Afrihost Business Uncapped Feedback

[Zertop]

My torrent settings aren't restricting the download speed, and that's just one method I'm using to check if I'm getting 6Mbps.

Things have improved, but I'm concerned that I'm not getting speeds closer to 6Mbps:

I'm syncing at 6144kbps, SNR is 11.8dB and attenuation is 16.5dB. The best speed test was 5.12Mbps.

If the speed stays put I'll have to downgrade back to 4Mbps as that isn't great value for money.

Please would you run this tool:

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/576445-quot-Help-me-fix-my-internet-quot-report-tool

Z

 

[Bryn]

Please would you run this tool:

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/576445-quot-Help-me-fix-my-internet-quot-report-tool

Z

Thanks. Results are below:

Local Tracert

Tracing route to afrihost.co.za [197.242.144.102]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms 10.0.0.2
2 9 ms 9 ms 8 ms 105-236-8-129-esr-lo.mtnbusiness.co.za [105.236.8.129]
3 33 ms 19 ms 65 ms 41.181.221.254
4 20 ms 19 ms 19 ms tb-dca-2.za--qux-c.za.mtnbusiness.net [41.181.198.188]
5 19 ms 19 ms 18 ms compj-cpt-1.mtnns.net [196.44.18.2]
6 27 ms 27 ms 27 ms ct-cr-2.za--tb-cr-1.za.mtnns.net [196.44.31.134]
7 42 ms 42 ms 42 ms rb-cr-1.za--ct-cr-2.za.mtnns.net [196.44.31.69]
8 49 ms 41 ms 43 ms jh-dca-2.za--jh-cr-1.za-a.mtnns.net [196.44.0.221]
9 42 ms 41 ms 41 ms 196.30.1.39
10 43 ms 43 ms 43 ms tengigabitethernet1-1.gw21.jnb6.za.mtnbusiness.net [196.31.220.21]
11 41 ms 41 ms 41 ms tengigabitethernet5-2.hr15.jnb6.za.mtnbusiness.net [196.31.63.194]
12 51 ms 52 ms 51 ms afrihost.co.za [197.242.144.102]

Trace complete.

International Tracert

Tracing route to thinkbroadband.com [80.249.99.130]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms 10.0.0.2
2 8 ms 8 ms 9 ms 105-236-8-129-esr-lo.mtnbusiness.co.za [105.236.8.129]
3 26 ms 26 ms 26 ms ipc-recieve-tb-1a.mtnbusiness.net [41.181.53.150]
4 27 ms 27 ms 26 ms tb-dca-2.za--qux-a.za.mtnbusiness.net [41.181.184.28]
5 29 ms 28 ms 29 ms unc-cpt-1.mtnns.net [196.44.18.8]
6 35 ms 36 ms 34 ms 196.44.31.106
7 188 ms 169 ms 170 ms am-cr-1.am--lt-cr-1.uk-a.mtnns.net [196.44.31.221]
8 178 ms 177 ms 177 ms ls-pr-1.uk--ls-cr-1.uk-a.mtn.net [209.212.111.83]
9 173 ms 176 ms 185 ms linx-gw1.thn.ncuk.net [195.66.224.240]
10 174 ms 172 ms 170 ms gi1-24-10-star1.core-rs2.thdo.ncuk.net [80.249.97.9]
11 178 ms 178 ms 178 ms thinkbroadband.com [80.249.99.130]

Trace complete.

International Speedtest
Downloaded 20.0 megabytes in 37 seconds. (540.64 KB/s)

Local Speedtest
Downloaded 15.6 megabytes in 26 seconds. (602.32 KB/s)


Speedtest.net Results (Ignore ping - it is often inaccurate. Please refer to trace routes above)
Hosted by Cellc (Johannesburg) [505.45 km]: 0.0 ms
Download: 5.11 Mbit/s
Upload: 0.38 Mbit/s
Share results:

Test End Timestamp
26/01/2014 14:41:54.55

 

[Zertop]

Thanks. Results are below:

It looks like you are getting great download speeds with HTTP Downloads? Hmmm... are you sure protocol prioritisation is turned off in the new clientzone?

 

[Bryn]

It looks like you are getting great download speeds with HTTP Downloads? Hmmm... are you sure protocol prioritisation is turned off in the new clientzone?

Protocol prioritisation is definitely deactivated. I'd be happy if I could frequently achieve around 600KB/s, but I've never seen a figure like that in practice. I don't understand why my speed tests aren't at least 5.5Mbps.

 

[Chevron]

My torrent settings aren't restricting the download speed, and that's just one method I'm using to check if I'm getting 6Mbps.

