Should Virgin Media Throttle p2p traffic?

Yep I've been through the ups and downs of Plusnet's network history over the years, a lot of it unpleasant but seems to be ironed out now thankfully.

I know from only basic internet use on my PN connection, there is a lot of 'unidentified' traffic picked up even though I use no special apps on that connection, so if you replicate this on VM with a more heavy user I can see where the problems are cropping up with unidentified.

[Chrysalis]

Originally Posted by theoldbill

Yep I've been through the ups and downs of Plusnet's network history over the years, a lot of it unpleasant but seems to be ironed out now thankfully.

I know from only basic internet use on my PN connection, there is a lot of 'unidentified' traffic picked up even though I use no special apps on that connection, so if you replicate this on VM with a more heavy user I can see where the problems are cropping up with unidentified.

plusnet at least appear to know what they doing, they have support procedures in place where people can report unidentified traffic and even tell the users how to sniff the traffic etc. Plus the fact they allow people to pay extra for a unshaped connection.

Something I would add, is VM's management CMTS-specific load based or network global (total volume of p2p across every CMTS) based?

The reason I ask, at 1930-2030hrs last night I was happily able to upload with uTorrent at the full ~9.5mbps without issue, surely at this time I should have been pulled down?

[Chrysalis]

what I read is it allows 25% of the available capacity to be used, so if you are the only p2p user on your port is quite possible it wont appear to be affected, also I am not convinced upload shaping is enabled network wide yet, as my areas had no affect at all on jitter etc. from when it got enabled yet other areas claim a large improvement. No announcement yet it has gone live, just trials.

[deed02392]

NOTHING should EVER be throttled in a discriminatory manner like this. This is a slippery slope to the loss of net neutrality. I implore you to look into what that would imply for the internet as a medium for humanity.

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by deed02392

NOTHING should EVER be throttled in a discriminatory manner like this. This is a slippery slope to the loss of net neutrality. I implore you to look into what that would imply for the internet as a medium for humanity.

Net neutrality has always been a fallacy. Even without shaping hardware it's trivial to prioritise traffic from different sources.

The Internet isn't a 'medium for humanity' that belongs to all of us, it's owned and run mostly by private corporations and we lease access to it.

Sorry to be so dull, boring and realistic.

[Diesel2011]

The traffic shaping for Xbox Live is ridiculous. A few months ago, it was fine. Really noticing problems with it now.

Needs to be sorted asap.

[Chrysalis]

I brought a game from "on demand" on live about a week ago, 6 gig download, xbox360 was on at time so it automatically started downloading. I dont know when it finished but I dont think it took that long as I remember checking my download a queue an hour or 2 later and it was done.

[gobbledigook]

certainly!! especially at peak times

i would call myself a fairly heavy downloader... i don't like being told "when" to watch a show or enjoy advertising in any form. But does that mean i should be excluded from enjoying a show?

In my opinion... until VOD comes along in a form whereby it is easy to access across platforms (ie linux/windows + xbmc plex etc... and even internet TV's) and this absurd notion of airing it in the states first (superiority complexes or what!?) then i feel that i am totally legitimate in my need to download.

However.... I schedule my stuff for overnight, lets face it most things in the states are aired at like 4am, plenty of time before "throttling" time for someone to record and upload it to usenet.

[craigj2k12]

that, i would agree with, but they are also shaping 'unidentified' traffic which is crippling xbox live, and call of duty at the moment

[deed02392]

Originally Posted by Ignitionnet

Net neutrality has always been a fallacy. Even without shaping hardware it's trivial to prioritise traffic from different sources.

The Internet isn't a 'medium for humanity' that belongs to all of us, it's owned and run mostly by private corporations and we lease access to it.

Sorry to be so dull, boring and realistic.

I was not making a point on the actual difficulty of traffic shaping.

No need to apologise, if that is really all you see in the Internet, I can't help but feel sorry for you. The Internet has done a lot more than permit private corporations to extend their claw grip over the throat of the general consumer as what, just another advertising medium?!

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by deed02392

I was not making a point on the actual difficulty of traffic shaping.

No need to apologise, if that is really all you see in the Internet, I can't help but feel sorry for you. The Internet has done a lot more than permit private corporations to extend their claw grip over the throat of the general consumer as what, just another advertising medium?!

It has been my source of employment and many other things for quite some time. Oh to see things in such black and white terms, it being either for the people, of the people and by the people, inviolate and open or an evil advertising medium for corporations to extend their claw grip over the throat of the general consumer.

The reality is of course somewhere in between and my statement was absolutely correct but let's not discuss reality, it tends to suck.

Ahhh! The old "I want the entire internet and I want it NOW"! argument arises in yet another thread.

[deed02392]

Originally Posted by Ignitionnet

It has been my source of employment and many other things for quite some time. Oh to see things in such black and white terms, it being either for the people, of the people and by the people, inviolate and open or an evil advertising medium for corporations to extend their claw grip over the throat of the general consumer.

The reality is of course somewhere in between and my statement was absolutely correct but let's not discuss reality, it tends to suck.

I see no reason it should be anywhere in the middle. I don't know how you can allow yourself to believe and even still accept that either. Perhaps you are just being pessimistic and I hope if the opportunity ever arose you wouldn't give up the chance to fight for the peoples' control over its operation.

"The people's control"???

Are "the people" going to own the Network Control Centres, and the transatlantic cables?

What next - shall we storm the Winter Palace, and sieze control of the means of production?