Aether Data Center Not allowing Me to Connect

Everyone really needs to calm down. I understand that you guys can't log in, but getting upset over it won't help in the situation. We'll just have to wait until the problem is solved.

I'm just more upset that there's no more official comment than "Yeah there's a problem" I'd like them to ya know say hey sorry we know there's a problem, we're working to resolve it, in the mean time here's how you can talk to your friends that CAN get on the server you mainly use. Or something like that. I mean I just would like SE to acknowledge that it's customers are upset and try to issue some reassurances.

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Originally Posted by MrWolf

I'd like them to ya know say hey sorry we know there's a problem, we're working to resolve it

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They cannot work to resolve it, it is not their problem.

As per the information they posted already:

Quote:

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Players utilizing certain ISPs are unable to log in or become disconnected from the game.

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That's not on them to fix...that's the ISPs.

There's also nothing more they can do to update it's on your ISPs to route around Level 3 or L3 to fix it.

I decided to give wtfast a go, and it worked! I'm finally ingame!

tracert to Behemoth.

Here's the problem;

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8 38 ms 30 ms 30 ms bbr01spbgsc-bue-4.spbg.sc.charter.com [96.34.2.50]
9 35 ms 36 ms 32 ms bbr01gnvlsc-bue-800.gnvl.sc.charter.com [96.34.0.134]
10 * * * Request timed out.
11 300 ms 60 ms 60 ms ae-10-10.car2.Montreal2.Level3.net [4.69.153.86]
12 61 ms 60 ms 61 ms ORMUCO-COMM.car2.Montreal2.Level3.net [4.59.178.74]
13 * * * Request timed out.
14 81 ms 66 ms 60 ms 192.34.76.2

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Hop 10 is the one from Charter to Level 3. Hop 13 is level 3 to Ormuco. Hop 14 is an Ormuco server, and then hops after that are SE servers.

This tells me that Level 3 is not playing nice with anyone since ISPs and Ormuco are both seeing requests time out on the hops to/from Level 3.

Isn't it time that SE fired Level 3 for being crap?

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Originally Posted by worldofneil

They cannot work to resolve it, it is not their problem.

As per the information they posted already:



That's not on them to fix...that's the ISPs.

There's also nothing more they can do to update it's on your ISPs to route around Level 3 or L3 to fix it.

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According to Comcast it's not on their end they say it's on the SE end so we all just get the big run around. I mean SE doesn't have to be working directly on the issue. Like they could be finding someone else other than Level 3 to route through.

Use wtfast, it works! I'm finally playing "*squees*. Course now i need to go to bed.

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Originally Posted by Eirthi

Use wtfast, it works! I'm finally playing "*squees*. Course now i need to go to bed.

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Except if you're on PS4

I have had a version of this off and on for 2 years all. Basically your ISP is routing your connection from your house, to the servers in Canada, using a canoe with holes in it. Hence you get crap connection and really bad latency (20 seconds +) or can't connect. Use WTFast, which has a 2 week free trial if you have not used it before. SE can't really fix it, they can only yell at the 3rd party vendors passing our data back and forth who are messing things up.

https://www.wtfast.com/

It works. You should all complain to your ISP to get a credit to pay for the service since they won't pay someone to properly do the service we are paying for.

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Originally Posted by Jordok

I have had a version of this off and on for 2 years all. Basically your ISP is routing your connection from your house, to the servers in Canada, using a canoe with holes in it. Hence you get crap connection and really bad latency (20 seconds +) or can't connect. Use WTFast, which has a 2 week free trial if you have not used it before. SE can't really fix it, they can only yell at the 3rd party vendors passing our data back and forth who are messing things up.

https://www.wtfast.com/

It works. You should all complain to your ISP to get a credit to pay for the service since they won't pay someone to properly do the service we are paying for.

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It only works for PC though. PS4 users can't use wtfast

Except even some trying the WTFast are still having issues getting into the game, or get booted out after a couple minutes of play time. :/

I went to sleep logged back in last night, but the game has an uncanny knack of 90k-ing me while I sleep. Wonder if the DDoS on Level 3 is still an issue now.

