latency

just did a speed test & my latency was in the region of 166, it was 68 last night, seems high to me... was wondering if this is 'normal'?

No - not normal. In fact 68 can be considered high too although that will depend on where you are and if you are wired or wireless.

Repeat the test a few times and see what happens. Also try using a PING command from a command window <ping bbc.co.uk> and see what the result is. Follow that with <tracert bbc.co.uk> then copy and paste the results here.

thanks, going to be a few hours before I have time to try & understand & do what you suggest ~ later

sorry about the delay in replying to your help ~ life got in the way....
I couldn't get copy to work in command line window so typed out the results ~ interesting, the lowest latency I've had on the last 2 thinkbb speedtests was 55ms....

pinging bbc.co.uk [212.58.244.20] with 32 bytes of data:
reply from 212.58.244.20: bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=54
reply from 212.58.244.20: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=54
reply from 212.58.244.20: bytes=32 time=31ms TTL=54
reply from 212.58.244.20: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=54

Ping statistics for 212.58.244.20:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, lost = 0 <0% loss>,
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 31ms, Maximum = 33ms, Average = 32ms

Tracing route to bbc.co.uk [212.58.244.20]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 73ms 98ms 98ms dsldevice.lan [192.168.1.254]
2 33ms 34ms 33ms 1o0.11.central11.pc1-bng02.plus.net [195.166.130.152]
3 36ms 34ms 34ms irb.11.PCL-CR01.plus.net [84.93.249.97]
4 35ms 35ms 33ms ae1.pyw-cr01.plus.net [195.166.129.0]
5 35ms 35ms 34ms Kingston-gw.thdo.bbc.co.uk [212.58.239.6]
6 * * * Request timed out.
7 * * * Request timed out.
8 35ms 34ms 33ms ae0.er01.te1hc.bbc.co.uk [132.185.254.109]
9 35ms 35ms 34ms 132.185.255.149
10 34ms 34ms 33ms fmt-vip71.te1hc.bbc.co.uk [212.58.244.20]

Trace complete.

To copy from the CLI there are two options.

For both, right click in the CLI window. "Select all" will do that, turning it black on white instead of white on black. Hit Return. It reverts to white on black but all is in your clipboard.

If you select "Mark" you can place the cursor wherever you want and drag out a rectangle. Again, Return completes the copy of the contents of your rectangle. If you get it wrong you probably have to start again at the right click.

Edited by RobertoS (Fri 31-Jul-15 22:40:56)

It is te first two hops that may be causing the problems - once you hit the PlusNet network, all appears fine.

Are these wired or wireless? what devices are on the network? Have you tried it with all AV temporarily turned off/disabled.

thanks Roberto for the info, lot easier

MHC, I did the cli from my main wired pc, I also have a netbook in my homegroup but that was sleeping at the time.

my partner has a fire hd tablet which he was using at the time via wireless. (reading a book I think)

we have no tv or other devices ~ not sure what you mean by "AV disabled or turned off"

thanks so much for your time, it's appreciated.

Edited by deleted (Sat 01-Aug-15 21:52:15)

AV - Anti-virus of what ever type.


The wired connection - was that direct into the Router/Hub?

yep, direct ethernet to router about 1 metre away.
only windows defender active at the time.

At this time, no real ideas ... The bottle neck is at te very beginning, once you get past the DSLAM everything looks OK.

Go through the obvious, power off the router and modem (if separate). Disconnect from line. Wait 30 minutes and then power back up, wait 5 minutes and then reconnect phone line.

thanks, will do ~ in the morning now I think....

did the router thing ~ switched av off & ran ping test ~ results copy & pasted below:-

I ran a speedtest (with av off)
Sun 02/08/15 21:36 3.23 Mbps 10.85 Mbps 0.38 Mbps 146.198.204.54 Plusnet
showed 93ms latency


C:\Users\susan>ping bbc.co.uk

Pinging bbc.co.uk [212.58.244.20] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 212.58.244.20: bytes=32 time=40ms TTL=56
Reply from 212.58.244.20: bytes=32 time=38ms TTL=56
Reply from 212.58.244.20: bytes=32 time=38ms TTL=56
Reply from 212.58.244.20: bytes=32 time=35ms TTL=56

