PingPlotter help?

[Sid]

Guys I've just got PingPlotter Standard and I don't understand the results I'm getting. Aces High runs just fine, but I want to be able to monitor the connection I'm getting and PingPlotter is giving me different results depending on which computer I use to run the test, despite being through the same connection. I freely admit to knowing very little about PingPlotter and even less about internet protocols, etc. Maybe one of you guys can see where I'm going wrong.

First a brief description of my setup.

I have cable internet via Virgin Media 50Mb broadband service here in the UK, this comes into the house via a coax cable into their modem, then Ethernet cable to my NetGear FWG114P router, from this, Ethernet cable to both my Laptop and Desktop computers. The Laptop is running WinXP Service Pack 2 (32bit) and the Desktop Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (64bit). The same version of PingPlotter Standard Ver 3.30.4s is loaded on both computers, while only the Desktop is capable of running Aces High.

The internet service appears to work as advertised.



Running Aces High on the Desktop the connection seems stable with a normal ping time of around 140-180ms, net status looks smooth when ever I check it, and no particular complaints of warping either about me or from me about others I play against. Last month I discoed twice in 83 hours of play, which is fairly normal for me. When I do get the occasional disco it nearly always follows the "lost UDP" message and has never been able to re-establish the connection under TCP.

 

I've "played" around with a lot of the "Options" in PingPlotter, although I don't really know what most of them do. I think I have reset them set back to their default settings and they are the same on both computers.





Bearing in mind I'm trying to test my connection to Aces High, is there anything I should change here to optimize PingPlotter for this?



Now looking at the "Packet Settings" I have four choices.



PingPlotter Freeware only has the option to use the "standard ICMP protocol" which I assume is the first option in PingPlotter Standard "ICMP Using Windows DLL (default)".



Laptop (WinXP) using "ICMP Using Windows DLL (default)"


Desktop (Win7) using "ICMP Using Windows DLL (default)"


Similar on both computers, is this packet loss I'm seeing here a problem?

In another thread (DA laggy?) Bruv posted a ping plot and it looks like he's using the same ISP.

Skuzzy replied:

You need to contact your ISP Bruv.  Packet loss starts right at your Internet connection.  It will cause all manner of problems with the game connection.

it does appear to get really bad over the last 3 hops.

The last 3 hops are irrelevant.  Once packet loss starts, all data after that is questionable.  The problem starts at your first hop.  That needs to be fixed, before anything else is meaningful.

If it is a problem, why am I getting a smooth connection to AH? Would it only show up if I lost the "UDP" Connection?



looking at the other "Packet Settings" choices.



Laptop (WinXP) using "ICMP using Raw Sockets"


Desktop (Win7) using "ICMP using Raw Sockets"


Again very similar to the "ICMP Using Windows DLL (default)" setting with lots of packet loss.





Laptop (WinXP) using "UDP Packets (Unix-Style or targeted)"


Desktop (Win7) using "UDP Packets (Unix-Style or targeted)"


The Laptop gives a nice solid result with no packet loss, but the Desktop can't find the Destination Address. Why not?





Laptop (WinXP)


Desktop (Win7)


Neither the Laptop or the Desktop can find the Destination Address. Why not? What am I doing wrong here?



So just to recap my questions (at the moment) are:

1)Anything I should change in the options to optimize PingPlotter for testing my Aces High connection?

2)Is the "packet loss" using "ICMP Using Windows DLL (default)" a problem?

3)Which "Packet type setting" best mimics my Aces High connection?

4)What might be causing my Desktop to give different results to my Laptop?

Yours, Confused, Sid.

[zack1234]

Can't wait for answer to your question, just started with new IP and am using speednet to check speed

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Packet loss probably caused by your ISP or you connection to the ISP. Host not found on Win7 I'm guessing is because Win7 has more advanced firewall and it may block pingplotter on that protocol. So check that firewall is guaranteed open for pingplotter as first.

[AAJagerX]

You can see that your spike is during the hop "across the pond".  Looks like the data may be getting a little screwy after that.

Use UDP to mimic your AH connection.

TCP will attempt to resend any lost packets, which slows ya down a bit.

As Ripley said, open the proper ports in your firewall or just turn the firewall off before running your pingplotter on win7.  Don't forget to turn it back on.  

Also, I think AH uses ports 2000-6000 if I remember correctly.  You can set your firewall to open those up for AH.

[RTHolmes]

4)What might be causing my Desktop to give different results to my Laptop?

the plots are 2 hours apart. try running them both at the same time, so you can compare apples to apples


btw the major packet loss is due to routing problems - note the route changes every second (bottom RHS) ...

[Bruv119]

I've been monitoring my situation since I've gone with Virgin Media.  

