Poor connection and packet loss
 

I'm getting quite annoyed by Virgin Media, 8 months+ to resolve complaints, 30 mins+ to get through to anyone on the phone, honestly the second another provider can deliver decent speeds I'm gone.

I have been monitoring my connection for a while now and the constant small amount of packet loss is crazy.

It's constantly a small amount, sometimes up to 4% loss. Virgin Media either don't understand why this is an issue or don't care.

Is there anything I can do? I do have a 6dB attenuator on the modem fitted by VM which I could remove, I also have other 3dB attenuators in the shed (for satellite, but would work I assume) if I need more...

24 hour stats log:
https://www.cableforum.uk/images/local/2020/12/1.png

Current stats:

Re: Poor connection and packet loss
 

You appear to have zero packet loss to bbc.co.uk. If that's consistently the case, it definitely rules out a local problem. It's something out in the network. Besides, your signals look fine.

Please can you post traceroutes to each of your 4 ping targets?

Re: Poor connection and packet loss
 

It's zero packetloss to bbc.co.uk at the 0750 timestamp I had mousedover at the time of the screenshot. At other times there is packetloss to bbc.co.uk. Packetloss is to all targets. I can filter out by target on the graph, album here: https://imgur.com/a/MCwa8A9


If I graph back 7 days rather than 24h, there have at times been significantly higher periods of loss
https://www.cableforum.uk/images/local/2020/12/2.png

Re: Poor connection and packet loss
 

Hmm, tricky. I've tried ping tests from your CMTS, but haven't yet seen any dropped packets.

Are you able to repeat a traceroute until you manage to capture a dropped packet? If you can do it several times to show a consistent loss, even better.

I assume your choice of 212.250.14.2 isn't random. Have you had a particular problem accessing Cloudflare?

Re: Poor connection and packet loss
 

I've noticed Cloudflare issues, but this is possibly because they are involved in such a large segment of the internet.

I'm running pings with a fixed ttl in 4 windows to the hops on the way to 212.250.14.2, or the ones that respond to pings anyway, I see the odd fail in all of them, strangely probably the most in 10.53.39.125.

Re: Poor connection and packet loss
 

10.53.39.125 is the CMTS, so if you're getting packet loss pinging that, the problem is fairly local to you, and would explain why I don't see any losses when pinging from the CMTS. Do you have any friendly neighbours who are also on VM that could try, to determine whether it's something specific to you? (Maybe they'd let you "borrow" their Wi-Fi, if they are within range?)

Re: Poor connection and packet loss
 

Despite having lived here for 4 years I don't know any neighbours, but will give it a go and get back to you!

Re: Poor connection and packet loss
 

removing or substituting the attenuator will only make matters worse because your power levels are pretty much perfect with it on. The only problem I can see are those T3 timeouts which from past experience indicate a network fault.

Re: Poor connection and packet loss
 

Don't worry. I think I've identified a network fault that's affecting your area. I'll raise a ticket for it tomorrow.

Re: Poor connection and packet loss
 

Amazing, thanks!

Any more info or is that somewhat confidential? Just curious.

Re: Poor connection and packet loss
 

I'd like to take credit, but an automated system actually beat me to it. Ticket number F008645899. Poor upstream SNR affecting much of the node.

Re: Poor connection and packet loss
 

rtho: Can you check whether it is fixed now?

Re: Poor connection and packet loss
 

It doesn't really seem significantly different :(

Re: Poor connection and packet loss
 

Internet is unusable tonight. About 30% loss to 8.8.8.8, and pings in the 500+ms range when they do work.

The service status says no faults but if I run the test there is apparently a fault, however it then says no faults again.

According to their phone system, all their call centres are closed due to covid (they must be the only employer that has not yet managed to reopen in a covid safe way) but they can text me a link to their website. Really helpful with no internet that is of course.

I've never known a company care so little.

Re: Poor connection and packet loss
 

I've reopened the fault ticket. The network engineer had replaced a damaged cable but wasn't certain that was the cause of the problem. Seems it wasn't.

Re: Poor connection and packet loss
 

This is what I am seeing right now....

https://ibb.co/nBXdtWm

The packet loss had actually gone away this morning.

Re: Poor connection and packet loss
 

I've logged out now, but that's much worse than the losses I was seeing an hour ago (around 2-3%, similar to those you reported at the start of the thread). I wonder if you now also have a separate problem. Have you rebooted your Hub recently?

Re: Poor connection and packet loss
 

Thanks for your help, it's crazy that the only method for me to get help seems to be the goodwill of an offduty employee on an unofficial forum!!

This is what it looks like now:

https://www.cableforum.uk/images/local/2020/12/4.png

As you can see, whatever it is started at ~2035 last night. I did try rebooting the hub shortly after that to no avail.

---------- Post added at 11:24 ---------- Previous post was at 10:34 ----------

And we seem to have returned to normal!!

https://imgur.com/8zHOrew.png

Not sure what it was but I'll give you credit!

Re: Poor connection and packet loss
 

I wish the business side had a forum like the residential side does, it would be so much easier. I lose the will to live every time I speak to tech support on the phone.

I noticed this morning, it's likely that the VirginMedia node in question is just dropping ICMP packets due to load issues as the ICMP echo response were all coming back from the destination, but it wasn't doing this yesterday.

https://www.cableforum.uk/images/local/2020/12/5.png

Re: Poor connection and packet loss
 

You manage to speak to Tech Support on the phone? That's amazing.

Honestly, with the exception of here, (spiderplant is very helpful, but I mean he's, I assume, a VM employee, doing this on his own back on an unofficial forum), the issues with VM are not as infuriating as the support interaction with them.

Re: Poor connection and packet loss
 

Yeah, but they read from the script, go off script and it's a nightmare. At least with residential accounts there's an electronic way of sorting issues, but us business customers are stuck with terrible call centres. The online chat seems pot luck as to whether it's ever up as well.

You'd have thought that having a forum for business customers would be a massive help and a much better use of resources than having people sitting in call centres.

Incidentally the packet loss I showed a couple of posts up has now stopped.

Re: Poor connection and packet loss
 

Spoke too soon!

https://www.cableforum.uk/images/local/2020/12/6.png