Be / 02 users opinions on getting low ping!

Turtles · 8 Sep 2008 at 19:51

Looking at changing from AOL to Be or 02. I'm tired of having anything from 50-70 ping on good UK servers in TF2, CSS, etc. Now would changing ISPs and getting a new router help this problem any? AOL are carp anyways and I've been meaning to change for a while but this ping issue is the nail in the coffin.

I'm only 1388m away from the local exchange if that's any use :confused:

Most UK servers are based in London so could that be the reason I get higher ping than most because I'm all the way up in bonnie Scotland?

So yeah... new router & new ISP will it improve ping? :confused:

Laser402 · 8 Sep 2008 at 20:07

Defiantly, I went from AOL to Be* a month ago and pings went from 40-50ish to <10ms in CSS!

pings to bbc.co.uk used to be around 22ms, now ~9ms.

Make sure you ask for Fastpath when you get activated, will drastically reduce ping time, and hopefully get abit more speed.

Regards

Turtles · 8 Sep 2008 at 21:16

Ah cool.

What exactly is Fastpath?

GeForce · 8 Sep 2008 at 22:03

Interleaving is an error correction protocol that is implemented for your line at the DSLAM. With Interleaving enabled, the DSLAM can correct errors in the data stream it receives before passing that data to your gateway router. It is usually implemented on noisy or marginal lines and can greatly increase sync stability and effectively eliminate "first hop" packet loss. The largest drawback to Interleaving is that it will increase your ping time, specifically to your first hop gateway router.

If Interleaving is not enabled on your line, it is configured as FastPath. FastPath allows the DSLAM to pass the data received from you to the first hop router without performing any error correction. As a result, marginal lines could experience an increase in packet loss and decrease in sync stability (i.e. frequent sync loss). However, FastPath has lower ping times, especially to the first hop router.

bee · 9 Sep 2008 at 18:07

as far as i know fastpath is only available on be and not o2

Wicksta · 9 Sep 2008 at 20:17

bee said:
as far as i know fastpath is only available on be and not o2

It's available on O2 as well now, there is even a forum member here (Si_MPS) who can set it up for you.

Turtles · 10 Sep 2008 at 08:10

Ok, so is it worth having fastpath enabled or would it be better to have interleaving enabled? Seeing as I want low ping, but how would

increase in packet loss and decrease in sync stability

affect me?

I'm not all clued up on this I'm afraid.... :confused:

tolien · 10 Sep 2008 at 09:54

It depends how good your line is. A low ping's no good if the connection's dead...

Turtles · 10 Sep 2008 at 20:48

Aye, my line isn't that great. Although I reckon I should be getting better than this

Paying for a 4MB connection :/

Time to change me thinks!

Major_Disaster · 11 Sep 2008 at 16:39

Without knowing your SNR / noise on the line it would be hard to tell what you should be getting, but id personally get away from the Carphone Warehouse as fast as i could!

pxmm · 12 Sep 2008 at 19:49

In terms of line quality, mine isn't too hot at 49db SNR so with Be I sync at about 7mb. Turning on Fastpath gained me another 1mb and lowered pings, and no disconnections or problems so far.

So, in my opinion, Be/O2 are worth it even on a pretty crappy line.