Afrihost CAPPED ADSL Feedback (MTN)

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YeaNutz said:
The only real reason I use Afrihost is because of their double data. when that comes to an end they will loose me as a customer.
Their prices are great as they are now and I live with the up and downs because of that.
They may have some other promotions going after double data that add value so that the issues they have will outweigh making people want to move.

Sometimes I wonder why I even promote Afrihost to friends, staff members, and hosting solutions to my company for simple web servers. It all comes down to my experience at the end of the day.
And what is my experience ? Sadly Value Added extras :(
Click to expand...

I find myself more and more feeling that the great price and value added services are worthless without a reliable and consistent connection, looking at my data usage I barely scratched my cap let alone the double data during the second half of the year with the MTN backbones "shaping policy" that crushed my "Unshaped" requests for bandwidth to 0.01kbps...

As much as I like the business model Afrihost markets I've had to gain zen-like powers of control over the pent up frustration over months of getting speeds like

INTERNATIONAL
Last Result:
Download Speed: 382 kbps (47.8 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 340 kbps (42.5 KB/sec transfer rate)
Latency: 162 ms
2/8/2015, 1:06:57 AM

CAPE TOWN
Last Result:
Download Speed: 245 kbps (30.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 429 kbps (53.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
Latency: 43 ms
2/8/2015, 1:21:56 AM

At least the latency seems better.
 
Last edited:
Hi Afriman,

I am wondering if you can help.

I recently changed from a VOX capped account to Afrihost Capped 20GB+20GB and have been having serious issues with speed and sites loading at all.


Have a look a these pings that I did a few minutes ago:

VOX ACCOUNT

Ping has started…

PING 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=0 ttl=54 time=14.239 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=1 ttl=54 time=13.282 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=2 ttl=54 time=10.807 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=3 ttl=54 time=13.370 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=4 ttl=54 time=13.556 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=5 ttl=54 time=13.776 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=6 ttl=54 time=13.612 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=7 ttl=54 time=14.048 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=8 ttl=54 time=13.572 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=9 ttl=54 time=14.152 ms

--- 8.8.8.8 ping statistics ---
10 packets transmitted, 10 packets received, 0.0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 10.807/13.441/14.239/0.930 ms


AFRIHOST ACCOUNT

Ping has started…

PING 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=0 ttl=49 time=513.307 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=1 ttl=49 time=210.274 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=2 ttl=49 time=345.979 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=3 ttl=49 time=260.724 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=4 ttl=49 time=207.087 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=5 ttl=49 time=210.379 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=6 ttl=49 time=209.732 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=7 ttl=49 time=242.352 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=8 ttl=49 time=206.700 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=9 ttl=49 time=209.698 ms

--- 8.8.8.8 ping statistics ---
10 packets transmitted, 10 packets received, 0.0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 206.700/261.623/513.307/93.528 ms
 
MikyMouse said:
Hi Afriman,

I am wondering if you can help.

I recently changed from a VOX capped account to Afrihost Capped 20GB+20GB and have been having serious issues with speed and sites loading at all.


Have a look a these pings that I did a few minutes ago:
...
/snip
Click to expand...

I've actually been discussing this over here: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/677769-Afrihost-Google-DNS-Routing

It's a problem with Afrihost's routing. They don't peer with Google, and so the Google DNS (8.8.8.8) is not local like it is on other ISPs. So not a good indicator on how well your line is performing, but something AH really need to fix anyways.

Probably best to ping some other IPs to check current performance.
 
Last edited:
Sometimes it's slow.. But I'm not sure if problem on my side.. Did notice tho that it happens mostly in peak hrs
 
nadeem_k said:
Hi

I have been having issues with my ADSL since Wednesday. Have been in contact with the guys at the cell center and while being helpful haven't solved the problem. Basically there are times when the line is fine and then it drops and its useless. You can imagine how annoying that is when you streaming a video. Has anyone else had a similar experience?
Click to expand...

Sounds like there could be an intermittent line fault here. Have we logged a fault for you on this?
 
nadeem_k said:
The slow speeds are random. Very hard to catch them on a tracert. I only notice it when I watch a video and it stops and loads every 5 min
Click to expand...

There are tests on saix.net that can help

http://www.saix.net/cgi-bin/speed_test_servers.pl

This should test consistent performance over a short period. For a longer period you'll need to look at a bandwidth monitor like Bitmeter OS.
 
Afriman they apparently did log a fault. The problem is consistency on the line. Will try downloading bit meter
 
ChrisGeo said:
Afrihost this is not the first time my connection has dropped to a crawl around midnight and a few hours after. Please investigate why this is happening.
Click to expand...

I did see a slowdown in traffic around midnight, but I think this is related to loadshedding and not IPC. Mostly because of the cut off around midnight, which coincides with Eskom loadshedding schedules and it seems consistent with what we saw a few days ago when Telkom confirmed a loadshedding related outage in the WC.
 
Voxratio said:
WELL some faeces just hit the fan. A few minutes ago I started to get a constant 550ms to local servers. Basically a bonus 500ms added to ANY server I ping (literally, any). This exact same thing happened a few days ago as well. Eskom? Or just rats in the cabling?
Click to expand...

I would suspect loadshedding is at play here. If it was a network issue it would still be present because we haven't made any changes on our side.
 
