MoCA Performance Check

[+Steve B Subscriber²]

What are the ways to check MoCA networking performance?  The reason why I'm asking is because I have the Comcast X1 system and three X1 DVRs.  I also have the XB3 Gateway and it utilizes MoCA for the X1.  I also have a MoCA adapter connected.  I have a AP connected through that adapter (upstairs) and I get odd performance from it.

 

My internet connection is 200/10.   Through that adapter I get lucky if I hit 75Mbps.  For a few days however, about a week and a half ago, I was able to hit 200Mbps.  Now, I'm back to getting about 60Mbps.  I'm trying to figure out what in the world is causing such wild fluctuations and see if its something I can do to improve it.

 

Thanks in advance for any info.

[+BudMan MVC]

How are you testing this currently?  Wifi??  Just going to some speedtest site?

 

To test that its not the moca network, you would need to test via wire performance - iperf would be the way to do that.. I compile it for windows whenever new version comes out.. link is here on neowin.. search iperf3 windows neowin on google and thread comes right up.

[+Steve B Subscriber²]

Mostly wifi.  I do have one computer on it via Ethernet.  I did get the same speeds as wifi whenever I tested it via Ethernet as well.  I'll give that tool a try. 

[+Steve B Subscriber²]

Sorry for taking so long to respond but, haven't had the chance to do anything until now.  I downloaded the tool.  What am I supposed to do with it?  I was under the impression it was a tool that would run and give me some info.  A window pops up momentarily and then disappears.  

[spaceelf]

I'm pretty sure it's a command line tool and you have to learn how to use it that way.  I've never used it myself, though.

[+BudMan MVC]

pretty sure the thread where I list where you can download has some examples of use in it.  Yes it is cmd line.  You run it once as server (-s) and then other end as client with -c and the ip/name of the box running it as server.

[Upgrades]

Four areas for you to look into, Steve B -

 

1) This 1st one is 100% a must - extremely important to have:

(I pulled this from some site promoting MoCA netowkrs): Installing a Point of Entry (POE) filter could possibly improve the performance of your MoCA home network.  The POE filter is installed at the cable point of entry to your home and keeps the MoCA signals from leaking out of your home’s cable system.  The filter actually reflects MoCA signals back in to your home coax which may boost your signal strength resulting in better performance.  Ask your product manufacturer about where to obtain a POE filter.  UPDATE: POE filters are available from Soontai or their distributor Power & Tel Supply.

 

2) Signal Amplifier: Another option is to get a MoCA signal booster / amplifier: http://www.extreme-broadband.com/moca-products.html 

 

3) Inspect Your Hardware: You need to check the splitters especially, and take a look at your coaxial lines for any other hardware in your system such as a TV signal amplifier. Some of these mess up the internet signal running through that same line, potentially causing you issues. Splitters, believe it or not, vary pretty drastically in their quality from everything that I have heard. You will want to check with your ISP what splitter their technicians use to make sure you're okay on that front. La

 

4) Properly Performing Your Test: To get the true data on your network speed, you need to make sure that all of your other devices are off in order to get a true result. You don't want another computer or TV sucking up bandwidth one way or another that you are not aware of. Turn off the WiFi at the router to ensure no rogue device is malfunctioning and killing your bandwidth. This may seem like overkill to an extent, but if you want a true answer this is how you need to do it. If you run your test this way and the performance is still poor, then you can test if this may be an issue outside of your LAN and is therefore something you can call your ISP about. You can do this by going to your start button, typing "cmd" and hitting enter to bring up the command prompt. Enter the command "tracert www.yahoo.com" (do not type the " anywhere in my directions). This test will allow you to follow the path your signal is routed from your ISP's network to the point where they hand it off to either yahoo's own network infrastructure or any intermediary networks needed in between and will show you the signal delay / lag in at each connection point along the way, which you will see displayed in milliseconds, denoted as "ms". I have attached an example doing the tracert www.yahoo.com command in command prompt from my own computer where it is clearly visible the point in which Spectrum (time warner aka roadrunner) hands my traffic off to another party - time warner is all the entries that show blahblahblah.socal.rr.com with rr = roadrunner. What you are looking for is a sudden spike in milliseconds between two of your ISP's points along the path, which means it is 100% a problem in their network. Once you start getting over approx. 150 is where things are bad. You can run this test on any website that is sluggish to see if the bottle-neck is outside of your home. If it is not, then it is something going wrong inside your home network that needs to be resolved.