Things have improved, but I'm concerned that I'm not getting speeds closer to 6Mbps:

I'm syncing at 6144kbps, SNR is 11.8dB and attenuation is 16.5dB. The best speed test was 5.12Mbps.

If the speed stays put I'll have to downgrade back to 4Mbps as that isn't great value for money.

Looks fine to me. I get around that on my 6Meg line as well. I think you're forgetting about overheads. A 4meg line only really gets 3.6 anyway. So you got a 1.5 upgrade.

 

[Bryn]

Looks fine to me. I get around that on my 6Meg line as well. I think you're forgetting about overheads. A 4meg line only really gets 3.6 anyway. So you got a 1.5 upgrade.

I frequently got 3.8-3.9Mbps on my 4Mbps account, so I was hoping for around 5.7Mbps with a 50% speed increase.

 

[aktor]

I frequently got 3.8-3.9Mbps on my 4Mbps account, so I was hoping for around 5.7Mbps with a 50% speed increase.

I doubt you'd get 5.7 on a 6mbps line. Not sure why/how you got 3.9mbps on a 4mb line, the best you can theoretically hope for is 3.7mbps. Not saying you're lying though - don't get me wrong - I'm just skeptical of speedtests and prefer to do a manual test (bandwidth monitor + huge file, at least 100mb in size).

 

[Chevron]

I frequently got 3.8-3.9Mbps on my 4Mbps account, so I was hoping for around 5.7Mbps with a 50% speed increase.

That's because you were running your 4Meg account on a 6Meg line. If you downgrade to a 4Meg line you won't get those speeds anymore.

 

[Bryn]

I doubt you'd get 5.7 on a 6mbps line. Not sure why/how you got 3.9mbps on a 4mb line, the best you can theoretically hope for is 3.7mbps. Not saying you're lying though - don't get me wrong - I'm just skeptical of speedtests and prefer to do a manual test (bandwidth monitor + huge file, at least 100mb in size).

As Chevron said, it must have been because I was syncing at 5Mbps at the time. Still, 3.7Mbps +50% is still 5.55Mbps. I'm barely scraping 5Mbps. It's quite disappointing to pay R200 extra a month for just a 100KB/s increase in download speed. That's only 25% of the 400KB/s I used to do.

That's because you were running your 4Meg account on a 6Meg line. If you downgrade to a 4Meg line you won't get those speeds anymore.

I was syncing at 5Mbps before changing it to 6Mbps, but yeah, that must be the explanation.

 

[aktor]

As Chevron said, it must have been because I was syncing at 5Mbps at the time. Still, 3.7Mbps +50% is still 5.55Mbps. I'm barely scraping 5Mbps. It's quite disappointing to pay R200 extra a month for just a 100KB/s increase in download speed. That's only 25% of the 400KB/s I used to do.



I was syncing at 5Mbps before changing it to 6Mbps, but yeah, that must be the explanation.

Ah yes, that'd do it.

 

[AfriMan]

I got an email from Afrihost saying that my line has been upgraded and to make the most out of it I should upgrade to a 6Mbps connection (from 4Mbps). So I checked my line stats and low and behold they have improved quite a bit. Running the Fix My Line wizard changed my sync speed to 6Mbps, and I checked the new line stats to discover that they were very healthy. So I go and upgrade to 6Mbps Business Uncapped - the Clientzone claims that the change is instant.

The only problem is that I'm still receiving 4Mbps. A bunch of popular torrents won't even exceed 4Mbps collectively. I have recreated my port and rebooted my router to no effect. How long should I wait before assuming that there is a problem? Do these things normally take a while to kick in?

It can take up to 24 hours for new Uncapped speed profiles to take effect. Usually happens after midnight, so they should be there now. Remember that you can always sign up for a free GB capped account to check if you're profile rate limit is giving you different performance. Aside from the rate limit, business and capped accounts should be identical.

 

[AfriMan]

My torrent settings aren't restricting the download speed, and that's just one method I'm using to check if I'm getting 6Mbps.

Things have improved, but I'm concerned that I'm not getting speeds closer to 6Mbps:

I'm syncing at 6144kbps, SNR is 11.8dB and attenuation is 16.5dB. The best speed test was 5.12Mbps.

If the speed stays put I'll have to downgrade back to 4Mbps as that isn't great value for money.

Torrents can sometimes give an indication download speed, but it's not always a reliable indicator. When they work they can saturate your line and show you that your full line capability.

If there are issues with the torrents, i.e. seeder does not have the full file or is limiting their torrent, you might think your line is not performing which may not be the case.

