Afrihost New Network Feedback - Part 2

[jmacc]

While I fully understand you're frustrating, I don't think pointing to shaping is going to resolve this. We need to check tests to see what's happening.

Let's assume we shape Capped (which I need to point out again, we do not shape Capped accounts) - that would mean everyone else would have the same experience, and feedback in this thread alone doesn't point to any trends on shaping.
But anyway, so hypothetically speaking we shape Capped. That means P2P and ALL downloads will be shaped in the same way we shape Premium Uncapped. So a driver download, a Windows update via HTTP or any other download will be slow. Torrents will be slow along with NNTP.

With that info above, shaping does not happen.

What kind of throughput do you see to Windows and Apple updates?
Also, nslookups/ digs should show an issue if you're having DNS issues.

Let me know if you'd prefer to chat to someone via mail on the phone, I'll gladly escalate your concerns to our Critical Care team.

All the tests you have requested that I do returns a positive result. The problem is that these tests proves or disproves nothing. Which tests do you want me to do as far as troubleshooting the Windows update and Apple App Store data transfer problem is concerned?

I disagree with your explanation of shaping. There are many parameters and criteria which can be set & adjusted as far as TCP/IP data transfer is concerned. You can specify rules which will act based on TCP/UDP port, Application, Protocol, URL, IP address/ranges etc. You can get quite granular. Afrihost shapes my connection as far as Update traffic is concerned. I pay for an unshaped service as per your advertisements. I have raised this issue with your support staff on numerous occasions and they basically shut down the minute they realize they are not dealing with a novice or an ordinary user. Afrihost support does not work. They serve to frustrate the customer. To say that I am frustrated is the understatement of the year. I am angry! However I can get over my "feelings and emotions". What I cannot get over is the amount of time and productivity that is wasted on this nonsense.
PS: I have already answered your question in my previous posts with regards to throughput.

 

[Icemanbrfc]

These are usually a good starting point:

Region/ area you're in
Speedtest to local & international via speedtest or the MyBB speedtest app
A traceroute/ MTR to afrihost.com and bbc.co.uk
An nslookup/ dig to an affected domain using our DNS servers
A real world download on these two files http://ubuntu.mirror.neology.co.za/ubuntu-release/14.04.5/ubuntu-14.04.4-server-amd64.iso and http://ubuntu.mirror.neology.co.za/ubuntu-release/14.04.5/ubuntu-14.04.4-server-amd64.iso.torrent

:wtf: sounds like NASA

 

[AfriGuy]

All the tests you have requested that I do returns a positive result. The problem is that these tests proves or disproves nothing. Which tests do you want me to do as far as troubleshooting the Windows update and Apple App Store data transfer problem is concerned?

I disagree with your explanation of shaping. There are many parameters and criteria which can be set & adjusted as far as TCP/IP data transfer is concerned. You can specify rules which will act based on TCP/UDP port, Application, Protocol, URL, IP address/ranges etc. You can get quite granular. Afrihost shapes my connection as far as Update traffic is concerned. I pay for an unshaped service as per your advertisements. I have raised this issue with your support staff on numerous occasions and they basically shut down the minute they realize they are not dealing with a novice or an ordinary user. Afrihost support does not work. They serve to frustrate the customer. To say that I am frustrated is the understatement of the year. I am angry! However I can get over my "feelings and emotions". What I cannot get over is the amount of time and productivity that is wasted on this nonsense.
PS: I have already answered your question in my previous posts with regards to throughput.

Then I'm not sure how shaping can be proved too?
Either way, I don't think arguing this is getting anywhere.

Let me know if you'd like to chat to our Critical Care team to see this resolved.

 

[AfriGuy]

:wtf: sounds like NASA

Haha, the NSA maybe?

 

[jmacc]

Then I'm not sure how shaping can be proved too?
Either way, I don't think arguing this is getting anywhere.

Let me know if you'd like to chat to our Critical Care team to see this resolved.

To shape or throttle traffic from Windows Update or Apple App Store you simply create a rule based on the unique URLs and ports, assign the rule a lower priority and when the network comes under pressure (the way it has this week with Afrihost's free offering and sizable MS & Apple updates) the associated traffic will have to take a backseat to higher priority traffic. In terms of your reasoning - It is not a problem because not enough people raised the issue. Windows Update is typically not a real time service. It runs in the background. Most ordinary users do not care about updates. They only worry about this when things stop working on their computers or if there is a security vulnerability exploit. If more users diligently ensures that their systems are up to date and if they understand what Microsoft Patch Tuesday truly means and the associated importance, these Afrihost issues will be more visible. In addition Windows updates, for the most part, are released once a month. It is not an everyday occurrence. The problem is that I need to ensure that our devices meet regulatory compliance when these updates are released. We therefore pay for a capped unshaped service. If you think I am trying to argue about this, you are wrong. I need to complete this unpleasant information gathering exercise so that I can determine the next step. This nonsense needs to end.

