Afrihost CAPPED ADSL Feedback (MTN)

[DrJohnZoidberg]

Is this guaranteed? Like if after a few days if I am not happy I could cancel and get a refund?

They are unshaped but heavily contended.

 

[AfriGuy]

Hello all - just about had it with AH - internet has been more down than up at home. Got a 4Mbps ADSL line with Netgear DGND4000 router. For the last two days, i've had just about no internet at home. Missus is blikseming me - feels like i'm at the office... Anyway, my details below - can somebody interpret for me? I'm posting this in between outages, i'm sure


Microsoft Windows [Version 6.3.9600]
(c) 2013 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\ahagglund>tracert www.google.com

Tracing route to www.google.com [74.125.230.240]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 * 2 ms <1 ms 192.168.0.1
2 940 ms 352 ms 11 ms 105-236-240-129-esr-lo.mtnbusiness.co.za [105.23
6.240.129]
3 13 ms 13 ms 13 ms 41.181.221.254
4 16 ms 20 ms 23 ms tb-dca-2.za--qux-a.za.mtnbusiness.net [41.181.18
4.28]
5 14 ms 14 ms 50 ms compj-cpt-1.mtnns.net [196.44.18.2]
6 158 ms 156 ms 158 ms ls-cr-2--tb-cr-1.uk-b.mtnns.net [196.44.31.113]

7 164 ms 163 ms 163 ms ls-pr-2.uk--ls-cr-2.uk-a.mtn.net [209.212.111.18
7]
8 167 ms 171 ms 169 ms rb-ad-1--glgix-bloemf-1-a.mtnns.net [209.212.99.
13]
9 183 ms * 240 ms 209.85.255.78
10 243 ms 288 ms 270 ms 209.85.250.169
11 671 ms 160 ms 205 ms par08s10-in-f16.1e100.net [74.125.230.240]

Trace complete.

Also, in the last 3 hours, when my link was up, the download speed varied from 0.5Mbps to 3.11Mbps

Looks like your exchange is congested Is your line with us?

 

[AfriGuy]

Is this guaranteed? Like if after a few days if I am not happy I could cancel and get a refund?

Yes it is, if you aren't 100% happy with the product we'll give you double your cash back.
https://www.afrihost.com/site/page/60_day_complete_satisfaction_guarantee

 

[AfriGuy]

Hi Afriman,
I logged a ticket this weekend and they reset the port this morning, pings seem better now. The speed is still lower than that of the alternative ISP, and speed is still half what it was from yesteryear, I'd like my speed to return, seeing as I down'd to capped just to get "proper" speeds back.
View attachment 153482 View attachment 153484

My clientzone cannot run the test my line tool, it 'runs' then minutes later a yello error reports that the test failed and I should try again. everytime. The sync speed reports my 4Mb line is running at 3Mbps, and these statistics were last updated in March, attempting to update the stats to see if I'm running 4Mbps or not fails as well.

This was also in my ticket but was not addressed or resolved.

Here are the tester results
Ping Test:
ping 197.242.144.102
64 bytes from 197.242.144.102: icmp_req=1 ttl=57 time=14 ms
64 bytes from 197.242.144.102: icmp_req=2 ttl=57 time=20 ms
64 bytes from 197.242.144.102: icmp_req=3 ttl=57 time=13 ms
64 bytes from 197.242.144.102: icmp_req=4 ttl=57 time=15 ms
64 bytes from 197.242.144.102: icmp_req=5 ttl=57 time=17 ms

ping 8.8.8.8
Request timeout for icmp_seq 1
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=2 ttl=43 time=226 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=3 ttl=43 time=216 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 4
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=5 ttl=43 time=217 ms

