Crystal Web (NEW ISP) ADSL Feedback

[Crystal Web]

FYI, we've updated the temp site a little as we prepare for our launch and included a signup option. Help us out and send this to friends and family. Having live chat there means that we can walk them through the options and get them the best possible package for their needs.

http://www.crystalweb.co.za/

 

[Hectic]

I'm getting an error message every 30 -45 minutes on the SuperSport cricket stream.
Can't recall the exact wording, but it is something to the effect of "Connection to stream lost"

Is it an auto disconnect function on CW's side or an issue on CW's side or is it a SuperSport issue?

 

[Crystal Web]

I'm getting an error message every 30 -45 minutes on the SuperSport cricket stream.
Can't recall the exact wording, but it is something to the effect of "Connection to stream lost"

Is it an auto disconnect function on CW's side or an issue on CW's side or is it a SuperSport issue?

Well, this is a support request to be honest, and one that requires us looking in to things a little deeper. Please hop on to live chat quick and we'll see what we can find for you.

There are no auto-disconnect functions on our side to Mweb's servers. There are many known issues with Supersport streaming though.

 

[Aluroth]

We can do this, but it will cost more though.

Put yourself in our shoes here. We've increased the bandwidth priority on the shaped portion at our cost, given you 100 gigs unshaped data and the only increases are in the R50 mark for the most part and only to some speed products, removed the feature that shapes other large download protocols when p2p is detected (on Fusion accounts), and now you guys also want midnight to 7am not to contribute towards your cap at all, so in effect giving you more daytime unshaped data and adding to our overall peak load per month per account, increasing our bandwidth requirements even further.

I am in meetings, discussions and negotiations with the developers to see what we can do about this side as well, then I'll price it out and possibly release some epic products on this basis in the future. Right now it's technically and financially not feasible at these current prices on Fusion. We're currently looking at "speed boost" services so you can select a speed boost during the shaping times if you need something urgently. We're looking at introducing night-time bolt-ons to all accounts if you'd prefer your night-time usage not to count towards usage. We're also working on a product that operates as two accounts in one and lets the advanced users QoS with multiple WAN configurations, but these are all WIP for now.

To be honest with you, just for a little bit of feedback from my side, I'll rather take e.g 20GB - 50GB daytime cap and not use that cap during midnight hours. I know this is probably not feasible for you guys, but just making some suggestions.

 

[Hectic]

Well, this is a support request to be honest, and one that requires us looking in to things a little deeper. Please hop on to live chat quick and we'll see what we can find for you.

There are no auto-disconnect functions on our side to Mweb's servers. There are many known issues with Supersport streaming though.

Okay, will see if it happens again.

 

[waynehooper]

Hi Shaun/Paul, could you possibly look into the streaming protocols used by Vevo on the Apple TV.

I am still experiencing buffering of music videos. Trailers, YouTube, Vimeo etc seem to run fine.

Well it converts torrents (usually shaped heavily or blocked) to a service that is no longer shaped as heavily or unblocked. You do the maths.

But with regards to the streaming part, it's just a file host, and not a dedicated streaming site delivering content over CDN nodes.

 

[jeanres]

Hi Shaun/Paul, could you possibly look into the streaming protocols used by Vevo on the Apple TV.

I am still experiencing buffering of music videos. Trailers, YouTube, Vimeo etc seem to run fine.

Using unotelly DNS?

 

[waynehooper]

No, using Smart DNS Proxy ( www.smartdnsproxy.com )

Using unotelly DNS?

 

[jeanres]

No, using Smart DNS Proxy ( www.smartdnsproxy.com )

Try unotelly or any other DNS, I do not think vevo is geo restricted

 

[stephan123789]

We can do this, but it will cost more though.

Put yourself in our shoes here. We've increased the bandwidth priority on the shaped portion at our cost, given you 100 gigs unshaped data and the only increases are in the R50 mark for the most part and only to some speed products, removed the feature that shapes other large download protocols when p2p is detected (on Fusion accounts), and now you guys also want midnight to 7am not to contribute towards your cap at all, so in effect giving you more daytime unshaped data and adding to our overall peak load per month per account, increasing our bandwidth requirements even further.

I am in meetings, discussions and negotiations with the developers to see what we can do about this side as well, then I'll price it out and possibly release some epic products on this basis in the future. Right now it's technically and financially not feasible at these current prices on Fusion. We're currently looking at "speed boost" services so you can select a speed boost during the shaping times if you need something urgently. We're looking at introducing night-time bolt-ons to all accounts if you'd prefer your night-time usage not to count towards usage. We're also working on a product that operates as two accounts in one and lets the advanced users QoS with multiple WAN configurations, but these are all WIP for now.

Thanks for the response. I'm not going to be a poephol and demand that I want everything the way I want it to be for as little as possible right now, but I will stay on the fusion package and rather wait until you bring out more packages

 

[Crystal Web]

Hi Shaun/Paul, could you possibly look into the streaming protocols used by Vevo on the Apple TV.

I am still experiencing buffering of music videos. Trailers, YouTube, Vimeo etc seem to run fine.