 

[Chris333]

All the tests you have requested that I do returns a positive result. The problem is that these tests proves or disproves nothing. Which tests do you want me to do as far as troubleshooting the Windows update and Apple App Store data transfer problem is concerned?

I disagree with your explanation of shaping. There are many parameters and criteria which can be set & adjusted as far as TCP/IP data transfer is concerned. You can specify rules which will act based on TCP/UDP port, Application, Protocol, URL, IP address/ranges etc. You can get quite granular. Afrihost shapes my connection as far as Update traffic is concerned. I pay for an unshaped service as per your advertisements. I have raised this issue with your support staff on numerous occasions and they basically shut down the minute they realize they are not dealing with a novice or an ordinary user. Afrihost support does not work. They serve to frustrate the customer. To say that I am frustrated is the understatement of the year. I am angry! However I can get over my "feelings and emotions". What I cannot get over is the amount of time and productivity that is wasted on this nonsense.
PS: I have already answered your question in my previous posts with regards to throughput.

Can't you try run a wireshark while doing these updates to see where your traffic is pointing or getting slowed down...

 

[AfriGuy]

To shape or throttle traffic from Windows Update or Apple App Store you simply create a rule based on the unique URLs and ports, assign the rule a lower priority and when the network comes under pressure (the way it has this week with Afrihost's free offering and sizable MS & Apple updates) the associated traffic will have to take a backseat to higher priority traffic. In terms of your reasoning - It is not a problem because not enough people raised the issue. Windows Update is typically not a real time service. It runs in the background. Most ordinary users do not care about updates. They only worry about this when things stop working on their computers or if there is a security vulnerability exploit. If more users diligently ensures that their systems are up to date and if they understand what Microsoft Patch Tuesday truly means and the associated importance, these Afrihost issues will be more visible. In addition Windows updates, for the most part, are released once a month. It is not an everyday occurrence. The problem is that I need to ensure that our devices meet regulatory compliance when these updates are released. We therefore pay for a capped unshaped service. If you think I am trying to argue about this, you are wrong. I need to complete this unpleasant information gathering exercise so that I can determine the next step. This nonsense needs to end.

I honestly think we can debate this for hours. I don't think it's going to resolve your query or your concerns though.
PM me your account info and I'll get you in touch with our team to run through everything.

 

[AfriGuy]

Interesting attitude. Customers pay Afrihost for a service which we do not get. We'll see how funny this is if Afrihost reaches the tipping point in terms of customer cancellations where it is no longer possible to rescue the business. I can be wrong but with the MTN divorce and share holding buy back your employer has a lot of debt to service. Hence the free offerings to attract volumes. As an employee, the jungle is just outside the door buddy.

Please see post #5047.

 

[Chris333]

Interesting attitude. Customers pay Afrihost for a service which we do not get. We'll see how funny this is if Afrihost reaches the tipping point in terms of customer cancellations where it is no longer possible to rescue the business. I can be wrong but with the MTN divorce and share holding buy back your employer has a lot of debt to service. Hence the free offerings to attract volumes. As an employee, the jungle is just outside the door buddy.

Dude, threatening people about their jobs is a fantastic retaliation. All I have seen from Afriguy is an attempt to help you.

I can also see every single post you have on this forum for over this year is to moan about Afrihost... you are aware there are other ISP's right?

 

[jmacc]

I honestly think we can debate this for hours. I don't think it's going to resolve your query or your concerns though.
PM me your account info and I'll get you in touch with our team to run through everything.

The facts are right in front of you. Use it, don't use it. I have calls open with your team which they cannot resolve. They have essentially clammed up. In the mean time I pay for a service which I do not get. That is the problem!

 

[AfriGuy]

The facts are right in front of you. Use it, don't use it. I have calls open with your team which they cannot resolve. They have essentially clammed up. In the mean time I pay for a service which I do not get. That is the problem!

I get the impression you don't really want to see this resolved? I've offered to put you in touch with the right team for you to query your concerns directly.

Let me know how you'd like to go ahead.

 

[jmacc]

Dude, threatening people about their jobs is a fantastic retaliation. All I have seen from Afriguy is an attempt to help you.

I can also see every single post you have on this forum for over this year is to moan about Afrihost... you are aware there are other ISP's right?