I find that even if I queue up 10 or 20 torrents it may only use half my line, and then suddenly jumps us to line capacity. Just the nature of torrents I'm afraid.

 

[AfriMan]

Protocol prioritisation is definitely deactivated. I'd be happy if I could frequently achieve around 600KB/s, but I've never seen a figure like that in practice. I don't understand why my speed tests aren't at least 5.5Mbps.

Remember that there are always overheads on your line. Also, you also must bear in mind that distance from the exchange and line quality become more pronounced as you upgrade the line (at higher frequencies which travel shorter distance).

 

[AfriMan]

Looks fine to me. I get around that on my 6Meg line as well. I think you're forgetting about overheads. A 4meg line only really gets 3.6 anyway. So you got a 1.5 upgrade.

It all depends heavily on cable quality in your area and distance. These play a huge role. Generally, 3.6Mbps is very good, averages are closer to 3.2-3.4Mbps

 

[Bryn]

Remember that there are always overheads on your line. Also, you also must bear in mind that distance from the exchange and line quality become more pronounced as you upgrade the line (at higher frequencies which travel shorter distance).

The torrent speed check was only one method I used. As I expected, the highest speed I've achieved yet on my new 6Mbps account was 600KB/s in uTorrent. That was sometime very early this morning.

This is my 1GB Afrihost capped account:

And this is the 6Mbps Business account:

So it seems that 5.2Mbps is the best I can hope for. It's not bad I suppose and I'll probably stay on the account, but it's disappointing that I only received a 37% speed increase instead of somewhere around 50%.

I ran Zertop's tool again and these are the results:

Local Tracert

Tracing route to afrihost.co.za [197.242.144.102]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms 10.0.0.2
2 9 ms 8 ms 7 ms 105-236-8-129-esr-lo.mtnbusiness.co.za [105.236.8.129]
3 27 ms 27 ms 27 ms 41.181.51.182
4 29 ms 27 ms 28 ms tb-dca-2.za--qux-c.za.mtnbusiness.net [41.181.198.188]
5 27 ms 27 ms 27 ms compj-cpt-1.mtnns.net [196.44.18.2]
6 34 ms 35 ms 34 ms ct-cr-2.za--tb-cr-1.za.mtnns.net [196.44.31.134]
7 48 ms 48 ms 49 ms rb-cr-1.za--ct-cr-2.za.mtnns.net [196.44.31.69]
8 45 ms 45 ms 45 ms 196.44.31.97
9 48 ms 58 ms 52 ms 196.31.220.10
10 55 ms 55 ms 56 ms tengigabitethernet1-1.gw21.jnb6.za.mtnbusiness.net [196.31.220.21]
11 55 ms 55 ms 55 ms tengigabitethernet5-2.hr15.jnb6.za.mtnbusiness.net [196.31.63.194]
12 53 ms 53 ms 54 ms afrihost.co.za [197.242.144.102]

Trace complete.

International Tracert

Tracing route to thinkbroadband.com [80.249.99.130]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms 10.0.0.2
2 7 ms 8 ms 8 ms 105-236-8-129-esr-lo.mtnbusiness.co.za [105.236.8.129]
3 20 ms 19 ms 18 ms 41.181.51.182
4 26 ms 26 ms 26 ms tb-dca-2.za--qux-a.za.mtnbusiness.net [41.181.184.28]
5 28 ms 28 ms 28 ms unc-cpt-1.mtnns.net [196.44.18.8]
6 31 ms 27 ms 26 ms 196.44.31.106
7 169 ms 169 ms 168 ms am-cr-1.am--lt-cr-1.uk-a.mtnns.net [196.44.31.221]
8 164 ms 182 ms 164 ms ls-pr-1.uk--ls-cr-1.uk-a.mtn.net [209.212.111.83]
9 176 ms 171 ms 172 ms linx-gw1.thn.ncuk.net [195.66.224.240]
10 164 ms 162 ms 164 ms gi1-24-10-star1.core-rs2.thdo.ncuk.net [80.249.97.9]
11 170 ms 171 ms 170 ms thinkbroadband.com [80.249.99.130]

Trace complete.

