Frequent Disconnects

[kungaroo2010]

Hello everyone. I have been suffering from an issue and, after trying anything I could find, decided to try to see if I could get anymore suggestions to make the experience less of a headache. I disconnect (I can still turn, but cannot move. I can still chat, but cannot see any messages, and lose any that were sent. I can still interact with media. Eventually it will go grey, but I tend to close it out beforehand to fix the issue as quickly as possible. It tends to kill most interactions with other people, because who wants to do something only to have to do it again after I crash) at a highly frequent rate, though the exact rate seems to vary. I can go 4-5 hours without issue, or I could have to relog every 2-3 minutes. This has made it hard to diagnose, since it could look like the problem was improving, only for it to act out again.

This issue has been going on for at least quite a few months, it might be possible that I never had a point where I didn't have these issues. I do recall it killing RP experiences in the past, when I had a very different computer setup including a different OS (in fact, I struggle to think of a part that would have remained the same since then). Needless to say, I feel it is unlikely to be a hardware issue.

I know the first thing people like to point to is a network issue. However, I should note that I have been on multiple accounts quite frequently, and that I tend to crash on one while the other continues to work fine. It is like each account is independent of each other, though all crash just as frequently, which would seem odd for a network issue since I would assume both would simply crash at the same time. I can also play various MMOs without these issues occurring, it seems to only happen like this in SL.

I have Xfinity and recently changed my modem to a 1 Gbps model. Changing my modem did not fix the problem, if anything it might be increased in frequency. I have changed my DNS to Google, no luck. I have forwarded the proper ports in my modem, which is a wired connection.

I have tried using Black Dragon to see if the problem was Firestorm. It seems to happen less frequently upon first trying a new viewer, but eventually starts settling back to what I have on Firestorm. Therefore, I think it is a problem independent of viewer.

I have tried lowering my graphics settings to the minimum and still had crashing issues to the same severity, so I have my doubts that the graphics are too demanding. Computer hardware seems fine. I have tested the CPU/GPU temperatures while running SL, I am not stressing the hardware at all. It has persisted through graphics driver updates. With 64 GB of memory, I am barely taxing SL memory-wise. I doubt it has anything to do with avatar complexity, a simple alt with the bare minimum attached crashes quite frequently.

I have watched what happens when I disconnect. No packet loss. FPS remains fine. The only difference is that no data is being sent.

I should also note I have noticed issues with llceflib_host.exe and, from time to time, will get a message saying that it has crashed. Not sure how related this is. I have auto-play turned off for media.

At this rate I just don't know what to do. It is enough of a hassle to stop most things dead in their tracks, yet I am not sure where the problem is coming from. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Edited January 4, 2018 by kungaroo2010

[Rolig Loon]

I am going to guess that the account that gives you the greatest trouble is the one you use the most, the one that has the largest inventory, wears the most complex wardrobe, and has the body with the highest ARC. Accounts that you use less often and have smaller wardrobes and inventories and less complex bodies aren't having as much trouble. That's what I would expect anyway. Accounts that are data heavy require a lot of constant traffic back and forth from the servers. It's easy to get out of sync so that your ping time spikes momentarily, lose occasional packets of data, and set yourself up for a disconnect, especially if you have been on a wireless connection or have other conditions that are already cutting into your efficiency.  Problems are most likely to occur when you teleport and when you are on busy regions, but may also be aggrevated by having other programs running in the background while you are in SL.  Comparing your experience in SL with whatever you may have in MMOs is really irrelevant, since most MMOs don't require the heavy, continuous data streaming that SL does.

[kungaroo2010]

Actually, what I have noticed is the opposite. As frustrating as my main avatar is, which is indeed decked out with a large amount of gear, I find I crash even more on my alt. I expected the opposite as well, so i found that quite a curious oddity. My alt crashes to the point it is near impossible to use, I am almost guaranteed to disconnect within the first minute, even if I have no other avatars running.

[Nalates Urriah]

You did not include your computer specs and driver versions. So, we are totally guessing.

Open the viewer and before login, or after, click Help->About... and copy the info there and post it here.

I am really confused by this, " It is like each account is independent of each other, though all crash just as frequently, which would seem odd for a network issue since I would assume both would simply crash at the same time." And that is not a realistic assumption. Running multiple viewers at the same time does not mean their paths to the SL servers is identical. Internet routes continuously change and can be different depending on start time. Also, each has its set of connections. The SL server may have problems with one and not another connection.

Are you running multiple viewers at the same time? If they all crash frequently, then it very likely is a hardware problem.

