High Usage.

I don't know if anyone else has had this trouble,
but thought I would share my quick story.

About a month ago I checked "View My Usage"
All I had been doing was surfing on PC for the last wek,
(Laptop not connected that I use for P2p)
I couldn't believe what I read, according to PN I was using 600MB
a DAY just surfing andusing MSN.
I put a ticket in for this as over 1/2Gig for 8 hours was too much.
I got the usual reply that it was a correct method etc etc.
Then i said I wanted it checked as I could not be using that amount.
Got the reply that it was all correct.
But a strange thing happened.
When i checked my usage it had dropped to appox 200MB a day peak time.
I had done nothing different, except complain, and my usage dropped 400MB a day.
Very Strange.

Very Strange
-----
Let's hope that it isn't part of PlusNet's transparent and class-leading network management system to inflate usage for thousands of other customers so that they can introduce the Ellacoyas sooner (or charge for data which hasn't been used).

"If you spot it, we'll stop it."

Simon

Don't forget you're upload usage is also counted towards you're bandwidth. So if you are using Bit Torrent for example, that will be the reason why you feel you're usage is so high, because the upload also counts towards download usage!

Hope that helps.

If not, could be a [censored] up with PlusNet

PC Answers recommend Down2Home metering programme. Anyone used it, or any other suggestions?

Plusnet have admitted that the view my usage data isn't accurate enough to bill off.

Thanks for the post, but i did say my laptop that i use
for P2P was disconnected.
So uploads didn't come into it with me.

But it is a good point for others to think about.

Have you run a full virus/spyware scan? I've seen a few people rack up lots of usage with an infected machine, although it's entirely possible that yours is a VMBU error.

hi,
Yep i keep scans up to date. But have no problems
with over usage since i complained.

What i'm seeing happen, which PlusNet haven't posted in a service status yet is the following

User 1 obtains IP when they connect ...
User 1 disconnects
User 1 connects again and gets given different IP

User 2 connects and gets given User 1 IP address
User 2's usage is logged and includes user 1 usage, as the ellacoyas havent picked up the swap over of user 1 to different IP.

Complain to PN - PN kick the Ellacoya so that it stops logging of User 1 against User 2.



Of course, PlusNet dont want to make to big a fuss about this "problem".

Edited by deleted (Sun 03-Sep-06 16:25:46)

Interesting that some other people experience the same as me.
I've been told that as I have a static IP the problem of being allocated an IP and the usage of somebody else is impossible.
When the new VMBU was switched on for me, my usage started to rise.

Before I was moved to MaxDSL I was seeing my usage increase by 2 GB a month.
Before the VMBU change I never used more than 30 GB a month on the highest months, including both peak and off-peak usage. In those days peak usage was 16 hours a day. Now peak is only 8 hours for Premium customers so...

March, used a total of around 4 GB, April, 6 GB, May 10 GB, June 16 GB, July 20 GB, August 36 GB.

I don't often use p2p and haven't used it at all since June. No VOIP, no gaming, no VPN, basically little more than web, mail and ftp. None of that uses that much on the up side.

At the beginning of August I started monitoring my main computer with PRTG. During August I was listed as using over 3 GB of 'other' traffic, and was able to find out the dates for two of those periods. On top of that, I added up 1.3 GB minimum peak usage on protocols I don't use.

Now the last time I saw unusually high amounts of 'other' traffic and raised a ticket, it mysteriously dropped from over 400 MB to 20 MB. This time I've been able to send messages to a couple of people who know what they're talking about, when everyone was working to get ticket backlogs down. I hoped I'd get a resolution, but as the same person never answers the same ticket twice, I ended up on the company line, although with more knowledge from the agent.

It was suggested that I only use my Linux box for 2 weeks and record usage with ethereal. Can't only use my Linux box as it's a test box, sometimes things break when running pre-alpha software, and some online stores I need only work with IE.

Then it was suggested I turn my router off for 24 hours. Fair enough, I'll do that, but can't until I leave the country later this month as I'm a postmaster for a listserver and need to monitor all the errors daily.

Latest state of play, I've offered to send them my August PRTG report, which does show a large amount of 'other' traffic in the relative periods, but as a speed of 900 kb/s is recorded, that is obviously mainly internal for my network card. I have a maximum download speed of 370 kb/s. Also of course PRTG uses the 1024 kb per mb, and ISOs use 1000, so somebody needs to do some converting.

But I am very interested that I'm not the only one with very high VMBU figures. For the last 2 months I've had a warning email about usage, that I'm getting close to management, a day before my bill is due.

My usage pattern hasn't changed, apart from reducing usage for a couple of months. I gave that up as still my VMBU traffic went up.