BT Infinity Network Infrastructure - The reason behind BT being the worst UK ISP for gaming

[Grewks94]

As a competitive gamer, by that I mean someone who has competed for cash prizes at events, rather than just a hardcore player, i'm constantly on the lookout for subtle changes in my network which can cause major issues.

After playing and competing Fifa Ultimate team for a number of years, one thing was always clear, the servers of the game in general are not optimally set....However, if like me you're getting your internet through BT, specifically BT infinity, the major problem is likely to be the way in which BT's infrastructure is so bizarrely maintained.


So, I did a little digging with the help of a friend who uses Sky broadband.
By both running a traceroute through the address provided by EA, it is clear that the major problem with connectivity/delay/lag is coming from BT.

BT Tracert

1 10.0.0.1 1 1ms
2 * Unknown Host * 0.0.0.0 2 0ms
3 * Unknown Host * 31.55.187.181 3 14ms
4 * Unknown Host * 31.55.187.180 4 13ms
5 core2-hu0-17-0-5.southbank.ukcore195.99.127.190 5 14ms
6 peer2-et0-1-5.slough.ukcore.bt.ne62.172.103.210 6 13ms
7 * Unknown Host * 195.66.224.116 7 14ms
8 * Unknown Host * 0.0.0.0 8 0ms
9 * Unknown Host * 134.213.97.149 9 16ms
10 corea-core6.lon3.rackspace.net 164.177.137.13 10 16ms
11 core6-eaaggr1a.lon3.rackspace.net31.222.133.213 11 17ms
12 * Unknown Host * 134.213.37.197 12 14ms



Sky Tracert

1 <1 ms 192.168.1.1
2 5 ms 97e7fef2.skybroadband.com [151.231.254.242]
3 10 ms be259.pr2.hobir.isp.sky.com [89.200.131.2]
4 10 ms rackspace-ip81-27.no-dns-yet.lonap.net [5.57.81.27]
5 * * * Request timed out.
6 13 ms 134.213.97.153
7 14 ms coreb-core6.lon3.rackspace.net [164.177.137.25]
8 12 ms area101.core2-core1.lon.rackspace.net [31.222.133.227]
9 12 ms 134.213.37.197



On the face of it, the ping times are very good.
The average gamer would likely not even notice.
But what becomes a noticeable issue, is the vast number of hops it takes to leave both the BT and Sky internal network, as the final 4 hops on both networks are owned by EA and actually are practically identical.


On the BT route -

3 * Unknown Host * 31.55.187.181 3 14ms
4 * Unknown Host * 31.55.187.180 4 13ms
5 core2-hu0-17-0-5.southbank.ukcore195.99.127.190 5 14ms
6 peer2-et0-1-5.slough.ukcore.bt.ne62.172.103.210 6 13ms


On the Sky route -

2 5 ms 97e7fef2.skybroadband.com [151.231.254.242]
3 10 ms be259.pr2.hobir.isp.sky.com [89.200.131.2]



For some strange reason, for which I am unable to get a response from BT about, there appears to be some kind of what I would call 'Dual routing' going on.
For some reason the infrastructure has twice as many hops, on practically identical servers.

It isn't some kind of one of either. Looking at the route to a server outside of the UK which hosts dedicated servers for games such as Call of duty.....

Host Name IP Address Hop Ping Time
10.0.0.1 1 2ms
* Unknown Host * 0.0.0.0 2 0ms
* Unknown Host * 31.55.187.177 3 11ms
* Unknown Host * 31.55.187.176 4 15ms
core1-hu0-12-0-3.southbank.ukcore195.99.127.44 5 12ms
peer6-hu0-6-0-6.telehouse.ukcore.195.99.127.3 6 14ms
t2c3-et-3-3-0-0.uk-lon1.eu.bt.net166.49.211.238 7 11ms
166-49-211-38.eu.bt.net 166.49.211.38 8 22ms


Once again, Dual hops at soon as it leaves my internal network, when it reaches the London main server, and when it joins the BT server to leave the UK.



This is why BT is so poor compared to other UK providers.

Twice as many hops = Twice as much latency + Twice as much opportunity for packet loss.

 

[Grewks94]

They don't advertise as a gaming network though that's the thing. Gamers should be on something better than a BT connection more dedicated for throughput/hops e.t.c.

So you're saying, that if you only had the choice between the two above, using the tracert provided, Sky is the obvious choice?

 

[Grewks94]

The lag etc might be coming from other players though and without knowing what route they take it's hard to tell. Unless all the gamers are within the UK? Do any of the ISPs traffic shape for gaming?

The game is hosted on dedicated servers.

The above two traceroutes are which BT and Sky take from my area to the dedicated servers in question.

Sky and Virgin both take virtually the same 2 hops to get out of their network, suggesting that their network is shaped pretty well.

Whereas BT always take twice the hops.

 

[Grewks94]

Well it’s 16 hops on a very expensive Virgin leased line...

Link?

 

[Grewks94]

1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms *.*.*.*
2 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms *.*.*.*
3 3 ms 2 ms 2 ms manc-lam-4-tenge13-3500.network.virginmedia.net [82.15.205.18]
4 2 ms 2 ms 2 ms manc-core-2a-xe-111-0.network.virginmedia.net [213.104.242.25]
5 * * * Request timed out.
6 9 ms 9 ms 9 ms 86.85-254-62.static.virginmediabusiness.co.uk [62.254.85.86]
7 9 ms 9 ms 9 ms 213.46.175.250
8 9 ms 9 ms 9 ms ae13.mpr3.lhr3.uk.zip.zayo.com [64.125.30.54]
9 10 ms 10 ms 10 ms ae14.mpr1.lhr23.uk.zip.zayo.com [64.125.30.173]
10 11 ms 10 ms 10 ms 94.31.42.254.ipyx-076520-zyo.above.net [94.31.42.254]
11 * * * Request timed out.
12 12 ms 12 ms 12 ms 134.213.131.251
13 12 ms 12 ms 12 ms corec-coreb.lon5.rackspace.net [162.13.232.14]
14 13 ms 12 ms 12 ms coreb-core6.lon3.rackspace.net [164.177.137.25]
15 12 ms 12 ms 12 ms aggr331b-4-aggr331a-4.lon3.rackspace.net [31.222.133.163]
16 12 ms 12 ms 12 ms 134.213.37.197

Are you using two routers?

I've seen numerous people have issues with the Zayo servers aswell especially with packet loss.