 

Sorry for the lengthy directions in #4 and if any part of it came off like I was going into more detail than necessary; I do I.T. for work and have to assume everyone I talk to knows very very little about any topic computer related just so I don't make any client feel stupid or inferior for not knowing I.T. industry jargon. I hope something in here leads you to discover where the issue lies in your network or find that the ISP has a problem. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll do my best to respond quickly.

 

 

 

 

[+BudMan MVC]

8 hours ago, Upgrades said:

which means it is 100% a problem in their network. Once you start getting over approx. 150 is where things are bad.

Lets point out some details here..

 

While a traceroute can be very useful tool in troubleshooting connectivity problems.  At some point you see a spike does not mean 100% that is a problem - it could be that device that is routing the traffic just busy routing traffic and answering your request from your trace is just lower priority and doesn't 100% mean there is an actual problem.  Nor is saying that over 150 means there is going to be a problem at all..   If where your tracing too is on the other side of the globe its going to be high for sure right where you head across the pond, etc.

 

If I ping or trace to baidu.com (china) I see over 200ms for sure.. Yet I have no issues accessing that site, etc.

 

11    66 ms    62 ms    66 ms  as4837-pe01.11greatoaks.ca.ibone.comcast.net [75.149.229.42]
 12     *      209 ms   206 ms  219.158.102.145
 13   236 ms     *      232 ms  219.158.16.81
 14   216 ms   232 ms     *     219.158.18.69

 

You can see where you jump across the pond.. Even not getting some responses doesn't always mean there is an issue.  Some hops won't even on purpose answer your trace, etc.

 

Where traceroute can help is if normally you see X for your trace times, and now suddenly your seeing Y which is way higher then sure that points a problem.. Maybe your taking a longer route to get there, maybe a path your taking is congested, etc.  None of this really has much to do with testing local moca network performance..

[+Steve B Subscriber²]

Well, the issue has been resolved.   It was never the wiring or such or even the splitters.  It was Comcast's damn Cisco XB3 Gateway.  After some digging on the Comcast forums, someone suggested I get the ARRIS XB3 model as the Cisco models were bad for a variety of reasons.  Well, I got the ARRIS model and I now top out of the speed I subscribe to.  I'm no longer getting only approx. 50Mbps through the MoCA adapter.  I get over 200Mbps.  So now I'm happy.

 

I'm a little embarrassed to think that I never considered the gateway being the culprit after months of trying to figure it all out.

[+BudMan MVC]

ARRIS XB3?  What is the exact model number of the modem/gateway?  It will be printed on it, or you should be able to view it from 192.168.100.1 interface..  XB3 is not really a Arris model number.

[+Steve B Subscriber²]

5 minutes ago, BudMan said:

ARRIS XB3?  What is the exact model number of the modem/gateway?  It will be printed on it, or you should be able to view it from 192.168.100.1 interface..  XB3 is not really a Arris model number.

XB3 is a Comcast specific category level of gateway devices.  They have three manufacturers of the XB3.  ARRIS, Technicolor and Cisco.  Mine is the ARRIS TG1682G

[+BudMan MVC]

Ok so the tg1682G, which is listed on badmodems - not something I would of gotten..

 

http://badmodems.com/Forum/app.php/badmodems

 

Arris:

DG1642 DG1660A DG1662G DG1670A DG1670A/ACT DG2460A DG2470A DTG1682G
TM1602A TM1602G TG1642 TG1662A TG1662G TG1662S TG1672A TG1672G TG2472G TG2492 (Virgin Media Hub 3) TG1682G
MG2402
SB6190

[+Steve B Subscriber²]

 

2 hours ago, BudMan said:

Ok so the tg1682G, which is listed on badmodems - not something I would of gotten..

 

http://badmodems.com/Forum/app.php/badmodems

 

Arris:

DG1642 DG1660A DG1662G DG1670A DG1670A/ACT DG2460A DG2470A DTG1682G
TM1602A TM1602G TG1642 TG1662A TG1662G TG1662S TG1672A TG1672G TG2472G TG2492 (Virgin Media Hub 3) TG1682G
MG2402
SB6190

Interesting.  I haven't had any issues with mine at all.  In the Comcast forums, I do remember seeing people complain about the various models for various reasons.  Maybe I got a good one?  At any rate, I'm glad its working fine and it fixed my MoCA issue.