Understanding The Meaning Behind The Ping

[neverdie]

I'm Having Internet Problems again, something which seems common @ the present time.

Trying to learn and understand what all the Internet Jargon & the information means.

After conducting some speed tests today, I have noticed that via speedtest.net to a 'Server' in Bangkok I am getting a result of 2.55Mb/s, upload of 0.37Mb/s which whilst a little slower than what I was getting, isnt too bad, but what has changed is the PING rate, which has gone from a few hundred m/s to 4500 m/s. The PING part of the test use to be quite quick, but now is really slow.

Then I went to thaivisa's own speed test a moment after the first test & received the following data, Downlaod 55Kpbs & Upload of 22Kbps, with a PING of 4745m/s. I believe the thaivisa server is in Singapore.

I understand what the PING is (after researching it via google) but what I don't understand is why has my connection got such a slow one now?

Is anyone else experiencing this type of thing at the moment & what should I do OR look for?

Would really appreciate some guidance with this problem. Thanks in advance.

[Tywais]

Often this is due to the specific Internet routing that is current with your connection. Sometimes routing may change due to various issues.

Better to use tracert. Open a command prompt window (Run > cmd) and type in tracert www.thaivisa.com. It should show you a bottle neck somewhere, most likely at the Internet Gateway of your ISP. Try it first without any command options then again with -d such as tracert -d www.thaivisa.com. The 2nd will not attempt to resolve IP numbers to hostnames and may give an indication of whether there are problems with DNS.

[neverdie]

Holy Shit Tywais,

WTH are you talking about. Did I leave out the bit where I don't know much about computers?

The other day I was having problems with MAXNET (TT&T) and webfact and a few of the chaps here were talking about putting in a new DNS number (which I did) so I could get pages to load etc. I did that & the pages are loading on my desktop. On the notebook I did not change the DNS & its returning the same results from the speedtest as my desktop.

To do what you have suggest above, I need a few tips. I can't remember how to get to a command prompt window. Grrrrrrr , thanks for the info, so far.

I find it odd that there are so many of us having problems. I also read somewhere that the long PING could have something to do with 'wiring'& not the PC. Is that what you are referring to, or are they talking about the telephone wiring in my home?

[AjarnChan]

Holy Shit Tywais,

WTH are you talking about. Did I leave out the bit where I don't know much about computers?

The other day I was having problems with MAXNET (TT&T) and webfact and a few of the chaps here were talking about putting in a new DNS number (which I did) so I could get pages to load etc. I did that & the pages are loading on my desktop. On the notebook I did not change the DNS & its returning the same results from the speedtest as my desktop.

To do what you have suggest above, I need a few tips. I can't remember how to get to a command prompt window. Grrrrrrr , thanks for the info, so far.

I find it odd that there are so many of us having problems. I also read somewhere that the long PING could have something to do with 'wiring'& not the PC. Is that what you are referring to, or are they talking about the telephone wiring in my home?

To open a Command window [what we used to call a 'DOS box']

Start

Run

cmd

[OK]

ie. open Start menu, click [run], type 'cmd' [without apostrophes], click [OK]

Ping is a 'hand-shake' with a remote server. Like a Submarine searching for underwater contacts ;}

The Internet is just a massive set of interconnected networks, with traffic routed via the shortest path in ideal conditions, then if there are problems traffic can still arrive but via a far longer route 'around the problem'. That re-routing is what makes the network 'fault tolerant' to some extent, but clearly the longer route takes longer to traverse.

Suggesting that you use 'tracert' [Trace Route] is to let you have a chance at spotting the bottleneck, not that there is usually very much you can do about it. However re-defining your DNS lookup, which you mentioned, can help. DNS [Domain Name Server] tables are the lists of IP addresses [iP = Internet Protocol] that make the whole system work.

PS - Yes things do seem slower than usual at present. Every now and then an underwater cable gets cut, or some other link breaks down or goes off-line for a while. That affects everybody who normally uses that route. This has happened several times in the Mediterranean affecting local north African and middle eastern countries, but also large parts of Asia.

Edited July 4, 2009 by AjarnChan

[trogers]

Do a tracert to www.yahoo.com and post.

To do a tracert, click 'Start' and then 'Run'. Type "cmd" into the box and click 'ok'.

