Forum Discussion
Upload Issue again
It made it almost a full three months that I was able to stream videos at any resolution without buffering with only the intermittant issue that would last no more than 48 hours or so. But I knew it ...
GabeU,
Ok, finally got Testmy.net figured out except for one issue, combined testing with max data set.
You see the tabs to the right of 'optional'? Both will set the 'minimum' data size but won't affect the maximum so it still tests anything it wants and of course, if it tests something reasonable the first time and runs quickly it will rerun with more data the next time so it is very important that I remember to click nfw. I'm following your instructions but unless I test upload and download separately I have no control over the maximum data used.
Hughes Level 4 called today (1/11/19) and when she had me run the upload test it was 33Kbps up and 21.3 down. Unplug the modem, bypass the router, long periods of silence and 'still buffering' for 25 minutes until it finally steamed without buffering but I haven't a clue what she did and I got the idea that she had a quota on either words or characters used, kink of like Twitter. I appreciated what ever she did but as she trying to get off the phone I asked if 2215 ms ping rate wasn't a touch long. She said she didn't know, 'bye'. I've never asked any tech about that before so I don't know if only certain techs are familiar with ping rates. I let it go and won't complain unless it becomes a consistant issue. What is your average ping rate? I don't know if testmy.net arbitrarily picks Dallas to ping but that's what this is testing. I understand that a high ping rate will affect the loading of a page which is what I'm running into. Slow to connect, handshake, etc. but once loaded it streams with litte buffering now. She must have done something, 1.5 Mbps up - 25Mbps down. Just so it stays. Thanks for the info.
Oh, you're right, I wasn't able to see that your note about being out of data was addressed to someone else. I've yet to figure out this board.
Two things:
First, though you have plenty of data, the tests being the same size is important to the reps and/or engineers. What causes issues can sometimes be seen in patterns in the speed test results, and when the tests are of varying sizes it can make it harder for the reps and/or engineers to detect those patterns. Because of that, it's important that you use the Gen4 speed test sizes, which are 12MB for download and 3MB for upload. I do realize that you simply forgot to change the test size, but it's important to do this from here on out. Also, if you're running the tests using the test scheduler, make sure to check the "nfw" box so that the tests don't forward in size, though the 12MB download test may still do so (see below).
Secondly, if you're seeing a lot of resizing when running the download test, you should change the test size you use from 12MB to 15MB. The 12MB manual test will forward to a larger size if the test doesn't last for at least seven seconds, but the 15MB test does not do this. So, again, if you often see the 12MB test forward to a larger size, please start using the 15MB test size instead.
GabeU
Makes sense, consistant size that is. Beside that, this am I set Testmy to run just 5 times at hour intervals. When I got back Testmy had run for 11 hours and had eaten up 11.5 gigs. I wasn't really concerned about Anytime data before but now I'm a bit concerned. I still have 14.5 gigs and 7 that I purchased over a year ago before I understood how that worked. What I'm trying to figure out is why Testmy arbitrarily ran on it's own. And it's not the first time that has happened. Until I know I'm going to close the page when I'm thru with it.
One other issue I noted today, something I never noticed as an issue before is latency. It was recorded at 1575 ms which is a problem unto itself. I'll watch it to see if it's a fluke or consitant. I pinged Hughesnet.com above 900 several times with random numbers under 600.
I'm calling a tech tomorrow to see how fast this can get pushed up to the next level. This is becoming untenable. Thanks for the advice.
That latency is definitely high. I could be caused by a number of things, including strain on the infrastructure of the system with so many people being online right now. All those new gadgets to play with! :p That's only a possibility. Hopefully, when you call, they'll be able to give you an idea.
With regard to the auto testing continuing to run, I'm not sure what could have happened. Perhaps there was some kind of glitch. It should only have completed what you set up, and that's it. It's always worked properly for me when I've used it, though I've only used auto testing a few times over the years. On the occasions that I have used auto testing, I set it up to run every five minutes and a total of five times. So, the tests are basically over after 20 minutes. I then do this a few times a day, but again, only when I'm testing for troubleshooting purposes, as at other times I just test whenever.
Good luck with the call tomorrow. Merry Christmas! :)
GabeU,
I've had the same issue with Testmy.net before, continuing to test even after it's completed the number of tests called for and I don't have a clue. I'll just have to remeber to end the test and log out.
As far as calling, I waited until this morning and I just got off the phone. The tech said she ran tests and weather was affecting the signal from South Dakota which I'm going to believe since she had me run Testmy and the download speeds look like a saw with download .92 to 27.3 Mbps and upload .20 to .86 Mbps. Dl has never been great but good enough to stream without a problem for at least 3 months and the ul is no better and no worse. If it truly is weather it will be gone within an hour and I'll test it again. A coincidence?
I was the techical supervisor for a midwest cable company serving 190,000+ subs and I have heard every excuse given either by the phone bank or lazy feild techs. The best, or worse depending on how you look at it, was a customer with repeat reception problems who was ready to quit us and go with satellite since a tech told them the problem would be fixed as soon as the space shuttle was flying again. This was April, 1986. It was actually a staple shot thru the house drop that sucked in moisture to corrode the rg6 connector. The tech didn't want to rehang it. Weather was always a good one too so long as it wasn't happening locally.
I'll test again in a couple of hours.
