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Question of the Day: If you were buying a TV today, which brand would you choose?
Afrihost Uncapped ADSL Feedback
- Thread starter AfriMan
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Asked Our General Manager to comment and he posted in line
Quote Originally Posted by SiliconKid View Post
Just spoke to someone from Afrihost who gave me a decent explanation for all this.
Sorry about this but it seems you've been misinformed. Perhaps this is a case of broken telephone.
I'd appreciate it if you could DM me the rep's details so I can bring him/her up to speed to prevent a recurrence.
From what I can gather, the situation is as follows:
a. The speed issues ARE due to general network issues and NOT targeting of specific users based on any kind of usage / abuse / etc. criteria. So there is no new monitoring or threshold system in place etc. etc. It is purely a network issue.
-Presently we have more capacity and users are moving about 23% more data than they have so there isn't and hasn't been a network problem.
Prior to our bigger realm migrations we tested our management and shaping polices and everything appeared to be working as it was designed to.
-Since our main realm migration, Afrihost executives wanted to give users more as we have more capacity so there has been very little to no shaping or management.
-Once our next big realm migrated we picked up an inconsistent service management problem which appeared to be network related.
Due to the nature of the bug and the inconsistencies, it was very difficult to isolate but fortunately our suppliers made every resource available.
-The symptoms were inconsistent which is why our status page often showed that our network was fully operational.
-We took every user's email and call very seriously as we diagnosed the problems and we'd like to thank everyone who sent us their many traceroute results.
-To summarise on this point, we have not had a network problem but rather a service management problem which was resolved by a software patch but we're monitoring it closely to make sure and we'll update you once we're 100% satisfied.
b. The network issue is fundamentally a problem with coping with the load. It's simply not coping right now. And the reason for that is primarily because the migration from IS to MTN was supposed to be a phased migration whereby the uncapped accounts would be moved across in batches to mitigate exactly these kinds of problems by spreading the migration over a period of time while additional network infrastructure was still being rolled out on the MTN side. This hasn't happened and evidently Afrihost were forced to move ALL of the uncapped accounts across already, prematurely.
-We moved exactly the same amount of users to our new network and we have more capacity than we had.
We aimed to complete our migrations by the end of October in a staged approach and managed to do so successfully thanks to all parties involved!
c. The throttling being experienced is protocol specific. In other words it applies specifically to large downloads from servers that are being connected to on specific ports (563 SSL etc.). We all know what that means
-The throttling should NOT be affecting normal browsing, video streaming from YouTube, etc.
-Our aim is to provide the best user experience and this means P2P services will get less priority depending on user and network usage.
-Consumer uncapped accounts will be managed and shaped during periods where realtime services are in more demand.
QOS will be applied to make sure we offer our users a better experience rather than limiting all services to a certain speed.
d. Additional infrastructure IS being rolled out right now to sort this out and the throttling that is being enforced is an emergency measure to keep the network as a whole functional and responsive. That's why late at night your speed suddenly jumps back to max again and holds there for around six hours straight (check your usage logs and you will see the pattern clearly).
-Last night, 13 November 2012, the hardware manufacturers applied a software patch to resolve the service management bug but we'll have to monitor it closely till we're 100% satisfied.
-No new infrastructure has been rolled out.
-Realistic estimates for return to complete normalcy are early January apparently.
-We expect have IPC installed in Cape Town and Durban in February to improve user experience.
To be honest, that all sounds like a reasonable explanation to me. I'm not thrilled about it but it's not a train smash either.
In practical terms, that means:
1. You can still pull down around 20GB per day at least.
2. You can still browse, stream video and do other normal (you know what I mean ) things at full speed
3. This is temporary.
4. It's still 200 bucks a month cheaper than MWeb.
For me personally, now that I've been given a reasonable explanation that actually makes some kind of sense and doesn't sound like a fabricated excuse or sidestep, I'm happy to keep rolling with my Afrihost account and just ride it out provided that things don't get any worse and assuming that they will actually improve.
I do, however, agree with many comments on this forum that communication with us could be a lot more pro-active from Afrihost. They need to acknowledge these kinds of core issues sooner and more openly.
-We too agree that we need more of a presence and have taken resources away from other tasks to do so.
-Thanks for posting this, I think you've addressed some very important points that needed clarity.
Quote Originally Posted by SiliconKid View Post
Just spoke to someone from Afrihost who gave me a decent explanation for all this.
Sorry about this but it seems you've been misinformed. Perhaps this is a case of broken telephone.