Ping statistics for 212.58.244.20:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 35ms, Maximum = 40ms, Average = 37ms

C:\Users\susan>tracert bbc.co.uk

Tracing route to bbc.co.uk [212.58.244.20]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 73 ms 96 ms 93 ms dsldevice.lan [192.168.1.254]
2 39 ms 34 ms 34 ms lo0.13.central13.ptn-bng01.plus.net [195.166.128
.231]
3 37 ms 37 ms 37 ms irb.13.ptw-cr01.plus.net [84.93.249.49]
4 39 ms * * kingston-gw.thdo.bbc.co.uk [212.58.239.6]
5 * * * Request timed out.
6 * * * Request timed out.
7 37 ms 39 ms 40 ms ae0.er01.telhc.bbc.co.uk [132.185.254.109]
8 * 40 ms 40 ms 132.185.255.149
9 39 ms 39 ms 39 ms fmt-vip71.telhc.bbc.co.uk [212.58.244.20]

Trace complete.


I had just woken my pc up so i'm doing another in a few minutes..... with A V back on...

no better got "Your test shows a variable streaming result.
This may impact HD video streaming" this time
Sun 02/08/15 21:49 2.77 Mbps 10.20 Mbps 0.37 Mbps 146.198.204.54 Plusnet

no other devices in use, Ethernet direct to router at my elbow

i'll try again tomorrow morning


on my netbook, wireless,defender active ~ no other active devices

Mon 03/08/15 08:50 11.27 Mbps 10.97 Mbps 0.38 Mbps 146.198.204.54 Plusnet : latency 42 ms

then ran ping

C:\Users\Owner>ping bbc.co.uk

Pinging bbc.co.uk [212.58.244.20] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 212.58.244.20: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=56
Reply from 212.58.244.20: bytes=32 time=31ms TTL=56
Reply from 212.58.244.20: bytes=32 time=30ms TTL=56
Reply from 212.58.244.20: bytes=32 time=31ms TTL=56

Ping statistics for 212.58.244.20:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 30ms, Maximum = 32ms, Average = 31ms

C:\Users\Owner>tracert bbc.co.uk

Tracing route to bbc.co.uk [212.58.244.20]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 79 ms 98 ms 98 ms dsldevice.lan [192.168.1.254]
2 32 ms 32 ms 32 ms lo0.13.central13.ptn-bng01.plus.net [195.166.128
.231]
3 39 ms 32 ms 32 ms irb.13.ptw-cr01.plus.net [84.93.249.49]
4 33 ms * * kingston-gw.thdo.bbc.co.uk [212.58.239.6]
5 * * * Request timed out.
6 * * * Request timed out.
7 * * * Request timed out.
8 * 34 ms 35 ms 132.185.255.149
9 33 ms 33 ms 32 ms fmt-vip71.telhc.bbc.co.uk [212.58.244.20]

Trace complete.

with AV off :-

Mon 03/08/15 09:03 11.28 Mbps 11.15 Mbps 0.38 Mbps 146.198.204.54 Plusnet : latency 45 ms

C:\Users\Owner>ping bbc.co.uk

Pinging bbc.co.uk [212.58.244.20] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 212.58.244.20: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=56
Reply from 212.58.244.20: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=56
Reply from 212.58.244.20: bytes=32 time=31ms TTL=56
Reply from 212.58.244.20: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=56

Ping statistics for 212.58.244.20:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 31ms, Maximum = 32ms, Average = 31ms

C:\Users\Owner>tracert bbc.co.uk

Tracing route to bbc.co.uk [212.58.244.20]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 63 ms 98 ms 98 ms dsldevice.lan [192.168.1.254]
2 32 ms 34 ms 32 ms lo0.13.central13.ptn-bng01.plus.net [195.166.128
.231]
3 37 ms 33 ms 33 ms irb.13.ptw-cr01.plus.net [84.93.249.49]
4 32 ms * * kingston-gw.thdo.bbc.co.uk [212.58.239.6]
5 * * * Request timed out.
6 * * * Request timed out.
7 * * * Request timed out.
8 * * 34 ms 132.185.255.149
9 33 ms 33 ms 32 ms fmt-vip71.telhc.bbc.co.uk [212.58.244.20]

Trace complete.

