Server Slowness?
Bruce Bates
Posts: 3,045
Has anyone else noticed that the server seems to be bogged down right now (9:58 AM EST, 04 DEC 2008). I DO have a dial-up link, but I can't imagine that it should take over 30 seconds to post a private message. Am I being overly critical here?
UPDATE ALL messages are taking that long to be posted!
Regards,
Bruce Bates
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When all else fails, try inserting a new battery.
Post Edited (Bruce Bates) : 12/5/2008 9:23:00 PM GMT
UPDATE ALL messages are taking that long to be posted!
Regards,
Bruce Bates
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When all else fails, try inserting a new battery.
Post Edited (Bruce Bates) : 12/5/2008 9:23:00 PM GMT
Comments
If you are using a dial-up, then it is very unlikely that the server is causing a bottleneck.
It could be noise in the phone line... what is the weather doing in your area?
What kind of phone line do you have?
Years ago (10+) it was common to contact your Telephone provider and indicate to them if you were using the line for Data as well as Voice.· There were supposedly "cleaner" lines that could be used to increase the bandwidth in certain circumstances.· The add-on filters really aren't that effective unless you know exactly what frequencies you are sending/receiving.· Even then most modems already have adequate filtering... adding an external filter may only slightly increase your signal to noise ratio, but it could make it worse if improperly tuned.
·
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Beau Schwabe
IC Layout Engineer
Parallax, Inc.
Right now it's taking a variable amount of time. In one case it took 7 seconds to post a reply. On the next occasion it took 20 seconds. The first time (7 seconds) is right on the money. Why does it now take 20 seconds (down from 30 seconds)?
Are the routers and other paraphernalia between the East coast and the West coast that bogged down?
To answer your questions:
If not the server, where is the bottleneck?
A nominal amount of noise is to be expected on any voice grade line. In all your travels, you MUST have used a laptop in a hotel with a dial-up line to Parallax, or don't you log in when you're away from work? How long would you estimate it takes your laptop to post a message?
I DO have some nominal amount noise on my line occasionally, but that's what CRC codes are all about, or so I'm told.
The weather is crisp and clear, about 27 degrees F in the early mornings, and 48 degrees F around noon. Aren't you glad you live in California now?
My phone line is a plain, voice grade line. No echo suppressors, no filters, nothing but the run of the mill POTS line. I think you cable/DSL/satellite/networked folks are spoiled!
As you say the filters (except on a DSL line) are just about worthless. The DSL filters are going for a dime apiece at some of the electronics surplus houses on the web - how good can they be for ten cents?
Where does that leave us with the original question? Does 20-30 seconds per post, or a rough average of 17 seconds sound reasonable to you? I feel like it should be more like the 7 second post every time. Is that too high an expectation?
Regards,
Bruce Bates
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When all else fails, try inserting a new battery.
"Are the routers and other paraphernalia between the East coast and the West coast that bogged down?" - Try this command from a DOS prompt (Start-->Run-->[noparse][[/noparse]Open:]... cmd)
tracert forums.parallax.com
...This will give you an idea where your internet connection is being routed.· I get about 330ms total hop time when I do the above command.
"If not the server, where is the bottleneck?" - The server is an unlikely candidate since under normal conditions it can keep up with very high speed connections.· If you have DSL, your bandwidth could vary depending on what time of day it is and when other people are on-line in your DSL area.· The "weak" link is going to be the slowest connection, and in most cases will be the modem or the lines running to your telephone provider.
"In all your travels, you MUST have used a laptop in a hotel with a dial-up line to Parallax, or don't you log in when you're away from work?" - Usually I stay in a hotel that has a wireless connection, but since I telecommute about 1300 miles to Parallax on any other day, I have a constant connection to Parallax all of the time.
"How long would you estimate it takes your laptop to post a message?" - Usually a couple of seconds.
"I DO have some nominal amount noise on my line occasionally, but that's what CRC codes are all about, or so I'm told." - The CRC check is mainly just to determine that the data packet is error free, it is not designed to correct any errors.· If the data packet does contain errors then a request is made to send the data packet again.· After "X" number of attempts the communication is dropped.
