Poor game download performance

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Poor game download performance

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#2458233 9-Apr-2020 13:33

Talkiet:

Yes, the downloads go predominantly through massive local caching infrastructure. I saw huge spikes last night on our CDN infrastructure (that were no-where near peak capacity BTW). However individual game publishers choose not to send all downloads over a single CDN so they themselves balance the load for resilience and cost reasons.

We're not throttling.

Cheers - N

Thanks, finally a useful answer...

Do you know if last nights COD Modern Warfare update was cached? It certainly didn't look like it at this end - using the VPN to Sydney indicated that it wasn't.

If its something that Microsoft/Activision/Blizzard are choosing not to do, then I'll leave it at that.

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#2458238 9-Apr-2020 13:37

you realize Spark, bigpipe nor any other ISP owe you any explanation. and any that you do get is given in good faith from their employees.

Im getting those speeds all day every day, have noticed zero issues.

as for DNS, its basic fault finding but you know better right?

hio77

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#2458241 9-Apr-2020 13:39

Honestly, this sounds like an internal network issue or Computer related.

I personally was pulling upwards of 90MB/s on steam last night at the same time that COD update came though (not downloading COD.)

the other things to remember, particularly with steam itself is the 'steampipe' setup tends to heavily compress things, so you become far more disk and CPU bound than say, running a speedtest.

i also do monitor my connection quite closely both on and off network (including international), aside from periods i was hitting it heavy, results are rock solid and never dip..

Encase it isn't clear yet, @Talkiet speaks for the spark CDN's.

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Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

Talkiet

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#2458242 9-Apr-2020 13:39

RustyGonad:

Thanks, finally a useful answer...

Do you know if last nights COD Modern Warfare update was cached? It certainly didn't look like it at this end - using the VPN to Sydney indicated that it wasn't.

If its something that Microsoft/Activision/Blizzard are choosing not to do, then I'll leave it at that.

The huge increase I saw on our CDNs was correlated with the time of the COD download, however as mentioned further back, companies (game/streaming) may source content from multiple locations (at their choice/discretion regardless of local RSP investment or capability in whatever CDN platforms they have).

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

Talkiet

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#2458339 9-Apr-2020 13:48

hio77:

[snip]

Encase it isn't clear yet, @Talkiet speaks for the spark CDN's.

Not officially, for dismaying historical reasons. :-)

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

RustyGonad

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#2458340 9-Apr-2020 13:48

Talkiet:

RustyGonad:

Thanks, finally a useful answer...

Do you know if last nights COD Modern Warfare update was cached? It certainly didn't look like it at this end - using the VPN to Sydney indicated that it wasn't.

If its something that Microsoft/Activision/Blizzard are choosing not to do, then I'll leave it at that.

The huge increase I saw on our CDNs was correlated with the time of the COD download, however as mentioned further back, companies (game/streaming) may source content from multiple locations (at their choice/discretion regardless of local RSP investment or capability in whatever CDN platforms they have).

Cheers - N

Are Bigpipe using the same CDN's (I appreciate its mostly the same infrastructure, but are they doing anything different that would cause it not to get cached?

Just trying to establish if there's anything I can do at this end i.e. log a support call with Bigpipe? move back to Spark?

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Talkiet

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#2458342 9-Apr-2020 13:51

RustyGonad:

Are Bigpipe using the same CDN's (I appreciate its mostly the same infrastructure, but are they doing anything different that would cause it not to get cached?

Just trying to establish if there's anything I can do at this end i.e. log a support call with Bigpipe? move back to Spark?

Bigpipe and Skinny are using the same CDNs as Spark.

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

RustyGonad

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#2458345 9-Apr-2020 13:55

hio77:

Honestly, this sounds like an internal network issue or Computer related.

I personally was pulling upwards of 90MB/s on steam last night at the same time that COD update came though (not downloading COD.)

the other things to remember, particularly with steam itself is the 'steampipe' setup tends to heavily compress things, so you become far more disk and CPU bound than say, running a speedtest.

i also do monitor my connection quite closely both on and off network (including international), aside from periods i was hitting it heavy, results are rock solid and never dip..

Encase it isn't clear yet, @Talkiet speaks for the spark CDN's.

Look - with all due respect its not an internal computer related issue - I too had a bunch of other stuff going on in the background as well. If you know Unifi - you know that I could see wireless performance etc etc.

I checked all wireless connection rates - first place I looked. At one point I even plugged it into ethernet.

It effected two different platforms on both wireless and ethernet. Using a VPN fixed the ethernet connection by moving the problem to Sydney, performance went up by 100x.

I've seen over 700Mb/s from Steam. My issue related to last nights COD update (and the one before that etc).

My wireless performance is fantastic, and I can get line speed to Bigpipe (950/490 Mb/s).

No other streaming services were effected last nite. Everything else was just fine and dandy.