Edited by deleted (Mon 03-Aug-15 09:11:35)

okay, yesterday latency down to 45ms

this morning 48ms ~ noticeable difference in speed of web browsing but ping test looks much the same to me?

wireless with AV on, no other devices active.

C:\Users\Owner>ping bbc.co.uk

Pinging bbc.co.uk [212.58.244.20] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 212.58.244.20: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=56
Reply from 212.58.244.20: bytes=32 time=237ms TTL=56
Reply from 212.58.244.20: bytes=32 time=147ms TTL=56
Reply from 212.58.244.20: bytes=32 time=60ms TTL=56

Ping statistics for 212.58.244.20:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 32ms, Maximum = 237ms, Average = 119ms

C:\Users\Owner>tracert bbc.co.uk

Tracing route to bbc.co.uk [212.58.244.20]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 155 ms 97 ms 98 ms dsldevice.lan [192.168.1.254]
2 168 ms 33 ms 31 ms lo0.14.central14.ptw-bng01.plus.net [195.166.128
.174]
3 136 ms 32 ms 35 ms irb.14.ptw-cr02.plus.net [84.93.249.66]
4 140 ms * * ae2.ptw-cr01.plus.net [195.166.129.4]
5 * * * Request timed out.
6 * * * Request timed out.
7 * * * Request timed out.
8 * 37 ms 35 ms ae0.er01.telhc.bbc.co.uk [132.185.254.109]
9 168 ms 33 ms 35 ms 132.185.255.149
10 803 ms 33 ms 32 ms fmt-vip71.telhc.bbc.co.uk [212.58.244.20]

Trace complete.

1 155 ms 97 ms 98 ms dsldevice.lan [192.168.1.254]

That is still an issue. It should be <1ms to the router

thanks for the reply~ any idea what the problem could be?

Edited by deleted (Thu 06-Aug-15 17:53:10)

Is it Netgears that normally report 99ms?

Mines a Netgear and always <1ms

What is your setup from your PC to your router?

Edited by bobble_bob (Thu 06-Aug-15 18:13:33)

I don't understand why tracert is reporting a domain name (dsldevice.lan) for the router. The same command on my PC just reports the IP address of the router. It looks to me as if some domain name lookup is going on, unless it is a peculiarity of the router that you are using. Where did you specify "dsldevice.lan" as a domain name for the router?

Edited by micksharpe (Thu 06-Aug-15 18:22:19)

set up is router direct from main socket, (about 1m ) Ethernet to pc (about 18")
wireless would be my netbook about 3.5m away fro router.

it's the Thomson TG585 v8 as supplied by plusnet about 6 yrs ago now,
I certainly never specified a device name (knowingly)

I just looked at my router and under configuration it says
"Service Name: Routed PPPoA on 0/38 (modified by user)" standard date, time etc. and "Time Server 1: ntp.plus.net" ~ then "pick a task: set up, restart, reset"

I don't know what i'm doing so I've left it at that.

Edited by deleted (Thu 06-Aug-15 20:33:35)

OK. It is probably a red herring. Regarding tracert output, take a look at this. Really, you shouldn't worry too much about tracert times. Regarding latency (pings), why are you interested? High latency is really only an issue for gamers. For everyone else, the only thing that really matters is consistent throughput for streaming media content and reasonable response times when browsing the internet. I'm surprised that the others haven't said as much.

By way of comparison, my ping time for bbc.co.uk is around 32ms most of the time, and yours is around 37ms most of the time. It probably makes very little difference one way or the other.

reason being I am experiencing noticeable 'stickiness' from time to time ~ doesn't seem to make a difference if i'm wired or not... my speeds are fine (most of the time) so I wondered if latency was playing a part .

also I don't know much about the technical side, I tried looking it up but I find explanations & advice from 'real' people easier to understand.

oh and thanks for the link, read with interest

Edited by deleted (Thu 06-Aug-15 21:17:04)

Stickiness with what? Internet browsing? Games? Media content freezing? If so, are you doing anything else at the same time?