I'd appreciate it if you could DM me the rep's details so I can bring him/her up to speed to prevent a recurrence.
From what I can gather, the situation is as follows:
a. The speed issues ARE due to general network issues and NOT targeting of specific users based on any kind of usage / abuse / etc. criteria. So there is no new monitoring or threshold system in place etc. etc. It is purely a network issue.
-Presently we have more capacity and users are moving about 23% more data than they have so there isn't and hasn't been a network problem.
Prior to our bigger realm migrations we tested our management and shaping polices and everything appeared to be working as it was designed to.
-Since our main realm migration, Afrihost executives wanted to give users more as we have more capacity so there has been very little to no shaping or management.
-Once our next big realm migrated we picked up an inconsistent service management problem which appeared to be network related.
Due to the nature of the bug and the inconsistencies, it was very difficult to isolate but fortunately our suppliers made every resource available.
-The symptoms were inconsistent which is why our status page often showed that our network was fully operational.
-We took every user's email and call very seriously as we diagnosed the problems and we'd like to thank everyone who sent us their many traceroute results.
-To summarise on this point, we have not had a network problem but rather a service management problem which was resolved by a software patch but we're monitoring it closely to make sure and we'll update you once we're 100% satisfied.
b. The network issue is fundamentally a problem with coping with the load. It's simply not coping right now. And the reason for that is primarily because the migration from IS to MTN was supposed to be a phased migration whereby the uncapped accounts would be moved across in batches to mitigate exactly these kinds of problems by spreading the migration over a period of time while additional network infrastructure was still being rolled out on the MTN side. This hasn't happened and evidently Afrihost were forced to move ALL of the uncapped accounts across already, prematurely.
-We moved exactly the same amount of users to our new network and we have more capacity than we had.
We aimed to complete our migrations by the end of October in a staged approach and managed to do so successfully thanks to all parties involved!
c. The throttling being experienced is protocol specific. In other words it applies specifically to large downloads from servers that are being connected to on specific ports (563 SSL etc.). We all know what that means
-The throttling should NOT be affecting normal browsing, video streaming from YouTube, etc.
-Our aim is to provide the best user experience and this means P2P services will get less priority depending on user and network usage.
-Consumer uncapped accounts will be managed and shaped during periods where realtime services are in more demand.
QOS will be applied to make sure we offer our users a better experience rather than limiting all services to a certain speed.
d. Additional infrastructure IS being rolled out right now to sort this out and the throttling that is being enforced is an emergency measure to keep the network as a whole functional and responsive. That's why late at night your speed suddenly jumps back to max again and holds there for around six hours straight (check your usage logs and you will see the pattern clearly).
-Last night, 13 November 2012, the hardware manufacturers applied a software patch to resolve the service management bug but we'll have to monitor it closely till we're 100% satisfied.
-No new infrastructure has been rolled out.
-Realistic estimates for return to complete normalcy are early January apparently.
-We expect have IPC installed in Cape Town and Durban in February to improve user experience.
To be honest, that all sounds like a reasonable explanation to me. I'm not thrilled about it but it's not a train smash either.
In practical terms, that means:
1. You can still pull down around 20GB per day at least.
2. You can still browse, stream video and do other normal (you know what I mean ) things at full speed
3. This is temporary.
4. It's still 200 bucks a month cheaper than MWeb.
For me personally, now that I've been given a reasonable explanation that actually makes some kind of sense and doesn't sound like a fabricated excuse or sidestep, I'm happy to keep rolling with my Afrihost account and just ride it out provided that things don't get any worse and assuming that they will actually improve.
I do, however, agree with many comments on this forum that communication with us could be a lot more pro-active from Afrihost. They need to acknowledge these kinds of core issues sooner and more openly.
-We too agree that we need more of a presence and have taken resources away from other tasks to do so.
-Thanks for posting this, I think you've addressed some very important points that needed clarity.
In the future use quote tags, it makes it a little easier to read. 
---------------------------------------------------------
Asked Our General Manager to comment and he posted in line
Sorry about this but it seems you've been misinformed. Perhaps this is a case of broken telephone.
I'd appreciate it if you could DM me the rep's details so I can bring him/her up to speed to prevent a recurrence.
Presently we have more capacity and users are moving about 23% more data than they have so there isn't and hasn't been a network problem.
Prior to our bigger realm migrations we tested our management and shaping polices and everything appeared to be working as it was designed to.