Trace Test:
traceroute -n 197.242.144.102
1 192.168.1.1 1 ms 1 ms 1 ms
2 105.236.3.1 12 ms 11 ms 10 ms
3 41.181.178.5 14 ms 14 ms 13 ms
4 196.44.0.1 14 ms 14 ms 14 ms
5 196.44.31.9 14 ms 13 ms 16 ms
6 41.181.165.1 13 ms 19 ms 12 ms
7 196.44.31.9 14 ms 14 ms 14 ms
8 196.31.220.8 16 ms 15 ms 15 ms
9 196.31.220.2 15 ms 14 ms 15 ms
10 196.31.63.2 14 ms 13 ms 16 ms
11 197.242.144.1 14 ms
196.30.42.1 96 ms 14 ms
12 197.242.144.1 14 ms 16 ms

traceroute -n 8.8.8.8
1 192.168.1.1 1 ms 1 ms 1 ms
2 105.236.3.1 10 ms 11 ms 11 ms
3 41.181.178.8 21 ms 12 ms 29 ms
4 196.44.0.1 17 ms 14 ms 14 ms
5 196.44.31.9 17 ms 14 ms 13 ms
6 41.181.165.1 13 ms 53 ms
Request timed out *
7 209.212.99.1 212 ms 211 ms
8 Request timed out *
209.85.255.7 205 ms
9 Request timed out *

DNS Test:
nslookup www.afrihost.com
Name: www.afrihost.com
Address: 197.242.144.102
nslookup www.google.com
Name: www.google.com
Address: 64.233.166.104
Name: www.google.com
Address: 64.233.166.105
Name: www.google.com
Address: 64.233.166.147
Name: www.google.com
Address: 64.233.166.99
Name: www.google.com
Address: 64.233.166.106
Name: www.google.com
Address: 64.233.166.103

nslookup thishouldfail.afrihost.com
** server can't find thisshouldfail.com: NXDOMAIN

I'd like to run a few more checks on this for you, could you PM me the ticket ref# please?

 

[Wall]

any issues in durban?

My torrents are dead. tried NTTP and its also dead, can't connect to news.afrihost.co.za

browsing and speedtests are perfect.

 

[haggy]

Looks like your exchange is congested Is your line with us?

Hi Afriguy
Telkom ADSL line that you guys manage. My last, (of many), support requests logged is OVY-438-46773.

 

[Dan C]

Speed is fine, but latency has sky rocketed.. back to Telkom ISP ...

 

[Bufamotis]

I'd like to run a few more checks on this for you, could you PM me the ticket ref# please?

PM'd.

 

[DeathStrike]

There are sometimes inconsistencies depending on when Telkom update their tables and their API into our systems.

Drop me a PM and I'll check what their direct system portal shows us

No worries. Another forum member heloed me out and found my line is capable of 10mbps. Yay. So I put in request for upgrade. Waiting for it to go through. 48 hours I think.

 

[MrGray]

What in the name of holy **** are you doing Afrihost? YOU HAVE JUST COST ME TWO HOURS OF WORK AS YOU ARE BLOCKING MYSQL PACKETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Been trying to debug and work out why all of a sudden we could not access one of our MySQL servers.

Assumed it was a code/server problem because SQLYog works fine.

Turns out SQLYog defaults to connecting using a compressed protocol. Our development environment does not.

So let me explain this nicely:

Connection to port 3306 uncompressed MySQL packets via Afrihost - blocked.
Connection to port 3306 compressed MySQL packets via Afrihost - works.
Any type of MySQL connection on any other ISP - works.

This is absolute proof that you are using stateful packet inspection on your network. There is no other way that I know of to selectively block packets like that.

There can be no doubt now that the claims you have been making about capped being unshaped are in any way true.

We bill out at R800 per hour and this has taken two devs two hours to sort out, so kindly PM me for our account details as by my reckoning you are R3200 in our debt.

I certainly hope you rectify this immediately and that our business uncapped at the office is not similarly handicapped.

 

[steel_dog]

Update from CPT. Line appears back to normal. 10mpbs running at 8.6mpbs which is typical. Thank goodness.

Now a public service announcement to the AfriPeople - with the utmost respect.
I've hit the forums each time I hit a consistent problem only to be told - strange we aren't experiencing any network issues.
... however let's roll forward a day or three. Hmmm... yah... Houston we have a problem. So having endured a couple of days of feeling like a doorknob being the only kid on the block with issues, I... oops where did all this gamma radiation come from!??!?... Oh no!!!... I begin to feel... ADSL! Hulk Smash! Doh. Lemme get a donut instead.

