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huge packet loss

Frank136
Aspirant

huge packet loss

Hi,

 

Just thought I'd share with you the troubles I've had with huge packet loss in my home network, and how I fixed it. 

 

My config: I have a 250Mb down/25Mb up cable subscription, a cable modem/router (Cisco3925, WiFi switched off), a DLink DGS1008D (green) switch hooked up to it, my Orbi RBR50 router (configured as access point) connected to the switch. The Orbi router is located on the second floor of my (brick, with concrete floors) house, I have two satellites (RBS50) connected to it (one in my living room on the first floor, one in the attic on the third floor). The satellites and router are connected via WiFi backhaul, which most of the time reports a good connection.

 

In my previous config I was using the WiFi from the Cisco3925 plus an additional WiFi access point, getting louzy wireless performance, and speeds never exceeding 100Mb/s. So after installing the Orbi system I was pretty happy that it immediately delivered the actual promised speed of my cable subscription. However, after some time I noticed that websites were sometimes loading sluggishly and playing video content was also compromised due to buffering taking a lot of time. I was experiencing this on iPad, iPhone and also android tablet and phones. Using the Speedtest app I discovered that packet loss was reporting anywhere between 0% up to and over 95%, hugely varying between runs, even though the WiFi  backhaul between Orbi satellites and router was always good. Also, the jitter as reported by Speedtest was varying a lot, from less than 1ms upto about 200ms. After reading a lot about packet loss on this forum I did some extensive testing to get to the bottom of this.

 

So, in short, I tested:

  • Updating the firmware: I have the latest firmware loaded on all modules (currently version 2.3.1.60): Made no difference;
  • Proximity to the satellite: Even sitting close to the satellite did not improve things;
  • Using my other satellite: No change (and yes, I did validate that my iPad was actually connected to it, this goes for all tests);
  • Connecting directly to the Orbi router (configured as access point): Even this did nog change anything;
  • Connecting the Orbi router (in AP mode) directly to the Cisco modem/router, so without the switch (as there are some concerns mentioned in this forum about green switches): Still no improvement;
  • Switching off the satellites and only test with the router: Nope...
  • I've tested with different setting on the Orbi router (backhaul topology , beamforming, MU-MIMO, fast roaming): Made no difference;
  • Using ping I noticed that responsetimes on external servers varied. A server with a normal responsetime of about 30ms, would once in every 6-8 times report a response time of 200 or 300 ms. 
  • All these tests were performed with Speedtest connecting to different servers that were close to me (on avarage 11-13ms pings). But then I tested with servers that were a bit further away (ping times around 30ms): Low and behold, the packet loss disappeared mostly?!?

Now I was lost a bit...

 

As I was just in the process of upgrading my TV settopbox I thought I might also better upgrade my cable modem (the cisco box was already some 6 years old). So long story short: I upgraded to the newest cable modem that was on offer from my cable provider (model Arris TG2492LG-ZG) and guess what: All my packet loss issues were gone. Since then I have hardy seen any packet loss on my 250Mb connection (once or twice there was some packet loss less than 1%, but that seems nothing compared to the figures I was seeing before). 

I now have a super fast internet experience, even when the whole family is online.

 

So, I guess when experiencing these kind of problems, make sure that your whole infrastructure is up-to-date. Introducing a new element (like the Orbi in my case) resulting in much more data traffic, may just be too much for older equipment in the chain. 

 

 

Model: RBR50|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi Router
Message 1 of 4
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: huge packet loss

Its recommended to test at the modem first with a wired PC to see if there is packet loss there. PL can and does come from Modems, specially bad modes or signal line issues from the ISP. 

Glad you eventually figured it out. Enjoy now. Smiley Wink

Message 2 of 4
Frank136
Aspirant

Re: huge packet loss

Yes you’re right, I did try testing from my pc, but the Speedtest utility for Windows does not report packet loss, only d/u speed, plus I never experienced problems with slow internet from my wired pc, so thought the problem surely should originate from the Orbi.... I would have delved deeper with the right command line tools but there was no need anymore after installing the new cable modem🙂

Message 3 of 4
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: huge packet loss

You can use pingplotter.com next time. Smiley Wink

 

Enjoy. 

Message 4 of 4
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