International Speedtest
Downloaded 20.0 megabytes in 42 seconds. (476.92 KB/s)

Local Speedtest
Downloaded 15.6 megabytes in 28 seconds. (568.20 KB/s)


Speedtest.net Results (Ignore ping - it is often inaccurate. Please refer to trace routes above)
Hosted by Vodacom (Cape Town) [658.00 km]: 0.0 ms
Download: 5.18 Mbit/s
Upload: 0.53 Mbit/s
Share results:

Test End Timestamp
27/01/2014 12:42:41.69

My line stats from the Clientzone:

ADSL Router Results
- No defects
- 6144kbps maximum sync rate
- 6144kbps current downstream sync
- 11.8dB SNR
- 16.5dB attenuation

DSLAM Results
- No defects
- 640kbps maximum sync rate (is this bad?)
- 640kbps current downstream sync
- 12dB SNR
- 29.5dB attenuation

 

[AfriMan]

The torrent speed check was only one method I used. As I expected, the highest speed I've achieved yet on my new 6Mbps account was 600KB/s in uTorrent. That was sometime very early this morning.

This is my 1GB Afrihost capped account:

And this is the 6Mbps Business account:

So it seems that 5.2Mbps is the best I can hope for. It's not bad I suppose and I'll probably stay on the account, but it's disappointing that I only received a 37% speed increase instead of somewhere around 50%.

I ran Zertop's tool again and these are the results:


My line stats from the Clientzone:

ADSL Router Results
- No defects
- 6144kbps maximum sync rate
- 6144kbps current downstream sync
- 11.8dB SNR
- 16.5dB attenuation

DSLAM Results
- No defects
- 640kbps maximum sync rate (is this bad?)
- 640kbps current downstream sync
- 12dB SNR
- 29.5dB attenuation

I think you're getting pretty decent service for the line speed you're on. Remember that it can never be a straight calculation, becuase the factors I mentioned are also increasing, and it's also exponential, rather than a straight line calculation.

 

[slvR]

^overhead is due to the line. Try and get it to sync at 7Mbs and keep the 6Mbs account. Even if it's just a test to give you peace of mind. The "fault" is with the line, not Afrihost.

 

[Ho3n3r]

Quick question: My 2 Mbps account/line combo gets about 1.75Mbps on Speedtest.net, which is pretty normal. However, I only get about 1 to 1.1Mbps on it when testing it on TestMy.net.

Now, I am not sure how they do this, but how do they optimise it to give you better results on Speedtest, which is said to be "fake", whilst TestMy, which gives apparently more realistic results? Is it wrong to assume that TestMy is not ideal to test with for us, because of our high latency to Europe/Asia/USA/Any other continent?

I am just trying to find the truth here - is this why my streaming seems to suck as well, whilst my normal downloads run at a steady 206KB/s? Does anyone here know more of this, in detail?

 

[Anony-mousse]

Can't take it anymore. Youtube streaming takes ages, auto resolution always changes to 144p, loading images in forums takes forever.

Also reported a line fault to Telkom twice already, nothing happened, nothing changed.

Traceroute has started…

traceroute to afrihost.co.za (197.242.144.102), 64 hops max, 72 byte packets
1 (192.168.2.1) 1.797 ms 1.503 ms 1.419 ms
2 105-236-8-193-esr-lo.mtnbusiness.co.za (105.236.8.193) 45.917 ms 47.497 ms 54.190 ms
3 41.181.201.94 (41.181.201.94) 48.421 ms 52.828 ms 64.756 ms
4 tb-dca-2.za--qux-c.za.mtnbusiness.net (41.181.198.188) 51.155 ms 48.904 ms 48.355 ms
5 compj-cpt-1.mtnns.net (196.44.18.2) 50.800 ms 51.559 ms *
6 ct-cr-2.za--tb-cr-1.za.mtnns.net (196.44.31.134) 57.126 ms 53.396 ms 50.491 ms
7 rb-cr-1.za--ct-cr-2.za.mtnns.net (196.44.31.69) 88.275 ms 68.102 ms 78.989 ms
8 jh-dca-2.za--jh-cr-1.za-a.mtnns.net (196.44.0.221) 71.055 ms * 181.907 ms
9 196.31.220.10 (196.31.220.10) 174.674 ms 282.900 ms 281.280 ms
10 tengigabitethernet1-1.gw21.jnb6.za.mtnbusiness.net (196.31.220.21) 294.955 ms 257.463 ms 332.086 ms
11 tengigabitethernet5-2.hr15.jnb6.za.mtnbusiness.net (196.31.63.194) 192.056 ms 200.765 ms 227.933 ms
12 afrihost.co.za (197.242.144.102) 225.989 ms 221.824 ms 147.892 ms