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Originally Posted by MrWolf

According to Comcast it's not on their end they say it's on the SE end so we all just get the big run around.

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Technically it's not Comcast, but it's not Square Enix either, it's Level 3. Comcast causes the issues because they are routing you via Level 3 AND they have the ability to route a different way/not via Level 3, but as you can see they don't want to.

I unfortunately suspect it'd be near impossible to get hold of a Comcast network engineer who can actually approve/do that for you, even though technically the company could do this, at least temporarily. This is why people using the VPN software are able to connect again because they're altering their routes to not use Level 3.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MrWolf

I mean SE doesn't have to be working directly on the issue. Like they could be finding someone else other than Level 3 to route through.

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Not sure how many times I can say this, but Square Enix do not choose your routing. Your ISP does. Final Fantasy XIV does not connect to your computer, you are connecting to them. You're the one instigating the connection, your ISP is then routing you to the destination and this route being picked is with Level 3 which is where the problems are.

Been on for an hour now with WTFast

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Originally Posted by Jordok

https://www.wtfast.com/

It works. You should all complain to your ISP to get a credit to pay for the service since they won't pay someone to properly do the service we are paying for.

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Interestingly I've never had different or improved results using wtfast; in the past when I have had connection issues on 14 it has never been related to my ISP (even when SE has said it was an overall ISP issue, or when Level 3 was a supposed culprit). Most of the players that have ISP side problems in 14 have Comcast, which I don't. When I have issues during the same time the Comcast customers do it is generally indicative of larger issues. That's not to say it can't be a Level 3 issue, since as someone else mentioned, a huge portion of ISPs in the US route through them; but if it were Level 3 issues wtfast should always solve the issue, and for me it never has.

So after doing some digging this is what I found on the current situation. http://downdetector.com/status/level3. If you go down to the comments a guy who I'm guessing in an employee for a Level 3 data center is commenting the following about the outage.

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Just got an email update: 10/27/2016 17:55:40 GMT - Field Services have arrived on site and have shot the fiber. A fault condition has been located 4.1 miles from the testing site. The Outside Plant team has been engaged to assist with the investigations.

10/27/2016 17:33:37 GMT - The ATS team has isolated a possible fiber cut or faulty amplifier in the Level 3 network. Level 3 Field Services are en route to investigate further. The estimated time of arrival is 17:45 GMT.

10/27/2016 16:54:04 GMT - A suspected fiber cut in Houston, TX is impacting IP and Unprotected Transport services. The Transport NOC has engaged Level 3 Field Services and the Level 3 Advanced Technical Support (ATS) team to assist with the investigations. Please be advised that updates for this event will be relayed at a minimum of hourly unless otherwise noted. The information conveyed hereafter is associated to live troubleshooting effort and as the discovery process evolves through to service resolution, ticket closure, or post incident review, details may evolve.

*** CASCADED EXTERNAL NOTES 27-Oct-2016 18:52:18 GMT From CASE: xxxxxxxx - Event
Field Services and the Outside Plant team continue troubleshooting to further isolate the fault condition. The estimated time to repair is not yet known

*** CASCADED EXTERNAL NOTES 27-Oct-2016 19:56:26 GMT From CASE: xxxxxxxx - Event
Field Services have reported that the fault condition has not yet been isolated. Troubleshooting procedures continue at this time.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by MrWolf

According to Comcast it's not on their end they say it's on the SE end so we all just get the big run around. I mean SE doesn't have to be working directly on the issue. Like they could be finding someone else other than Level 3 to route through.

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I hope you realize that it's Comcast that chooses to route your traffic through Level 3.
There are other routes they could send the traffic through.
Something I believe they already do, depending on what region you live in, as I've seen Comcast users on all day without issues.

Not only Comcast uses Level 3 when trying to connect to SE's servers.
AT&T uses them, and, as Kosmos said, so does Charter.

But SE probably wouldn't just point the finger at Level 3 directly. So they use the blanket "certain/several ISPs" instead.

SE isn't at fault here for the connectivity issues.
However, I am still miffed about their slow response time. Took them nearly 10 hours to even make a mention of this. For that, I place the blame solely on them.

