every day.
Iplayer won't stream, in-game pings are going from 70-200, coming down, then going back up again.
As soon as it hits around midnight, ping settles and videos will stream perfectly.
I'm using a wired connection straight to my pc, no one is connected wirelessly. there are no abnormal background tasks running or scheduled downloads and anti-virus/ spyware is all up to date. We're not maxing our usage allowance, Although we have in the past.
We're on the pro package, I've checked our exchange using the exchange checker tool and it seems OK as far as I can tell
A couple of months ago using a speed tester I would get roughly 2.00 mbps, which I'm perfectly happy with - I live in the sticks, I can't change that so it's tough.
But recently I've been getting speeds as low as 0.6 mbps... can't help thinking there's something wrong somewhere  Undecided
I fitted an iPlate last night out of desperation so I'm going to wait a few days and see what's what.
House is extremely old so I guess nasty wiring can't be ruled out, but it would seem strange the wiring only gets bad at certain times of the day, no?
Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated, I'm at work till 6 but can pull router stats and the like later.
sorry for the essay.
14 REPLIES 14
Denzil
Grafter
Posts: 1,733
Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Poor pings and general performance in evenings

I, too, live in the sticks, so I can sympathise. Router stats will be useful, yes. Check the stats when plugged in to the test socket as well (if you have one). If there is any difference it may tell us whether it is your wiring that is at fault or something external. It is quite possible to get interference problems at certain times of day. Depending where you live, more people are at home in the evenings and using appliances, businesses could be switching equipment on and off, boilers switch on etc etc.
Edit: Sorry, where are my manners - welcome to the forums!
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Poor pings and general performance in evenings

Quote from: Marky
As soon as it hits around midnight, ping settles and videos will stream perfectly.

I don't think this is anything to do with wiring, routerstats, IP profile.
When it's bad have you tried gateway hopping?
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)
Marky
Dabbler
Posts: 22
Registered: ‎13-05-2009

Re: Poor pings and general performance in evenings

Many thanks for the welcome and help Denzil, will try that when I get in tonight.
I'm in a pretty rural area, closest house is at least 50+ meters away so if there is any interferance it must be something in my house.
I do have sky tv which i've heard can cause problems, but i've tested a few times with it all unplugged and it hasn't made much difference.
Sorry Jelv, I'm pretty sure I can use router stats but how do I obtain my ip profile?
And what's gateway hopping?  Roll_eyes
Sorry I'm not that good with some of the broadband jargon, but more than willing to give it a try with a bit of help.

jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Poor pings and general performance in evenings

Plusnet have a number of gateways through which you connect. http://usertools.plus.net/@gateway will tell you which one you are connected to. The amount of traffic on each can vary so you may see some problems on one gateway and not another. If you disconnect/reconnect and check which you are on you may see better performance from a different gateway.
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)
Denzil
Grafter
Posts: 1,733
Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Poor pings and general performance in evenings

You can see your IP profile using the <a href="http://speedtester.bt.com/">BT speedtester</a>. Also check in the <a href="https://portal.plus.net/my.html?action=data_transfer_speed">Member Centre</a>. The figures should be the same, but they can occasionally get out of sync.
Marky
Dabbler
Posts: 22
Registered: ‎13-05-2009

Re: Poor pings and general performance in evenings

Ok just used the speedtester, here's the result
Quote
Download speedachieved during the test was - 705 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 200-1000 Kbps.
Additional Information:
Your DSL Connection Rate :1056 Kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 750 Kbps

Now this is taken from the Member centre
Quote
Estimated line speed:
    2.5 Mbps - Checked on 2009-01-14 12:27:12
Current line speed:
    1000

Doesn't quite add up to me
James
Grafter
Posts: 21,036
Thanks: 5
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: Poor pings and general performance in evenings

Hi Marky,
Your account is now showing 750Kbps.
It is possible that when our profiling was set marginally higher than BTs, there may have been an element of packet loss.
I'd recommend rebooting your router and see if there is any improvement.
Marky
Dabbler
Posts: 22
Registered: ‎13-05-2009

Re: Poor pings and general performance in evenings

Well I've reset my router, pings are still high though in my opinion - Getting constant 80+ ping times on UK servers.
Thing I can't understand is that a year ago i was getting a solid 2.5 mbps connection, now it's gone all the way down to 0.7?
I would honestly love to know how my line can deteriorate that much in a year without any internal wiring changes  Undecided
I put an iPlate in on Tuesday night, I've seen it can take up to 3 days so how would I know if there's been any improvement? just keep speedtesting?
Just taken this off my router stats page, don't really understand much to be honest.