A DOS black screen will appear. Type after the C:\>

tracert www.yahoo.com

and press enter key

When test is completed, move mouse cursor to the DOS black screen, click right and choose 'select all'.

Move mouse cursor to the Quick Reply box of this forum, click right and 'paste'.

[neverdie]

Thankyou so much AjarnChan,

For explaining that to me, I am trying to learn. You describe things really well. I have been playing with the DNS setting a bit and it has made a bit of a difference.

I went from the pre-set DNS that webfact had given us back to letting it pick its own again and ran tests before and after & basically before I was getting Download, 2.6, upload .4 and the ping was about 3400. After removing the specific DNS, I got returns of 2.5, .4 and a ping of 839. Tried it all on the notebook as well with similar results.

When i did the thai visa speed test, I got download 880kbps & upload of 0.22kbps, with a PING of 6800, which is somewhat better than the 11,000 i had previously.

All my computer gear is fairly good and only 15 months old, new router & all of that, I was starting to think something in my telephone line was no good, a connection or something.

It must have something to do with the DNS settings. Thanks for your help, we're gonna go to the TT&T office on monday & have a few words with them, not that I expect it will change much.

THANKYOU Twyais as well.

[webfact]

You can download a small free program "Sam Spade"

It makes life easier rather than using the good ol' DOS prompt

SAM SPADE

Edited July 4, 2009 by webfact

[neverdie]

Do a tracert to www.yahoo.com and post.

To do a tracert, click 'Start' and then 'Run'. Type "cmd" into the box and click 'ok'.

A DOS black screen will appear. Type after the C:\>

tracert www.yahoo.com

and press enter key

When test is completed, move mouse cursor to the DOS black screen, click right and choose 'select all'.

Move mouse cursor to the Quick Reply box of this forum, click right and 'paste'.

Hi trodgers

When I do it, I get a response that says:

"Tracing route to thaivisa.com (or yahoo.com) IP ADDRESS NO.

over a maxium of 30 hops:

1. General Failure.

Trace Complete. "

Dunno what it means . By removing the selected DNS I had put in before, the PING has sped up somewhat & I don't seem to be having the problems loading pages, like I was having the other day, which led me to changing the DNS.

I guess from everything I now know, the system here seems to be like a pack of poo tickets. What to do.

[trogers]

Go to DOS black box and type

ipconfig /all

and press Enter

See what DNS server addresses you have

[trogers]

If they are your ISP's DNS server addresses, and both are not working, try using an open dns server

https://www.opendns.com/start/computer/

[webfact]

If they are your ISP's DNS server addresses, and both are not working, try using an open dns server

https://www.opendns.com/start/computer/

correct - and let me add the DNS which seems to have solved the Maxnet issue for some posters quite well at least improved.

http://www.dnsadvantage.com/

[neverdie]

Go to DOS black box and type

ipconfig /all

and press Enter

See what DNS server addresses you have

Funny, when I do that the ipconfig information flashes up for about half a second & then disappears. Talk about bad luck.

I am using the open dns now, after having originally putting the ones in Webfact has listed above.

It all comes down to the fact that i am getting good internet download speeds of 2.6 and upload of about .4 but the PING is alot slower than before, and if i am pinging an overseas server such as thaivisa then it blows right out to 6 or 7 thousand ms and if I use the DNS settings that Webfact gives then that blows out even further to 10-11 thousand ms. This is obviously a problem with internet here in thailand.

Are any of you experiencing these problems? I don't understand why it tells me my download speed is good but the internet is slow (Because of the PING).

Wow, what a mouthful, wonder what will happen tommorrow?

[webfact]

Go to DOS black box and type

ipconfig /all

and press Enter

See what DNS server addresses you have

Funny, when I do that the ipconfig information flashes up for about half a second & then disappears. Talk about bad luck.

I am using the open dns now, after having originally putting the ones in Webfact has listed above.

It all comes down to the fact that i am getting good internet download speeds of 2.6 and upload of about .4 but the PING is alot slower than before, and if i am pinging an overseas server such as thaivisa then it blows right out to 6 or 7 thousand ms and if I use the DNS settings that Webfact gives then that blows out even further to 10-11 thousand ms. This is obviously a problem with internet here in thailand.

Are any of you experiencing these problems? I don't understand why it tells me my download speed is good but the internet is slow (Because of the PING).