Since our main realm migration, Afrihost executives wanted to give users more as we have more capacity so there has been very little to no shaping or management.
Once our next big realm migrated we picked up an inconsistent service management problem which appeared to be network related.
Due to the nature of the bug and the inconsistencies, it was very difficult to isolate but fortunately our suppliers made every resource available.
The symptoms were inconsistent which is why our status page often showed that our network was fully operational.
We took every user's email and call very seriously as we diagnosed the problems and we'd like to thank everyone who sent us their many traceroute results.
To summarise on this point, we have not had a network problem but rather a service management problem which was resolved by a software patch but we're monitoring it closely to make sure and we'll update you once we're 100% satisfied.
We moved exactly the same amount of users to our new network and we have more capacity than we had.
We aimed to complete our migrations by the end of October in a staged approach and managed to do so successfully thanks to all parties involved!
Our aim is to provide the best user experience and this means P2P services will get less priority depending on user and network usage.
Consumer uncapped accounts will be managed and shaped during periods where realtime services are in more demand.
QOS will be applied to make sure we offer our users a better experience rather than limiting all services to a certain speed.
Last night, 13 November 2012, the hardware manufacturers applied a software patch to resolve the service management bug but we'll have to monitor it closely till we're 100% satisfied.
No new infrastructure has been rolled out.
We expect have IPC installed in Cape Town and Durban in February to improve user experience.
We too agree that we need more of a presence and have taken resources away from other tasks to do so.
Thanks for posting this, I think you've addressed some very important points that needed clarity.
---------------------------------------------------------
Asked Our General Manager to comment and he posted in line
Sorry about this but it seems you've been misinformed. Perhaps this is a case of broken telephone.
I'd appreciate it if you could DM me the rep's details so I can bring him/her up to speed to prevent a recurrence.
Presently we have more capacity and users are moving about 23% more data than they have so there isn't and hasn't been a network problem.
Prior to our bigger realm migrations we tested our management and shaping polices and everything appeared to be working as it was designed to.
Since our main realm migration, Afrihost executives wanted to give users more as we have more capacity so there has been very little to no shaping or management.
Once our next big realm migrated we picked up an inconsistent service management problem which appeared to be network related.
Due to the nature of the bug and the inconsistencies, it was very difficult to isolate but fortunately our suppliers made every resource available.
The symptoms were inconsistent which is why our status page often showed that our network was fully operational.
We took every user's email and call very seriously as we diagnosed the problems and we'd like to thank everyone who sent us their many traceroute results.
To summarise on this point, we have not had a network problem but rather a service management problem which was resolved by a software patch but we're monitoring it closely to make sure and we'll update you once we're 100% satisfied.
We moved exactly the same amount of users to our new network and we have more capacity than we had.
We aimed to complete our migrations by the end of October in a staged approach and managed to do so successfully thanks to all parties involved!
Our aim is to provide the best user experience and this means P2P services will get less priority depending on user and network usage.
Consumer uncapped accounts will be managed and shaped during periods where realtime services are in more demand.
QOS will be applied to make sure we offer our users a better experience rather than limiting all services to a certain speed.
Last night, 13 November 2012, the hardware manufacturers applied a software patch to resolve the service management bug but we'll have to monitor it closely till we're 100% satisfied.
No new infrastructure has been rolled out.
We expect have IPC installed in Cape Town and Durban in February to improve user experience.
We too agree that we need more of a presence and have taken resources away from other tasks to do so.
Thanks for posting this, I think you've addressed some very important points that needed clarity.
Last edited:
sand_man
Honorary Master
Would p2p throttling effect a bandwidth intensive remote session between 2 pc's using Splashtop and ports 6783,4 and 5?