I have at&t 2 n they need to hurry up n fix the problem

Just saw this Notice was just put up

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We are continuing to look into the ongoing technical difficulties wherein players utilizing certain Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are unable to log in to North American data center Worlds, or are disconnected from the server.

We apologize for the inconvenience this is causing our players. We anticipate that it may take some time before these issues are resolved, so we ask you for your patience and understanding as this issue is resolved in a timely manner.

We will provide more information as the situation develops.

[Date & Time]
From Oct. 26, 2016 9:30 p.m. (PDT)

[Issue Details]
・Players utilizing certain ISPs are unable to log in or are getting disconnected from the game.

[Cause]
Connectivity Issues

[Affected Worlds]
All North American data center Worlds:
・Adamantoise
・Balmung
・Behemoth
・Brynhildr
・Cactuar
・Coeurl
・Diabolos
・Excalibur
・Exodus
・Faerie
・Famfrit
・Gilgamesh
・Goblin
・Hyperion
・Jenova
・Lamia
・Leviathan
・Malboro
・Mateus
・Midgardsormr
・Sargatanas
・Siren
・Ultros
・Zalera

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Only works for PC but meh that's the drawback of using consoles. No quick fix just time to kill till is working in proper order. Time to just play with my android emulator. Gotta catch'em ALL!

Ok so, I understand that there are problems with the data center and routing and things not knowing where they're going, and being nuked like a burrito, but what I haven't seen anyone explain yet is why we can log in with an alt on our regular server, or create an alt on a different server and be able to log in and out repeatedly with that, and yet not be able to log in with our main?

I'm not sure exactly how that can be caused by a routing issue?

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Originally Posted by Shara_Darkwillow

Ok so, I understand that there are problems with the data center and routing and things not knowing where they're going, and being nuked like a burrito, but what I haven't seen anyone explain yet is why we can log in with an alt on our regular server, or create an alt on a different server and be able to log in and out repeatedly with that, and yet not be able to log in with our main?

I'm not sure exactly how that can be caused by a routing issue?

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Is it possible at all that your connection get routed differently for a different character?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shara_Darkwillow

Ok so, I understand that there are problems with the data center and routing and things not knowing where they're going, and being nuked like a burrito, but what I haven't seen anyone explain yet is why we can log in with an alt on our regular server, or create an alt on a different server and be able to log in and out repeatedly with that, and yet not be able to log in with our main?

I'm not sure exactly how that can be caused by a routing issue?

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If your ISP is trying to route to SE's NA servers, and is using Level 3 (which most major ISPs in the US use Level 3 when trying to connect to SE's servers), there will be connectivity issues regardless on if you try to log in on your main or an alt. Because your ISP is still trying to route through Level 3, which has been noted to be currently having issues, and the connection will more than likely suffer packet loss (causing disconnects), or just time out completely (as it did when Kosmos did their trace).

If your ISP uses a different route, and bypasses Level 3, then there is a good chance that you can manage to get into the game.

Level 3 is the issue here. Bypass it, and you can get in. This is easier to do on PCs than it is consoles, however. So while the PC users can us WTFast or whatever to bypass Level 3 completely, console users cannot.

With regards to the alt/main login issues, someone else mentioned that unless you have alts at end-game or on par with your main, your lvl 60 completely maxed out main will have far more data that needs to be loaded than, for example, a level 15 alt. There's a higher chance for packet loss when trying to connect with a character with that much data, resulting in the disconnects.

For you guys not able to use wtfast try mudfish http://mudfish.net/ It works and I believe it will cost you like $3-$4 for like 25 GB of traffic It's dirt cheap and ffxiv doesn't use much data when in game also there are vpn that you can use on PS4 that will solve your problem until Level 3 gets their act together.

The follow up message from SE has satisfied me for the most part. I did decide to start a new char on the JA servers it's just a pain losing the 195 days of work I put into my character. Well not loosing it just not being able to continue to work on it.