Wow, what a mouthful, wonder what will happen tommorrow?

could you post which addresses you ping and maybe post the data - heres the example:

Pinging thaivisa.com [203.174.85.146] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 203.174.85.146: bytes=32 time=42ms TTL=52

Reply from 203.174.85.146: bytes=32 time=42ms TTL=52

Reply from 203.174.85.146: bytes=32 time=43ms TTL=52

Reply from 203.174.85.146: bytes=32 time=42ms TTL=52

Ping statistics for 203.174.85.146:

Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),

Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:

Minimum = 42ms, Maximum = 43ms, Average = 42ms

[stumonster]

11 seconds means you are being routed via a repeater at the edge of the solar system.

a tracert ( trace route ) is definitely needed

start with one just to the maxnet page and step outward from there

so tracert maxnet.com and see what is the time to their servers

then maybe try another isp in thailand

then try singapore

something is seriously wrong with your routing and you should try and pin down where the problem is so you know what you need to complain about or maybe even fix at your end

[YouYouYou]

Wow ..Eleven thousand !! Neverdie. I thought I had it bad LOL. I've had up to 2300MS recently.

I can only make a casual observation as well (very casual as is not always the case). On some repeated tests to U.S. servers e.g. san fran, Las vegas, I have at times noticed a correlation between of the 'higher the ping, the slower the DL UL is'; that is, it has also been proportional if you were to plot it.

But the other day I also had some bizzare results of medium DL UL with a ping of 40MS to San Fran ! Mmm ..a ping quicker than down the road to BKK of 42-50MS ....Mmm ..... One for you teccy's out there.

TY the Maxnet rant guy, Triple You, not triple Tea.

[neverdie]

Go to DOS black box and type

ipconfig /all

and press Enter

See what DNS server addresses you have

Funny, when I do that the ipconfig information flashes up for about half a second & then disappears. Talk about bad luck.

I am using the open dns now, after having originally putting the ones in Webfact has listed above.

It all comes down to the fact that i am getting good internet download speeds of 2.6 and upload of about .4 but the PING is alot slower than before, and if i am pinging an overseas server such as thaivisa then it blows right out to 6 or 7 thousand ms and if I use the DNS settings that Webfact gives then that blows out even further to 10-11 thousand ms. This is obviously a problem with internet here in thailand.

Are any of you experiencing these problems? I don't understand why it tells me my download speed is good but the internet is slow (Because of the PING).

Wow, what a mouthful, wonder what will happen tommorrow?

could you post which addresses you ping and maybe post the data - heres the example:

Pinging thaivisa.com [203.174.85.146] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 203.174.85.146: bytes=32 time=42ms TTL=52

Reply from 203.174.85.146: bytes=32 time=42ms TTL=52

Reply from 203.174.85.146: bytes=32 time=43ms TTL=52

Reply from 203.174.85.146: bytes=32 time=42ms TTL=52

Ping statistics for 203.174.85.146:

Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),

Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:

Minimum = 42ms, Maximum = 43ms, Average = 42ms

Webfact,

That seems to be the problem, when I ping I get the following response:

"Tracing route to thaivisa.com (or yahoo.com) 209.131.36.158

over a maxium of 30 hops:

1. General Failure.

Trace Complete. "

No other data comes up. No idea. Also still get slow ping to thaivisa 5870 & locally 713. Last week I was getting less than 200 for locations in Thailand & at one point 58 for bkk via speedtest.net.

I have NFI @ Moment.

[Tywais]

First, use something else than OpenDNS. They are re-routing network traffic, at least for google.com. It will slow your network down. Use an alternative if you can.

That's because Google has multiple servers that can be resolved by the google.com name so different routes due to different regional servers are being decided upon. DNS itself does not re-route traffic, its purpose is to convert the IP name to a raw IP address. I run a primary DNS server and if I choose another DNS server to point to, the path my traffic takes will be the same at that particular moment in time. I say particular point in time because routing is dynamic but not due to the DNS servers.

There is some research in what's called DNS based IP routing, but as far as I know it is not widely implemented and main focus is on the higher level DNS servers.

For neverdie, a little info on the use of traceroute > http://www.mediacollege.com/internet/troub...traceroute.html

//edit - some trivia > Google has about 700,000 servers (one estimate, others indicate even more).