Traceroute has started…

traceroute to thinkbroadband.com (80.249.99.130), 64 hops max, 72 byte packets
1 (192.168.2.1) 2.775 ms 4.517 ms 1.459 ms
2 105-236-8-193-esr-lo.mtnbusiness.co.za (105.236.8.193) 65.322 ms 62.456 ms 72.968 ms
3 41.181.201.94 (41.181.201.94) 112.539 ms 49.286 ms 70.684 ms
4 tb-dca-2.za--qux-a.za.mtnbusiness.net (41.181.184.28) 58.972 ms 56.286 ms 62.369 ms
5 unc-cpt-1.mtnns.net (196.44.18.8) 53.493 ms 52.366 ms 51.309 ms
6 196.44.31.106 (196.44.31.106) 69.380 ms 77.079 ms 51.115 ms
7 am-cr-1.am--lt-cr-1.uk-a.mtnns.net (196.44.31.221) 216.945 ms 223.403 ms 217.206 ms
8 ls-pr-1.uk--ls-cr-1.uk-a.mtn.net (209.212.111.83) 220.454 ms 202.719 ms 210.251 ms
9 linx-gw1.thn.ncuk.net (195.66.224.240) 215.699 ms 218.765 ms 195.850 ms
10 * gi1-24-10-star1.core-rs2.thdo.ncuk.net (80.249.97.9) 204.307 ms 194.452 ms
11 thinkbroadband.com (80.249.99.130) 225.628 ms 275.768 ms 290.502 ms

 

[Zertop]

Can't take it anymore. Youtube streaming takes ages, auto resolution always changes to 144p, loading images in forums takes forever.

Also reported a line fault to Telkom twice already, nothing happened, nothing changed.

Traceroute has started…

traceroute to afrihost.co.za (197.242.144.102), 64 hops max, 72 byte packets
1 (192.168.2.1) 1.797 ms 1.503 ms 1.419 ms
2 105-236-8-193-esr-lo.mtnbusiness.co.za (105.236.8.193) 45.917 ms 47.497 ms 54.190 ms
3 41.181.201.94 (41.181.201.94) 48.421 ms 52.828 ms 64.756 ms
4 tb-dca-2.za--qux-c.za.mtnbusiness.net (41.181.198.188) 51.155 ms 48.904 ms 48.355 ms
5 compj-cpt-1.mtnns.net (196.44.18.2) 50.800 ms 51.559 ms *
6 ct-cr-2.za--tb-cr-1.za.mtnns.net (196.44.31.134) 57.126 ms 53.396 ms 50.491 ms
7 rb-cr-1.za--ct-cr-2.za.mtnns.net (196.44.31.69) 88.275 ms 68.102 ms 78.989 ms
8 jh-dca-2.za--jh-cr-1.za-a.mtnns.net (196.44.0.221) 71.055 ms * 181.907 ms
9 196.31.220.10 (196.31.220.10) 174.674 ms 282.900 ms 281.280 ms
10 tengigabitethernet1-1.gw21.jnb6.za.mtnbusiness.net (196.31.220.21) 294.955 ms 257.463 ms 332.086 ms
11 tengigabitethernet5-2.hr15.jnb6.za.mtnbusiness.net (196.31.63.194) 192.056 ms 200.765 ms 227.933 ms
12 afrihost.co.za (197.242.144.102) 225.989 ms 221.824 ms 147.892 ms



Traceroute has started…

traceroute to thinkbroadband.com (80.249.99.130), 64 hops max, 72 byte packets
1 (192.168.2.1) 2.775 ms 4.517 ms 1.459 ms
2 105-236-8-193-esr-lo.mtnbusiness.co.za (105.236.8.193) 65.322 ms 62.456 ms 72.968 ms
3 41.181.201.94 (41.181.201.94) 112.539 ms 49.286 ms 70.684 ms
4 tb-dca-2.za--qux-a.za.mtnbusiness.net (41.181.184.28) 58.972 ms 56.286 ms 62.369 ms
5 unc-cpt-1.mtnns.net (196.44.18.8) 53.493 ms 52.366 ms 51.309 ms
6 196.44.31.106 (196.44.31.106) 69.380 ms 77.079 ms 51.115 ms
7 am-cr-1.am--lt-cr-1.uk-a.mtnns.net (196.44.31.221) 216.945 ms 223.403 ms 217.206 ms
8 ls-pr-1.uk--ls-cr-1.uk-a.mtn.net (209.212.111.83) 220.454 ms 202.719 ms 210.251 ms
9 linx-gw1.thn.ncuk.net (195.66.224.240) 215.699 ms 218.765 ms 195.850 ms
10 * gi1-24-10-star1.core-rs2.thdo.ncuk.net (80.249.97.9) 204.307 ms 194.452 ms
11 thinkbroadband.com (80.249.99.130) 225.628 ms 275.768 ms 290.502 ms

Have you tried reporting a phone fault, not an adsl one. This usually speeds up the process