Recent online gaming ping spikes when streaming Netflix

[Jakeyb21]

Ok I'll post my tracert shortly, just at work, I'm also in Leicestershire, I don't know if that's part of the issue, maybe the area is just so oversubscribed.

[Mighten82]

It might be a coincidence but after pointing out the mentioned terms and conditions to bt last night, this morning i received a call letting me leave the contract penalty free as there is nothing more they can do.

[nemodog69]

here is mine 

Tracing route to 185.60.112.157 over a maximum of 30 hops

1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms bthub [192.168.1.254]
2 5 ms 5 ms 5 ms 172.16.18.139
3 13 ms 13 ms 13 ms 31.55.185.181
4 14 ms 14 ms 14 ms 31.55.185.188
5 13 ms 13 ms 13 ms core2-hu0-15-0-8.colindale.ukcore.bt.net [213.121.192.36]
6 14 ms 14 ms 14 ms 194.72.16.112
7 15 ms 14 ms 15 ms 195.66.226.234
8 22 ms 21 ms 22 ms ae1-br01-eqld5.as57976.net [137.221.79.33]
9 39 ms 19 ms 20 ms et-0-0-2-br02-eqam1.as57976.net [137.221.65.91]
10 21 ms 21 ms 21 ms et-0-0-67-pe02-eqam1.as57976.net [137.221.78.73]
11 21 ms 20 ms 21 ms 137.221.66.47
12 21 ms 20 ms 20 ms 185.60.112.157

Trace complete.

[dubstepzombie]

@nemodog69 

Interesting, the route to the same destination is very different to mine, there's no extra hops but the routers involved are different. I have two 31 addresses which I'm guessing will be edge routers before hitting the core network, hop3,4,5 are down London yet hop 6 is Lancaster, so 250 miles up north, then hop7 is the same as my tracert, but another 250 miles down south in London then hop 8 is Amsterdam / Blizzard where I'm sure there won't be any problems. So an extra 500 miles of distance won't be helping your base ping but won't necessarily be the cause of any ping spikes.

Routing traffic up north is very odd, all my traffic is bounced around London. I can't ping hop4 or 5, which might be due to how the network is phsically connected (you might be able to ping these), pings to all other IP addresses look ok but of course my pings will be taking a totally different route to yours. Personally I'm very suspicious of these 31 addresses, these would be my first guess at where the problem arises from. See if you can find a ping to one of these IP addresses that shows your ping spikes - routers won't always respond properly to a ping but it can be a clue i.e. flat out router could result in pings getting delayed.

2 5 ms 5 ms 5 ms 172.16.18.139
3 13 ms 13 ms 13 ms 31.55.185.181
4 14 ms 14 ms 14 ms 31.55.185.188
5 13 ms 13 ms 13 ms core2-hu0-15-0-8.colindale.ukcore.bt.net [213.121.192.36]
6 14 ms 14 ms 14 ms 194.72.16.112
7 15 ms 14 ms 15 ms 195.66.226.234
8 22 ms 21 ms 22 ms ae1-br01-eqld5.as57976.net [137.221.79.33] 

Pinging 31.55.185.181 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 31.55.185.181: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=57
Reply from 31.55.185.181: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=57
Reply from 31.55.185.181: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=57
Reply from 31.55.185.181: bytes=32 time=10ms TTL=57
Reply from 31.55.185.181: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=57
Reply from 31.55.185.181: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=57
Reply from 31.55.185.181: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=57
Reply from 31.55.185.181: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=57
Reply from 31.55.185.181: bytes=32 time=10ms TTL=57

----

hop6 Lancaster

Reply from 194.72.16.112: bytes=32 time=8ms TTL=59
Reply from 194.72.16.112: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=59
Reply from 194.72.16.112: bytes=32 time=8ms TTL=59
Reply from 194.72.16.112: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=59
Reply from 194.72.16.112: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=59
Reply from 194.72.16.112: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=59
Reply from 194.72.16.112: bytes=32 time=11ms TTL=59
Reply from 194.72.16.112: bytes=32 time=8ms TTL=59
Reply from 194.72.16.112: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=59
Reply from 194.72.16.112: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=59
Reply from 194.72.16.112: bytes=32 time=8ms TTL=59