//edit2 - more trivia > Google Infrastructure

Sorry neverdie for being off topic.

You can try this traceroute to check differences between using different DNS servers > visualroute

[neverdie]

Well I just did it again, changed the DNS from auto to the one Webfact suggested and it has slowed my PING down locally from 713 to 3933. The thai visa one went from 5870 to 5120.

I have no idea what to do next and that other prompt is returning no data .

this problem only started yesterday. weird.

[Tywais]

First, use something else than OpenDNS. They are re-routing network traffic, at least for google.com. It will slow your network down. Use an alternative if you can.

That's because Google has multiple servers that can be resolved by the google.com name so different routes due to different regional servers are being decided upon. DNS itself does not re-route traffic, its purpose is to convert the IP name to a raw IP address.

OpenDNS does reroute google traffic to their servers, by offering alternative addresses for example www.google.com. Easy to reproduce.

As I explained above, it is not re-routing, it is using Google's primary DNS databases to select an IP based on geographic location and load balancing their servers. It is just supplying an IP address based on vector information specific to Google. The vast majority of sites will not have that and as such minimal affect when using any alternate DNS server. Also, it is quite likely Google uses transparent proxies for their routing.

[neverdie]

First, use something else than OpenDNS. They are re-routing network traffic, at least for google.com. It will slow your network down. Use an alternative if you can.

That's because Google has multiple servers that can be resolved by the google.com name so different routes due to different regional servers are being decided upon. DNS itself does not re-route traffic, its purpose is to convert the IP name to a raw IP address. I run a primary DNS server and if I choose another DNS server to point to, the path my traffic takes will be the same at that particular moment in time. I say particular point in time because routing is dynamic but not due to the DNS servers.

There is some research in what's called DNS based IP routing, but as far as I know it is not widely implemented and main focus is on the higher level DNS servers.

For neverdie, a little info on the use of traceroute > http://www.mediacollege.com/internet/troub...traceroute.html

//edit - some trivia > Google has about 700,000 servers (one estimate, others indicate even more).

//edit2 - more trivia > Google Infrastructure

Sorry neverdie for being off topic.

You can try this traceroute to check differences between using different DNS servers > visualroute

Tywais,

When I do the traceroute, I get the message:

"Tracing route to thaivisa.com (or yahoo.com) 209.131.36.158

over a maxium of 30 hops:

1. General Failure.

Trace Complete".

I get no other data? Have no idea why.

[trogers]

When I do the traceroute, I get the message:

"Tracing route to thaivisa.com (or yahoo.com) 209.131.36.158

over a maxium of 30 hops:

1. General Failure.

Trace Complete".

I get no other data? Have no idea why.

Check and ensure your software firewall, or the one in your router is not set to block ICMP pings, which is the basis of pings.

[neverdie]

Yes I powered it on and off before, maybe I should try the reset, ive got no idea how to check about the firewall settings....ohhh dear

[neverdie]

Okay, it must be something to do with firewall settings.

I've used that Visualroute traceroute & its telling me packet loss is at 100%, so nothing is coming back to my pc.

Dunno what needs adjusting tho. its a long nite.

[neverdie]

Okay, thanks oilinki, I'm gonna pull the pin on this for the nite & see if I can get someone to help me with it, its obviously beyond me.

That tracenet visualroute thing is indicating its a firewall or similar problem. I will have to start from scratch. Really appreciate ur time, ur a champion, thankyou so much to you all.

[Tywais]

One problem with ping is that it is common now for places to block ICMP packets due to security issues. However, you seem to be getting some response, however slow so appears to be getting through your firewall. Since tracert is for some reason not working, which is a bit of a surprise since it also uses the same ICMP packet protocol (under windows, unix/linux uses UDP), then try the following command. It takes a bit of time to complete so just let it run until done.

"pathping -n -h 30 -p 100 www.thaivisa.com" or other website. The command to type is between the " " marks.

Using pathping

//edit - there have been a spate of reports over the last few days regarding this type of problem from other members but haven't pinned down a common denominator yet, except more reports with Maxnet then others.

[trogers]

Below are some common causes of problems in signal quality:

Modem placed near to some other electrical device(s) emitting electromagnetic interference, such as cordless phone set, router, speakers or sub-woofer, etc.