                                                                  Downstream                                  Upstream
Rate (Kbps):                                                 1184                                              192
SNR Margin (dB):                                         15.3                                              6.0
Attenuation (dB):                                                 47.0                                              27.0
Output Power (dBm):                                         11.2                                              16.1

Super Frames:                                               5349470                                    5349468
Super Frame Errors:                                       1887                                            26
RS Words:                                                       90940998                                    22735239
RS Correctable Errors:                               75414                                            2081
RS Uncorrectable Errors:                               6734                                            N/A

HEC Errors:                                                       1338                                            17
OCD Errors:                                                       77                                                  0
LCD Errors:                                                       0                                                  0
Total Cells:                                                       253938567                                  0
Data Cells:                                                       3396891                                  0
Bit Errors:                                                     0                                                  0

Total ES:                                                     1381                                                  0
Total SES:                                                     8                                                  0
Total UAS:                                                     30                                                  0
anything look bad/ odd?
Marky
Dabbler
Posts: 22
Registered: ‎13-05-2009

Re: Poor pings and general performance in evenings

Ok bit of an update, on saturday my router was showing:
Quote
                                                              Downstream                                    Upstream
Rate (Kbps):                                                    1184                                                  192

I rebooted yesterday and it's showing
Quote
                                                              Downstream                                    Upstream
Rate (Kbps):                                                    2144                                                  458

So without wanting to speak too soon it looks like the iPlate might have made a difference? thing is I've no way of checking unless the bt speedtester is back up and running since last night,
My profile on pn has gone back to
Quote
Current line speed:
1000

James
Grafter
Posts: 21,036
Thanks: 5
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: Poor pings and general performance in evenings

Looks like the iPlate has made an improvement - noting especially your upstream improvement.
Mind supplying some ping and traceroute results?
Anotherone
Champion
Posts: 19,107
Thanks: 457
Fixes: 21
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: Poor pings and general performance in evenings

Hi Marky,
I was guessing that because you said you were out in the sticks, you are on standard maxDSL and not ADSL2+ (your exchange probably not being 21CN enabled for WBC yet), but perhaps you could confirm.
Your stats indicate that you have a fault (do you know what the total uptime for them was?). The Upstream SNRM and Sync speed (in the context of the BT speedtest figures) suggest it could be your modem/router but I wouldn't rule out filter or a BT fault. Also your Sky box will not necessarily display an immediate problem unless you're checking the right things, as it's when it's phoning home that the problem will arise.
There is little point in doing ping and traceroute tests until a fault is cleared
You are going to need top do a few tests and swapping things about - warning - before unplugging the master faceplate/filters/modem-router or its line connecting leads, power down the modem-router and wait a few minutes before unplugging the line. This is to avoid the exchange DLM thinking you have an ongoing line problem (or make things worse if you have).
You will need to use a corded phone during the tests (cordless phones & basestation) should be unplugged and turned off). Connect the phone directly to the test socket behind the master front plate & i-plate (noting warnings above). First please check your phone line - do you have dial tone on your line, can you hear/have you heard any crackling or other intermittent noise on the line? Dial a 1 to get rid of the dial tone. If you need more time before the NUT (number unobtainable tone) dial the quiet line test 17070 option 2. (Don't use any ringback or other test). Who is your Telephone Line Rental provider?
If you can hear such noises (check the phone is good on another line) you need to report a fault to your line rental provider. Phone when the line is noisy and speak to an adviser - don't use any automated tests - and get them to confirm they can hear it & log it & log it as intermittent. Do not mention the broadband. Ask them to pass that information on to the OpenReach engineer. If they ask about the broadband and if you have problems, just say I don't know - I'm reporting a phone fault - otherwise you could get given the run around.
Note also that whilst the master front plate is not connected all extension sockets should be dead - (check with a phone plugged into a filter). Any extensions that are used should have all equipment including the sky box plugged in via a quality filter.
If the phoneline checks out OK, connect the modem-router via a good quality filter (rat's tail type - not the ones that look like a splitter, they are not all of good quality but leave the phone unplugged for the moment). Plug into the i-plate socket (not the master) and post a set of stats taken immediately after you get sync. (If you include total uptime & connect time when posting stats that will help interpret errors).
Having done that plug the phone in and take another set of stats.
If the filter you are using is your regular one, if you have another to try for comparison, power down the modem-router, swap the filter and take another sets of stats immediately after sync. If you have another modem-router, try that for comparison, again take a set of stats immediately after sync.
Post back the results and we'll see how things are looking.
Oldjim
Resting Legend
Posts: 38,460
Thanks: 787
Fixes: 63
Registered: ‎15-06-2007