Last night was total garbage.   My free ware ping plotter reports packet loss across the entire route.   For the first time I've started having issues with our Ventrilo Server that is hosted in the UK (ruling out the Pond hop entirely)   I was about to start kicking Tech support arse but I will leave it until after this Royal wedding and Easter.   As the Americans may be having increased traffic to UK sites.   I do not know why you lot are so interested in the bloody thing  

I tried some trace routes and ping tests from the command prompt and it DID NOT reflect any packets lost, as the ping plotter was showing.   However several discos in the MA and DA told a different story.  It also seems to be much worse during the evening leading me to believe Virgin's super fast broadband has accumulated millions of home users who are all bandwidth hungry.   I should have known better but during the 2 week opt out period none of these issues surfaced  .

Have you got the Netgear Superhub sid?    I have 30mb down and 3mb up and it nails those speeds for any other application.  Bigger is not always better it seems.

"Also, I think AH uses ports 2000-7000 if I remember correctly.  You can set your firewall to open those up for AH."  

I did this on my old router and have added them back into the superhub.   It seemed to play the game just fine without them open.  

[zack1234]

 rang up sky told to stop using DLM, i kicked of with them and at preset am 18 meg

[Sid]

Thanks guys  

I don't use the windows firewall as the router is meant to have one built in.



Any thing else in Windows 7 that might be blocking the UDP result in PingPlotter (Note: AH runs fine on this computer via UDP)

Use UDP to mimic your AH connection.

So am I correct in thinking that the basic plot using PingPlotter Standard's "ICMP Using Windows DLL (default)" or PingPlotter Freeware's "standard ICMP protocol" runs using the TCP protocol and is only relevant if I lose the UDP connection in game?

Would this explain why when I do get the occasional disco it nearly always follows the "lost UDP" message and has never been able to re-establish the connection under TCP?

the plots are 2 hours apart. try running them both at the same time, so you can compare apples to apples

btw the major packet loss is due to routing problems - note the route changes every second (bottom RHS) ...

I take your point about the time difference of the plots, but each is representative of what I have been seeing day in day out for the last few days.

With the "route changes" interestingly it's just the Laptop that's showing this!

Have you got the Netgear Superhub sid?    I have 30mb down and 3mb up and it nails those speeds for any other application.  Bigger is not always better it seems.

I've had the "cable" since it was installed in 1996 by the then "CableTel" which became "NTL" which became "Virgin Media". Not had any complaints with the Telephone, TV, or Internet in all that time.

When I upgraded to the 50Mb broadband service (May 2009), a chap came round and fitted a new modem and tested the connection. The modem is just a straight forward little black box with the "Virgin Media" logo on the top and a model number "VMNG300" on the bottom. There's only three connections on it (power in, coax cable in, Ethernet cable out), it's not wireless. The Netgear Superhub sounds like something more modern they must be fitting now.

rang up sky told to stop using DLM, i kicked of with them and at preset am 18 meg

What's DLM?

Is the Sky connection ADSL though the phone? I'd be interested to see a pingplot from their connection if you have one.

[Bino]

Check out Skuzzy's sticky post on I-net connections:  http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,68316.0.html

[zack1234]

DLM Dynamic Line Management, they told me it was software that would run for tens day, it decreased and increased bandwith checking to see what was the best for my line.

I told them i was having issues with disconnections etc, i was told by software guy at work that DLM benefits the IP and not the customer He called it "Bandwidth Throttling"

[Bruv119]

it was offline for 5 hours after I got home from work today,  after logging a call they changed my IP which seems to have done nothing 

[Sid]

Packet loss probably caused by your ISP or you connection to the ISP.

Good Call

I bypassed my router (to take it out of the equation) and connected the computer directly to the cable modem.

Laptop (WinXP) using "ICMP Using Windows DLL (default)" connected directly to the cable modem.


Desktop (Win7) using "ICMP Using Windows DLL (default)" connected directly to the cable modem.


No errors/packet loss and the route not changing every second.



Laptop (WinXP) using "UDP Packets (Unix-Style or targeted)" connected directly to the cable modem.


Desktop (Win7) using "UDP Packets (Unix-Style or targeted)" connected directly to the cable modem.


The same as with the router, the route changes every few seconds but no errors/packet loss using UDP on the Laptop, still no go on the Desktop running Windows 7.

So next question is: What setting in my router might be causing the errors/packet loss under "ICMP Using Windows DLL (default)" 

[RTHolmes]

those are still 30mins apart ...

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Sid if I were you I'd try disabling every so called optimization from Win7 tcp/ip settings. Disable remote differential compression from add/remove programs / windows features and remove everything but ipv4 from tcp/ip (unless you need to connect microsoft networking in which case you need to leave that also). Some network drivers have udp offloading feature and that can cause your packets to malfunction in win7. It's supposed to offload the traffic from operating system but it seems it doesn't work properly always.

[Bruv119]

I take it back whatever I said about VM.

Logged a call yesterday afternoon was down for 7 hours.  They say it was after all a problem in my area and the guy was up a pole on Good Friday at 8am fixing it.   Got in from work and the DA is lag free for the first time in 2 weeks. 

Ping plot looks the same as when it was dodgy but no lag.