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COMCAST POS F#@K garbage ISP. Anyone else using this now?

StageLeft

StageLeft

No Lifer
Ever since that ordeal with @home my comcast connection has been a terrible POS. This week especially it's been horrendous. I'm losing packets like MADD, having to reload web pages to get them to finish, not being able to play games properly, etc.

Anyone else having this problem? This is in Alabama. If it continues all tonight I'm going to have to call them tomorrow and if they don't give a good timeframe on when this will be fixed (if they even admit to a problem) bellsouth is getting a call for DSL. I can't bear paying $45/month for a connection that is often slower than 56k.

You can call me names and make fun of me but don't f**k with my internet.
 
Mine's not as bad as yours, but since 1/10 I still have intermittent e-mail, and no access to webspace. Only last week was I able to access newsgroups.

They claimed that my IP addy would be dynamic, but its always the same for the last 3 weeks -- does that mean I'm the only one on my node?
 
Make sure you're directly connected on that PC to the cable modem (no hub/router) and shutoff all firewall/virus scan software.

In your IP configuration, find your DNS server and write it down.

Open DOS and tracert to it, ping it (ping <ip> -t) for a minute or two to get several hundred packets out (for a more accurate percentage of how many you're dropping). To stop it, incase you don't know, you press <ctrl> <C>.

Anyway, copy those results and save them for your tech support call.

Ping times should be under 200. If average is over (or close if you get me as your tech when you call), then we can send a truck out to check out the modem/house/cables/poll/etc.

nik (tier2 for Comcast. 🙂 YGPM)
 


<< They claimed that my IP addy would be dynamic, but its always the same for the last 3 weeks -- does that mean I'm the only one on my node? >>

No, it means that our semi-dynamic network will assign you the same IP for a four-day period. When you get a new IP, you'll have it for four days. You can release/renew all you want and you'll get that same IP for a four day period. When that's up, we assign you a new IP.

It's not true DHCP, but it's closer than @Home's used to be.

nik
 
what kinda ping times should we expect for pinging the gateway?


and if there was any other braodband service available here, i'd have it at this point. someone has came out and checked the line, and they said it was fine. before they came out i was losing about 1% of the packets to the gateway. since it has gone from intermedia to comcast here, the service has been constantly going downhill...
 
Except for the 60-70% reduction in download speed, 90% reduction in upload speed, loss of an unlimited news server, loss of a fixed IP, slower email service, I'd have to say the service is excellent. 😉
 
For ping times, it should be less than 200 for the average, but if I'm the one on the phone, if even one packet gets close or over (190 or so), then I schedule a trouble call. 200 is rediculous, but the company doesn't accept anything faster as a speed issue.

Now, as to packet loss percentage, I'm going to have to check on that. I think it has to be over 2%... but, again, don't quote me on that.

nik
 


<< dial-up has a better ping than 200 to the gateway.... the gateway should be the quickest of anything i ping externally, right? >>

Yeah the gateway is the first hop - I remember my last high speed service I would ping the gate way an average of 40 or so ms with near none or no packet loss. Isn't 200 range high as hell Nik?
 


<< Except for the 60-70% reduction in download speed, 90% reduction in upload speed, loss of an unlimited news server, loss of a fixed IP, slower email service, I'd have to say the service is excellent. 😉 >>

Look into Comcast Pro if you have any sort of serious interest in a stable ISP. Anyway, email can be fixed via yahoo or hotmail. Not all that hard, guys -nobody really has any reason to complain about email per there being PLENTY of services elsewhere. If you're connected, you can get both Comcast and the other email. Since Comcast is so flaky, why bother with it? Get a real email service like Yahoo or something.

Anyway, as for news, 1gig/month is plenty. If you're downloading movies it obviously isn't, but newsgroups aren't the place for that, dude. If you're looking for more than simple text, newsgroups aren't the place to look.

Besides... you want a real ISP? Buck up and pay for a T-1. 🙂 Guaranteed 90% uptime with reimbursements for business losses, guaranteed tech knocking at your door within 2hrs... 🙂 good stuff guys.

nik (likes to help)
 


<<

<< dial-up has a better ping than 200 to the gateway.... the gateway should be the quickest of anything i ping externally, right? >>

Yeah the gateway is the first hop - I remember my last high speed service I would ping the gate way an average of 40 or so ms with near none or no packet loss. Isn't 200 range high as hell Nik? >>

I know it is, dude, but that's all that Comcast will accept. 🙁

Try pinging yahoo.com with the same thing....

ping yahoo.com -t
and
ping 216.115.108.243 -t

both letting several hundred packets out.

lemme know how that goes...

nik
 


<< You can call me names >>


OK, no problem there.


