ISP?

[MikeFiend]

Hey gang, what's up?

What connection are you using? I'm using Atlantic Broadband and I'm starting to think that this is my main problem with lag on the server. I'm seriously considering upgrading to a different company. My ping is always fantastic, but lag is almost always a problem...especially with the flying vehicles...horrible! PC Magazine did a great article on this subject; it's a bit dated: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1994566,00.asp Here is the testing results from some of the larger ISP companies as well: http://www.pcmag.com/image_popup/0,1871 ... 324,00.asp Is yours listed? How did you rank? Anyone using fiber optics? Bastards...I wish i had that option where I lived. M

[-T2-]

I use Comcast (cable). I normally ping well to the server but lag at times myself. The funny thing is I can go play on the VM server in England, ping higher but get smoother game play. Not sure what it is but it could be as simple as CTC being run on a Windows OS verus VM being run under Linux.

How often does the CTC server get rebooted? I know for sure that large log files slow things down on the server. We had this issue on all 4 of the DAM servers. Another thing is a bad/corrupt mutators. Only way to find out is to turn them on/off one at a time and see which one is the culprit. I say all of this not knowing what else is going on with the actual server (ie other games being hosted on a shared server).


PS - If I was in an area that Verizon services with FIOS, I would be all over it.

[badasp]

I have my own T1. I never lag unless it's server side.

Fiber optic can suffer from the same latency issues as cable or DSL. Like cable and DSL, bandwidth is being shared among X number of people. If many people are on at once and are doing heavy downloading, then you can experience lag. It all depends how the ISP supports their network. If they keep adding more bandwidth then network congestion can be avoided. If they don't, and most ISPs fall into this category, then network congestion will occur. A member in DD, Ivan Kilz, has a fiber optic connection and he lags often.

I live in a small town where all of the wireless ISPs (internet from cell tower) use one T1 connection (1.5 mbps up and down) to service hundreds of people. If a couple hundred people are on at once and are doing heavy downloading, then that 1.5 mbps gets used pretty quickly. 1.5 mbps is 1500 kilobits and if you divide 1500 by 200 you get a download speed of 7.5 kilobits per second per person. For reference, dial-up is 56 kilobits per second. Thus an improperly supplied network will lead to slow downloads and high and erratic latency.

The key is to find an ISP that supplies an adequate amount of bandwidth to their network. Most don't, so this is pretty hard to do. Try to find one that provides a SLA (service level agreement) that guarantees network performance. Otherwise you will get stuck with "up to" speeds that only reach their maximum in off hours when no one else is on.

[-T2-]

Even with a T1, you can lag. It all depends on the quality of the hops to your destination (like badasp mentions). They excess $$ you pay is to guarantee a solid 1.5 up/down to one of their main switches/routers. Same principle here as your shared bandwidth in your neighborhood but further down the pipe.

Most mainstream ISP's will not offer a respectful SLA or if they do, it is watered down by their legal team. I would pay more for a quality tiered structure if it was offered.

Badasp, what does a T1 cost in your neck of the woods? Is this a business write-off or purely personal?

[WarDad71]

I've run traces before to game server I.P.s and have had some low/odd results on a couple of nodes.

[badasp]

Even with a T1, you can lag. It all depends on the quality of the hops to your destination (like badasp mentions). They excess $$ you pay is to guarantee a solid 1.5 up/down to one of their main switches/routers. Same principle here as your shared bandwidth in your neighborhood but further down the pipe.

Most mainstream ISP's will not offer a respectful SLA or if they do, it is watered down by their legal team. I would pay more for a quality tiered structure if it was offered.

Badasp, what does a T1 cost in your neck of the woods? Is this a business write-off or purely personal?

Oh you can certainly lag with T1, but it is nearly always server side or due to bad routers/switches outside the carrier's network. It also takes a T1 about half as many hops to get to a target destination than a standard connection (e.g., cable or dsl), so this potential for lag is greatly mitigated.

