| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Admin |
Posted - Jul 03 2008 : 1:55:55 PM
There are two main reasons why this site has been slow the past few days (maybe a week or more?).
1. AVG released a new version of their great antivirus product. It includes a new component called "LinkScanner" which automatically visits links that show up in a search to check for bad guys. However the side effect of this is that all web traffic throughout the entire Internet has increased greatly. Traffic to this site has tripled. Read all about it here:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/13/avg_scanner_skews_web_traffic_numbers/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/26/avg_disguises_fake_traffic_as_ie6/
2. For some odd reason, database access was a bit slow. After trying a few easy fixes, I just rebooted the webserver about an hour ago. Seems to have cleared it up. Weird... |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Aaron Cake |
Posted - Jul 22 2008 : 09:22:54 AM
Yes, all seems to be well at this point. The DSL line is very stable. The router has not logged any dropouts and reconnects so I think I can go out on a limb and say everything is working as it should. At some point I'll reconfigure my mail setup to delete the external mailserver. In addition, now that the site is actually working again, I think it's time for an update. |
| cirvin |
Posted - Jul 21 2008 : 6:57:13 PM
Huzzah! I can finally access the forum now!
Congrats on the upgrade Aaron! |
| Aaron Cake |
Posted - Jul 19 2008 : 11:03:46 AM
As you can see, the speed issue is fixed.
I had originally planned to migrate to the DSL line on Saturday, but the weather was looking so good today (and so crappy tomorrow) that I didn't want to waste a good day inside. So I took the plunge last night around 6PM. In theory it was an easy swap anyway.
The first time someone connects to a Bell Business Internet service, they hijack all you DNS queries to force you to hit a Bell page and accept a license agreement. A but rude, but acceptable. In my case after I agreed to the terms of service I was redirected back to the agreement. And in ran in a circle no matter. A quick call to tech support (business tech support is quite helpful, unlike residential Sympatico support) and the tech agreed me on his end.
Long story short, I pulled my cable modem and connected the DSL modem in it's place. After setting up the connection profile on the router it was online immediately. Since I am now on a totally different network, I received a new IP address. This time however it is a real static IP address. It's mine for as long as I'm a Bell customer and won't change, unlike the pseudo static IP addresses that Rogers hands out. I did a bit of testing by using some of the remote servers at our office to access the site and verify it was working, then switched all the DNS records to the new IP.
Seems to be working fine at this point. I really don't know how much faster it is since I'm internal to the network, but I assume a lot. The site has twice the upstream bandwidth now then it did previously.
In addition, port 25 is no longer blocked so I can move my mailserver back here instead of keeping it off site at the office.
It was very surreal to remove the cable modem. I've been a RogesWave Internet customer for just over 13 years and up until recently was always happy. I was one of the original installs in the city, when they were still using the old cast-iron LanCity cable modems:
I miss my LanCity modem. A few years ago Rogers began blocking outgoing port 25, which was a major annoyance but I could work around it. The upstream port 80 block is unacceptable, and why I'm now a Bell Business Internet Ultra customer.  |
| JUAN DELA CRUZ |
Posted - Jul 19 2008 : 06:11:37 AM
" THANKS FOR THE GENEROSITY OF THE ADMINISTRATOR " 
|
| pebe |
Posted - Jul 19 2008 : 02:05:38 AM
It's back to normal. Congratulations! |
| wasssup1990 |
Posted - Jul 19 2008 : 12:50:25 AM
OH MY GOD!!!
This website just got a MAJOR speed boost! LOL  |
| Aaron Cake |
Posted - Jul 17 2008 : 09:23:02 AM
Good news...
My Bell High Speed kit arrived yesterday around noon. Last night I checked the line and it has been provisioned for DSL. I was able to log into my account and surf through the new connection.
However since my official activation date is Friday, I'm not going to set it up until probably Saturday.
Tonight I plan to run the necessary wiring. Stopped at the electrical supply store yesterday and picked up the BIX panel and strips, appropriate jacks, and wire required. Tonight I'll wire it up and then leave the modem synced to check line stability. If all goes well, Saturday I will make the switch which should literally take minutes. All I'll need to do is set up a different connection profile in the router and then update my DNS records with my new (and static!) IP address.
I'm disappointed that Bell sent a SpeedStream 6520 modem/router combination istead of a more high quality unit. I was told I would receive a Linksys or Cisco. Meh, as long as it works. The 6520 can be set up as a modem only, which I've already done. Worst case is that I'll purchase my own DSL modem if I'm not happy with the SpeedStream. I already have a Netopia R910 router so any routing functions in the SpeedStream are unnecessary and far more limited then the Netopia. |
| wasssup1990 |
Posted - Jul 14 2008 : 8:28:22 PM
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Cool, looking forward to your website running fast again. It's a great website.
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| Aaron Cake |
Posted - Jul 13 2008 : 11:44:26 AM
I have a solution. The issue is that Rogers is filtering upstream on port 80. Had a conversation with them on Friday to discuss upgrading my connection. For years I had been under the impression that I had a business package, but this is not so! Apparently I'm still using the residential package I signed up with 13 years ago. And to make matters worse, Rogers will not connect a business class service to any residential address under any circumstances.
So I called Bell. Monday I will confirm with Bell the install date of their "Business Internet High Speed Ultra" DSL package. It's twice what I'm paying for now but comes with a real static IP, 800KBs up, 6 MB down and 24/7 support. It can take a week for DSL services to be provisioned and I also need to run a new phone drop to the server area and replace the 100 year old Bell terminal box with something made in this century.
It will be fixed, and the site will be better/faster then ever. |
| pebe |
Posted - Jul 13 2008 : 09:51:39 AM
Any prospects for an improvement yet? It's still taking minutes to load each page. |
| Admin |
Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 10:18:56 AM
I'm (Aaron) just being lazy and posting under Admin. I keep a 2nd browser logged in as Admin for cleaning spam and other functions.
As you can see, the site is still horribly slow. It's not a server issue. Everything at my place is working fine. I did a load test locally with 10,000 simultaneous connections and the server didn't even break a sweat or show more then 10% CPU use.
The issue is external to my network. As in, it's a Rogers issue. They've done something to throttle uploads, or upload on port 80. I think they are sending TCP RESETs, or WAITs, or something similar. Either way they are effecting upstream port 80 traffic.
Currently I'm trying to figure out how to confirm this. When I get time I'll try to run the site on another port for a few minutes and see what happens. As you may have noticed, it's intermittent. Sometimes the site is as fast as always. Last night at 5PM (EST) it was running smoothly.
Assuming Rogers is manipulating traffic somehow, I think there are two solutions:
1. Upgrade my service package. Going to the full blown commercial package will probably fix it. The cost will be 3x what I currently pay.
2. If #1 isn't going to work, then a new ISP. |
| wasssup1990 |
Posted - Jul 05 2008 : 9:43:27 PM
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Yep, same problems over here too.
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| audioguru |
Posted - Jul 05 2008 : 9:18:40 PM
The "boot fix" lasted maybe 1 hour. Now it is loading very slowly like before. |
| wasssup1990 |
Posted - Jul 04 2008 : 10:31:42 PM
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A new Administrator? Hello! One of Aaron's friends?
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| audioguru |
Posted - Jul 04 2008 : 7:34:20 PM
Horray, you fixed it.
I waited half an hour for a page to load. Many times it needed more time. |