Nobody threatened anybody. I am trying to resolve an issue here but it clearly results in some form of entertainment for the Afrihost rep. This is the way the business world works. As a business, if you advertise something you deliver on your promises or you loose customers. If you call regurgitating the same irrelevant responses attempts to assist me as a paying customer with a very real issue (this after I have provided detailed feedback), then you miss the plot by a long shot.
I do not come onto these forums to socialize. I am trying to get a solution to problems which have been outstanding for too long.
Yes there are other ISPs. We already use them.

 

[AfriGuy]

Nobody threatened anybody. I am trying to resolve an issue here but it clearly results in some form of entertainment for the Afrihost rep. This is the way the business world works. As a business, if you advertise something you deliver on your promises or you loose customers. If you call regurgitating the same irrelevant responses attempts to assist me as a paying customer with a very real issue (this after I have provided detailed feedback), then you miss the plot by a long shot.
I do not come onto these forums to socialize. I am trying to get a solution to problems which have been outstanding for too long.
Yes there are other ISPs. We already use them.

Please see post #5047 for a way forward.

 

[jmacc]

I get the impression you don't really want to see this resolved? I've offered to put you in touch with the right team for you to query your concerns directly.

Let me know how you'd like to go ahead.

Really? I told you that I already have calls open with your teams. There is no joy. I have asked you to provide me with the appropriate tests so that I can test the Windows Update data transfer issue but you ignore this request.

 

[AfriGuy]

Really? I told you that I already have calls open with your teams. There is no joy. I have asked you to provide me with the appropriate tests so that I can test the Windows Update data transfer issue but you ignore this request.

Can you confirm a ticket ref# in that case?

 

[jmacc]

Can you confirm a ticket ref# in that case?

Finally! I will PM this to you.

 

[AfriGuy]

Finally! I will PM this to you.

Thanks.

 

[reactor_sa]

Can someone from Afrihost please explain why you shape Windows Update and Apple App Store traffic on a capped account. Your website clearly states that capped accounts are not shaped. I have been trying to patch a handful of devices today and it has been an absolute nightmare! If I manually download the Windows updates, the http download via browser runs at full line speed. The Afrihost website reflects the network status as "running like a bomb" yet the service is unusable.

Like I've said, Afrihost DNS servers experience outages, stale records and have inconsistent databases. One simple example is when users get name resolution errors in their browsers. When you switch back to Google DNS on the router, browsing functionality returns. This happened recently. Capped accounts are definitely shaped, especially when it comes to updates. There is no doubt about this. If I update a system and the update takes hours to complete as opposed to the same update being downloaded manually within 10 minutes using a browser, common sense dictates that this is not normal behavior. In addition, when you have an update struggling to download via Afrihost's network and you change to another ISP, things normalize and the update download completes almost instantly. If you open task manager on a Windows machine or Activity monitor on a MAC and you go to the network interface you can clearly see how Afrihost throttles the connection. Once again if I switch ISPs the connection runs at full speed all the time. This happens every time major/size-able updates are released by Microsoft or Apple. Obviously the Afrihost network is under strain during these periods. The problem is - why do I pay for an unshaped service and then Afrihost shapes my connection. To say that Afrihost does not do shaping on a capped account is simply not true.

I have changed my router config to the so called new Afrihost DNS servers this morning by setting the device to obtain DNS config automatically. I have also restarted everything. I am trying to update a Windows 10 system. The updates trickle in at a blistering 24 Kbps with a seldom random burst of 1 Mbps. I have a 20 Mbps line on a Afrihost capped account. I am astounded at how this company operates. The network status on the Afrihost website shows a bright green with a message - "Our DSL network is running like a bomb!" There is clearly not enough capacity to service elementary commitments to paying customers and yet they offer free internet to everybody! Initially we as customers told Afrihost that their partnership with MTN was a disaster and we were fobbed off. Fast forward to a couple of days ago and Afrihost is severing the MTN partnership. Customers tell Afrihost the network is broken and all we get is excuse after excuse. Things only change at Afrihost when critical mass is reached.

Your windows updates might be peer based. Try disabling the peer options in windows updates.

 

[jmacc]

Your windows updates might be peer based. Try disabling the peer options in windows updates.

Thanks for the suggestion. I have already disabled this. There is little doubt in my mind that Afrihost shapes this traffic during periods of high network utilization on capped accounts. I have done extensive testing on this and everything points to shaping.

 

[AfriGuy]

Thanks for the suggestion. I have already disabled this. There is little doubt in my mind that Afrihost shapes this traffic during periods of high network utilization on capped accounts. I have done extensive testing on this and everything points to shaping.

I don't have a PM from you yet.