Akurei said:
Same thing here - from what I recall Openweb, Afrihost and CrystalWeb (i think?) are routed via an Exchange in Belville that reacts terribly to the load shedding until following morning (presumably someone has to manually hit the reset switch or something when they start work) Annoyingly this has no effect on Telkom DSL since they go through a different exchange, presumably the replacement for our faulty P.O.S. which surely points to anti-competitive strategy that we as consumers have to just bend over and accept.

With no forseeable improvement in the electricity supply it looks like competitive online gaming is pretty much dead for us unless you're able to adjust and somehow predict 1500ms ahead of the server to make your plays.


Edit: Although I could just be jumbling the thousands of forum pages I trawl through over and over looking for some hint of cause and resolution.
Click to expand...

Someone from Telkom Internet did post as much when there was an outage a few days ago. Hopefully there will be a focussed period of upgrading power failsafes by our telco's so that we can cope with loadshedding better. I don't think anyone could have predicted it would become so severe so quickly :(
 
YeaNutz said:
The only real reason I use Afrihost is because of their double data. when that comes to an end they will loose me as a customer.
Their prices are great as they are now and I live with the up and downs because of that.
They may have some other promotions going after double data that add value so that the issues they have will outweigh making people want to move.

Sometimes I wonder why I even promote Afrihost to friends, staff members, and hosting solutions to my company for simple web servers. It all comes down to my experience at the end of the day.
And what is my experience ? Sadly Value Added extras :(
Click to expand...

I'm really sorry to read this. Our ambassadors, like yourself, are the lifeblood of our company and we'd rather spend on improving your experience than on advertising. everything at the moment indicates that the network is running well, and it seems to only suffer while there is loadshedding. As we progress we may find out why this is and what components of our network and Telkom's network could be affected.

I really do hope you make the decision to stick it out with us, I know we'll find a way to thank you for that. We'll keep doing whatever it takes to make sure your experience (not just value adds) is the best it can be.
 
Akurei said:
I find myself more and more feeling that the great price and value added services are worthless without a reliable and consistent connection, looking at my data usage I barely scratched my cap let alone the double data during the second half of the year with the MTN backbones "shaping policy" that crushed my "Unshaped" requests for bandwidth to 0.01kbps...

As much as I like the business model Afrihost markets I've had to gain zen-like powers of control over the pent up frustration over months of getting speeds like

INTERNATIONAL
Last Result:
Download Speed: 382 kbps (47.8 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 340 kbps (42.5 KB/sec transfer rate)
Latency: 162 ms
2/8/2015, 1:06:57 AM

CAPE TOWN
Last Result:
Download Speed: 245 kbps (30.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 429 kbps (53.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
Latency: 43 ms
2/8/2015, 1:21:56 AM

At least the latency seems better.
Click to expand...

Your international latency is excellent, but local could definitely be better. It depends on the server you're pinging I guess.

We definitely want to ensure our clients get a good experience. I totally agree that prices and value are meaningless if your core experience is unsatisfying. We've been shaping very little over the past few weeks, so I don't think this is related to shaping at all, and we'll need to troubleshoot with you to see what your throughput is so poor.

Please drop me a PM so we can get started on this.
 
MikyMouse said:
Hi Afriman,

I am wondering if you can help.

I recently changed from a VOX capped account to Afrihost Capped 20GB+20GB and have been having serious issues with speed and sites loading at all.


Have a look a these pings that I did a few minutes ago:

VOX ACCOUNT

Ping has started…

PING 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=0 ttl=54 time=14.239 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=1 ttl=54 time=13.282 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=2 ttl=54 time=10.807 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=3 ttl=54 time=13.370 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=4 ttl=54 time=13.556 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=5 ttl=54 time=13.776 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=6 ttl=54 time=13.612 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=7 ttl=54 time=14.048 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=8 ttl=54 time=13.572 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=9 ttl=54 time=14.152 ms

--- 8.8.8.8 ping statistics ---
10 packets transmitted, 10 packets received, 0.0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 10.807/13.441/14.239/0.930 ms


AFRIHOST ACCOUNT

Ping has started…

PING 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=0 ttl=49 time=513.307 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=1 ttl=49 time=210.274 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=2 ttl=49 time=345.979 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=3 ttl=49 time=260.724 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=4 ttl=49 time=207.087 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=5 ttl=49 time=210.379 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=6 ttl=49 time=209.732 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=7 ttl=49 time=242.352 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=8 ttl=49 time=206.700 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=9 ttl=49 time=209.698 ms

--- 8.8.8.8 ping statistics ---
10 packets transmitted, 10 packets received, 0.0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 206.700/261.623/513.307/93.528 ms
Click to expand...

That's a little strange for sure. It could be that you're being routed to an international server for google, but then the ping is still inconsistent, because 93ms is very low for an international ping. It's almost like you're pinging different servers each time.

Can you please drop me a PM so we can run more tests?
 
Denouncer said:
I've actually been discussing this over here: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/677769-Afrihost-Google-DNS-Routing

It's a problem with Afrihost's routing. They don't peer with Google, and so the Google DNS (8.8.8.8) is not local like it is on other ISPs. So not a good indicator on how well your line is performing, but something AH really need to fix anyways.

Probably best to ping some other IPs to check current performance.
Click to expand...

We have a Google Node on our network, so we should be peered as much as every other major network. We've had problems in the past with being routed to international google servers, especially for cached content, which I believe was resolved. We'll need to investigate if this is the case again :(
 
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