[colug-432] talking to your ISP

[Bill Baker]

That's why I advised him to call tech support.  They'll be able to
determine better what the problem is.

On 12/28/2012 12:53 AM, Dan wrote:
> Did you stop to think that the slow response may be from a slow or busy
> server?
> 
> Bill Baker wrote:
>> Yeah, I'd definitely talk to tech support if I were you.  I can tell you
>> that as far as I know, TWC doesn't do anything funky to manipulate any
>> speed test results on their site.  It's just a tool to measure how much
>> bandwidth you're getting within the TWC network.  I don't know about
>> speedboost, since we don't offer that in business class.  So far you've
>> done a lot more work before calling the techs than most people do.  But
>> do call them.  And if you're not satisfied with what the first tech
>> tells you, ask to be escalated to tier 3.
>>
>> On 12/27/2012 08:20 PM, Rick Hornsby wrote:
>>>
>>> Got an unsolicited email from Timewarner.  They're bumping my speed
>>> from 10 to 15 for free.  Supposedly.
>>>
>>> Here's where I can't figure out what I'm supposed to tell them, or
>>> the best way to show evidence that something is seriously wrong(?):
>>>
>>> KCMO to the following locations, downstream speeds right now:
>>>
>>> -> Columbus RR speed test: 30Mbps (?!)
>>>
>>> Via the speakeasy.net tests at http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/ 
>>> -> Chicago: 6Mbps
>>> -> Dallas: 15.3Mbps
>>> -> Atlanta: 1.05Mbps
>>> -> New York, NY: 26.65Mbps (?!)
>>> -> Washington, DC: 0.91Mbps
>>>
>>> Via the dslreports flash speed test: 
>>> -> Denver: 2.5Mbps (other than Kansas City itself, the geographically closest of all) 
>>> -> Los Angeles: 4.0Mbps
>>>
>>> Via speedtest.net: 
>>> -> Kansas City: 2.67Mbps (this is where I start to get kinda pissed)
>>> -> Kansas City: 3.11Mbps
>>> -> Indepedence, MO (~30mi from KCMO): 25.6Mbps (...?) 
>>> -> Overland Park, KS (basically, SW Kansas City): a really sucky 0.34Mbps (was 1.0 on a re-test)
>>>
>>> I know there are a lot of factors that go into a download speed, and
>>> that download speed itself isn't everything.  I know that some
>>> servers can be overloaded, and that some links can get saturated.
>>> These figures are all over the map - both the location/distance and
>>> the speed.  I expect something far more consistent than this mess -
>>> even it is 3Mbps, or 6Mbps, or the full 15.  I certainly don't expect
>>> the kind of nonsense for the numbers for Kansas City[1].  Am I
>>> wrong?
>>>
>>> Is this even TimeWarner's fault?  I can't figure it would be the
>>> local office, unless they're somehow fudging the numbers or doing
>>> something else nefarious to make the Columbus and NYC speeds seem way
>>> faster than they really are --- maybe there is something really
>>> screwy with my cablemodem?  It seems like whatever this is, is well
>>> beyond my modem?
>>>
>>> Could the TimeWarner "speedboost" caching nonsense be throwing the
>>> numbers off (I haven't and refuse to intentionally subscribe to that
>>> bit of marketing BS)?  Does anyone know if the speedtests take that
>>> sort of thing into account?
>>>
>>> Maybe I just need to call during the day and talk to technical
>>> support as suggested?  Is there a way to increase my odds of getting
>>> a tech support person who might be knowledgeable?
>>>
>>> -rick
>>>
>>>
>>> [1] I recall, some many years ago, a time when Ohio State and Time
>>> Warner had a peering agreement.  All was happy in the land of the
>>> remote X session, so few hops that it was.  Then something happened.
>>> The peering agreement went away.  Packets from two blocks north of
>>> campus flew all over yonder on their way over to KRC (Ohio State's
>>> main data center where all traffic goes in and out of, or did at that
>>> time) - Chicago, Cleveland, sometimes New York City!  X sessions were
>>> now slow and nearly impossible.  I don't know why it happened or what
>>> went down, but it was annoying to say the least. 
>>> _______________________________________________ 
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> --