If you are having problems trying to receive email or browse the Web, you may be experiencing connectivity disruption.  Check your cable modem and see if the light on it is blinking.  If the light is blinking, try resetting the modem. To reset the modem you must press the little black button located on the back of the modem near the cable input.

If after 1-2 minutes your cable modem does not stop blinking, please contact your Providers Technical Support.  Technical Support Representative can send a signal that will re-initialize the modem.

Your service may be running slow for numerous reasons. The first and most common reason for slow downs has nothing to do with the modem but with the Internet itself. Depending on the time of day and site you are trying to access, you may not be able to attain the rate possible with the cable modem.  The Internet as a whole is affected by limitations on site speeds and traffic problems.

The second most common reason for a slow down is local to the machine itself.

Slow downs may also be due to line noise on your cable. Our field services department normally checks for RF (Radio Frequency) interference at the time of install. Document as much information as possible describing what you were doing at the time and forward this to Broadband Provider so that they may begin tracking the slow downs and identify/rectify the problem.

It is recommended that you leave you cable modem on at all times. The cable head end does a routine check of all cable modems registered to the system. If your cable modem is not on, then the system will not know the modem exists on the network hence, it will be "out of sync".

If the light on the back of your computer (next to the Ethernet cable connection) is out while your PC is on and your operating system loaded, this may indicate that your netword card is not functioning correctly.

To fix this problem, doublecheck that the Ethernet cable (also called "RJ-45" network cable) is properly plugged into the cable modem and to the back of your computer.  This cable looks like a slightly enlarged phone cord.   If it looks securely plugged in and the light on the back of your computer is still out, try unplugging it and replugging it in.

If all else fails, try resetting your cable modem by powering off and on, and by pressing the Reset button located on the back of the modem near the coaxial connection.

If you have problems connecting to the Internet and notice that the cable modem's power light is off, check the modem's power source to be sure that it is securely plugged in. Your cable modem should be plugged in and powered on 24 hours a day.

If it looks to be securely plugged in and the power light is still out, try changing outlets or power strips to one that you are sure is working.

If the above still does not solve the problem, please contact Technical Support.

A service call may be required.

Packet Loss and Latency - What is it?

Packet Loss

Data from a web site is divided into small data packets. These data packets are sent across the Internet to your PC where they are reassembled and allow you to view the web site. Sometimes, these data packets are lost while being sent across the Internet, resulting in what is known as packet loss. Applications watch for this and automatically request missing packets to be re-sent.

To measure packet loss, many people use a networking protocol called ICMP. The ICMP protocol is typically a lower priority for routers and other Internet systems (WWW sites, etc.), meaning that other types of traffic will be given a higher priority when competition for resources arises. Knowing the limitations of ICMP and being able to correctly analyze ICMP results are essential skills when troubleshooting networks. The most commonly used tools within the ICMP environment are ping and traceroute.

Ping is an application that measures connectivity and latency on the Internet. It sends a number of (usually 4) packets from your PC to your Internet destination. If the packets get to their destination, a reply is sent back. The information the ping packet carries is the round-trip time from your PC to your destination. When used correctly, ping is a very simple, fairly reliable tool for measuring response times within a network.

Traceroute is an effective tool used to determine the path to a destination site, where each step in the path is called a "hop". However, it is not always the best tool for determining packet loss or latency along that path. Traceroute only pings each hop three times, therefore providing a very small sample of data. The times listed at each hop may not always give an accurate representation of the health of the network. Ping is a much more effective tool for determining packet loss and latency.

Not all packet loss results in poor performance. Many applications request a retransmission should packet loss occur, and if the retransmissions are successful, you may not even notice that packet loss is occurring. For example, many busy WWW sites on the Internet have loss that is not noticed. However, some applications notice the loss and will appear to be running much slower than normal. For example, packet loss may adversely affect some "chatty" applications, like Internet games. The reason for this is that many Internet games and other "chatty" applications require almost constant communication between your computer and gaming server.

Latency

Latency is the time it takes for packets to travel between your PC and your Internet destination. It is affected by distance (the speed of light), network congestion and the devices that it passes through along its route. High latency, or "lag", occurs when the time it should normally take for the packet to make the trip becomes too long. Latency is typically measured in milliseconds on the Internet. Most applications like e-mail and WWW work well with some latency. More highly interactive applications, like multi-player games, do not work well with higher latency.

Packet Loss and Latency - What should I do?

Evaluating Packet Loss/Latency

If you're concerned about packet loss and/or latency then you are probably interested in improving the performance of an application, whether that be simple web browsing or more complicated multi-player games over the Internet. There are many variables that affect packet loss and latency (origination and destination computers, number of hops between them, packet prioritization, network congestion, etc.). Plus, there are also a wide variety of tolerances between applications with some being far more sensitive than others to packet loss and latency. So, what should you do?

There are several steps you can take to analyze your connection:

1. Try connecting to your Broadband Providers Home Page (http://something.net and also to a separate web site that you don't normally visit. If your Providers Home Page comes up quickly, but the other web site is slower, it may indicate that the problem is outside of your providers network.
2. It is possible that a slow connection is due to a known issue within the Providers network. For regular updates about the Network Status, you can visit your Providers Home Page.
3. The most detailed form of troubleshooting is to use the tools "traceroute" and "ping". You can follow the instructions below for using these tools.
   1. Run a traceroute to your destination site. At a Command Prompt (accessible by selecting Start, Programs, and MS-DOS Prompt), type tracert [name of destination site] (e.g. "tracert www.m-w.com" and hit Return as shown in the screen below.

2. Ping each hop in the traceroute 50 times. At a Command Prompt, (accessible by selecting Start, Programs, and MS-DOS Prompt), type ping -n 50 [name or IP address of your destination site] (e.g. "ping -n 50 127.2.0.1" and hit Return as shown in the screen below.

For example, if the traceroute is five hops in length, ping the first hop, then the second, then the third, etc. The hops are listed and numbered one after another down the left-hand side of the traceroute window. If there is packet loss or latency in the path to the destination site, this will help identify the location.

NOTE: Packet loss at one hop, but not the next, tells you that that hop itself is busy and is dropping pings directed at it, but applications like WWW and Mail, directed through it will pass through fine as the next hop showed good results.

Traceroute/Ping Results and Explanations

The following Traceroute/Ping Results and Explanations table offers additional insights into some of the complexities associated with latency and packet loss.
 

Your Broadband service can be connected to up to multiple PCs in your home by the use of a hub, creating an in-home Local Area Network, or LAN. Please note, however, that most providers do not offer technical support for Home Networks, Home-Based LANs or Hubs.

If you are getting a No Host Address and DHCP Errors, check to see if your cable light is blinking. If it is, please consult our cable modem troubleshooting documents, located under "Connection Issues" from the Online Help topics listing for help on solving your connection problem.

If your cable modem is not blinking, try shutting down your computer and turning it back on. Assuming that all three lights (power, cable, pc) on the modem are solid, these problems can sometimes be solved (on Windows machines) by running "winipcfg" (Windows 95/98) or ipconfig (Windows NT4).

1. Click on Start > Run.
2. Type in winipcfg (or ipconfig in Windows NT4).
3. Ensure that your Ethernet adapter is selected and not your PPP.
4. Ensure that the IP address begins with: 71.xxx.xx.xxx or 68.x.x.x. If it doesn't, proceed to step 5.
5. Click on Release All then Renew All
6. If you're still having difficulties, please contact us at (PHONE NUMBER).