Help improving Big Time

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Help improving Big Time

CYaBro

3345 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#45115 30-Oct-2009 13:18

Posting this here at the request of Chill on PressF1:

Hi all,

As part of the ongoing saga with Telecom / Big Time, if you've seen any of my recent threads you'll know that they've admitted there is an issue with their Traffic Management and in particular Streaming Video (Even in times when the Traffic Management shouldn't be messing with it).

Now, Telecom are after more examples from other customers currently on the Big Time Plan. If you're on something else like Go Large, Adventure, or with another ISP then this thread isn't for you

Here's what's needed in an Email to: Telecom_Broadband

Broadband line :
IP address:
Times of issue:
Site name and Link to the video:

Also trace route to the site, ideally do 100 iterations using WinMTR from http://winmtr.sf.net
Make reference that you have been told about Ticket # 19337857.

Note: The ticket I raised (Ticket # 19337857) is specifically for Streaming Video, however if you're experiencing issues with other things, it's worth posting here and I'll try and go through some basic diagnosis with you, and give you all the information you'll need so that you can then effectively give Telecom all the details required about your incident.

If anybody has a Geekzone account and is keen to cross-post this, that'd be awesome, as I've forgotten my details and don't have time right this second to try and remember them

Anyways, let the fun begin, and hopefully we can make this a better plan for everybody. I just want my TiVo, YouTube & TVNZOnDemand!

Cheers

Chill.

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23 posts

Geek

#268555 30-Oct-2009 13:43

I think they are also limiting download using ports 23, 119 and 8080. -:(

BigMal

950 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#268580 30-Oct-2009 14:38

This isn't streaming video related but it's deinfitely Big Time related. I have posted this in another thread on geekzone.

For about the last week have been unable to play Madden NFL online using my PS3 during peak times (ie 8pm-11pm). It fails to connect to the EA servers and kicks me out completely. My friends who are also with Telecom but not on Big Time don't have this problem. My PS3 is DMZ'ed etc and this problem has only started occurring in about the last 1-2 weeks. If I play between 6am and 8am it's fine.

According to the Madden user manual Madden uses the following ports for online play...

TCP: 25050-25059, 9980-9989, 14200-14219, 80, 443, 42100-42119
UDP: 9570, 3659, 6000

Any help wpould be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Savageone

44 posts

Geek

#268611 30-Oct-2009 16:05

I have a problem with the Big Time plan, I play on an online game site called pogo.com now ever since they axed the GoLarge plan I've been having problems during their shaping times aka 9am to 2am. The game site is java based and I can play absolutely perfect between the hours of 2am and 9am. In fact, as soon as the clock hits 2am, the games play perfectly. If you could give me some guidelines on sending an email to Telecom about this issue it would be awesome.

Cheers

ChillingSilence

301 posts

Ultimate Geek

#268655 30-Oct-2009 19:15

Thanks CYaBro, it turns out I signed up without the _ in my name, Geekzone doesn't allow that char in a username :-/

tamulmol: I think they are also limiting download using ports 23, 119 and 8080. -:(

They're also rate-limiting GRE & SSL traffic too to say the least, real badly, like on a per-connection basis :(

Savageone: In fact, as soon as the clock hits 2am, the games play perfectly. If you could give me some guidelines on sending an email to Telecom about this issue it would be awesome.

Cheers

I'd be inclined to take traceroutes to the site both at varying times during the day, and then afterwards also. I'd then be inclined to do it at varying times between 2am & 7am (Some places Telecom say 2-9, others they say 2-7) and compared. Chances are they'll be pretty similar.
Then, I'd run speedtests to both local and overseas sites at the same time as you do your traceroutes (just not both concurrently, do one after the other)
I'd also try and run some description of traffic analyzer (I have a Tomato Router which does the same job) so that you can see all the ports that are in-use between you and the website. That's probably the best place to start, just don't do those tests over the weekend, as it's not always the same as weekdays / nights.
We can take it from there and see what Telecom say. It's not directly related to the flash / http video issue, but it's still an issue with their "Traffic Management" that could do with some fine-tuning...
Cheers

Chill.

ChillingSilence

301 posts

Ultimate Geek

#268658 30-Oct-2009 19:21

BigMal: What happens if you play online after 2AM? I'd say it's classifying it as P2P traffic. Hard part is trying to classify P2P traffic and differentiate it from Gaming traffic...

tamulmol

23 posts

Geek

#268720 30-Oct-2009 23:57

This is really bad, that is correct even SSL they are limiting....-:) It looks like I need to go back to the old plan. -:(

ChillingSilence

301 posts

Ultimate Geek

#268740 31-Oct-2009 07:27

Well think about it, how often do you need to do large downloads over SSL? Usually it's just to your bank. I'd guess it's a way to discourage using SSL to encrypt P2P traffic, so each connection seems limited to around 20-40KB/sec in my experience. I could be wrong though ;)

BigMal

950 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#268749 31-Oct-2009 08:07

I don't stay up until 2am but around 6am and 7am when I am online playing Madden it works perfectly. This problem has only started happening in the last few weeks. I cannot physically game at all in the evenings due to not being able to connect to EA servers.

Did online gaming on Big Time die when Telecom released their tV advert saying they limit data on gaming as well? When I signed up for Big Time I was told they only managed peer to peer traffic and that appeared to be the case because a) torrents were terrible and b) gaming was fine. Now gaming is completely stuffed.

