Packet loss

Ok the last 5-6-7? days i been experiencing packet loss so wierd, when i trace/ping it never show any.

In SL i can get 1-9% packet loss regulary, sometimes 15-25% , i still trace and still i show no loss from me

Is the sims having packet losses?, right now im standing still and i have 4-12% packet loss, can be annoying when i try to build.


*in this computer*
3com Etherlink xl 10/100 pci
Marvel Yukon 88e800/8003/8010 Pci gigabit controller [buildt in]

Im a update freak so i have everything updated contstantly ,
new bio, drivers, ect.
The Yukon i had trouble with before,
so i dont usually use it, even tho i have a gb lan

If a traceroute shows no data loss when SL does, I suspect a program is specifically blocking Second Life. This usually means a firewall/internet security program has gone awry. See:

http://secondlife.com/tiki/tiki-index.php?page=TechConfigFirewall

If a firewall is blocking SL why can you connect at all?

I am asking because I am having packet loss now for 4 or 5 days. SL has failed in a number of ways since 12-03 when I started but packet loss has not been an issue. I am not aware of having done anything to cause this. So, I am just looking around various places to see if I can get an idea of what might cause my new packet loss problem.

Wouldn't it seem that a properly functioning firewall that was blocking SL would do something other that just produce some packet loss?

It can cause packet loss by only partially blocking SL traffic, leading to SL's conclusion that you're losing packets, because... well, you are, even though they may be getting from the SL servers to your firewall.

In contrast, a traceroute uses an entirely different protocol, on different ports, and won't be blocked. Suezanne, did your problem start with the last update? Before then? What firewall software are you running on your computer? Do you have a hardware firewall, or a router between your computer and your modem?

Does SL work fine under any circumstances, or do you just get continual packet loss?

If your running anything wireless if might be your problem.............pocketloss for me been causing me problrems for weeks now.

I normally have two computers networked with hub sharing the internet connection using ICS.

I generally have the WinXP firewall turned off. Turning it on doesn't seem to affect anything I do.

Isn't a firewall supposed to just plain block access as opposed to detecting it after it starts and then stopping it? In other words, isn't a firewall supposed to be like an off switch for connections which aren't allowed, and like a light switch keep the circuit from being completed, so that you don't have the lights coming on, being detected by the lightswitch and being shut off? Wouldn't there be something wrong with a firewall that allowed the connection to almost work completely but only stopped 5 percent of the packets from arriving properly?

Firewalls are not my area of expertise.

Yesterday I redid the connection so that I am connected directly to the cable modem's ethernet port, and only have one computer connected to the internet. The packet loss persists.

The packet loss is not consistent, it varies dependent on how much SL is trying to send. It will go up when I open my inventory, or when when i enter an area for the first time.

The packet loss did not start before 1.6.8. I didn't notice it start immediately upon installing 1.6.8 but it was occurring shortly thereafter.

Pingplotter can be set to send UDP packets, although I don't know that truly emulates a real UDP stream such as SL uses.

I have switched ethernet cables from the cable modem to the computer's ethernet port; that made no change.

I have no wireless networking equipment of any sort.

My ISP is roadrunner, the cable modem is a Motorola Surfboard 4200, the network interface connected directly to the cable modem now is an onboard nvidia nforce.

Changing the bandwidth speed doesn't help. I have untill now always been able to keep the bandwidth slider all the way with no problem. The packet loss is not dependent on the bandwidth setting.

I can't give the signal levels and such from the cable modem because i am at work, but I believe when I looked at them this morning they were in the OK range.

Well, judging from your description, you probably don't have a firewall problem, what with you not running one and all.

However, yes, a firewall can block some ports while leaving others open. Think of it like the pipes connected to your sink. You need both the hot and cold pipes to function correctly in order to be able to wash your hands, but if only one or the other is on, you're going to either get burned, or be really cold.

Out of curiousity, are you actually having problems, or does SL just claim to be losing packets on the Ctrl-Shift-1 graph? How many packets has SL actually lost? (see "Help" -> "About Second Life", under "Packets Lost:"

Running Sl for about 1 minute, 40 packets were lost, .5%.

As of 3 minutes (just guessing on the time), 89 packets lost, .4%, and I lost proper contact with the server, thus giving me the bouncies and requiring restarting.

The packet loss shown in the SL stats display will spike much higher, like 5 to 10 percent, when loading new terrain, objects, avatars, etc.

It does seem to be impairing performance in SL.

------------------------------- some time passes -----------------------

I deleted the results of a ping plotter test, the packet loss problem seems to be stopped, for the present time.

I changed one value, the RWIN value, to 29,000 or so, on recomendation from Broadband Reports, and I changed the network controller from Full Autonegotiate to Force Half Duplex 10 mps, which is the lowest setting possible, but still quite fast enough for internet transmissions. I'm not real inclined to conduct scientific tests to find out which if either was the cause of the packet loss going away.

I just went to The Edge, which was quite crowded, and while there were a few packets lost, it was reported on the Help About Sl reading as 0 percent. Performance seemed as well as one could expect in an avatar and script dense setting.

Now if only it will stay that way, I will try to keep from fiddling with things.

