ping....

[andyho10]

currently on 20mb and its fine during the morning/afternoon but in the evenings the speed drops to like 3-7mb, is this that traffic thing virgin do?

and how can i lower my ping? i want a low ping for gaming wise

[Noggo]

It's not traffic management otherwise your download speed would be around a constant 5000 kb/s (5Mb/s) and FYI your upload would be around a constant 183 Kb/s.

By best way to check for STM is to run a speedtest from www.speedtest.net: and see what upload speed you have. If it's around 180 kb/s you're STM'd, if it's up at around 700 kb/s you're not STM'd

Normal speedtest result:https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2009/02/12.png

STM'd speedtest result:https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2009/02/13.png

It sounds to me that the UBR you're on is suffering from high TX loads (oversubscription) at peak times and it will be hit or miss whether you get a good stable ping to games servers. The download speeds you're quoted are about the same as what I was getting, when my connection was suffering with high-tx loads and most of the time during peak hours your latency will be so erratic you won't be able to play.

I would suggest you get in contact with Virgin Media's newsgroup tech support over the matter and they will test your connection / check on the status for the UBR and get back to you.

For how to setup outlook express for newsgroups:
http://www.virginmedia.com/customers/newsgroups/setting-up.php
and the group you need to subscribe to is:

virginmedia.support.broadband.cable

Post on the above newsgroup with a description of your fault; large drop off in download speed peak times and erratic latency to games servers.

They may ask you to post your cable modem signal info, which is fine. I know IP and MAC address info isn't no the signal page but please DON'T post them on newsgroup support or on this forum.
Go get to your cable moden info, type this into the address bar of your web browser 192.168.100.1

[andyho10]

thanks for the reply, well i rang up virgin and all they said was they cant reduce the ping time on their side and because maintenance is going on around my area thats why my download speed decreased during peak times lol

all bollox imo lol

[Noggo]

They won't be able to do anything about reducing your ping to games servers, unlike ADSL and fastpath option. When the UBR is suffering from high traffic loads peak times, your ping will suffer and be all over the shop.

How long have you had reduced peak time speeds for?

[andyho10]

i had it when i was on 10mb, so must b about 2months+

[Noggo]

Well it's not maintenance work then!! 2 month maintenance work :LOL:. Post a message on newsgroup support far better than ringing IMO.

[Noggo]

If you get Ping Plotter software and see what sort of trace you get to games servers? http://www.pingplotter.com/download.html (Standard version)

So you're got something to compare with here's two examples of traces to IP address for multiplay server: 85.236.101.77

bad one:
http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/attachments/12/attachment-17536d1232367151-dedicated06.multiplay.co.uk.png

good one:
http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/attachment.php?attachmentid=17747&d=1235134643

[andyho10]

i appreciate for ur help but that pingplotter thing makes no sense to me lol

[Noggo]

You mentioned that you wanted to lower your ping for online gaming. What ping do you have now, plus what area of the UK are you in and what games do you play?

Most games servers in the UK are London based. If you live around London, you should get around 12ms ping and the further you get away from London the higher your ping will be. I'm in the Midlands and have a ping of 18ms to London servers. I would think from Scotland it would be around 25ms or so.

But to be able to play most games you need a stable ping and the use of ping plotter software so you can see how stable your connection is, but if you don't want to use it it's fine by me.

[andyho10]

nah its not i dont want to use it, i dont understand it and dont no how to use it lol

my ping varys from 40-150, i want something like urs. i live in south east, essex, london. i mainly play on ps3 and xbox online

[Noggo]

my ping varys from 40-150, i want something like urs. i live in south east, essex, london. i mainly play on ps3 and xbox online

I suggest you get in touch with newsgroup support and get your connection checked and should also check the UBR end for any problems and advise you accordingly.

[andyho10]

I suggest you get in touch with newsgroup support and get your connection checked and should also check the UBR end for any problems and advise you accordingly.

ok cheers, ive post on the support about the problem im having.....just waiting for reply.

what is UBR btw?

[Noggo]

Universal Broadband Router:

The easiest way to describe it is a big router that all Virgin Media's customers in your area connect to (Like a BT exchange)

or if you really want to know: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Broadband_Router

---------- Post added at 17:18 ---------- Previous post was at 17:12 ----------

Just had a look on newsgroup support and they're replied @ 13:37. Just click on the little cross in a box next to your post. It isn't good news I'm afraid.

[andyho10]

yea just read the reply, looks like i gta w8 for the upgrade to happen then :(

was wondering will it be the same with all other broadband companys?

[Noggo]

yea just read the reply, looks like i gta w8 for the upgrade to happen then :(

If you're are going to stick it out and wait I would suggest you get in contact with Customer Services and see what they can't do about the cost of your substandard internet package. Note: They may offer to downgrade you to a lower tier. It's up to you, but isn't taking that option letting them off the hook. When it's early in the morning you do get 20Meg, just not for long and if you're paying the equivalent to 2Meg prices, it's a bonus if get higher download speeds.

was wondering will it be the same with all other broadband companys?

Yes it does happen to ADSL as well. If you are thinking about switching do your homework first, as most have forums like this and it wouldn't hurt posting about the status of the BT exchange you would be connected to. Some companies go as far as to tell you the state of the exchange, eg: http://usertools.plus.net/exchanges/

If want to evaluate the ADSL route heres a few websites that you may find helpful:

http://www.samknows.com/broadband/checker2.php to see what companies supply DSL from your local BT exchange, should look like this:

Congratulations, you are in a broadband enabled area.
The following services are available in your location:

BT Wholesale ADSL
BT Wholesale ADSL Max
BT Wholesale WBC (21CN)
BT Wholesale SDSL
AOL LLU
O2 / Be LLU
Bulldog LLU
TalkTalk (CPW) LLU
Sky Broadband / Easynet LLU
Tiscali LLU
Tiscali TV (via Tiscali LLU)
Orange LLU (Formerly Wanadoo)
Virgin Media (Cable)
Please select the options on the left for more information about broadband availability at your location.

To check the estimated speed you'll get http://www.adslchecker.bt.com/pls/ad...hecker.welcome
if you have got a BT phone number use the postcode checker (same webpage, link at bottom)

As you're going to use it for gaming you might want to check out

www.bethere.co.uk (not o2, as they don't have fastpath option)
http://www.beforum.co.uk/

http://www.aquiss.net/broadband-gaming.php; http://www.ukfsn.org/ basically they are a Entanet reseller so you have a few campanies available. All will have some sort of monthly usage limit, but ultra low pings.

[Noggo]

Andy,

I've just read your other post over in the `Woohoo! Great speeds for the southeast...NOT!' thread

im thinking of leaving virgin and going to o2, they do 20mb for £10 per month, im currently paying £58!!

If you're going to use your connection for on-line gaming, I would go with Bethere, as O2 doesn't allow customers to enable fastpath option for lower ping. If you go with O2 your ping will be about double that of Bethere with fastpath option enabled.

Don't ask me why, as they are now the same company and use the same equipment in the BT exchange.