---

hop7 London

Reply from 195.66.226.234: bytes=32 time=10ms TTL=58
Reply from 195.66.226.234: bytes=32 time=10ms TTL=58
Reply from 195.66.226.234: bytes=32 time=10ms TTL=58
Reply from 195.66.226.234: bytes=32 time=11ms TTL=58
Reply from 195.66.226.234: bytes=32 time=11ms TTL=58
Reply from 195.66.226.234: bytes=32 time=10ms TTL=58
Reply from 195.66.226.234: bytes=32 time=10ms TTL=58
Reply from 195.66.226.234: bytes=32 time=10ms TTL=58
Reply from 195.66.226.234: bytes=32 time=10ms TTL=58
Reply from 195.66.226.234: bytes=32 time=10ms TTL=58
Reply from 195.66.226.234: bytes=32 time=11ms TTL=58

[CAI_007]

From Edinburgh:

Tracing route to 185.60.112.157 over a maximum of 30 hops

1 1 ms <1 ms <1 ms DD-WRT [192.168.1.1]
2 * * * Request timed out.
3 * * * Request timed out.
4 15 ms 14 ms 15 ms 31.55.187.180
5 15 ms 16 ms 15 ms host213-121-192-110.ukcore.bt.net [213.121.192.110]
6 15 ms 15 ms 15 ms 194.72.16.116
7 16 ms 16 ms 16 ms 195.66.226.234
8 22 ms 22 ms 22 ms ae1-br01-eqld5.as57976.net [137.221.79.33]
9 21 ms 21 ms 21 ms et-0-0-2-br02-eqam1.as57976.net [137.221.65.91]
10 22 ms 22 ms 22 ms et-0-0-67-pe02-eqam1.as57976.net [137.221.78.73]
11 22 ms 21 ms 23 ms 185.60.112.157

Ping without any streaming in background

Pinging 185.60.112.157 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=21ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=23ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=23ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=21ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245

Ping statistics for 185.60.112.157:
Packets: Sent = 25, Received = 25, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 21ms, Maximum = 23ms, Average = 22ms

Ping with twitch turned on in background:

Huge improvement tonight. Have they started to tackle the issue or am I just hitting offpeak and whatever traffic shaping they have been using is now switched off?

Pinging 185.60.112.157 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=23ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=21ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=60ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=23ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=21ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=21ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=23ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=21ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=23ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245

Ping statistics for 185.60.112.157:
Packets: Sent = 20, Received = 20, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 21ms, Maximum = 60ms, Average = 23ms

[dubstepzombie]

@CAI_007 

Yes you're seeing what I'm seeing, it looks a lot better with the odd spike happening, nothing like the problems I was seeing at the start of the week. I can't really complain about my ping now, so there's no chance I can switch ISP and have my exit fees dropped, it's not perfect but good enough, it would be nice if they made our interenet fast and not just on the edge of coping - I can dream 🙂

My theory is they're adding hardware and capacity to their core network, thinking about networking it could well have been flow control kicking in due to a conjested  core network which would have the effect of buffering packets at the edge routers until there's free capacity. Who knows though because we're just kept in the dark by BT, all we know is that the magic internet fairies have sorted it out 🙂

The thing is BT keep swallowing companies (e.g. T-mobile, plusnet) and offering their broadband to other providers such as Vodaphone, post office, it's no surprise they've got network issues and I can imagine they're never going to admit anything such as our network sucks because they'd probably get their a$$ kicked by all these other companies they supply their fibre broadband to.