"Does 20-30 seconds per post, or a rough average of 17 seconds sound reasonable to you?" - No, that seems very slow, but again line noise can be a big factor.· Just for kicks, can you try a different phone line closer to your service box?
"I feel like it should be more like the 7 second post every time. Is that too high an expectation?" - ...Or even better than 7 seconds, it depends on your modem speed.
Edit: Another culprit to slow data speeds could be virus related ... have you done a recent scan with the latest AV-deck?· If that's not the case have you recently installed any new software that might be running in the background that you may not be aware of?
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Beau Schwabe
IC Layout Engineer
Parallax, Inc.
Post Edited (Beau Schwabe (Parallax)) : 12/5/2008 5:26:10 PM GMT
Thank you for the most considered response. Here are the answers to the questions in the order that you posed them:
I'll be happy to run a trace route. NOT a problem. Sam Spade can do that!
Here are the results with MULTIPLE RUNS of Tracert: NO RESPONSE!!
I suspect this is the OFFENDING ROUTER: gigE-0.border0.vosn.net (209.151.64.2)
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When all else fails, try inserting a new battery.
I continue here, in this message, because the forum "took off" on me when I tried to do a PASTE.
That router (from the last message) has been DOWN for at least 24 hours. It's located in Colorado, which is why I suspect it's the correct one. However, there are 3-4 other routers across the US which are ALSO DOWN. I suspect it's these ROUTERS, and not my dial-up line. What do you think?
As I mentioned earlier,·ours is a plain old telephone system·(POTS) line, like that which one might have in a house. The SWITCH is too far away for us to get DSL connectivity. I WISH we could get DSL!
Regarding the T1 (??) line, Ken is WAY too GOOD to you :-)
You better get that T1 line CHECKED! :-)
CRC errors may not kill an UPLOAD (my case) or a download, but I can't believe·it wouldn't give SOME indication at either my end or the Parallax end. What do you think?
Our phone terminal (the NIC·to the TELCO line) is almost in our back yard. The SWITCH (ESS) is MUCH farther away. I'm not sure which one you're speaking about. Which one were you speaking about?
I would·estimate that my average baud rate is around 43·kbps for an UPLOAD and 46 kbps for a download, all other things being equal.
Windows XP Firewall, active SPYBOT, and active Norton Anti-Virus team up to guard the DOOR. I'm NOT without more protection than most probably have! All are up-to-date.
Thanks for your continued concern. It's not all that important that we continue this thread, unless you would choose to. I'm reasonably convinced that one of the DEAD routers is the cause of these unconscionable delays. I didn't realize that re-routing around a DOWNED server took that long <shrug>.
NOTE: (After posting this - via "Preview before posting") - The speed is right where I would expect it to be - about 3 seconds or so! FANTASTIC!
Regards,
Bruce Bates
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When all else fails, try inserting a new battery.
I would also suspect the dead router in Colorado is causing a problem.
Here is an interesting site that I found, but it sounds like you already have most of the information provided there.
www.internettrafficreport.com/namerica.htm
"Regarding the T1 (??) line, Ken is WAY too GOOD to you
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Beau Schwabe
IC Layout Engineer
Parallax, Inc.
Thanks for your response.
It's been said that "Great minds think alike". Whether that's true in my case, I really couldn't say
Why? That's EXACTLY the web site I use as well!
Do you have to water cool that VPN line?
Regards,
Bruce Bates
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When all else fails, try inserting a new battery.
Ordinarily I'd look at my own connection, but I have 25 other web pages open from various locations and none of those take more than about 3 seconds to completely reload.
I did have a good run last night where the Parallax forums behaved fairly well, but it's back to "flip a coin to decide if the connection times out" time again.
traceroute from my pc locally
Traceroute from a co-located server in the UK
Now, let's press "Submit" (after copying the entire post to the clipboard in case it times out and then the submit button is broken after going "back") and see if it manages to even post.
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Cardinal Fang! Fetch the comfy chair.
-Phil