ClintonExsteen
Well-Known Member
Now if that was said about 2weeks ago, think there would have been more understanding from the consumers. Transparency is crucial and we have the medium for it. Thank you for this, it atleast tells us where we are going (those who haven't bailed)
justin-watokal
Active Member
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2012
- Messages
- 93
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:::.. Internet Speed Test Results ..:::
Download Connection Speed:: 88 Kbps or 0.1 Mbps
Download Speed Test Size:: 256 kB or 262144 bytes
Download Binary File Transfer Speed:: 11 kB/s
Upload Connection Speed:: 160 Kbps or 0.2 Mbps
Upload Speed Test Size:: 256 kB or 262144 bytes
Upload Binary File Transfer Speed:: 20 kB/s
Tested At:: http://TestMy.net Version 13
Test Time:: 2012-11-14 17:59:59 Local Time
Validation:: http://testmy.net/db/RjBZwnl.34zZXAK
More Stats:: http://testmy.net/compID/1799331533723
and i still cant stream youtube
note this is a 4mb acount
Test conducted on Wednesday, November 14, 2012 6:03:22 PM
Download Speed: 233 kbps (29.1 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 378 kbps (47.3 KB/sec transfer rate)
Latency: 259 ms
still no improvement on my side
Download Connection Speed:: 88 Kbps or 0.1 Mbps
Download Speed Test Size:: 256 kB or 262144 bytes
Download Binary File Transfer Speed:: 11 kB/s
Upload Connection Speed:: 160 Kbps or 0.2 Mbps
Upload Speed Test Size:: 256 kB or 262144 bytes
Upload Binary File Transfer Speed:: 20 kB/s
Tested At:: http://TestMy.net Version 13
Test Time:: 2012-11-14 17:59:59 Local Time
Validation:: http://testmy.net/db/RjBZwnl.34zZXAK
More Stats:: http://testmy.net/compID/1799331533723
and i still cant stream youtube
note this is a 4mb acount
Test conducted on Wednesday, November 14, 2012 6:03:22 PM
Download Speed: 233 kbps (29.1 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 378 kbps (47.3 KB/sec transfer rate)
Latency: 259 ms
still no improvement on my side
Last edited:
justin-watokal
Active Member
- Joined
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HI Justin
Thanks for the email, hope you are well.
Slow access call has been logged with telkom to investigate your line 0219063764.Thanks Afrihost.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if we may be of further assistance.
Warm Regards
i wonder who that phone number belongs to...
Thanks for the email, hope you are well.
Slow access call has been logged with telkom to investigate your line 0219063764.Thanks Afrihost.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if we may be of further assistance.
Warm Regards
i wonder who that phone number belongs to...
Sinbad
Honorary Master
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2006
- Messages
- 88,697
- Reaction score
- 41,237
I expect the bug in the software wasn't identified until very recently...
FapCop
Expert Member
If this statement came about sooner, I would never have canceled my account. It was all the guessing bases on hear-say that pissed me off to the point where I jumped ship.
I cancelled two days ago and chose to have my line transferred back to Telkom. Is it too late too undo this?
I cancelled two days ago and chose to have my line transferred back to Telkom. Is it too late too undo this?
justin-watokal
Active Member
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2012
- Messages
- 93
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- 0
here is some cheering up content. 2nd trailer of gta v just released after a year of silence. http://www.rockstargames.com/V/
too bad it will take 30min to stream
too bad it will take 30min to stream
Last edited:
ClintonExsteen
Well-Known Member
true, but even then some sort of communication would've been better than total silence...
prodigyX
Senior Member
My 10mb uncapped is flying at full speed for the first time since Sunday (been using the backup account all day, only tested uncapped now)
Hope things stay this way, looks like last night's fix might have done the trick
Hope things stay this way, looks like last night's fix might have done the trick
kohlhtor
Expert Member
On my afrihost 10 mb account I only get 300 Kb/s on my telkom account I get my full line speed of 600 Kb/s
MrGray
Honorary Master
So now January has quietly become February for the Cape Town IPC?? When did that happen?
Not sure I can live with that until then, sorry. Especially if February becomes March and then April.... etc. Could've written off the holiday season with the carrot of an improved network in Cape Town in the New Year, but that's no longer the case it seems?
ClintonExsteen
Well-Known Member
so much for improved user experience, well yeah for a select few only, just not the cool guys by the coast that is....
YeaNutz
Well-Known Member
Just cancelled so that I don’t have to pay for December.
Will use Openweb for now can’t Jan/Feb is just ridiculous.
I’ll rather pay more than have a bad experience.
Good Luck Afrihost. Not Impressed.
Will use Openweb for now can’t Jan/Feb is just ridiculous.
I’ll rather pay more than have a bad experience.
Good Luck Afrihost. Not Impressed.
sand_man
Honorary Master
For what it's worth this on my axxess-express.2 10mb uncapped mtn equivalent @ R496 per month excluding line rental...
News servers, Astraweb and altbinz
Filehippo.com http file download, IDM
Youtube filedown load captured using IDM
News servers, Astraweb and altbinz
Filehippo.com http file download, IDM
Youtube filedown load captured using IDM
sand_man
Honorary Master
Finally utorrent and torrents sourced at kickass...
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