I have VERY inconsistent Ping times

[dugweb]

Playing Half-Life2 deathmatch I can get some really good ping times (well for me) I'll sometimes be below 50 which is real nice playing, but within 20 seconds of that, it may shoot up to over 7-800!! It's driving me nuts.

My computer connects through a D-link wireless router (wirelessly) then through the cable modem. I know that's not the cleanest connection, but if I can pull a ping of 50 for a few minutes, shouldnt I (in theory) be able to pull that consistently?

Any words of comfort would be greatly appreciated

 

[Fardringle]

Wireless networking is very inconsistent, particularly if there is any interference in the area. Connect to your router wired temporarily and use it for a while to see what happens. If your ping times stay solidly low when wired then you'll know that the problem is with the wireless and not with your router or with your Internet connection.

At that point, start looking for ways to eliminate or reduce wireless interference. If there are other wireless networks in the area, use NetStumbler to find an unused channel and change your router to use that channel. If you have 2.4Ghz cordless phones, move them as far away from your networking equipment as possible. If you have any heavy duty electrical appliances (microwaves are the worst) between your PC and your router, move them if possible - or move the network equipment. If there are multiple walls and/or floors between the PC and the router, try to move one or both so that they are closer together.

 

[ssbpgsr]

Are you or anyone else on your network using p2p while this is happening??? If so, turn off all p2p before retesting.

 

[dugweb]

Originally posted by: Fardringle
Wireless networking is very inconsistent, particularly if there is any interference in the area. Connect to your router wired temporarily and use it for a while to see what happens. If your ping times stay solidly low when wired then you'll know that the problem is with the wireless and not with your router or with your Internet connection.

At that point, start looking for ways to eliminate or reduce wireless interference. If there are other wireless networks in the area, use NetStumbler to find an unused channel and change your router to use that channel. If you have 2.4Ghz cordless phones, move them as far away from your networking equipment as possible. If you have any heavy duty electrical appliances (microwaves are the worst) between your PC and your router, move them if possible - or move the network equipment. If there are multiple walls and/or floors between the PC and the router, try to move one or both so that they are closer together.

Thank you, You have confirmed some of my worst fears I have about everyone of those problems in between me and the router I've been meaning to put the rougter in a more central location, but there are no convenient places.

Is thier a router that I can buy(entry level) that has a more powerful signal, or wider range that any of you would suggest?

Originally posted by: ssbpgsr
Are you or anyone else on your network using p2p while this is happening??? If so, turn off all p2p before retesting.

nope, no P2P, unless it's me

 

[Tazanator]

for wired networks you can see this too. Run "ping plotter" and look at where the worst fluxes are. I know mine is in the backbone feed to chicago...

 

[dugweb]

Originally posted by: Tazanator
for wired networks you can see this too. Run "ping plotter" and look at where the worst fluxes are. I know mine is in the backbone feed to chicago...

yup, that program just confirmed it.... It's my wireless connection that is making my pings so terrible. At least i know what I need to work on

 

[spidey07]

try changing channel to 1, 6 or 11 and see if it improves.

Wireless can be realy flaky if there is interferrence or noise on the frequency/channel you're using.

 

[dugweb]

how do I change the "channel"?

 

[nweaver]

on your ap's webpage for management, there should be an option. I would go one step further and run netstumbler, see if there are other AP's. It's better to share a channel then to be less then 4 channels away.