Internet connection problems

Are you having Internet connection problems? Do you get disconnected to often? Do you repeatedly dial in before your get a good Internet connection?

If you answered yes to any of the above, maybe this update can help you. You do need to read all of this to gain any help in possibly arriving at a solution.

Even with a high-speed connection, lag and data loss is going to affect the quality of the connection.

The factors that influence lag and data loss can be as listed:

• The load on, and configuration of your ISP
• Speed of your ISP's connection to the internet
• Route your data follows through the internet
• Load on each computer handling your data
• Incorrect or older modem Drivers
• Low quality telephone lines

We are working to keep these items in check. But we can only control some of these items. In order from first to last, we are currently running separate mail servers to cut down on the load. All system cleanup processes and backups are performed in non-peak usage times, such as 5:00am daily. Dial up connection equipment for each area serviced, is on constant load balancing. This is new as of 1998/1999 and has helped a tremendous amount. The origination's feed lines are very close to the Internet backbone so therefore it is only a few hops to the Internet through our services. We have multiple redundant DS-1 (T-1) Internet feed lines to ensure non-bog conditions. The only thing we can do about possible modem or modem driver problems, is to direct you in a way of finding out if you have a modem problem and suggestions about what the fix may be. Unfortunately, if you have a telephone line problem, it's out of our control. But maybe we can at least help you to identify if you have a phone line problem. The TELCO's have been very helpful to our customers. If you find that you have a telephone line problem, please try another line if you have that option. If it's not an option, last resort after all else has been eliminated, report it and get it seen about. Please remember, that under normal circumstances, they do not check throughput as fast as your connection usually is but most of the time it is fast enough to identify a possible problem.

Now to educate you on finding out what your problem may be, we will introduce you to "Ping". Ping is the time delay, (in millisecond), your computer sees while communicating. The rate that information is passed, therefore directly affects ping times. As more information is passed, the ping time increases. Ping can never be eliminated. For surfing, your computer must communicate with a server. This means that the connection of each computer, or server involved can affect ping time. You even have a ping time for your own computer somewhere around 40 ms. Listed below are some general ping times to our main router as well as instruction on how to ping that piece of equipment using Windows 95/98;

With a 28.8 modem --------- 250+ milliseconds
With a 33.6 modem --------- 200+ milliseconds
With a 56k modem --------- 175+ milliseconds
With ISDN --------- 75+ milliseconds
With DS1 / T1 -------- 30+ milliseconds

These are just rough estimates because as discussed, many things can affect your connection rate.

Using Ping with Windows 95/98

This section explains how to use ping to possibly determine and solve bad connection problems. "ping" is easy-to-use. It checks link between two hosts over TCP/IP protocol. It simply sends small packets to remote host, waiting for response, and then displays time (in ms.) spent to reach remote host. If there is no response from remote system for some time, ping shows request time out message. If link to remote host is broken, Host is unreachable message appears. By default, ping performs 4 attempts to reach remote host then exits.

The following command line can be used to run ping: NOTE that you will need to go to the DOS prompt to do this. Usually being, click on "START" and go to "PROGRAMS" and the click the "MS-DOS Prompt" icon. You can also go to your DOS prompt by clicking on "START" and then "RUN". In the "Run Dialogue Box", type in "command" and hit the enter key on your keyboard. Either way, you should now be at your DOS Prompt and will need to type in the following criteria;

ping 216.88.101.250

When this command is typed in, it will display your ping time in milliseconds. You now have your test results on your screen. Once your finished comparing the numbers, or possibly even writing them down to refer back to again in the future, you can close out your current DOS Window by typing in "exit".

Our technicians have seen many fast computers, with fast modems, not be able to ping any faster than 450ms. That's not good, but it can be improved for better Internet connectivity and performance. If your ping time is higher than the above examples, you may want to update your modem drivers for a possible fix. Many drivers can be found at http://www.windrivers.com/ . If you need further technical assistance, contact us.

We hope this tech bulletin will help you to figure out if you have a problem or not, and where to go on your quest to get it resolved. Want more information, click here.