Just got off the phone posing as a comcast rep asking about the issues with routing and connection. Gentleman on phone said there are currently no issues remaining and that georgia was the only one to have an issue and it was resolved in one minute. Seems like these guys know their stuff and resolve things fast. Definetly not level 3 issue

should i disconnect my internet or something I got in last night and now Its doing that 2002 thing again is anyone else having this problem today

as of now they have yet to locate the fiber that has been damaged and can take from a couple hours if its an aerial fiber or possible a whole day if its buried and takes a while to find. Thats the status update as of now, FF wont tell you any of this they will just wait and find out when its fixed then state the issues have been fixed sorry for the trouble :D

I just got on on diablos on my alt on diablos .couldn't get on mainBut hey I couldn't get on either 4 am est so w/e they both 60. Time to play

Was Disconnected last night with the 2002 error, couldn't connect to the Primal data server. Same thing today, won't connect to the primal server with 2002 errors. I was able to create and play on a JPN server but that's about it. Tried the WTFast as someone suggested and I was about to connect to the Data Server but none of my characters showed up and was again greeted with the 2002 error.

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Originally Posted by Timmyftw

People seem to be blaming Level3 communications. Maybe they got ddos'd so badly they dunno which way is up.
Bet you could test other servers by them right now and get the same results.

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Originally Posted by Ifrinne

would the NA datacenter be in a way connected to Level 3 then? cause EU and JP work fine as for what i tested 30min ago

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Silverbane

There are reports that this is a problem with backbone internet provider Level 3 Communications.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ifrinne

then it would still be on SE's side. cause i dont know/do anything with the level 3 thing. long words short. lets just hope they solve it soon. wherever the problem is. i dont even know about this level 3 in europe.

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Originally Posted by ThomasArzi

I've never had connection issues until after 10:30pm EST and it's now 6:05am EST and still can't log on. Not my internet or router, it's their servers.

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Originally Posted by Geist

Yes, the datacenter is connected to the Internet through Level 3's infrastructure.
Ran a traceroute towards Excalibur just for confirmation. Take a good look at those timeouts upon accessing their network:

ORMUCO is where the NA datacenter is physically based. The IP listed in step #21 is the one associated with Excalibur.

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Originally Posted by Horsefarmer

Erm, so this is a bit odd.
I'm from sweden, couldn't connect to the Aether Data Center, figured i should try turning on my VPN and connect to a server in the US.

I actually got in, lol

EDIT: Tried turning off the VPN and connect again to Aether Data center, diden't work. Turned it back on, could connect without any issues.

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Originally Posted by ReplicaX

Level3 is well known to have poor tech response times.

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Originally Posted by Niifreya

Yeah it seems like it is quite tied with the Level3 issues plus to think that a DDoS attack just recently happened and affected the Level 3 infrastructure could be most likely it too.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Illuvetar

It appears to do with a core breach of Level3. Look up Level3 outage. Seems people who are using their services all over the world are experiencing this. It isn't just FF14

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Originally Posted by DarkDepravity

ISPs in a wide definiton is a lot more than the local company connecting your home to the internet, it's a lot of different points along the route. The different data centres are in different physical locations, so there are different connection points along the way and your data traffic take wildly different routes (and have different ending points). It's like a traffic jam in San Francisco being highly unlikely to affect your drive along the English countryside. Assuming you're not heading through San Francisco.

(Using a VPN solution like WTFast that others have tried and managed to get in through would in this particular instance being comparable to taking a tunnel to a slightly different location first, then approaching your destination from there, circumventing the traffic jam)

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rowde

Update on my alt experiment...

Was able to complete the level one MSQ quest, attune to all the aetheryte around the city (Ul'dah), and then ran all the way to Mor Dhona with my level 1 character (I even died once on the way) to get my black swimsuit.

I then logged out of this char and attempt to reconnect on my main char and it did not work, still go error codes.

At that point I attempted to switch back to the alt I had just created and ran to Mor Dhona... error codes.

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Originally Posted by worldofneil

This seems to happen every few months when Level3 screw up and it's always the people who use ISPs that route via Level3 that have these issues...



The ISP chooses the routing to the destination. It's them that chooses to route via Level3 etc. Square Enix has no control over how you get to their servers or what route your ISP sent you on to get there.



SE don't have anything to make up for... their servers are up. The people who are unable to play are being routed (by their ISP) through bad network paths.