By default we shape on protocols, not per specific site unless something out of the ordinary is required. So as long as that Vevo app connects to the right backend servers and delivers content in the correct streaming format, it will be fine. What we see is that the apps guys build for specific products (Apple and Samsung are particular culprits here) is that they route the request via their servers so that they can monitor who is doing what on their products at all times, rather than simply relaying the request to the streaming servers directly. So when they have issues on these servers, so do you, and the very easy test here is to see if Vevo works in a browser at the same time. If it's working on a browser but not your media device, then it's very difficult for us to do anything about it, as we can't be sure if that server is under strain, their peering is working correctly with their own partners, or a plethora of other reasons. Troubleshooting that sort of thing can be quite a frustrating process from our side, but frustration doesn't deter us from helping out. Happy to take a look if you next experience this, so when it happens come talk to live support and we'll see how it is routing to investigate properly for you.

 

[Crystal Web]

Try unotelly or any other DNS, I do not think vevo is geo restricted

This is another option. If a service is connecting via proxy DNS then it may bypass the default routing we have set up, at which point there is absolutely nothing we can do about that. We can't support another provider's DNS, even if we wanted to (which we don't, for clarity's sake).

 

[waynehooper]

Vevo is geo restricted. If you try and access the web site from a normal SA dns it tell you "OOPS! THIS PAGE IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE IN YOUR REGION."

Buffered under Telkom and was fine on my WebAfrica test account!

 

[Crystal Web]

By the way, for those of you with Mikrotiks or other advanced routers that allow you to do proper QoS, can get in touch with me and I'll see what I can do about a multiple account situation that allows you to chose what is shaped and what's not.

So you can grab some unshaped data and an uncapped account and setup the QoS yourself. Pricing is POA and will be more than the Fusion accounts in all lielihood, but it gives you that flexibility if you'd prefer to work with a single provider (us).

 

[Crystal Web]

Vevo is geo restricted. If you try and access the web site from a normal SA dns it tell you "OOPS! THIS PAGE IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE IN YOUR REGION."

Buffered under Telkom and was fine on my WebAfrica test account!

Then the DNS may have an issue, the Apple servers may have an issue, the peering links they have may be under strain, their own QoS to deliver content may be having issues etc. Once you bypass an ISP's DNS it's tough to know, and once you use a service not intended for a specific region (i.e. they have no systems in place to strictly deliver content here and likewise we don't) then it's a nightmare to troubleshoot.

By default there is nothing in the shaper that specifically treats Vevo traffic any differently from what I can tell.

 

[waynehooper]

I think the problem is what you mentioned under the first reply - in that they route via their servers and the streaming is via the web site (http). This should sort itself out next month on my unshaped account if streaming is via http?

Not sure it is their servers under strain. I had buffering under Telkom (everything buffered), my webafrica 2Gb free account worked with Vevo and other streaming (no buffering) - all with smart DNS proxy - so I think the proxy is working fine.

Lets wait till the 1st and the unshaped account and go from there...

This is another option. If a service is connecting via proxy DNS then it may bypass the default routing we have set up, at which point there is absolutely nothing we can do about that. We can't support another provider's DNS, even if we wanted to (which we don't, for clarity's sake).

 

[saa044]

By default we shape on protocols, not per specific site unless something out of the ordinary is required. So as long as that Vevo app connects to the right backend servers and delivers content in the correct streaming format, it will be fine. What we see is that the apps guys build for specific products (Apple and Samsung are particular culprits here) is that they route the request via their servers so that they can monitor who is doing what on their products at all times, rather than simply relaying the request to the streaming servers directly. So when they have issues on these servers, so do you, and the very easy test here is to see if Vevo works in a browser at the same time. If it's working on a browser but not your media device, then it's very difficult for us to do anything about it, as we can't be sure if that server is under strain, their peering is working correctly with their own partners, or a plethora of other reasons. Troubleshooting that sort of thing can be quite a frustrating process from our side, but frustration doesn't deter us from helping out. Happy to take a look if you next experience this, so when it happens come talk to live support and we'll see how it is routing to investigate properly for you.

Sony BD players also. The only sort of media device I found that works in the same principle as a PC browser is a Android stick / box thingie. And Roku of course.

 

[Crystal Web]

I think the problem is what you mentioned under the first reply - in that they route via their servers and the streaming is via the web site (http). This should sort itself out next month on my unshaped account if streaming is via http?

Not sure it is their servers under strain. I had buffering under Telkom (everything buffered), my webafrica 2Gb free account worked with Vevo and other streaming (no buffering) - all with smart DNS proxy - so I think the proxy is working fine.

Lets wait till the 1st and the unshaped account and go from there...

It's possible, but we're moving your account over to unshaped and then tier 2 priority bandwidth as well. Only a few more days left.

 

[waynehooper]

I agree, in bypassing the geo restrictions, we are introducing so may other factors that it makes diagnosing what is happening a nightmare. Lets see how it goes next month..

Then the DNS may have an issue, the Apple servers may have an issue, the peering links they have may be under strain, their own QoS to deliver content may be having issues etc. Once you bypass an ISP's DNS it's tough to know, and once you use a service not intended for a specific region (i.e. they have no systems in place to strictly deliver content here and likewise we don't) then it's a nightmare to troubleshoot.

By default there is nothing in the shaper that specifically treats Vevo traffic any differently from what I can tell.

 

[Crystal Web]

Sony BD players also. The only sort of media device I found that works in the same principle as a PC browser is a Android stick / box thingie. And Roku of course.

Let's not forget that streaming requires consistent latency (not necessarily the lowest, but consistent) so they're adding additional latency into the mix, as well as another possible point of failure.

It's not always your ISP.