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Repeated intermittent problem on Level3 nodes

RarelyHappy
Dabbler
Posts: 10
Registered: ‎29-01-2010

Repeated intermittent problem on Level3 nodes

Hi,
I'm getting intermittent packet drops on two Level3 nodes, and I see you have had problems with these same nodes before.
te-4-2.car5.London1.Level3.net [217.163.45.249]
ae-22-3205.car2.Dusseldorf1.Level3.net [4.69.161.166]
The problem is worst during the day but applies 24/7 - I've been getting this for several weeks now, and after 100's of tracert runs it's always these two nodes that are either dropping or returning ridiculously high times.
I stress this is intermittent and I have many tracert runs where they are abolutely fine - but they are regularly causing problems.
I'm tracing to 93.186.204.51 and of 10 consecutive tracert runs I'm getting drops or very slow response on 3 out of 10 runs. (maybe 1 minute elapsed) on one or other of those IPs
Is this something you can pursue with Level3 ? 
Yours Hopefully,
Rarely.
6 REPLIES 6
orbrey
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 10,540
Registered: ‎18-07-2007

Re: Repeated intermittent problem on Level3 nodes

Hi RarelyHappy,
The trouble with traceroute traffic, especially when it's aimed at routers, is it's usually very low priority which would probably explain the dropped packets - the router will prioritise it's routing over responding to pings.
If you're finding your regular traffic slowed down over the same links then we'd have a concrete problem that can be looked into, but unfortunately as things stand we don't.
RarelyHappy
Dabbler
Posts: 10
Registered: ‎29-01-2010

Re: Repeated intermittent problem on Level3 nodes

Matt - thanks for your response.
The underlying problem that led me to look at Tracert output is intermittent high ping/lag/latency on gaming. (the reason I pay so much for my broadband)  Its making my gaming experience unplayable - I can be fine, then stutter slightly, then fine again, then have a major stutter/crash. 
Which tests/information can I supply that would help identify where the problem lies ?  Is there an FAQ or Pinned post somewhere that would let me see what steps to take or information to provide that would help identify the cause?
Other than Tracert is there another tool I can use to monitor whats going on with my traffic ?
Cheers.
Kelly
Hero
Posts: 5,497
Thanks: 380
Fixes: 9
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: Repeated intermittent problem on Level3 nodes

Hey, which games is it?
Kelly Dorset
Ex-Broadband Service Manager
RarelyHappy
Dabbler
Posts: 10
Registered: ‎29-01-2010

Re: Repeated intermittent problem on Level3 nodes

Hey Kelly,
Its BF4 (loud sniggers at the back not helping).
I've started up a TBB BQM graph, and it's not very old but perhaps already a bit revealing.
<a title="Broadband Ping" href="http://www.thinkbroadband.com/ping/share/f06f607ac9229c079723b0bdf0ff19e1.html"><img alt="My Broadband Ping - FalkirkRidgeback" src="http://www.thinkbroadband.com/ping/share-large/f06f607ac9229c079723b0bdf0ff19e1.png" /></a>
Any advice/suggestions.thing to check would help.
Cheers.
Kelly
Hero
Posts: 5,497
Thanks: 380
Fixes: 9
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: Repeated intermittent problem on Level3 nodes

Are you using your connection much?  That looks pretty noisy.
Kelly Dorset
Ex-Broadband Service Manager
RarelyHappy
Dabbler
Posts: 10
Registered: ‎29-01-2010

Re: Repeated intermittent problem on Level3 nodes

Kelly,
Usage roughly mapped out below, the large blue spikes are indicative of something perhaps ?
28/1/14
22:51 started bf4
23:30 stopped due to server unresponsiveness and jitter
29/1/14
00:22 still cant get onto a server
00:50 started bf4 (approx)
02:42 stopped bf4
no usage until 8am - small usage for 1 hour
out of house from 9:15am until 15:00 - no usage
15:00 onwards various web, email, facebook, not heavy
18:00 onwards wife using facebook, so likely pictures, short video clips, nothing major
22:30 I'm about to start bf4 (hopefully)
We're on unlimited fibre, but we only get a 6.6Mbs downstream connection due to distance from the cabinet.
Any idea if this is to be expected or indicative of problems?
I know ping tests are not conclusive, but before I had Fibre when i did PingTest.net I always got 0% packet loss, whereas now I often get 1% or 2% packet loss at the same time things are rough in BF4.
Thanks for any input !!  Cry