The avatar being stuck in place and only being able to spin is a definite symptom of a way laggy or lost connection. Having a good general internet connection does not mean you have a good connection to the SL servers. So, test to the SL servers. http://blog.nalates.net/2011/10/26/troubleshoot-your-sl-connection/

Use a program like HWMonitor (free) to see what your computer is doing. Running out of memory, overheating.... 

If you are running a 32-bit change to 64...

[kungaroo2010]

Firestorm 5.0.7 (52912) Jun 13 2017 03:57:58 (Firestorm-Releasex64) with OpenSimulator support
Release Notes

You are at 87.0, 206.0, 216.2 in Sawya located at sim10449.agni.lindenlab.com (216.82.51.155:13014)
SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sawya/87/206/216
(global coordinates 258,647.0, 192,974.0, 216.2)
Second Life RC BlueSteel 17.12.01.511131
Release Notes

CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7700K CPU @ 4.20GHz (4199.99 MHz)
Memory: 65470 MB
OS Version: Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit (Build 9600)
Graphics Card Vendor: NVIDIA Corporation
Graphics Card: TITAN X (Pascal)/PCIe/SSE2

Windows Graphics Driver Version: 23.21.0013.8859
OpenGL Version: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 388.59

RestrainedLove API: RLV v3.1.4 / RLVa v2.1.0.52912
libcurl Version: libcurl/7.47.0 OpenSSL/1.0.1i zlib/1.2.8
J2C Decoder Version: KDU v7.9.1
Audio Driver Version: FMOD Ex 4.44.61
LLCEFLib/CEF Version: 1.5.3-(CEF-WIN-3.2526.1347-32)
LibVLC Version: 2.2.4
Voice Server Version: Not Connected
Settings mode: Firestorm
Viewer Skin: MetaHarper Modern (BlackGlass)
Window size: 2560x1417 px
Font Used: Deja Vu (96 dpi)
Font Size Adjustment: 0 pt
UI Scaling: 1
Draw distance: 120 m
Bandwidth: 1500 kbit/s
LOD factor: 4
Render quality: Ultra (7/7)
Advanced Lighting Model: Yes
Texture memory: 2048 MB (1)
VFS (cache) creation time (UTC): 2018-1-1T21:57:10 
Built with MSVC version 1800
Packets Lost: 0/21,285 (0.0%)
January 04 2018 08:37:44 SLT

Hopefully this makes it a bit clearer.

Interesting. I thought it was as simple as saying that because all are not disconnecting at once, it isn't a failure of the actual network since I assumed all connections would fail simultaneously.

I do run multiple viewers, but the issues occur when I run a single avatar at a time. I have even tried disabling "Allow multiple viewers" without success.

Funny you mentioned that link, I was trying to follow that blog post before I ran into a snag. I am not sure how to point SpeedTest to a specific IP. Google didn't reveal anything helpful, nor did trying to find an alternative website. If you can explain how to do this, I would gladly test it.

I actually use HWMonitor, that is why I mentioned I had tested my temperatures earlier. None of my cores are going above 50 C, my GPU is only at 63 C, and I am only using 12% of my video memory. With 3 avatars going at one time I am still only hitting 64 C maximum on my CPU, 91 C on my GPU, and 22% of my video memory. At 8% RAM memory with all 3 running, RAM is not an issue. So with 3 avatars at Ultra graphics, I seem be borderline hot on my GPU, but a single avatar shouldn't be causing these issues.

Already running in 64-bit.

Edited January 4, 2018 by kungaroo2010

[Lindal Kidd]

Well, that pretty much rules out the usual suspects.  You have a fantastic computer (congratulations!)  You've tried a different set of DNS servers.  You've tried different viewers, and different accounts.  You've tried a different router/modem.  You're not on WiFi.

I'd guess it's something that only your ISP will be able to diagnose and fix.  A hardware problem in the lines to your house, or somewhere else between you and the DNS servers.  It will likely take a series of calls to tech support.  Be a squeaky wheel and don't let them fob off the blame on your end or on the Second Life servers.

[Nalates Urriah]

6 hours ago, kungaroo2010 said:

Funny you mentioned that link, I was trying to follow that blog post before I ran into a snag. I am not sure how to point SpeedTest to a specific IP. Google didn't reveal anything helpful, nor did trying to find an alternative website. If you can explain how to do this, I would gladly test it.

Just now I see they changed SpeedTest.net. So, you can only test to servers they want to test to near you. Useless. I'll have to update the article.

https://sf.testmy.net/ will let you test into the San Jose area. Check in HELP->About... for the IP address of the server you are using. Geolocate it and pick a server close to the ones you are connecting to.

You can run the Ping and TraceRT to the actual Linden server.

[kungaroo2010]

Quote

I'd guess it's something that only your ISP will be able to diagnose and fix.  A hardware problem in the lines to your house, or somewhere else between you and the DNS servers.  It will likely take a series of calls to tech support.  Be a squeaky wheel and don't let them fob off the blame on your end or on the Second Life servers.

