Ungodly packet loss rates

Mon Oct 21 20:15:28 UTC 1996

[Quotes reordered]
> If you want good internet service to a particular point on the network,
> you must shop for it specifically and be prepared to continue to shop
> for it whenever the underlying network topology changes.

My point is that I should be able to expect better than a 40-percent
loss rate to *any* point on the Net, at *any* time, from *any*
provider. In fact, I think I should be able to expect less than 5
percent, and probably less than 1 percent. Back when I actually
touched routers, I used to recommend that people upgrade their
internal networks when loss rates hit 1 percent.

A situation where I have to "shop around" for connectivity depending
on what site I want to talk to that day is just plain unacceptable.

> You're transiting two NAPs (MAE-WEST and the DEC exchange (?)) which
> both provide service that's essential on one hand (wide access to
> the greater Internet) and lousy on the other hand (focussed access
> to a particular site).

It doesn't look to me as though the loss is being introduced at the
NAPS. If you look at the trace, you'll see that significant loss
starts to appear within Alternet, well after MAE-west. It looks as
though more loss appears inside BBN's network, although it's difficult
to tell because of the already large Alternet loss.

> my suggestion would be to ask cisco what isp they recommend
> for dialup access from your location, and dial in through them.
> you should be able to lop off 60% of your hops and probably 99%
> of your problems if you pick right.  

Thanks for the suggestion, but I work for Cisco, so ordinarily I have
a Frame Relay connectivity into Cisco's network. This week the
computer I usually use for work is in for service. The Cisco LAN at my
house is air-gapped from the personal LAN, and it would be a real pain
to reconfigure everything, so for the moment I'm coming in to Cisco
over the Net, using my personal service. It's purely temporary. If
I did interactive work under these conditions on a regular basis, I'd
have gone insane long ago.

                                        -- John B.