Area Searching killing Internet Connection o.o

[iCade]

This is a VERY strange problem. Since yesterday, each time I try to use the Firestorm Area search in the client it kills me ENTIRE internet connection and I have to do a hard restart of the router to get my internet back. Since the landline is going through the same router it also kills that.

This ONLY happens when I try using the area search. Lost something on my half sim, tried to find it and my internet crashed. 8 out of 10 times I have used the area search to replciate this my internet and landline went dead.

Why would area search cause this? Why all of a sudden? Is my modem faulty? If yes why would it only do this when Area Search is being used?

As of today, the landline is going crazy, for two hous I could not call anyone and no one could call me. Now I can call people and no one can call me. Internet is working.

When I use area search both will crash again.

 

Posted this also in the Answers section, but not sure if technical folks hang out there.

[Innula Zenovka]

According to Trinity Dejavu, explaining why she and Kitty Barnett won't include area search in Catznip,

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Object area search will not be added for two reasons; First up, it's an awesome way to stress a region. Basically it's the code equivalent of holding your mouse over every single object your viewer knows about and getting the data for it. It really doesn't take much for it to be used aggressively.

Second up. rez a cube. Walk 100 M. Try and find it. The area search is only as good as the list of prims your viewer remembers which tends to be limited to the ones close to you, so you have little choice but to area search. move a bit, area search, move a bit ... see previous paragraph. Not going to put something in that just doesn't work as anticipated.

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So I'm wondering if it could be a combination of problems with your connection -- because I can't see how area search could break things on its own -- and your use of area search causing a sudden spike in data transfer that your problematic connection/router can't handle.

But I think my first step would be to report a fault to the ISP/cable company.

[iCade]

I went ahead and called my modem manufacturer and they could not find anything.

So went on to call my provider, they're trying to trace the problem as we speak. The guy - a wonderful one at that, best costumer call I have ever made, kudos to him! - could see how many times I disconnected and that two times I had to entirely restart my router again to get service back.

They're working on it, but he too was pretty stumped at this problem. I did mention Second Life to him and the search function so they will take that into account as well trying to figure out the problem.

Area search has worked like a charm for me ever since I joined SL, but since yesterday it's doing crazy things >.<

I will report back if/when this gets cleared up and also write the phoenix/firestorm support team about this strange problem.

Right now I am still not sure if this is actually a problem caused by the area search or a problem with my line, the guy on the phone however said it does sound strange that I can replicate this with the search function in the client. It may cause an already faulty connection to completely give out, or it's the actual root of the problem like you said, that a data spike could temporarily disable my router.

 

Edit: That or it's a complete coincidence that the service breaks down 8 out of 10 times that I try the area search. The chances are small but then again winning the lotterly is a miniscule chance and several people a year win it.

[Peggy Paperdoll]

My guess is similar to Cinn's.  What I think might be contributing to the suddenness of the problem only occuring in the last day is that your router/modem (not sure if a router is involved but it appears one is) are causing the problem.  I know you contacted the manufacturer of your modem and they could not help you much......in all honesty they are very limited in what they can do to help unless it's a setup problem or a software (firmware or driver) problem.  I'm sure the technician you spoke to covered both those issues with you over the phone so I won't second guess since they are the experts.  Here's an experience I had a few years ago with a new and "high end" (at the time) Linksys router doing pretty much the same thing as you discribe......I didn't have my telephone through my cable though so I couldn't tell you if it was failing at the same time (my cable TV did not fail though).  There was nothing the Linksys tech could identify as the problem but he did suspect that someone was piggybacking on my wireless connection (I'm hardwired but the router was also a wireless model).  We went through the securing my router to lock it down to outside connections.  He did, also, mention making sure the router was not located in a tightly enclosed cabinet or location......the router needs space around it for proper air flow so it doesn't get too hot when handling heavy data transfer loads.

The locking down of the router did not fix the problem (as the tech told it probably would not but a secured network was a good practice anyway).  I contacted my cable/ISP provider too.........they tested my line and also could not find anything (though they did try several things besides just the standard pinging of the modem).  I got into the habit of power cycling my router and modem daily and it helped a lot for the dropped connections to the LL servers but did not fix it entirely (maybe a 50% improvement).  I started looking on the Linksys forums to see if anyone else was having a similar problem with that model of the router.  And, yes, there were a few others discribing the same problem.  I read the threads and comments from others and the talk was mainly centered on heating issues with the router......even one of the Linksys techs said that the heat problem was very possible the core of the problem (but only offered what the tech I spoke on the phone told me....make sure that you had at least  2 inches of space completely around the router).  That got one of the people thinking about elevating his router using a wire rack to place it on.......he claimed the issue completely disappeared and for a month or so he had not seen the problem again (evidently he was experiencing the connection dropping almost daily just I was).  So I found a small wire book rack (like those racks you see dictionaries or Bibles placed on with an open page) that fit my router almost perfectly.  That allowed me to put the router on it with at the approximate 45% angle, giving the underside of the router completely unrestricted airflow.  My problem never happened again for as long as I had the router.

What I'm saying is your problem may be related to heat.  Sometimes it's necessary to get creative in your troubleshooting and go beyond just doing as the manufacturer suggests.  It was later admitted by Linksys that the particular model did have a heat issue.  But by that time my warranty had run out so I was not eligable for a free replacement........but I had solved my problem on my own so I wasn't really that put out by Linksys' design problem.  But it does happen........even to the big boys in the market.

[iCade]

Peggy - I shall try this. I have had this modem for almost a year and no heating issues or any issues whatsoever with it before. it's also getting enough air, safe for having anything under it like you described, so I shall try that. Touching it it's a bit warm, but not hot.

So far, the problem still persists, internet works, I can call people, but no one can call me. I am starting to think that maybe throughout this all my landline phone went gaga. When I use my cellphone to call myself the call actually goes through, and it sounds like I am simply not picking up. There is absolutely no indication to the caller that there's something wrong. But my phone never once rings. While there's no indication for the caller to know something is wrong, there's no indication for me to know that someone actually tried to reach me >.<