I tried to be thorough. Thanks, I wanted a more powerful computer just so I could cut down on bottlenecks. It pays to have peace of mind.

That is about all I can assume. Perhaps this is a case of throttling?

I guess if this is the problem, I will soon find out. I plan on moving within a couple months and having a new line, most likely a fiber connection, put in. Needless to say, it will be ideal if this is indeed the problem. A bit of a hassle now, since the shortness of it means I don't exactly want to deal with the hassle of a new line when it will be changed again so quickly, but it means I am just around the corner from having the problem fixed. Mostly this is just to ensure I have covered all the ground I can cover and that, if the problem still exists, it is from something that I can fix shortly.

Quote

https://sf.testmy.net/ will let you test into the San Jose area. Check in HELP->About... for the IP address of the server you are using. Geolocate it and pick a server close to the ones you are connecting to.

Using the link you supplied, which seems to be the closest test location, I am getting 816 Mbps Down, Upload is 39.3 Mbps. This seems to make sense, when SL works, it seems to work fine, without lag or hindrances. If it wasn't for me suddenly disconnecting without warning, it would be an ideal setup.

Ping seems to average around 70ms with 0% loss.

TraceRT shows the signal starts rather quick for the first 5 hops. Once it switched to Level 3 it seems to become a bit less stable. The first attempt usually fails, but it gets through on subsequent attempts. The 7th hop, the Level 3 between my major city and Arizona, seems to be where the problems start occuring. It times out on the first hop, then the next hop works fine to get to Arizona (LINDEN-RESE.bar1.Phoenix1.Level3.net). My biggest problem seems to be the signal from Arizona to Linden Labs. it times out for two hops before working fine.

Are the time outs problems? If so, I am unsure how to fix it, since it seems the greatest problem is the part involving Line3 and not my ISP. It seems to consistently make its trace in 11 hops.

[DiegoRoss]

2 days there are constant disconnects. 1 time in 1/2 ... 1 hour.
In the firewall, all ports for the FireStorm client and all protocols are allowed. The connection speed is set at 1.2 megabits (I use the 100 mB VDSL Internet connection, LAN) The connection is stable, there are no gaps in the connection)
Until now, during 2 years of operation, I have not observed a similar problem

 

Firestorm 5.0.7 (52912) Jun 13 2017 03:57:58 (Firestorm-Releasex64) с поддержкой OpenSimulator
Заметки о выпуске

Вы в точке 156.6, 65.8, 1,201.4 в регионе Upadhyaya, расположенном на sim10707.agni.lindenlab.com (216.82.53.69:13005)
SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Upadhyaya/157/66/1201
(глобальные координаты 302,493.0, 279,618.0, 1,201.4)
Second Life Server 17.12.01.511131
Заметки о выпуске

CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-7100 CPU @ 3.90GHz (3912 MHz)
Память RAM: 8088 MB
Версия ОС: Microsoft Windows 10 64-bit (Build 16299)
Производитель видеокарты: Intel
Видеокарта: Intel(R) HD Graphics 630

Версия графического драйвера Windows: 22.20.0016.4771
Версия OpenGL: 4.2.0 - Build 22.20.16.4771

Контроль скриптами (RLVa): (disabled)
Версия libcurl: libcurl/7.47.0 OpenSSL/1.0.1i zlib/1.2.8
Версия декодера J2C: KDU v7.9.1
Версия драйвера звука: FMOD Ex 4.44.61
Версия LLCEFLib/CEF: 1.5.3-(CEF-WIN-3.2526.1347-32)
Версия LibVLC: 2.2.4
Версия голосового сервера: Vivox 4.6.0017.22050

Режим настроек: Firestorm
Графическое оформление: Firestorm (Grey)
Используемый шрифт: Deja Vu (96)
Размер шрифта: 0 pt
Масштаб UI: 1
Дистанция прорисовки: 320
Пропускная способность: 1200
Уровень детализации: 2
Качество графики: Средне-низкая (2/7)
Модель улучшенного освещения: Нет
Графическая память: 768 MB (1)
Время создания VFS (кэш) (UTC): 2018-1-6T9:50:2 
Использован компилятор MSVC, версия 1800
Потеряно пакетов: 38/64,159 (0.1%)
January 06 2018 03:01:28

[Deidia]

I am getting this too.

Everything about my connection is fine, and I get no other drops anywhere else. It's just SL that works fine for a while and then suddenly will drop entirely. It doesn't even show packet loss or anything during the period where I can tell I'm getting disconnected, which is usually a minute or two. It only finally shows the connection being dropped as the "sorry you were logged out" message pops up.