Coiled up signal or power cables, as coiled wires become an electromagnet.

Sources of interference to wireless connections such as cordless phone or bluetooth device operating at 2.4GHz, the same frequency as a wireless router.

[neverdie]

Thanks guys, i had to give it away last nite before my head caved in.

This morning, without changing anything, I did the tests again and got lightening response with PING of 151ms to thaivisa, which is a hellova lot quicker than the 3400+ i was getting last nite. Then I changed to my other non wireless modem and got 57ms. download speeds of 2.62 etc.

THEN I went to the maxnet site and got a PING of 3992. Then I did a traceroute via their site and got the following data:

Traceroute Output:

1 202.69.137.1 (202.69.137.1) 0.467 ms 0.456 ms 0.332 ms

2 mx-ll-58.147.0-177.static.tttmaxnet.com (58.147.0.177) 0.368 ms 0.330 ms 0.352 ms

3 mx-ll-58.147.0-210.static.tttmaxnet.com (58.147.0.210) 0.706 ms 1.164 ms 0.981 ms

4 * * *

5 * * *

6 * * *

7 * * *

8 * * *

9 * * *

10 * * *

11 * * *

12 * * *

13 * * *

14 * * *

15 * * *

16 * * *

17 * * *

18 * * *

19 * * *

20 * * *

21 * * *

22 * * *

23 * * *

24 * * *

25 * * *

26 * * *

27 * * *

28 * * *

29 * * *

30 * * *

done...

So I am thinking this has definately got something to do with maxnet. I dunno , mee is thinking dam_n tt&t

[neverdie]

One problem with ping is that it is common now for places to block ICMP packets due to security issues. However, you seem to be getting some response, however slow so appears to be getting through your firewall. Since tracert is for some reason not working, which is a bit of a surprise since it also uses the same ICMP packet protocol (under windows, unix/linux uses UDP), then try the following command. It takes a bit of time to complete so just let it run until done.

"pathping -n -h 30 -p 100 www.thaivisa.com" or other website. The command to type is between the " " marks.

Using pathping

//edit - there have been a spate of reports over the last few days regarding this type of problem from other members but haven't pinned down a common denominator yet, except more reports with Maxnet then others.

Tywais, thats just the thing, im not getting any response. All the data is being sent but no response, 100% loss.

I will try pathping above

thanks

[neverdie]

One problem with ping is that it is common now for places to block ICMP packets due to security issues. However, you seem to be getting some response, however slow so appears to be getting through your firewall. Since tracert is for some reason not working, which is a bit of a surprise since it also uses the same ICMP packet protocol (under windows, unix/linux uses UDP), then try the following command. It takes a bit of time to complete so just let it run until done.

"pathping -n -h 30 -p 100 www.thaivisa.com" or other website. The command to type is between the " " marks.

Using pathping

//edit - there have been a spate of reports over the last few days regarding this type of problem from other members but haven't pinned down a common denominator yet, except more reports with Maxnet then others.

Okay Tywais, Did that but got this response, its not accepting -n

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6002]

Copyright © 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\Tim>pathping -n -h 30 -p 100 www.thaivisa.com

Tracing route to thaivisa.com [203.174.85.146]

over a maximum of 30 hops:

0 No resources.

So then I tried this:

C:\Users\Tim>tracert -n -h 30 -p 100 www.thaivisa.com

-n is not a valid command option.

Usage: tracert [-d] [-h maximum_hops] [-j host-list] [-w timeout]

[-R] [-S srcaddr] [-4] [-6] target_name

Options:

-d Do not resolve addresses to hostnames.

-h maximum_hops Maximum number of hops to search for target.

-j host-list Loose source route along host-list (IPv4-only).

-w timeout Wait timeout milliseconds for each reply.

-R Trace round-trip path (IPv6-only).

-S srcaddr Source address to use (IPv6-only).

-4 Force using IPv4.

-6 Force using IPv6.

C:\Users\Tim>

Edited July 5, 2009 by neverdie

[webfact]

two more suggestions

ping localhost or ping 127.0.0.1

This is the loopback test for the NIC (network card). If it fails then your NIC is bad.

Boot into with "Safe Mode With Networking" and ping from there.

If this works then the most likely cause of your issue is an wrongly configured firewall.