In reply to a post by nonny:

it's the Thomson TG585 v8 as supplied by plusnet about 6 yrs ago now

Looking around the Internet, no one seems to have anything good to say about this piece of kit. Maybe you should think about buying a better modem/router?

it's been fine, no problems at all ~ then I started having dropped connections & dire speeds, took a while but turned out to be a problem at the pole.... speeds back up (most of the time) but still not as fluid browsing experience as I've been accustomed to, I've been on-line since dial up so I know when things aren't working as well as they can.....
I've a 6 month old netbook, a 2 week old pc, both running win 8.1. ample memory & hdd space. I keep a clean desk and disk... only essential programmes, optimised start up etc. I still have my 8 yr old dell with vista (which I was having the same problem with ~ this has been ongoing but it's not that bad and I really didn't want to get into the isp ticket thing again.....
the only other device is a fire hd7, no tv or other devices in use. only ever 2 devices at any one time.......

thank you all for your replies, I've learnt a few things.

any router recommendations? ~ mine is a bit old now & plusnet won't replace it unless I take on another contract so might be worth trying a new one ~ or I might just swap isp's

some router's will respond slowly to icmp requests.

I would only consider it a concern if the extra latency from the first hop is present on the entire route which in your case I think it isnt.

I was exploring the possibility that latency was causing the lag i'm experiencing periodically, looks like that's not the case....

Sometimes the gateway your connection lands on can make things appear a little less crisp and a bit more like wading through treacle in extreme cases.

If you look at your tracerts and ping results on the same post the second hop on the tracert indicates what gateway you're connection is using and the ping will be of a shorter or longer time for a certain gateway.

Tracing route to bbc.co.uk [212.58.244.20]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 73ms 98ms 98ms dsldevice.lan [192.168.1.254]
2 33ms 34ms 33ms 1o0.11.central11.pc1-bng02.plus.net [195.166.130.152]
3 36ms 34ms 34ms irb.11.PCL-CR01.plus.net [84.93.249.97]
4


http://www.kitz.co.uk/tech/index.htm

that has just happened to me, I was happily playing bejewelled blitz ( I know but my 85 yr old aunt likes to beat me.... ) and suddenly the judders ~ took 2 goes to get on to the speedtest site which is showing perfect speeds & 40ms latency....
currently on wireless netbook, no other devices operating.

I don't understand about gateways, I get the general idea but have no idea how I have any control or indeed why I should need to.

Sorry to hijack the thread, my sky line has the same though much more severe issue, here is my ping test

64 bytes from 212.58.244.20: icmp_seq=0 ttl=56 time=30.475 ms
64 bytes from 212.58.244.20: icmp_seq=1 ttl=56 time=32.259 ms
64 bytes from 212.58.244.20: icmp_seq=2 ttl=56 time=472.047 ms
64 bytes from 212.58.244.20: icmp_seq=3 ttl=56 time=155.450 ms
64 bytes from 212.58.244.20: icmp_seq=4 ttl=56 time=32.207 ms
64 bytes from 212.58.244.20: icmp_seq=5 ttl=56 time=32.406 ms
64 bytes from 212.58.244.20: icmp_seq=6 ttl=56 time=357.372 ms
64 bytes from 212.58.244.20: icmp_seq=7 ttl=56 time=479.217 ms
64 bytes from 212.58.244.20: icmp_seq=8 ttl=56 time=32.390 ms

This is sat two feet from the router...

any ideas?

Use a 2-foot ethernet cable

In reply to a post by micksharpe:

I don't understand why tracert is reporting a domain name (dsldevice.lan) for the router

It's a Thomson/Speedtouch router and that's what it calls itself. It's acting as a DNS relay for clients on the LAN and answers both forward and PTR requests. For its own LAN IP range it's authoritative for PTR requests.