Virgin media issues - ping test?

[ShivP]

Hi all

I have had an issue with VM few weeks, they came out yesterday and replaced the hub but it didn't help. Basically, internet works fine, then cuts for 10-1 minute, then fine, cut, fine, cut. Rinse and repeat. When it works, works great. When it's dead, it's dead.

Is there a way I can do constant ping test with timestamps so I can see when and how long the internet drops? I'm aware of ping -t but one with timestamps would be ideal

Thanks!

 

[ShivP]

Think broadband monitor should do it. Just go on the site and create one

Cool, what website is that sorry?

 

[ShivP]

ThinkBroadband is possibly not going to be granular enough if the periods of packet loss are short, it'll also not work if your WAN IP address changes.

I'd do it with powershell. Open 2 powershell windows.

In the first powershell window issue this command:

ping -t 8.8.8.8 | ForEach {"{0} - {1}" -f (Get-Date),$_} > c:\users\MyUsername\downloads\ping.txt

Change 'MyUsername' to your username, so if your username is ShivP then the command would be:

ping -t 8.8.8.8 | ForEach {"{0} - {1}" -f (Get-Date),$_} > c:\users\ShivP\downloads\ping.txt

Press enter. It'll appear that nothing is happening but look in your Downloads folder and there will be a file called 'ping.txt' which will contain the following:



In the second window issue this command:

ping -t 8.8.8.8 | ForEach {"{0} - {1}" -f (Get-Date),$_}

It does the same thing as in the first powershell window but this time it'll send the output to the screen so you'll effectively be seeing the contents of the logfile. The idea of that is that you know when there's been a period of packet loss. If you're not bothered about seeing it in real time then ignore the second window.

When you want to stop the pings press CTRL C.

Great, that's really useful thanks. I've booked the virgin media bloke in again so hopefully they'll be able to fix it

 

[ShivP]

Are you using the SH in router mode or your own router?
Are your wired devices connected directly to the router using physical cables and not abomination like power line?
When it cuts out, what are you doing?
Is it all wired/wireless devices?
What do the modem logs show?
Presumably you - or someone else on your network - aren't doing something silly like saturating your uplink?

Ping based tools are great for some issues, but realistically at this point it's only going to tell you what you already know. What you actually need to understand is if this is a network issue on the VM side or your side. The answer to that dictates how you proceed.

I have tried Hub 3 in both router mode, and it previously was on modem mode through the USG Pro 4
Ethernet all round through switches. I have plugged my laptop directly into the Hub 3 and the dropouts mimic those on my desktop which goes through 2 switches
When it cuts out, anything. Could even be nothing (eg overnight)
Mix, using ubiquiti access points and ethernet. All devices drop
Not sure where to find modem logs
Yes correct, no change in usage since we started