Because those servers are located on a completely different continent. Your route to get to those servers will be completely different.

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Originally Posted by Nekodar

There ARE multiple routes to the servers.
YOUR ISP just happens to route everything through the one that is affected.

There are plenty of european and american players that are completely unaffected playing on Aether right now.

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Sigh.. so I am still waiting for my request for data dictionary or a CDM from square.
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...e-USING-an-API
However, before I head out to my class I did take a broad look at the data provided by ddos sites like http://downdetector.com just to see that going on right now, and I think reached a different conclusion then you all.

I want to clarify something. The reason you cannot connect is not only because that level 3 is being DDOsed and normally game connection the datacenter is through level 3. Its a bit more complicated... sigh...

Let me explain and show you the data I found, so you can draw your own conclusions event though this is only very, very broad metric or broad look at what is happening.
However, I am going to have to type a little fast because I have a class in 15.

So I looked at the DDOS data found on http://downdetector.com (http://imgur.com/a/OzKTX)

Initially, I made the same assumption that you guys did about level 3. So thanks Also thank you Nekodar, Illuvetar, Horsefarmer, ReplicaX, DarkDepravity, worldofneil, Geist, and Greg75043 for your comments as you help me achieve a better understanding of the data. In fact, Geist I really do apprechiate the trace you posted as it confirmed that assumption initially. Contary to my initial assumptions I found that just believing level 3 being DDOSed is the sole cause, only accounts for one example (literally row) in the data that is one users attempt to connect to square. Here is the data:

The problem started around 3:40 AM UT/GMT by the orginal poster. I have aligned the images, so you can compare them in your time zone using GMT time and thus with your experiences.

http://i.imgur.com/mqKiTor.png
http://i.imgur.com/cpK1tCR.png
http://i.imgur.com/0RxJtMI.png
http://i.imgur.com/rFBp2KI.png
http://i.imgur.com/klEA3Kw.png
http://i.imgur.com/fNYB0rn.png
http://i.imgur.com/vdzevPA.png


http://i.imgur.com/MiaHzaJ.png
http://i.imgur.com/ltECgKJ.png
http://i.imgur.com/bAGcGoU.png
http://i.imgur.com/YFdGOMv.png
http://i.imgur.com/g14xjh0.png

There is an issue of timing. Now remember that the problem started around 3:40 AM UT/GMT today as noted by the orginal poster. However, Level 3 was not acted until 13:00 UT/GMT (or 9:00 am in the picture). The data and timing of the ISP issues in FFXIV only correlate weakly (40%) with the DDOS data we have on Level 3. In fact, they do not correlate very strongly with anything Comcast seems to have the strongest correlation at 68% with the timing of the FFXIV server problems; however, you might notice that AT&T and the other major providers are all having issues at the same time.

Therefore, I believe that The FFXIV login and connection problems started with a DDOS attack on Comcast and the other major American internet providers. Later another different DDOS attack was performed on level 3 when that other DDOS was widening down. Currently the DDOS on level 3 is the current reason people cannot log in. The timing of Geist ip trace matches this conclusion because the ip trace was run when the attack was switch to focus solely on level 3. However, I don't believe in coincendences of two DDOS affecting the same services occurring back to back....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Greg75043

Well I checked with work it is another DYN, and DNS attack. Like the one that shut down Netflix, and Twitter a couple days ago. It is not effecting all ISP atm.

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Thus, it is my personal conclusion that Greg75043 hit the nail on the head and this is a broader DDOS attack across the internet itself using the internet of things... again. This is what the data is telling me broadly speaking.

So if you have any smart technology in your house... that is not a smart phone I would encourage sending it back or turning if off ASAP in addition googling WTFast and using as a bandaid measure.

P.S. Unplug and turn off all TVs, microwaves, airconditioning systems if you can. Also turn off all cameras as cameras were the primary method of the last DDOS.

Wont be too much longer till it hits 24 hours / day of this

I knew it was going to be this way

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JadenStarr

Just got off the phone posing as a comcast rep asking about the issues with routing and connection. Gentleman on phone said there are currently no issues remaining and that georgia was the only one to have an issue and it was resolved in one minute. Seems like these guys know their stuff and resolve things fast. Definetly not level 3 issue

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They may sound like they know their stuff, but that is not the sane as actually knowing their stuff.