Did a test this morning. Gaming was fine at 7am but at 9am I was unable to connect to the servers again. Damn you Big Time!

sbiddle

29282 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#268776 31-Oct-2009 12:26

BigMal:When I signed up for Big Time I was told they only managed peer to peer traffic and that appeared to be the case because a) torrents were terrible and b) gaming was fine. Now gaming is completely stuffed.

Who told you that only P2P traffic was managed? This certainly isn't the message Telecom's advertising or website says. In both it makes it clear that ALL traffic is managed.

However, because of this we manage all the traffic on Big Time. When the network is busy (generally inside the hours of 9am and 2am) you may noticed reduced speeds; in particular you are likely to see reduced speeds in relation to file sharing

nzpat

167 posts

Master Geek

#268786 31-Oct-2009 14:07

In the letter I got about the change from Go Large to Big Time it specifically says "Everyone can surf and stream to their hearts content" Ahem, Youtube maybe,but megavideo, dailymotion etc all buffer at under 30kbps and are unwatchable.

Im not at all impressed with Big Time, I cant download anything at over 30Kbps that isnt hosted (or cached) nationally. For Rapidshare I used to get about 200-300 Kbps now its just a trickle (10 -15kbps) all while im being charged more for less performance. Torrents are utterly dead, ie 2-3kbps.

Would buying some sort of overseas tunneling service speed me up?

Cheers

c4bb0ose

51 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#268787 31-Oct-2009 14:09

sbiddle:
BigMal:When I signed up for Big Time I was told they only managed peer to peer traffic and that appeared to be the case because a) torrents were terrible and b) gaming was fine. Now gaming is completely stuffed.

Who told you that only P2P traffic was managed? This certainly isn't the message Telecom's advertising or website says. In both it makes it clear that ALL traffic is managed.

However, because of this we manage all the traffic on Big Time. When the network is busy (generally inside the hours of 9am and 2am) you may noticed reduced speeds; in particular you are likely to see reduced speeds in relation to file sharing

I think hat hes trying to say is that file sharing is the most shaped.( were as it would only see visible effects of file sharing, which I think he assumed was p2p ) I have big qualms with there plan, but imo reducing gaming traffic is a nasty blow to any one who plays them on a regular basis. the problem people have is that up until as stated above a few weeks ago gaming on this plan was fine then with no warning it happend, literaly over night, the traffic was well crippled in regards to playing games, they fixed fps gaming that use UDP file transfering, but they have been reluctant?/unwilling?/don't want to? do something about mmorpg gaming/and/or other types of gaming that use TCP/and/or other kinds of file transfering.

thats the basic over view imo, and the message that telecom ( imo ) are sending out.

nzpat

167 posts

Master Geek

#268788 31-Oct-2009 14:12

I think it utterly stinks that they closed Go Large, and are now offering in my opinion an inferior (it may not be technically, but in practice it is) plan for another $10. Gotta love monopolies.

ChillingSilence

301 posts

Ultimate Geek

#268793 31-Oct-2009 14:17

Inferior? ADSL2+ vs regular ADSL?!

Anyway, I'm hoping this thread would be more along the lines of others who're having issues, in particular with streaming video. I understand there's already a few other threads out there for general talk / banter / discussion with regards to BigTime and peoples thoughts on Telecom as a corporate entity that might be more appropriate ;)

nzpat

167 posts

Master Geek

#268795 31-Oct-2009 14:23

ChillingSilenc adsl e: Inferior? ADSL2+ vs regular ADSL?!

Anyway, I'm hoping this thread would be more along the lines of others who're having issues, in particular with streaming video. I understand there's already a few other threads out there for general talk / banter / discussion with regards to BigTime and peoples thoughts on Telecom as a corporate entity that might be more appropriate ;)

Well, I was already on ADSL 2+ on Go Large (Just at 160kb Upstream), I basically downloaded everything at 200-500Kbps, games worked fine, torrents worked fine, TVNZ worked fine, EVERYTHING worked fine. Now its 10-30Kbps for 90% of things, so yes it is indeed inferior, especially when it costs an extra $10.

munchkin

939 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#268800 31-Oct-2009 14:58

patznz: I think it utterly stinks that they closed Go Large, and are now offering in my opinion an inferior (it may not be technically, but in practice it is) plan for another $10. Gotta love monopolies.

You've made an assumption there - and it's quite wrong, too.

If Telecom were a monopoly, you'd have *no other choice whatsoever* - but the reality is that you do. However, (I'm going to guess) you're looking at it from the view that you want unlimited traffic for as little a price as possible - unfortunately, many ISPs don't offer this as it a) costs them bucketloads and b) makes everyone sign up which c) makes the experience terrible for everyone and d) causes them to lose more money as they try to fix it up while also answering support calls. What it creates is a vicious cycle that doesn't improve.

There was nothing in your broadband contract that stated Telecom were required to offer Go Large forever, and you weren't forced to switch to BigTime, either. You have a choice when it comes to these things - and they were outlined a letter that you were sent.
Telecom are well within their rights to restrict whichever activities they feel like on BigTime, read the fine print carefully. They do this so that the vicious cycle I outlined above won't happen, or, if it does, it won't be as large as it could be.

tl,dr; you're free to move to another ISP or another plan if you want to. Telecom aren't a monopoly any more.

tl,dr; #2 Stop being silly.

All information contained in posts made by me shall be treated as PotatoZoo's own personal opinion unless otherwise specified.

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