Look folks it's really simple. When your really savvy and extremely loyal customers on myBB spot an issue - Sound the horns... Call in the cavalry... kick out the cat... get those network admins running the show to figure things out. 'cause if I can figure out there's an issue with no tools other than my knowing my linespeeds, ping and traceroot... well... I think they can too.

So let's have a new mantra - we've escalated to the network guys with their fancy multi-monitor monitors and will get back to you all in... 3... 2... 1.

My 2c. OaO.

Oh yeah - and I do recognize that this is an extremely complex issue with exchange congestion / line issues playing a part. There are however telltale signs that can be identified with the combination of a sustained ping test, tracert, and modem SNR and Line Attenuation stats. Once this is clear... IPC and other issues can be picked up. Regarding the issues of the past days - surely the network admins should have noted anomalies on their real-time monitoring tools? It was of course network related.

 

[i.got~issues]

But remember... it is the DEMAND that is the problem... not their network... pffft... the demand is monitored, and when it subsides, see, no problem... thus it must be the demand not the network that is at fault.

 

[AfriMan]

any issues in durban?

My torrents are dead. tried NTTP and its also dead, can't connect to news.afrihost.co.za

browsing and speedtests are perfect.

Is it only NNTP to our news server or all news servers? I don't know if our server had problems last night, but I can check if it was only our server giving problems

 

[AfriMan]

Hi Afriguy
Telkom ADSL line that you guys manage. My last, (of many), support requests logged is .

Thanks for the heads up. I've asked one of our Critical Care guys to take this over so we can get it resolved ASAP

 

[AfriMan]

No worries. Another forum member heloed me out and found my line is capable of 10mbps. Yay. So I put in request for upgrade. Waiting for it to go through. 48 hours I think.

Usually 48 hours except in some very rare cases where upgrades are not fully automated. Also if there are available 10Mbps ports on the exchange

 

[haggy]

Thanks.

 

[AfriMan]

snip

To my knowledge the system does inspect packets to shape, but shaping is only present on Uncapped accounts. Otherwise I don't believe we block any ports on the network.

I've passed this onto the network team to get some feedback on this, but I don't believe we have any blocks acting on Business traffic whatsoever.

Will PM you when I get some feedback on this.

 

[AfriMan]

snip

I totally get what you are saying and I think I would say we do take the feedback from MyBB very seriously. But everything must be replicated and investigated in order to know exactly what is happening from a network perspective. We also have to run through the basics. It's not quite the boy who cried wolf, but in order to make sure our alerts are taken seriously, we can't just say the network is broken every time there is a negative report. Also, other times our team know there is a problem, which is the case with the South, and we are already working on improving performance. Creating more alerts and escalations is not going to bring about a faster solution, but we do add some urgency where we can so that our team knows the extent to which people are having a poor experience.

That is our role here on the forums and we do take it really seriously. It's really not about spin or dismissing complaints. If that were the case, we would literally have no interest in taking part in forums at all.

 

[AfriMan]

But remember... it is the DEMAND that is the problem... not their network... pffft... the demand is monitored, and when it subsides, see, no problem... thus it must be the demand not the network that is at fault.

I think there is a component to this that it true. The network is not broken, or misperforming. It's doing what it's designed to do, but suddenly under much bigger strain that increased suddenly. Any responsible IT person would say that we need to monitor the effects, try to optimise and manage the performance, as there is every chance that the demand will subside (which it did ultimately) and now we are assessing the impact and where further changes and improvements can be made. Ultimately the decisions we make affect the overall financial impact to clients, and it would be great to have tons of capacity, but if the product is too expensive, many clients probably sacrifice performance for a better price. So there are plenty of calculations and strategic planning that goes into making decisions that could literally cost millions.

 

[Lynx_ZA]

Afriman - Suvesh.

We know it is IPC capacity issues. Just upgrade your IPC capacity - problem solved.