Well it's still out for me. Gave me a small sliver of hope when I first logged in. Everything went smoothly and then 2002 again.

Still down as of 1:30 am EST. In Georgia, on Comcast. PS4. Hearing about workarounds for PC, what about PS4 users?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Skyrmon

Sigh.. so I am still waiting for my request for data dictionary or a CDM from square.
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...e-USING-an-API
However, before I head out to my class I did take a broad look at the data provided by ddos sites like http://downdetector.com just to see that going on right now, and I think reached a different conclusion then you all.

I want to clarify something. The reason you cannot connect is not only because that level 3 is being DDOsed and normally game connection the datacenter is through level 3. Its a bit more complicated... sigh...

Let me explain and show you the data I found, so you can draw your own conclusions event though this is only very, very broad metric or broad look at what is happening.
However, I am going to have to type a little fast because I have a class in 15.

So I looked at the DDOS data found on http://downdetector.com (http://imgur.com/a/OzKTX)

Initially, I made the same assumption that you guys did about level 3. So thanks Also thank you Nekodar, Illuvetar, Horsefarmer, ReplicaX, DarkDepravity, worldofneil, Geist, and Greg75043 for your comments as you help me achieve a better understanding of the data. In fact, Geist I really do apprechiate the trace you posted as it confirmed that assumption initially. Contary to my initial assumptions I found that just believing level 3 being DDOSed is the sole cause, only accounts for one example (literally row) in the data that is one users attempt to connect to square. Here is the data:

The problem started around 3:40 AM UT/GMT by the orginal poster. I have aligned the images, so you can compare them in your time zone using GMT time and thus with your experiences.

http://i.imgur.com/mqKiTor.png
http://i.imgur.com/cpK1tCR.png
http://i.imgur.com/0RxJtMI.png
http://i.imgur.com/rFBp2KI.png
http://i.imgur.com/klEA3Kw.png
http://i.imgur.com/fNYB0rn.png
http://i.imgur.com/vdzevPA.png


http://i.imgur.com/MiaHzaJ.png
http://i.imgur.com/ltECgKJ.png
http://i.imgur.com/bAGcGoU.png
http://i.imgur.com/YFdGOMv.png
http://i.imgur.com/g14xjh0.png

There is an issue of timing. Now remember that the problem started around 3:40 AM UT/GMT today as noted by the orginal poster. However, Level 3 was not acted until 13:00 UT/GMT (or 9:00 am in the picture). The data and timing of the ISP issues in FFXIV only correlate weakly (40%) with the DDOS data we have on Level 3. In fact, they do not correlate very strongly with anything Comcast seems to have the strongest correlation at 68% with the timing of the FFXIV server problems; however, you might notice that AT&T and the other major providers are all having issues at the same time.

Therefore, I believe that The FFXIV login and connection problems started with a DDOS attack on Comcast and the other major American internet providers. Later another different DDOS attack was performed on level 3 when that other DDOS was widening down. Currently the DDOS on level 3 is the current reason people cannot log in. The timing of Geist ip trace matches this conclusion because the ip trace was run when the attack was switch to focus solely on level 3. However, I don't believe in coincendences of two DDOS affecting the same services occurring back to back....



Thus, it is my personal conclusion that Greg75043 hit the nail on the head and this is a broader DDOS attack across the internet itself using the internet of things... again. This is what the data is telling me broadly speaking.

So if you have any smart technology in your house... that is not a smart phone I would encourage sending it back or turning if off ASAP in addition googling WTFast and using as a bandaid measure.

P.S. Unplug and turn off all TVs, microwaves, airconditioning systems if you can. Also turn off all cameras as cameras were the primary method of the last DDOS.

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How long do I keep everything unplugged though?

i take it still cant get in the game

Its 7:39 PM EST on Oct 27th for me and I cannot log in. Keep getting 2002 error.

What was PC work around?

Same

Northeast. Gilgamesh. PC. 2002 and kicked every time.