help me understand WinMTR results

So playing lockstep is pretty awful for me and makes my game stutter/freeze spike very often. I've gone back to playing on predictive and has been running fine without any stuttering or freezes. I have really good internet, 180mb/s download and 12mb/s upload, but I downloaded WinMTR to check out my results to see how they were. Everything looks great except line #5. I've tried various hosts to connect to and line #5 is the same for all of them with no response to host for line #5. So this isn't my connection from my gateway going out to the isp's data center but I'm guessing the ISP's very last gateway/data center before it goes out to wherever it is routed to? I was wondering if this could be my issue with my game not cooperating with lockstep and is there even anything I can do about it? It's not like I can control where my connection gets routed to.

Last edited by dezahp on Jul 21, 2015, 1:09:50 AM
The trace-router technique is not a standardized (atleast not under IPv4) method of discovering information about a path. Rather, it's a hackjob that exploits a legitimate core internet host service (ICMP). The data gathered is neither authoritative nor reliable as hosts often shape or filter ICMP traffic entirely for security reasons. Furthermore, the path discovered is really just an approximation as it's often merely a subset of the actual path taken.

Given this, it should be clear as to why there's no data on the "5th hop" in your results.

There is however one anomaly in your results which can be considered authoritative assuming it's your home router/modem and that is the 1st hop; is it a wireless connection? If so consider switching to wired as network jitter has a proportional effect on simulation jitter in PoE's "lockstep" model (@GGG: jitter-buffer; implement it)
"The problem is there ARE secure netcodes" -- Pewzor
"
Emjayen wrote:
The trace-router technique is not a standardized (atleast not under IPv4) method of discovering information about a path. Rather, it's a hackjob that exploits a legitimate core internet host service (ICMP). The data gathered is neither authoritative nor reliable as hosts often shape or filter ICMP traffic entirely for security reasons. Furthermore, the path discovered is really just an approximation as it's often merely a subset of the actual path taken.

Given this, it should be clear as to why there's no data on the "5th hop" in your results.

There is however one anomaly in your results which can be considered authoritative assuming it's your home router/modem and that is the 1st hop; is it a wireless connection? If so consider switching to wired as network jitter has a proportional effect on simulation jitter in PoE's "lockstep" model (@GGG: jitter-buffer; implement it)


No I'm not on a wireless router. I am wired to my main modem. Just wondering, why would you think it would be my connection to the modem? I don't have any lost packets on the first hop.
Last edited by dezahp on Jul 21, 2015, 1:35:35 PM
Any input would be helpful.
"

No I'm not on a wireless router. I am wired to my main modem. Just wondering, why would you think it would be my connection to the modem? I don't have any lost packets on the first hop.

The unusual latency is what's concerning; wired links should never rise above a few hundred µs even under congestion however according to your results you're well above that (3/78/5 ms)

I suggest you check for any updates to your router/modem's firmware (sometimes you can do this directly via your router's web configuration page). If not, check the manufacturer's website and look for the latest version of your particular router's firmware.

Also, you can try bridging the modem with your computer to circumvent some of the more compute-intensive tasks that may be slowing packet processing on the router.
"The problem is there ARE secure netcodes" -- Pewzor
Last edited by Emjayen on Jul 22, 2015, 3:08:11 AM
I looked into seeing if I can update the firmware on my modem and it looks like I do not have the capability to do so which Comcast probably set it that way. No firmware software to be found online and no firmware upgrade option on the router admin page.

Here are some more WinMTR tests. The first one I gave first seemed to be a bit abnormal. While monitoring throughout all of the tests, they usually stayed at 1-2 80% of the time while occasionally going to 3-5 and sometimes a rare small spike. I've seen others who have 0-1 ms and wondering why I can't achieve that. I'm running hardwired (tried another ethernet cable) so I'm guessing the likely solution would be the router? Not sure what to do to improve it more on my end as I am unable to update the firmware.

I tried testing on a PoE instance server along with Google. It seems the router between Santa Clara and Great Oaks is non-responsive.





Last edited by dezahp on Jul 22, 2015, 4:12:50 AM
that looks much better. are you having any problems now in game?

"
I tried testing on a PoE instance server along with Google. It seems the router between Santa Clara and Great Oaks is non-responsive.


it could also mean the router is simply dropping all icmp type 8 traffic for whatever reasons like Emjayen explains in his first reply. the router could still be fully functional for other traffic.
Last edited by kompaniet on Jul 22, 2015, 10:09:57 AM
Sadly some service providers do distribute their own 'customized' (read: bloated) firmware with their access devices for customers and in my experience this has been discovered to be the root cause of network performance-related issues in some cases.

The easiest method to return your device to its OEM firmware is to perform a factory reset. To do this you'll need to consult your specific router's manual (usually it involves pressing and holding a button located on the back of the device for several seconds)

WARNING: Performing a factory reset will clear all of your router's current settings. This includes information such your ISP username/password, NAT configuration, etc.

Additionally you'll need to identify the exact make/model of your router. Since yours is branded by Comcast you'll likely have to check the underside of the device, in the fine print. Here's a list I found of possible candidates.

Once you know the make/model of the device it should be a simple matter of looking up on their website for any firmware updates that'll likely be required after a factory reset (since the version of the firmware you'll now have will reflect whatever time you purchased the device)

"

I tried testing on a PoE instance server along with Google. It seems the router between Santa Clara and Great Oaks is non-responsive.

As I explained (albeit, maybe a bit too cryptically) what you're observing is not unexpected. For example, here's my route to google here in Australia:

"

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\Matt>tracert google.com

Tracing route to google.com [150.101.161.166]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 1 ms 1 ms <1 ms home.gateway.home.gateway [192.168.0.1]
2 7 ms 6 ms 6 ms lo0.lns20.syd4.on.ii.net [150.101.32.75]
3 * * * Request timed out.
4 7 ms 6 ms 6 ms ae5.br1.syd7.on.ii.net [150.101.33.50]
5 7 ms 6 ms 6 ms 150.101.161.166

"The problem is there ARE secure netcodes" -- Pewzor
Last edited by Emjayen on Jul 22, 2015, 10:45:45 AM
So actually I did up finding the drivers for the router I have provided from Comcast. I must have missed it while I was looking for it on the Cisco site previously. I have the Cisco DPC3941T. The drivers provided on the Cisco site are as listed here.

http://www.cisco.com/web/consumer/support/dpc3941t.html#~drivers

However, I am not sure which one I should be downloading. While I prefer not to because it is a huge hassle and will lose all of my router settings, I'll do a factory reset on my router modem once I get back home later.

edit: nvm it looks like none of the drivers listed on the cisco site is for the router/modem. i wouldn't be able to update the firmware even if i did want to and found a newer firmware online. there is no option for me to upload and update the firmware on the router page.
Last edited by dezahp on Jul 22, 2015, 8:14:09 PM
I just reset my router/modem and restored the default settings. I ran multiple tests while trying both of my lan controllers on my pc and laptops(wired) to rule out any issues that may be pertaining to my pc. It actually seems as if it runs a little worse or more inconsistent. When I ran the tests yesterday, ping stayed within 1-2ms around 80% of the time. Now the ping stays anywhere between 1-5ms with infrequent random spikes(+40ms) occurring a bit more. Going to call Comcast tomorrow to see if they will send and replace my modem. Should be no problem since they charge me a fee anyways to rent their modem or maybe I'll finally look into buying my own modem.

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