Calculating packet loss?

[*JuriHan*]

I know there is a command that tells you how much packet loss you have when you type in ping__domain name.

Thing is it always says I have zero packet loss and that's total nonsense. My computer struggles to load text based webpages, slow, sometimes doesn't load images, connection gets dropped, get errors when trying to upload to youtube or it will take a stupid amount of time to upload a small vid file, xbox360 never gets green connections, I get kicked from that, and the connection strength is fluctuates between 2-5 bars.

Also, when I do pingtest.net this is what it tells me

I posted in here about the problem and that people on my block have internet problems getting kicked no matter what isp is the problem.

I had many other friends do this site and they usually get a B grade with zero packet loss so honestly im believing this site more than command prompt results.

Im most certain the issue is a node or a wire, but no one is going to pay to fix that stuff so I'm pretty much screwed.

What I don't understand is how come when I test packet lost via command it says nothing is being dropped when clearly my connection is ****ed up. Thanks in advance

 

[Nesu]

Sounds really bad. Really. Okay, you've at least done scans on your computer at least right? Maleware/viruses can be hidden in the background, and make the internet lag like heck. I know 'cause I've had that happen before..

You didn't mention that you've scanned your computer, so that's why I asked..you're probably better off using Google though.

 

[*JuriHan*]

I appreciate your response but did you even read what I posted? It affects everyone on the block, it's not malware. My computer doesn't have any of that, and my xbox360 gets kicked and has poor online performance as well.

The question is why does it say it's dropping zero packets when I run command prompt. I am sure the wire and node on the street is screwed up, and ISPs are cheap so im sure it will not be fixed unless we shell out 300 dollars a month for our own private wire.

 

[GoldShadow]

I don't have the technical knowledge to answer this question, but:

The question is why does it say it's dropping zero packets when I run command prompt. I am sure the wire and node on the street is screwed up, and ISPs are cheap so im sure it will not be fixed unless we shell out 300 dollars a month for our own private wire.

Are you sure? I've had internet connection issues in the past, and when nothing we did solved the problem, we called the ISP/cable company. They came out, took a look, and fixed the wiring and/or leaky intertubes outside.

I don't know what ISP/telecom company you have, but calling them is worth a shot.

 

[AltF4]

The first thing you have to know about computer networks is that they're a complicated mess. There's a lot of things that can silently go wrong which will impact your performance.There are several ways to measure network quality:

1) Throughput: The total amount of bytes / second from end to end you get.
2) Latency: (aka: Lag) The amount of time it takes for one packet to reach its destination.
3) Loss: What percentage of bytes are mangled in transit.

For the first two, going to speedtest.net will pretty much answer your question. It's a decent tool for measuring throughput, and also a quick ping for latency.

Loss, however, is more difficult for many reasons. If you use Wi-Fi, then that will tend to mask lossy network characteristics. When a Wi-Fi packet gets mangled, the underlying software will silently ask for a retransmission over and over again until it comes through clean. But you never see this, it happens at too low a level for application software to hook into. All you will see is a packet get sent and not received for a long period of time.

The ping utility will count how many echo messages are not returned (counted as a "loss") but that's AFTER all retransmissions are tried and failed. So you may be getting lots of loss and not seeing it. The tell-tale sign is when one of the echos mysteriously takes 10 times as long as the others. That means there was loss, and retransmission.

Loss on ethernet connections are less common. Generally it's only a significant concern for wireless networks. While not impossible, I would seriously doubt that's your problem. Far more common bottlenecks are your home's router/modem, your ISP throttling your connections, or connection sharing by neighbors.

If you're in an appartment / dorm, there's a high chance that you share a connection with all your neighbors. If you have an evil ISP like comcast, they will silently slow down your connection if they feel like it in order to get you to pay more. Or sometimes they'll slow down your connection until you complain. (Most people don't complain) Then when you complain, they'll claim to "fix something" and your connection will work very well.

 

[Infinitysmash]

She lives in a house, Mr F4. The way she's described the issue to me before tells me that there's a communication error between the node (the big green box at the end of the block, which has a bunch of switches in it that connect to a backbone connection to the distribution center). This tells me there is either a problem with the switch panel itself or with the cabling between her house and the node or between the node and the distribution center.

It sounds like an FTTN connection and that her provider needs to check their switch panel, but they've been giving her family the run-around for a while now and they won't look at it.

 

[AltF4]

Checking with some of the neighbors might give you a good idea if it's something to do with a local switch or cabling job. Calling your ISP might be about the only thing you can do. Sucks if they're trying to avoid helping you.