T1's have gone down greatly in price in part due to the offering of business-class DSL. Business-class DSL from companies such as Speakeasy offer an SLA similar to that of one you would get with a managed service (e.g., T1). They cost about 1/4 of a T1 and have download speeds up to 6.0 mbps. There is no cable or DSL in my area so this is not an option for me. Perhaps for you guys it is an option. I would definitely check into that before laying out the few hundred dollars a month it costs for a T1. My T1 is mostly for personal use though writing it off as a business expense sounds like a great idea. How does Badasp Inc. sound?

[CTC-JimRimya]

Mike,
Keep in mind that you may not have any other options for connection in your area. For instance, I am only served by one cable provider (I think this is how it works most everywhere), I'm too far from the CO to get DSL, and Verizon hasn't rolled out FiOS in my neighborhood. I do know people that live nearby that have FiOS and they complain about it. It sounds like it's not much better, at least in Southern California (which is a hugely impacted market).

My cable provider is Charter. In the past I used to have tons of problems, but in the last nine months or so, they have all gone away. I think they finally upgraded a lot of their network hardware and everything seems to be working quite well. I'd love to have a T1, but the cheapest offering is ~$350 / month which is just too rich for my blood. I pay $89 / month for 10mbps down/1mbps up plan.

Also, paying more to increase your speed will not fix any lag problems. Speed and latency are two different things.

[MikeFiend]

Thanks for all the input so far guys! Actually Jim, I started with "Charter", but it was replaced/bought-out by Atlantic Broadband. I'm just starting to learn about this stuff. I doubt that I will make any connection changes soon. I forgot about latency...actually don't even know what that is in regards to internet connection other than the actual definition of the word...which is probably all you need to know.

[BulletWitch]

Both id and I are on Comcast in Virginia and right now it is the worst internet to have. We have intermittent internet a lot lately. There are days where it is fine and nothing. Called the tech people and they sent a guy out...I was at work but apparently like most service techies that go to houses do...he did nothing to fix the problem...besides point out the fact that Comcastically bad was charging me for cable tv! I don't use cable tv! We have Dish Network. The guy is blaming it on the cable up in the attic. Well we can't get to the attic at the moment due to way too many family members passing away and acquiring stuff. He also said our upload was too high and said he was going to dumb it down or something to that effect.

A bit goes by net is still meh. I decided to call again and all and ask for a techy to come out to replace the modem. Guy comes and doesn't bring a modem...doesn't do jack shit again. Sits in his little Comcastically bad van and calls the previous techy. He comes back in and says well we can't do anything and it's the line in the attic. *Bullshit* I asked him to bring a new modem he didn't he said they don't do that...but the guy on the phone said they do. So here I am with twiddle dumbf*ck #2. Oh and we got a bill for 16$ for the service call...*shoves bill up that guys butt*. Not paying that either. So I am going to go to the main branch complain and get a modem from them then return the old one. If that's not it I will fork out 40$ for them to put a new line in that doesn't go through the attic.

Did I mention we have been with comcast for about 4 years and previously which was adelphia out here? They owe me a crap load of money aka free internet. Oh and this all starts when we get our month of free net cause at the local office they closed shop earlier then what was posted and didn't leave a note on the door. So people couldn't pay their bills. What a load of crap. If verizon was out here I would switch to them in a heart beat but Id and I live out in the boonies If you have Comcast or are thinking of getting them don't or switch to a new provider.

[emc.johnnie]

bronx nyc , we have a couple of choices but i went with optimum on line cause it was the cheapest with an all around plan for $100.00 (interrnet,phone and cable tv). no real complaints bout them.

[Mr Bean]

bronx nyc , we have a couple of choices but i went with optimum on line cause it was the cheapest with an all around plan for $100.00 (interrnet,phone and cable tv). no real complaints bout them.

Wow! that sounds like a good deal. Especially if you've been satisfied with the service.

[-T2-]

I just want to comment on service in general. As I mentioned, I am with Comcast in ATL and have very little issues with them over the last 4+ years. A lot of it depends on what area of the country you are in. I have heard horrendous stories from Comcast users in other parts of the country.


On a more technical side, who here overrides your ISP's DNS servers? I do. Comcast has some crappy DNS servers.

[WarDad71]

On a more technical side, who here overrides your ISP's DNS servers? I do. Comcast has some crappy DNS servers.

Link or brief explanation? Plz.