Sleeping Connections

[ZeroNull]

Good morning Sirs,

I am the first time here in Thailand having the need to use the Internet

more than viewing 1-3 web pages.

At the first glance i have been surprised, it seems to work more faster as i expected.

I am using Maxnet Premier 3M from Suphanburi.

But using it more days and not only with HTTP, which is itself a connectionlesss

protocol, i run into pitfalls.

I called it for me "Sleeping Connections".

If i connecting per SSH (for example) to a Server in Europe, it first works

good. Fast for that distance ! After some minutes it gets "Freezed".

What means Bandwidth drops to zero. Conncection is not broken, it gets zero speed.

If i do a new login to the Server in Europe, it works immediatly, the new connection

is fast agin (at beginning). But the old one contains freezed !

I can see the old connection as "Established" on both Servers but no

Bandwith. It also not times out.

I have two boxes, one Windows and one Linux avail here, both the same effect.

These happens also for Downloads (first fast, than hangs).

The Linux Box is doing automatic Software Updates where i can see

that effect. If i surf to that URL with a Windows Download Manger

it will get it by opening a lot of Connections (10-20 i dont counted)

But to get the Download (even if only some MBytes) on 1 single TCP-Connection

seems to be hopeless.

Yesterday i got this effect also for a "Large" EMail, must be

about 1-3MB. First the Client connects to SMTP Server. After

lets say 30% to 50% of downloading the EMail it becomes sleepy.

Then if i do a POP try again it is rejected, because the other side

(the Mail Server) is still thinking the freezed connection as allive !

(Its definitively not, at my side in Thailand)

Has anyone here have simmilar experiences ?

Is it a provider or Modem problem ?

For me it behaves like some one is "shaping" single TCP connections

to zero after some minutes.

Or may be i have a missconfiguration in the system(s) ?

Thanks for you help/feedback

ZeroNull

[malcolmswaine]

I've had issues with MaxNet before. In fact it got so bad that I had to RDP using my cell phone to get a connection. I have since changed to using CAT as a provider. I pay a little bit more, but I cant rate it enough. I think I've had about 30 minutes down time at 2 AM one morning, but apart from that I've never lost my connection. I can torrent without any worries (which I only do at night out of curtesy to others maybe trying to contend for bandwidth for business purposes in the day time) and RDP works fine. MaxNet, in my experience, fine if you just want to look at web pages. For anything more, you need to start paying a lot of money for a business connection before you get anything decent.

[ZeroNull]

Hi macolmswaine,

You are to fast for me.

Before changing the provider or investing a lot of money, i want to pin it down to the point.

i.e. find out where the problem is exactly located.

I never losst a connection, it goes "hanging".

Then doing a PING to the server in parallel, the PING works fine.

Even open a new connection, it becomes working again.

(While the old TCP connection stays sleeping)

So you cant say there is a downtime at my connection.

Lets (assumed) say there is a "TCP Connection Shaper" in the Link to Europe

(Overseas Cable), so changing the Provider will make costs but not help at all.

I am not shure if it is not a configuration Problem at me side.

For example a SSH connection is a text connection to a server where i usualy type text from the keyboard,

so it needs near zero bandwith, not comparable with a Toorent or Youtube

neverless these SSH connections gets freezed.

ZeroNull

[malcolmswaine]

FTP is a connection orientated protocol, so in theory if you try transferring a large file you should see similar results if the shaping rules are consistent accross all ports. It would be interesting to know the results ... Yes, sorry, I wasn't hinting at changing provider as a quick fix, just relating my experiences in context is all You say you have a windows machine online as well. Can you keep a terminal services connection up to it or not?

[Wolfie]

Im on True 2mb line, and whilst it does slow down sometimes and drop sometimes, i have had none of the situations the OP has mentioned.

[nikster]

I believe I have seen this a long time ago on my TOT line. Could be either just a bad connection (provider to blame) or your DSL modem/router. I'd change the latter to see if it helps. It's certainly not normal behavior for MaxNet so I would tend to blame the router first. What kind of DSL modem/router are you using? Also make sure the networking equipment is run from a UPS or stabilizer.

When I first got my TOT connection I had the cheapest Billion-brand router I could find. Turned out that it was the source of a lot of problems and things improved markedly when I moved to a Zyxel prestige.

Bandwidth shaping should at its worst make individual connections slow, but it won't starve them to zero.

[ZeroNull]

Good hints, thanks.

Today I first tested the connection between the local Linux and Windows boxes.

It is stable since hours.

So its not a hard local power drop or LAN connection problem.

(Anyway its a good idea to install an UPS for the boxes and the modem.)

Next i tested the connection to a server of the company in Bangkok.

(Its not a busy one, mostly ideling)

Same behaviour as the Europe connections !

Its usable some minutes then the connection slows down/sticks. (Sleeping)

I will try to find another server in Thailand where i can test the connection to.

For me it seems obvious that this is not an international/overseas problem.

Its beetween the modem (Name: PTI Adsl2/2+ Router) in Suphanburi and Bangkok.

I am thinking about the next steps.

Mhmmmmm ... has anybody an ADSL Line Tester avail ?

Or replace the modem ? I have to investigate if the PTI Router is a usable one ...

ZeroNull