[afnog] monitoring my ISP

[Sunday Adekunle Folayan]

Geert Jan de Groot wrote:
> On Wed, 16 Aug 2006 09:16:33 -1000  "Scott Weeks" wrote:
>
>> Perhaps we might list those things that help him to prove
>> poor access.
>> Can others add to the list?
>>
>
> Try mtr http://www.bitwizard.nl/mtr/
> This might help tell you where packet loss happens.
> But do note that the return path may be asymetric
> the farther you go out
> (and there's the thing with DVB downlinks and all that..)
>
> Hint: don't keep mtr running at full speed for extended periods
> as it can eat a fair bit of bandwith by itself.
>
> You must first define what you mean with "poor access":
> - Slow downloads? Slow uploads?
> - HTTP? FTP? other protocols
>   (think transparent caches and other evil)
> - Packet loss? Do small vs long packets differ?
> - Is the local loop to the ISP error-free (check especially wireless!)
>   Always check with long packets (8K plus) too.
> - Do you know and understand _all_ the traffic on your local loop,
>   i.e. no unexpected P2P clients, skype, multimedia?
> - Poor DNS performance? What does you own DNS look like,
>   forward and reverse (there's a staggering amount of broken
>   DNS setups out there, and they may hamper a reverse lookup)
>
> Also, does your ISP have an FTP server you can use for testing,
> and what throughput do you get to that box, in both directions if possible?
>
> Hint: a precies description of exactly what the performance
> problem is will likely get a long way to getting it fixed
In addition to all the possibilities above ... International bandwidth
costs a fortune in Africa. Please note that some ISPs in Africa do
traffic shaping deliberately to differentiate service levels, especially
for customers who do not want to pay much. Dropped packets is a not
necessarily a reflection of the quality of a link, but may be the policy
of the ISP. Does your SLA talk about this?

To catch a monkey, you may need to pretend to be a monkey :-) In the
final analysis, to prove that you are being cheated, you may end up
amassing so much arsenal to give your current provider a run for their
money, that you will become an ISP.

Good luck, and hope your hair stays black at the end!!

Sunday.



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