<< and make fun of me >>


Can do, that is an ATOT specialty.


<< but don't f**k with my internet. >>


That's Comcast's job, isn't it?

j/k
 


<< Get a real email service like Yahoo or something. >>



You've got to be kidding!

Just load up exchange 2000 from your msdn disks and go to town! 🙂

BTW, Communist Cast Pro is a waste of money. Is another 128 kbps upstream worth double the price? Might as well buy another cable modem off ebay for $60 and pay less and have two separate accounts! You can also bond them to improve the speed if you're sharing the connection.

Cheers!
 
Me mad with comcast too! They capped my upload to 16K, worst of all my connection becomes extremly slow when I try to upload at their capped rate of 16K. They say it's how the line absorbs it, what kinda explaination is that? Before I could upload and download at my max speeds with no problems.
 
intermedia@home was a real ISP

never had problems with e-mail
never had problems with newsgroups
i could dl at 300KB/sec while my roommate played CS

now he can't play when I have my computer on. and the only change has been comcast buying out intermedia. it got slightly worse then, but was still about the same. when @home went under and they switched everyone over, it went to complete crap

as for getting a real e-mail account, why is one included if it isn't supported? you say to get comcast pro for better service? why should i pay more for a "better" service, when it was working perfectly before. i might as well go back to dial-up for what it is costing. also, on top of that, the service is going up $10/month, and $1/month for each additional IP address. so we'll be paying $12/month more for the service, which already sucks ass. I have already looked at DSL, and am checking out some T1 providers, the best price i've found so far $420/month for 512 up and down.

to the gateway i had 0 loss and 90ms ping for ~600 packets.

why bother with comcast?
b/c it is the only thing faster than dial-up besides a T1 that is available where i'm at.
b/c it should work like it used too

also, i called tech support once and they told me that if i wanted good service with more than one comp. then i would need the business service. i asked why i was paying for an additional computer then, and the tech told me that router's were illegal.

i've also been the the DHCP server was down when i was having problems, and i had a friend 2 miles away renew his ip 10 seconds after i got off the phone
i've been told to contact the manufactuer of my SWITCH so that they could help me set it up for DHCP service b/c that was the problem. i then explained to the tech that i knew there wasn't any setup to do to a switch. he said i was right, then 5 minutes later told me to call the manufactuer of the switch.
 


<< BTW, Communist Cast Pro is a waste of money. >>

So is any service from Comcast. But you chose it, so I wasn't going to say anything. 😀




<< Is another 128 kbps upstream worth double the price? >>

If it comes with a static IP and better connection/support, yes. Which, I might add, it does.



<< You can also bond them to improve the speed if you're sharing the connection >>

If you're talking about hooking two cable modems up to one computer to get twice the speed, you're smoking crack. 😀

nik
 
OK update.

My gateway over 500 pings averaged 91 ms and 24% packet loss.

Hitting yahoo.com 100 pings 147 ms and 26% packet loss.

Hitting 216.115.108.243 100 pings 226 ms, 4% loss
 


<< Me mad with comcast too! They capped my upload to 16K, worst of all my connection becomes extremly slow when I try to upload at their capped rate of 16K. They say it's how the line absorbs it, what kinda explaination is that? Before I could upload and download at my max speeds with no problems. >>



Many cable modem users complain that, if they run an upload at the same time as a download, their download speed is reduced. This is because the cable modem rate capping impacts upon TCP acknowledgements (ACKs), thus upsetting the TCP flow-control algorithms.

When your PC opens a TCP connection to or from a remote server, your PC tells the remote server what your PC's TCP Receive Window (RWIN) is. The basic flow control mechanism of TCP is that the sender will stop sending data if it has not yet received an ACK for any of the last RWIN bytes of data sent, and the receiver should transmit an ACK packet back to the sender when there is about half an RWIN's worth of data received but not yet ACKed. The sender uses the arrival of the ACK packet to pace itself on how fast to send data to the receiver. Pulling in a fast download requires not only the download packets to arrive quickly, but also for the ACK packets to get back to the sender in a timely fashion.

