Lag issue, losing packets.

[Aikaal]

This issue has started since 3rd February 2015. It is recent and I never had lag issues. In fact, I live in Montreal and I'm pretty darn close to the servers.

My ISP is Bell. I tried several DNS, (Bell, automatic, Google one)

Ultimately, if I find the right server with WTFast, I can negate most the lag I get and this is where I feel there is a problem. I live one hour drive away from the servers, I never had lag issues until 3rd February. Even if I play in Gilgamesh and the server is full all the time.

The worst time is when I hunt but it's not an issue. The issue is when I'm doing T13 and my Cure II cancels but triggers the 2.5GCD and suddenly the PLD is dead and it's my fault.

It is also frustrating that I finish a Fire I spell and cast a second Fire I but because the first one didn't launch yet, it cancels my second one but triggers my 2.5 GCD and I'm sitting doing nothing. I've never had this issue before and it really hinders my performances.

I'm issuing this problem here because I know I am not alone.

As far my packet loss test went. I lose average 1 to 4 packets whenever I type the command tracert 184.107.107.176. I'm not got with network, I just know I have an issue somewhere and I don't know how to fix it.

[Raist]

If a VPN improves things, than you have a routing issue your ISP needs to address. A VPN does nothing with the server...it bypasses your ISP's routing policies and also may send you across different nodes entirely in an attempt to get you on a more optimized route. You have a golden opportunity to demonstrate the problem to your ISP... need to capitalize on that. You may improve things for a lot of people if it leads to them fixing a flaky node or updating their peering agreements to clear up problems for their users.

[Aikaal]

The problem is I only have issues with FFXIV. I don't lag for anything else. Hell, I used to stream and play FFXIV with 0 lag. The issue is recent. I still lag with a VPN, it helps lag but I still lose packets with it.

[Raist]

http://www.akamai.com/html/technolog...try/index.html
http://www.akamai.com/html/technolog...b-monitor.html
http://www.akamai.com/html/technolog...b-metrics.html
https://downdetector.com/companies

Internet usage across various industries has been hitting strange peaks off and on. When things get concentrated in the same corridors, it creates extremely high congestion. Many of the lower tiered ISP's that we buy our service from are reluctant to upgrade bandwidth at the exchange points into the larger networks they peer with to get us there. That is why sometimes you get better results with a VPN--it is giving you a shot at getting around bad routing. Results can vary though, since you can still get into a bad segment on the other side of a VPN--why it's important to sometimes check service against the other locations available with the service. Just last week I demonstrated how the NY connection was better than the Montreal one with the same service.

Keep in mind that these corridors are impacted by all internet traffic...not just gaming. Retail, financial, video streaming (including digital broadcast--the cable companies are sending video signals on the same lines carrying internet traffic, just on neighboring channels), social media---it all goes through the same routing equipment and contributes to it all at once. Note also there was recently a big dump of new DLC and new games as well--which has resulted in heightened usage for both the initial downloads and updates, as well as online play service going forward.

Here's some blog posts you may want to read up on if you want to learn more about our infrastructure woes. They're from some of the guys at Level3 (a top tier ISP that handle a major chunk of the traffic going to/from Montreal, amongst other regions). They explain a lot about what is going on:

“Chicken” | A Game Played as a Child and by some ISPs with the Internet
Observations of an Internet Middleman
When the Middleman and ISP are Aligned
Heads ISPs Win, Tails You Lose (And a way to fix it)
Verizon’s Accidental Mea Culpa
“Not” Neutrality?

But, for some quick and dirty visuals of what it all leads up to:

https://downdetector.com/status/comcast-xfinity ----- https://downdetector.com/status/att ------ https://downdetector.com/status/time-warner-cable


Those maps are archived images of services tracked at the downdetector site I linked to up top. The images will get updated periodically throughout the day, so may change when loaded again later. But if you look closely, you can see patterns forming in specific regions. It's all tied into the infrastructure issues discussed in those blog posts.