Ping packet loss while browsing - is this normal

[gojko]

Hi experts,

I am having problems with my network after upgrading from cable to optic fiber. In an effort to troubleshoot the problems, I did a bunch of things. Before submitting the case to my ISP, I would like to know the following:

• This is on LAN: I don't get any packet loss when not doing anything else network-wize (out of ~5000 ping packets), but I do get 1% packet loss if heavily browsing simultaneously.
• This is on Wireless: I get 1-2% packet loss while testing without browsing simultaneously. There are 3-5 other networks on this channel in the neighbourhood. Wifi receiver is in the same room, that's another router that's wired to my main router.

Are these normal?

The problem is the network just appears slow. Pages seem to take longer to load (not always!), the part "waiting for <page-name>" somehow seems to take longer and pages seem to take longer to stop loading (tab header circle spinning) after the visual loading seems complete. I did scan both of my PCs for malware (nothing of course), flushed DNS, set fixed DNS to 8.8.8.8 , restarted winsock etc...

I suspect I messed something up by pulling on the optical fiber cable cable too hard at one point. However, helpdesk assures me that in that case I would have completely cut off the connection. (Is this true?) At this point I am unable to prove the problem.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Depends on what you mean by browsing heavily. If you mean large transfers then yeah a few drops here and there could be possible, especially since most consumer grade routers arent the most powerful things in the land. A few percent loss on wifi is also normal.

The fact that you dont drop packets when on lan and not stressing your connection leads me to heavily lean towards it NOT being an ISP issue but more likely your local equipment not being able to handle whatever load you are tossing it.

What router? What NIC? What wifi adapter?

 

[gojko]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Browsing heavily, I mean I was trying to stress the connection to see if I can really reproduce the problem or is it just my imagination. I was not doing single file transfer, but rather simulating heavy network load by opening lots (~30) tabs simultaneously or opening pages, then clearing history, then opening the pages again to see if the load time varies. Single file transfer seemed fine, as doing the speedtest.net got me the exact promised speed of 30Mbps. pingtest.net also claims I'm fine (I think his does limited ping tests).

I was also thinking the optical router they brought me is the culprit. The model is Huawei HG8245H. I have another problem with it (wareless drops after ~20 minutes of use, so I have to use another router as wireless receiver for reliability. At first I thought it was my Windows messing, but with 2 external WIFI adapters it still breaks); but troubleshooting LAN is my priority now.

NIC is integrated on the MoBo (Gigabyte X58A-UD3R). Now it's set up to go to one router (Pirelli, unknown model) working as a switch (the Wifi receiver one), then from that to the "real router".
WIfi adapters - I have 2: ASUS USB N150 and D-Link DWA-121.

Also, could it be that I've messes up the optical fiber cable that goes from the router to the wall?

 

[sdifox]

I doubt you messed up the fibre. no internet for you if you messed that up.

what is your main router? The one connected to the huawei.

 

[gojko]

The Huawei is the main one - the one that is connected via fiber optics to the wall. I tried connecting directly to it via LAN (original setup) and it worked just the same. In the meantime I've put a Pirelli one (can't find the model number anywhere, but I used to use it before and it worked fine for years) in between, so I access wireless on that one, and connect LAN to it also. I did that because when I connect WiFi on the Huawei I get random speed drops and random inability to load pages, but of a different kind - I have to restart wireless when that happens.

I think I should point out that these connection slowdowns happen only sometimes. Not sure when exactly, but just when I think it's OK the page loads super long, or fails to load, or the download is paused. Frustrating!

 

[dave_the_nerd]

1-2% packet loss is pretty bad. Not normal, even under load. Al this restarting wifi all the time isn't normal either.

Sounds like you got a bum router, a bum WAP, or both. Stuff can be defective out of the box, so that's not weird.

 

[gojko]

Hm, I'll try to ask for replacement from my ISP.

Thanks for the answers for now.