If you saturate your cable modem's upload cap with an upload, the ACK packets of your download will have to queue up waiting for a gap between the congested upload data packets. So your ACKs will be delayed getting back to the remote download server, and it will therefore believe you are on a very slow link, and slow down the transmission of further data to you.

There is a similar effect at work on your upload speed, as the ACK packets from the upload server will be delayed getting back to you if you have saturated your cable modem's download rate-cap with a large download.

The combined effect of this is that the upload and download speeds through the cable modem rate-caps tend to fall into a synchronised ratio, as the ACK packets fall into step with the congested main data packets in the opposite direction. The exact ratio of the synchronised speeds will depend on the relative sizes of the RWINs (TCP Receive Windows) in each direction, on certain timings, and on the ratio of the upload and download rate caps.

There is nothing you can really do about this except wait for an upload to finish before surfing or perhaps use a programmable download manager.

Go here for more information.

Cheers!
 


<< They say it's how the line absorbs it, what kinda explaination is that? >>

That's an "I'm going to tell you something to shut you up instead of tell you the truth" explaination. Your cable modem's bootfile limits your upload to 128Kbps (16KBps). The Comfags network sets that into place when your modem boots and gets the bootfile that we give it.

nik (hates techs like that one you talked to)
 


<< Buck up and pay for a T-1 >>



<mouth watering> mmmm T-1

I wish T-1 was truly worth it. I thought it was around $500/month for 1.5 down and something like 768 up, but I am not entirely sure. I think most of the price is for the installation/service that you can get on call in case you have down time and need to be reimbursed (if you are a business).

I REALLY wish I had $700 or however much it costs for T-3 because I know that I would surely take advantage of that.

*note to self* find a way to mod my cable modem to allow for T-3 down/up streams, bypass electrical laws of physics if necessary 🙂

-silver
 


<<

<< They claimed that my IP addy would be dynamic, but its always the same for the last 3 weeks -- does that mean I'm the only one on my node? >>

No, it means that our semi-dynamic network will assign you the same IP for a four-day period. When you get a new IP, you'll have it for four days. You can release/renew all you want and you'll get that same IP for a four day period. When that's up, we assign you a new IP. It's not true DHCP, but it's closer than @Home's used to be. nik >>



My ip starts with 68.81.... so I've changed over, right? So why am I getting the same ip addy everytime i reboot when it's more than 5 x 4day periods

Also, yes I expect the email and webspace and newsgroups to work. Anything less should prompt a call about it.
 
Why not get VDSL from Quest? 1.5Mbps up/down practically guaranteed. It's optical cable to the curb outside your house. You have to pay $100/foot to get the optical cable off the main line to your curb though and I bet it costs a small fortune every month.

Oh well. I have dialup at home. 😀

nik
 


<< My ip starts with 68.81.... so I've changed over, right? So why am I getting the same ip addy everytime i reboot when it's more than 5 x 4day periods

Also, yes I expect the email and webspace and newsgroups to work. Anything less should prompt a call about it. >>

True, while offering something that doesn't work isn't good business practice (or legal in some cases), news and email are easily accessible some place else. If I had Comcast, I wouldn't worry about either through them because I know there are more serious issues out there trying to get fixed. I wouldn't waste the tech's time with a petty thing that I don't live on. And a service that is advertised as entertainment and has a user agreement saying that "entertainment" is all it is, how can you expect anything serious out of the company?

Anyway, if you get a 68.x.x.x address, you have changed over. Everybody has. Anyway, lemme give you an example.
1st 4-day period's IP:
68.124.21.113

2nd 4-day period's IP:
68.124.50.96

3rd 4-day period's IP:
68.124.50.50

4th 4-day period's IP:
68.48.2.221

Rebooting doesn't do anything other than release and renew your IP -which we assign to you. You can reboot all you want. It's not TRUE DHCP (as in, you get a new IP every time you reboot). You can reboot until you're blue in the face and you'll get the same IP for four days.

See... they're all different, but some times can be similar (subnets, etc). If you're really that concerned, check the whole IP, write it down, and check again periodically to see if it changes. When it does change, note the difference, write down the new one and start over again. Try it for several weeks. Don't worry, dude; it's all good.

nik
 
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