I've tried everything I can think of, like port forwarding, router resets/reboots, changing settings, etc, etc. Nothing seems to work. I saw a post about Netgear routers and I recently bought one of those (Netgear D600) but this really only seems to have started in the past two weeks, and I've had the router since January.

 

Firestorm 5.0.1 (52150) Dec 10 2016 14:44:37 (Firestorm-Releasex64) with OpenSimulator support
Release Notes

You are at 193.6, 92.7, 1,894.5 in Mega Empire located at sim10619.agni.lindenlab.com (216.82.52.181:12035)
SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mega Empire/194/93/1894
(global coordinates 123,842.0, 429,405.0, 1,894.5)
Second Life Server 18.02.12.512536
Release Notes

CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU         950  @ 3.07GHz (3073.63 MHz)
Memory: 16376 MB
OS Version: Microsoft Windows 10 64-bit (Build 16299)
Graphics Card Vendor: NVIDIA Corporation
Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 750 Ti/PCIe/SSE2

Windows Graphics Driver Version: 23.21.0013.8813
OpenGL Version: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 388.13

RestrainedLove API: RLV v3.1.4 / RLVa v2.1.0.52150
libcurl Version: libcurl/7.47.0 OpenSSL/1.0.1i zlib/1.2.8
J2C Decoder Version: KDU v7.8
Audio Driver Version: FMOD Ex 4.44.61
LLCEFLib/CEF Version: 1.5.3-(CEF-WIN-3.2526.1347-32)
LibVLC Version: 2.2.4
Voice Server Version: Vivox 4.6.0017.22050

Settings mode: Firestorm
Viewer Skin: Firestorm (Grey)
Font Used: Deja Vu (96 dpi)
Font Size Adjustment: 0 pt
UI Scaling: 1
Draw distance: 128 m
Bandwidth: 3000 kbit/s
LOD factor: 4
Render quality: High (5/7)
Advanced Lighting Model: Yes
Texture memory: 1024 MB (1)
VFS (cache) creation time (UTC): 2017-2-25T4:30:48
Built with MSVC version 1800
Packets Lost: 0/2,948 (0.0%)
March 14 2018 15:02:11 SLT

[Alwin Alcott]

might want to bring your bandwith down under/on 1500

3000 can cause problems like you describe

 

[Nalates Urriah]

@Deidia You can change your LoD to 2. That will reduce the connection load.

Max Bandwidth is a setting more for the server than the viewer. Empirical information is the max setting should be =<1500. If you set it higher, the server may have issues. You can experiment with settings from 500 to 1500. If you want to experiment with higher settings, remember that the max value you can run is dependent on the specific server you are connected to and how many others are connected. 

If you leave the Viewer Stats open, you will probably see Packet Lost or Ping drastically increase just before you are dropped.

While you may have a great Internet connection in General, that does not mean you have a good connection to the SL servers. Open the viewer HELP->About... to get the server IP. Geo-locate that and test to that area with SpeedTest.net. From your command prompt run a TraceRT to the IP Address. This will show if you, your ISP, or the Lab has a problem.

[Xaver Balczo]

I am experiencing the very same effects that Deidia and Kungaroo describe. I would add that I am a busy traveler and I log in through different ISPs, like the hotel wifi, my mobile phone or my home cable connection. The connection does not seem to make any difference to the described effect. Oh, and I am using Firestorm on Macbook.

[Rolig Loon]

2 hours ago, Xaver Balczo said:

I am experiencing the very same effects that Deidia and Kungaroo describe. I would add that I am a busy traveler and I log in through different ISPs, like the hotel wifi, my mobile phone or my home cable connection. The connection does not seem to make any difference to the described effect. Oh, and I am using Firestorm on Macbook.

Welcome to the crowd.  There are many ways that an Internet connection can screw up.  Laptop computers, especially on wifi, are probably the most likely ones to have problems, but no connection is invulnerable.  I am rarely able to maintain a connection on hotel wifi, myself, so I usually don't bother trying except for a quick, one-minute hop in world.  At home, I only connect with my desktop and a cable connection.  Even then, there are days when my ISP is cleaning dust out of the servers or whatever, or when my router needs a reboot. The best I can suggest is:

1. Use a direct cable or DSL connection if you can.  Avoid wifi, at least until you have eliminated other possible problems.

2. Reboot your router and modem periodically to reestablish a solid connection.

3. Check all cables and connections to be sure that nothing is loose or corroded.

4. Consider assigning additional DNS servers to the list that your ISP provided.  Many SL residents use the free Google DNS servers.

5. Consult the blog entry that Nalates posted above.

6. Make friends with your ISP, and give them lots of detailed information to work with if you think the problem is in their system.