[CAI_007]

---

@dubstepzombiewrote:

@CAI_007 

Yes you're seeing what I'm seeing, it looks a lot better with the odd spike happening, nothing like the problems I was seeing at the start of the week. I can't really complain about my ping now, so there's no chance I can switch ISP and have my exit fees dropped, it's not perfect but good enough, it would be nice if they made our interenet fast and not just on the edge of coping - I can dream 🙂

My theory is they're adding hardware and capacity to their core network, thinking about networking it could well have been flow control kicking in due to a conjested  core network which would have the effect of buffering packets at the edge routers until there's free capacity. Who knows though because we're just kept in the dark by BT, all we know is that the magic internet fairies have sorted it out 🙂

The thing is BT keep swallowing companies (e.g. T-mobile, plusnet) and offering their broadband to other providers such as Vodaphone, post office, it's no surprise they've got network issues and I can imagine they're never going to admit anything such as our network sucks because they'd probably get their a$$ kicked by all these other companies they supply their fibre broadband to.

---

Results of my tracert and ping from a minute ago. This time it's taking a different route through the BT network and the ping spikes are as bad as ever when streaming twitch in the background. Peak time?

Tracing route to 185.60.112.157 over a maximum of 30 hops

1 1 ms 1 ms 1 ms DD-WRT [192.168.1.1]
2 * * * Request timed out.
3 15 ms 15 ms 15 ms 31.55.187.177
4 187 ms 67 ms 59 ms 31.55.187.184
5 224 ms 151 ms 134 ms core2-hu0-17-0-1.southbank.ukcore.bt.net [195.99.127.188]
6 17 ms 23 ms 21 ms peer2-et0-1-5.slough.ukcore.bt.net [62.172.103.210]
7 146 ms 16 ms 18 ms 195.66.226.234
8 153 ms 83 ms 45 ms ae1-br01-eqld5.as57976.net [137.221.79.33]
9 22 ms 22 ms 22 ms et-0-0-2-br02-eqam1.as57976.net [137.221.65.91]
10 23 ms 22 ms 22 ms et-0-0-67-pe01-eqam1.as57976.net [137.221.78.71]
11 23 ms 22 ms 23 ms 185.60.112.157

Trace complete.

Pinging 185.60.112.157 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=116ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=23ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=135ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=24ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=234ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=26ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=153ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=181ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=215ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=24ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=300ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=23ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=163ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=23ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=199ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=24ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=239ms TTL=245
Reply from 185.60.112.157: bytes=32 time=24ms TTL=245

Ping statistics for 185.60.112.157:
Packets: Sent = 20, Received = 20, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:

Minimum = 22ms, Maximum = 300ms, Average = 108ms

[nemodog69]

me pining 31

C:\WINDOWS\system32>ping 31.55.185.181

Pinging 31.55.185.181 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 31.55.185.181: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=60
Reply from 31.55.185.181: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=60
Reply from 31.55.185.181: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=60
Reply from 31.55.185.181: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=60

Ping statistics for 31.55.185.181:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 13ms, Maximum = 13ms, Average = 13ms

[dubstepzombie]

@CAI_007 

Yeah those are bad pings from just running twitch, what I saw for me was my route changing followed by lots of packet loss then the next day the packet loss was cleared up and I had an acceptable / ok-ish connection.

I'm at work at the moment, I'll test when I'm at home, I'm monitoring my connection every day at the moment seeing as 'something' changed that helped.

Either they've got routing problems and they're sorting them out or they're messing around with hardware / software distributing the load on their network differently. As usual it would be nice to know what they're actually doing I'd like to think they're investing money and bringing in new / better hardware, something tells me though they're trying to make a silk purse out of a pigs ear 🙂

[dubstepzombie]

My connection is ok still, I've even uninstalled netlimiter in case that was helping, it's not perfect but this is spamming Tidal next track, most likely while just streaming  Tidal music my ping will be mostly stable. I almsot switched to sky yesterday,  they will pay the first £100 for exit fees although they make it a hassle to claim that money back, which is why I backed out.

So yeah annoylingly my connection is ok, I say annoylingly because I'm really eager to get away from BT as soon as possible. I'll probably switch in a few months time when my exit fee isn't so high.