RustyGonad

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#2458364 9-Apr-2020 14:14

Jase2985:

you realize Spark, bigpipe nor any other ISP owe you any explanation. and any that you do get is given in good faith from their employees.

Im getting those speeds all day every day, have noticed zero issues.

as for DNS, its basic fault finding but you know better right?

I wasn't expecting an explanation, I was asking for one. Understand the difference. And yes, I fully respect Spark, BigPipe, Skinny and their employees. I spent more than 13 years there as Telecom/Gen-i/Spark employee.

I also identified a potential issue with caching which has effected a number of people I know (including a couple who still work at Spark), and was seeking to identify any potential issues/solutions from a customer perspective. That's why I requested I answer from someone at Spark.

I went through a couple of hours of troubleshooting last night to isolate out any issues with my network. This included ethernet, wireless, and general line speed performance. All other streaming services were going just fine, as was wireless and ethernet performance. Both this, the use of a VPN, and the fact that others I knew were having the same issue, indicated something with either caching or throttling. Performance improvement this morning indicated this as well. That's why I asked the question.

I am sure I am not the only one in NZ who saw poor performance last night with the COD update. Neal's answer let's me know its probably one of those issues that won't get solved unless Microsoft/Activision get involved at an ISP issue. It looks like a budget issue not a technology one...

Your attitude just reminds me why I stopped posting on GZ a few years ago...

Jase2985

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#2458401 9-Apr-2020 14:45

learn to take suggestions in your stride, even if you have already done the testing. you may have missed something etc

if you go back and look at all the slow speed over fibre threads, 99% of slow fibre issues end up being related to the customers equipment

This is the first as far as i can remember, anyone having issues with slow downloads of games off sparks network. so if it was a widespread issue im sure it would have presented already and this wouldn't be the only thread.

djtOtago

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#2458407 9-Apr-2020 14:49

RustyGonad:
.....

DNS - default BigPipe (Can you please explain why you think this is a DNS issue?)
....

Using your ISP DNS server should result in name lookups resolving to the closest or best positioned CDN server for you.
Using something like google's DNS server could mean a name lookup may result in returning the address for a CDN server further away.

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darylblake

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#2458422 9-Apr-2020 14:57

Since most of this content will come from a case, in this case probably Akamai, I would find it hard to believe it would be a problem with any network you are connected to.

First culprit in my mind would be WiFi.

yitz

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#2458428 9-Apr-2020 15:02

The off net CDN involved is probably the Level 3 CDN where performance can be variable and not as good as on net Akamai for obvious contractual reasons.

What ever happened to pre-loading of this sort of content as was done in the past??

RustyGonad

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#2458545 9-Apr-2020 16:50

Jase2985:

learn to take suggestions in your stride, even if you have already done the testing. you may have missed something etc

if you go back and look at all the slow speed over fibre threads, 99% of slow fibre issues end up being related to the customers equipment

This is the first as far as i can remember, anyone having issues with slow downloads of games off sparks network. so if it was a widespread issue im sure it would have presented already and this wouldn't be the only thread.

lol - once again with all due respect, when was the last time you saw a free game that was an 80GB download on the Xbox/PS4 or 120 GB on the PC. This isn't a fibre issue... it isn't a general slow speed issue - normal performance is fine.

I'm not suggesting by any means that there is a issue with fiber, Spark's network equipment or performance. The 950/450+ speeds that I get are fantastic for any part of the world.

Simply that in this particular case the caching doesn't appear to be working as it should be from a customer perspective. Doesn't mean its not doing what Spark expect it to do...

Doesn't mean its not becoming widespread - most people wouldn't recognize a download issue if it hit them in the face let alone ask questions why.

Note the number of people suggesting it was my wireless without even noting that my PC used ethernet or that I had also cabled the offending Xbox last night. At that's people on Geekzone.

I still believe its related to caching performance, as Neal has confirmed there is no throttling going on. Note that post from Neal and Yitz who is looking at it from a rational perspective, providing a positive response, and the kind of useful reply(s) I was expecting.

But burying your head in the sand is also a valid approach as well...

RogerMellie

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#2462225 15-Apr-2020 23:57

fwiw I'm in AKL and also on BigPipes fastest plan, have great connection speeds EXCEPT when I download games on my Xbox One, or Xbox One X.

Both are connected via cat5e ethernet through a gigabit switch to the ONT, both Xboxes have a 1TB SSD connected via USB3, and specified as the default install location.

Download speeds are never consistent and are all over the place but usually hover below 12Mb/s

I can live with it, but just wish I could see my connection speed made the most of.

Streaming via netflix, youtube etc on my AppleTV, or any computer/phone/tablet in the house is fine, via ethernet or wifi (2.4 or 5GHz)

Ookla test this evening on my Mac, also connected via same ethernet, through same switch etc.. (15/4/20):

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