Re: Poor pings and general performance in evenings

To back up the post by Chris I had a very similar problem where the upstream sync rate dropped significantly (down to 192kbps) and I found I could trigger the effect by resynching the router while the phone was ringing (I dialled in from my mobile and didn't answer it).
After a lot of tests and checking (including two engineer visits) the problem turned out to be a faulty line card. However it was complicated by the fact that my Speedtouch router was also playing up occasionally.
Marky
Dabbler
Posts: 22
Registered: ‎13-05-2009

Re: Poor pings and general performance in evenings

Many thanks for the replies all, I don't think I'm going to be able to run all those tests tonight, if it's helpfull I'll post my most recent stats with the uptimes.
Should be able to do the bulk of master socket testing etc tomorrow evening.
Thanks again

Quote
Connection Type :  G.DMT
ADSL Status (Downstream/Upstream) : 2144(Kbps) / 448(Kbps)
Connection Up Time : 52 hour, 39 min, 15 sec

                                                                                                                                            Downstream                                                                                Upstream
Rate (Kbps):                                                                                                             2144                                                                                                  448

SNR Margin (dB):                                                                                                   10.8                                                                                                    23.0
Attenuation (dB):                                                                                                           47.0                                                                                                    26.0
Output Power (dBm):                                                                                                   11.9                                                                                                  18.5

Super Frames:                                                                                                           11116543                                                                                          11116541
Super Frame Errors:                                                                                                   17891                                                                                            78
RS Words:                                                                                                                   377962482                                                                                  94490598
RS Correctable Errors:                                                                                           983167                                                                                          323
RS Uncorrectable Errors:                                                                                           110799                                                                                            N/A

HEC Errors:                                                                                                                   14690                                                                                            57
OCD Errors:                                                                                                                   489                                                                                                    2
LCD Errors:                                                                                                                   4                                                                                                            2
Total Cells:                                                                                                                   955490696                                                                                    0
Data Cells:                                                                                                                   10730515                                                                                            0
Bit Errors:                                                                                                                   0                                                                                                            0

Total ES:                                                                                                                   8487                                                                                                    0
Total SES:                                                                                                                   34                                                                                                    0
Total UAS:                                                                                                                   15                                                                                                    0
Anotherone
Champion
Posts: 19,107
Thanks: 457
Fixes: 21
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: Poor pings and general performance in evenings

Hi Marky,
well those recent stats look better although far from what your line ought to achieve, but this is likely to be an intermittent problem (unfortunately) so you may need some persistence in the monitoring..
(PS - if you are able to save the stats as a jpg or png file you can attach those to a post rather than having to do a cut and paste job to insert it into the post. Use the "reply" button below the last post rather than the quick reply box, then below the reply window you'll find an "Additional Options" button where you can add the attachments).
By the way do you know how much of your line is overhead and is any of it underground?