Internet randomly stopping then starting.

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Internet randomly stopping then starting.

askelon

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#207668 7-Jan-2017 16:17

For the last 3 days my VDSL has been randomly stopping for a minute or two then starting again. Its not dropping a VDSL connection, just stopping. I have tried alternative DNS servers (as Im using dns4me as my defaults), including both the spark and google ones. Hasnt made any difference. I replaced the modem (Spark HG659B) with a new TP-Link T-DW9970 router but that hasnt made any difference either. Its happening on multiple computers, both wired and wireless (most are wired) and the time period can be quite random.

Normally speaking for the last few days I can play something like warframe for 30-40 mins then it'll drop. There were some very unhappy people this morning when their skype chat got dropped again and again! Spark are doing an extended line test and will email me the results.

I'll include my modem stats. Theres no errors in the logs etc. Spark said there have been 4 disconnects in the last 24 hours which I can account for totally with restarts and setting up the new modem.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Im missing out on good old Diablo 3 new season D1 from level one time! There was alot of swearing when it disconnected me at the cathedral level 11!!

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#1699928 7-Jan-2017 16:35

Does it happen every 4 hours? As it could be a mis provisioned line.

gbwelly

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#1699929 7-Jan-2017 16:44

BarTender: Does it happen every 4 hours? As it could be a mis provisioned line.

Can you expand on this? I have an issue I've been too lazy to get to the bottom of. Sometime the internet will not work for about 45 seconds or so. I have a draytek in bridge mode which claims it's been up the whole time I've been having issues.

I was blaming the dd-wrt router (which is also sticking to the story that the connection was fine, nothing to see here, move along).

hio77

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#1699932 7-Jan-2017 17:00

BarTender: Does it happen every 4 hours? As it could be a mis provisioned line.

Would expect FLS to pickup on this straight away tbh..

as there has only been 4 in a day though, unlikely to be the anym boot i'd say.

gbwelly:

BarTender: Does it happen every 4 hours? As it could be a mis provisioned line.

Can you expand on this? I have an issue I've been too lazy to get to the bottom of. Sometime the internet will not work for about 45 seconds or so. I have a draytek in bridge mode which claims it's been up the whole time I've been having issues.

I was blaming the dd-wrt router (which is also sticking to the story that the connection was fine, nothing to see here, move along).

If authentication is not correctly provisioned, there will be a mismatch in the system.. you may still get a connection, but every 4 hours spark will drop the session.

on sparks side, they can check a few indicators to see if this is an issue for you.

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Dratsab

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#1699933 7-Jan-2017 17:06

Do the drop outs coincide with downpours of rain? There may be water getting into a joint somewhere.

I have this exact problem - internet drops out every time it rains. Usually back within two minutes whether or not the rain continues.

alisam

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#1700055 7-Jan-2017 21:54

I too have been too lazy to investigate, because I don't know where to begin.

I had the problem with Vodafone VDSL but am now with Spark VDSL.

Netflix (and surfing the net) will stop for 30-60 seconds, not very often but let's say 2-3 times a week.

I have Spark VDSL, Vigor 130 (bridge) and an Ubiquiti Edgerouter Lite 3.

The Edgerouter Lite 3 has been reconfigured about 3 times, and the last time was only 3-4 days ago due to the tutorial on Geekzone. It has happened since then.

PS. Rain is not a factor.

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Jase2985

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#1700061 7-Jan-2017 22:05

what do the logs say?

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alisam

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#1700062 7-Jan-2017 22:11

Jase2985:

what do the logs say?

Not sure you are replying to my post or not and whether I should be looking at a Draytek Vigor 130 log or a Edgerouter Lite 3 log.

Further help on where to look for a log would be appreciated.

Jase2985

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#1700066 7-Jan-2017 22:31

both, you need to see if the PPPoE session is still connected or if the DSL sync drops or if the devices themselves reboot.

that way you can narrow it down.

could you remove the ERL from the system to do some testing?

askelon

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#1700122 8-Jan-2017 09:02

My logs are totally clear, no errors at all. I'm thinking it is a DNS issue so I'm going to play around more with it today and see. The vdsl connection definitely isn't dropping, modems aren't rebooting, pppoe not dropping, just pauses then continues.

askelon

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#1700125 8-Jan-2017 09:26

Tried this morning, did the same thing 5 mins into using it all. Ive tried isolating everything else from the network so its just my computer but that hasnt made any difference. Ive switched back to the original HG659b now and I'll take a look at its logs when it does it again.

RunningMan

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#1700133 8-Jan-2017 09:56

Can you start a continuous ping to a nearby server and note what happens to it when the connection issue appears.

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gbwelly

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#1700144 8-Jan-2017 10:32

askelon: My logs are totally clear, no errors at all. I'm thinking it is a DNS issue so I'm going to play around more with it today and see. The vdsl connection definitely isn't dropping, modems aren't rebooting, pppoe not dropping, just pauses then continues.

Edit: I don't have the same problem as you, I've got the same problem as @alisam

I have the same issue as you, though I'm on BigPipe. VDSL/PPPoE connections stay up but no data moves over the link. The Draytek 130 in bridge mode is something we have in common. I too have entertained and discounted the DNS theory, but it's so hard to troubleshoot in under a minute, perhaps twice a week at a random moment. I think I did once fire off a traceroute to random internet IP and from memory only the internal interface of the router replied, didn't even hit the gateway on the next hop.

askelon

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#1700194 8-Jan-2017 12:41

Ping tests running since 11 havent bought up any issues yet sites werent contactable again. Ive switched to the google DNS again and it seems to be pretty solid for the last 90 mins. So maybe its a DNS issue afterall which is what I expected. Will keep waiting and seeing..

hio77

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#1700226 8-Jan-2017 15:37

please make sure you run pings and if possible monitor dns lookup results (with cache disabled ofcourse).

It does sound like full data transfer loss rather than dns related but i would still be interested on results. (ref skype calls dropping etc)

If you have a Spark ticket number, mind PMing that to me - The more details you have given, the more this is sounding much like an existing case i have in-progress and would love to compare notes, see if there is not a common trait that is worth looking at.

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darylblake

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#1700292 8-Jan-2017 19:44

Yes we need to know if its DSL sync dropping or a PPPoE Connection that gets re-established, even though there is no sync problem.
It could be some sort of DNS issue, e.g. pinging an IP address would work perfectly but pinging a hostname address from a unix machine (a machine that doesn't locally cache DNS) unlike windows could reveal something.

If you replaced the modem/router and the DSL sync and PPPoE is not dropping then im afraid it could be a software problem on your network or DNS.

If however it is DSL sync dropping then refer to Bartenders suggestion that the line may be mis-provisioned. If the PPPoE is dropping regularly but the sync is up, then the ISP may need to sort it out.

For now I would change DNS servers, flush all the cache's (if any) and see how you go.

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