Of course, something defective somewhere could have been repaired at the same time as I made my two changes.

as mentioned the past 5-6 days ,in horseshoe sim, ive has huge packet loss. prior to that i rarely had any packet loss. now ive gone to almost a constant number of lost packets. in an effort to help ive stopped my video url and removed 4 of my 11 active scripts. this had a very slight impact on my packet loss. but still loose packets on a very regular basis. the sim looks healthy on the cntl shft 1 menu. having 15-24 fps, 1200-2500 sim fps and less than 100 active items in sim and less than 170 actie scripts in sim. both time dialation and sim cpu seem to be normal as well. ive roamed around my sim to look for notorious bandwith killers like the field of dreams script .. but me and all nieghbors are running normal low lag scripts. my isp and router connection has not changed nor has my other setting(no firewall hardware or software, no updates other than yours..ect) ive also ran around doing a texure scan .. everyone seems to be useing sim friendly textures. However, one thing that has changed is my huge packet loss.. which has caused me a range of problems from: unsent says, vanishing placed items, building "snapback" ect. i just assumed it would all get "ironed out" in the next update.. but i saw this post and thought id let you know

Don't worry, running scripts or video on your land won't contribute to packet loss, though they may cause your client to need to download more data, some of which may be lost.

Has the packet loss been limited to Horseshoe bay? Do other sims run better? When you select Help > About Second Life, what does it say for "Packets Lost"?

Are you on a wireless network? Is it new? What is your ping time?

I said I wouldn't investigate what made my packet loss go away, but I lied. The packet loss occurs with the onboard network interface controller set to Full Duplex and goes away when it set to Half Duplex; it is quite repeatable.

So perhaps people with packet loss problems who are using an ethernet connection to the internet, either directly or though a network, might want to try setting their network interface controller to Half Duplex if it is on Full Duplex or Auto-Negotiate.

Does that sound plausible, Catherine?

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Don't worry, running scripts or video on your land won't contribute to packet loss, though they may cause your client to need to download more data, some of which may be lost
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are you serious!!!!! "some of which may be lost" LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!! <--- exuse me isnt that packet loss??? "a loss of a packet of data" lol whether client side or host/server side, packet loss is packet loss. and if you ask me(which you prob wont, its a hosting problem) anyway, yes its only in horseshoe.. it is possable that some other sims are doing it as well. i dont exactly go sim to sim to see
ohhhhh... by the way you want to see a really messed up sim go to Wilmont and run a few tests!!!! holy cow!! poooor wilmont and before you say its the residents ..lol i got a linden there in person who said "wow, there is something wrong here. and its not the resedents" so when i say there is something wrong ..thats exacly whats going on

when i say that turning off music and scripts helped, THATS WHAT I MEAN!!! ive been a trouble shooter and beta tester(not this game) for years. this post wasnt meant to even be answered again by me ..lol.. but that coment got me laughing good laugh(throw out a full force feild of dreams and let the packet loss begin..lol). i just wanted to conferm that someone else was indeed having the same or simalar problem. nothing has changed on my network, isp, or computer. i will log on tonight to get exact figures and post them in this fourum as an edit <--- no need to bump this to the top again by me.

ive had "little quirks" happen to me since playing, i know quite well that SL is a masterpiece in progress. in the past ive only contacted someone when i had a REPEATABLE/REPRODUCEABLE senario. and have indeed been lucky enough to work directly with a linden to iron out the wrinkles.

wireless network!!!! as if!!(thats a big no) as i said NOTHING on my end has changed.

i am however interested in the half duplex/ full duplex thing...i think ill give it a try ..ill post those results as well.



Geometry Ninja


Join Date: Dec 1969 <----------PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Location: Undisclosed.
Posts: 1,834

The percentage will remain the same. More packets lost does not mean an increase in the rate of packet loss.

If the problem's limited to a single sim, yes, it's probably that sim.
Wait, is this seriously happening? Isn't Field of Dreams a particle script? Am I thinking of the correct script?

That means I've been here a long time, and the Lindens have never set the date correctly since it broke. There are a few people with the same problem.

Yeah, I've definitely seen things like that happen before, though I'll admit, not recently. What chipset is your network card?

Thili, did you ever get to the root of your problem? What were the problems you were having with your gigabit ethernet connection?

well... 2 things..
first,
my second post was a bit sharp of tongue.^^(i am apologizing mostly to Catherine Omega, who it seems has been a large help to SL for a VERY long time. after doing a bit of noseing around i found that we all owe you a huge debt of graditude for your exhaustive work to better SL. (i saw the 1969 and thought the worst)) it was frustrationg to read some of the responses to the posts and get the impression that "the user" was at fault. i am and have been a total computer geek since computers hit the consumer market(way before radio shacks tandys..lol). i know my computer inside and out right down to the transistors and what data is on which HD sectors. i simply wanted someome to understand and belive that something has changed for the worse in my sim and from what some of my friends are saying in thier sim too. we had not made any changes to our computers or networks other than updating to the next version of SL.

second,
my sim and surrounding sims seem to be more stable tonight..

i was still getting a bit of packet loss so i tried the duplexing settings .. i was able to get better client results by using the "100mbps full duplex" setting.

when i tried half duplex(10mbps or 100) i found that i had intermitant log offs..

each time i logged on to do a test, i simply stood at my log on point without moveing for 2 min. then took a 3 min walk up and down the road that runs the middle of my sim. obbserved my readings and logged off to try the next setting.

as i said this below was the best i could do.. which is CONSIDERABLY better(ranging into the very good zone..lol) than it had been on previous days.


Second Life 1.6.8

CPU:0.13 micron Intel Pentium 4 (2405 Mhz)
Memory 1024 MB
OS Version: Microsoft Windows XP service pack 2 (build 2600)
openGL Vendor: NVIDIA Corp
Open GL Renderer: GeForce 4 Ti 4600/AGP/SSE2
Open GL Version 1.5.3
Packets Lost: 16/12947 (0.1%) <-- on previous days the number of lost packets was alarmingly high. causing odd querks while playing.