OT - slow internet connection and then very fast after power cycle...why?

[bkeane1259]

This isn't the first time this has happened, but I know there are some network guru's around here so I'd like to get some education on why exactly this happens.

Last night I noticed in SpeakChat, that my posts were popping up after a 30-second or so lag. I tried dumping the Java cache, but it didn't help. I was also uploading some files to my storage vault, so I quit that process and it speeded up SpeakChat so I thought it solved the problem. This morning I resumed my file upload and saw that it was uploading dreadfully slow (around 0.7mbps), so I knew there was a problem.

Tried an internet speed test to confirm -- download 2.7mbps - upload 0.27mbps -- WHAT?!?! I pay for 20meg service. Before I grabbed the phone to scream at Comcast, I power-cycled the cable modem and then the router. Another speed test to see if that did anything and it definitely did -- 25mbps down - 4.5mbps up. YAY

Now......why does this happen? Is it something that I'm causing or is it normal to have these sort of connectivity hiccups that require periodic power-cycling of equipment?? To be clear, this only happens a few times per year, but I'm just curious as to why....comments??

Thanks.

[Ron_E]

Anything with a processor in it can go out to lunch on occasion and need to be reset. It could be anything including power line glitches or a need to reset it's connection to the world. I have data projectors at work that I have to cycle power on from time to time because they loose their mind and won't accept commands from a remote.

Ron

[generic]

Your router might be going out. This happened to me about 6 months ago. Internet would be working just fine, then go to a snails pace. Called ISP service, they remote reboot the modem, test everything on their end and I thought it was fixed. Then the problem became worse and worse and it ended up being the router that caused the problem.

You could have something totally different, but if it's old equipment, you might want to check it out.

[bobbarkto]

Router or modem problem most likely.
Either one could be going south or is overheating (router most likely, manufacturers tend to push them to the limits thus creating too much heat for the undercooled little darlings).
Try driving it hard and see if it falls down again.
What router/modem are you using? (send me a pm if you don't want the world to know)

Sometimes it's a bug, usually a firmware specific issue, sometimes a bad design. An odd condition of errors or packet contents can trigger it. Sometimes a firmware update or changing a setting can help.
Usually these types of bugs rear their heads pretty regularly.

Could be a Comcast equipment problem.

[Whitneyville1]

Routers, modems, etc, get errors built up in them, and re-setting them (whatever way required) purges them and everything's all puddley-wonderful again...for a while. There are sometimes "compatibly" issues from hardware to hardware. Ain't 'puter-thingey's grand?

[bkeane1259]

What router/modem are you using?
Could be a Comcast equipment problem.

It's my equipment....that I've never had a problem with really.... and we have 7 pc's in the house and multiple networked devices.

Moto SB6120



+ Apple Airport Extreme

[bobbarkto]

Have not heard of any particular issues with either of those. Both are proven good performers.

Intermitent issues like this can be a real challenge.

When you reboot to fix this how long do you leave the power disconnected?

With the Airport I have seen simialr problems, mostly with wireless connections. Usually it's a complete stoppage or loss of connection, but I have seen random slowdowns, too.

I solved a similar one last month. The event happened more or less twice a day.
Moved the Airport 12 feet to a more interior location in an office complex, no more problems.
Some interference from a neighbor was suspected. A few new tennants had moved into the area preceeding the event.

You can try to stress things, see if load is an issue.
Script a large file transfer for each machine, timed to go at the same time, repeat every half hour or so.
If it fails consistently you found your problem.
If it doesn't fail, repeat, but this time do a large internet download from the machines.
Then try combined.

[greywarden]

Guess what I pay up here in Alaska for 22Mbps... $79/month, $99/month regular, and I have a 170Gb cap, that I BLEW through for the first 2 months I bumped up the speed, first bill was $350, second was $160, and there's probably a 10% downtime

[LouC]

Everybody in your neighborhood is effectively on a LAN. Lots of neighbors streaming videos etc. will also slow things down. Upload speeds are always way slower than download speeds. See if time of day makes a difference.

There are also issues at the other end with hosts and trunklines. Since PE went to cloud storage for some of their stuff, I've had the forum take 30-40 seconds to load, when other sites are virtually instantaneous.

[moron#99]

you realize that when your router reboots it may reset your pc's TCIP. If a router reboot fixes it then it is still not conclusive proof of router trouble. and by extension, rebooting your router may also download new dhcp from comcast causing a buffer flush on their router. It could be their router filling a buffer with packet fragments or something.

[bkeane1259]

Well there's certainly more than one possibility I see......

Since the power-cycle, everything has been fine and like I had mentioned, this really only happens 2-3 times per year. I can't complain.

I do know it wasn't a "wireless" issue. I thought about that, so I did a speed test on two different machines - one wireless, one direct-connect. I did get the same speed results before the power cycle.

I think the Apple airport extreme is awesome. It's a bit pricey, but I have ZERO compatibility issues with three different streaming blu-ray players. One blu-ray is on the 4th floor. Router is on the ground floor. Wireless connectivity up on the top floor is no problem. I have had a linksys, belkin and netgear router in the past. The Apple is by far the best one. No contest.

[rvsixer]

I have had a linksys, belkin and netgear router in the past. The Apple is by far the best one. No contest.

Out of box, very much agreed. Now take that Linksys or Netgear and throw free dd-wrt on it. Still won't match the build quality/look and feel/integration of the Airport, but equal connective reliability, and a FAR advanced feature set should you need it.

[awwnuts]

After having owned all the usual routers, I made the change to Buffalo about 6 years ago and have never looked back. Gone are the days of weekly reboots. I dreaded the day I upgraded to Wireless N - even though it was another Buffalo. The transition was seamless and simple. Again, no reboots. We have 12-15 various wireless devices through this sucker (yeah, in the house) and some high bitrates from A/V and backup servers.