RM Slow internet speeds.

[ICT_GUY]

I look after two schools both have rm internet FTTP Both are on 1Gbs connections.

One school gets consitently 1Gbs download speeds. This is the one with the very marginal network. I mean it runs on very old cat5e

The other much higher spec network with a 10gbs backbone and meraki switches was fine with a reliable 1gbs stable connection. 

It has been capped to a 500mbs connection for over a month which is how long my support request has been going on. I have run tests on a server with a 10gbs connection to the meraki  switches. 

 

The latest suggestion is this. 

Hello ICT Guy,

I have configured ********** on the Juniper interface ge-0/0/2. 

Could you please try to patch the server to this port and try a speedtest from fast.com and proof.ovh.net.

 

How about not disconnecting the DC from the network to run a speed test? Also the server room and the juniper box are 300m away from each other. I am not setting up a vlan and routing to run a test either.

If we still get slow speeds change the upstrem DNS to google DNS? Because dns can cause internet speed issues apprently. Just because the speed test is running consistently doesn't mean dns has resolved correctly. Even though both schools use RM dns servers.

 

Also I must use a cat6 cable and a high spec laptop as well to get the full 1gbs speed! A high spec laptop you say? in a primary school?

 

This has been going on for a whole month. It has been taking a week for them to respond to support ticket  updates.

 

This is not the level of service I exspect from a managed internet connection. 

 

Just because the ISP is saying it is a 1gbs connection doesn't mean they are not throttling it. ISPs lie especially the cheap ones.

 

Anyhow just wanted to vent.

 

 

 

[loxford01]

RM Support isn't great at the moment, with logged tickets not being responded to promptly. We haven't had similar issues as you yet and have a 1 GB connection. I don't know when they last installed their router, and they don't let us access their public firewall, so we are sitting ducks, hoping they have a robust backend network delivering Internet to our schools, but with the current level of poor support, I do worry about how effective their services will be in the long run. 

[Boredguy]

Do you have 2 IP ranges available for your site @ICT_GUY?

I found that when we had our new backup line installed in the summer, RM engineers decided to set a throttle on our router config so 50% of our bandwidth was only available on each of our 2 ranges to "save bottlenecking".

 

Took a few weeks of them "checking" and trying to claim it might be the Telco til they noticed the limit and reset it so we get 100% capacity on both ranges but they can't exceed our line speed (which isn't an issue as we use the 2nd range purely for BYoD traffic and limit the network card on the internal NAT to be 100Mb :D)

[msi_school]

A high speed laptop for 1Gbs network, are you working in 2000? the 1000TX spec was released in 1999. I would use a device on your good internet site to do these speed tests at both sites and try it on the specified router port out of hours.

 

Once you have these three results from the same hardware you can push this back.

 

Generally DNS issues cause the opposite of your issue the speed reports as fast but the internet feels slow, but it wont hurt to try a different DNS provider to test.

 

[ICT_GUY]

14 minutes ago, Boredguy said:

Do you have 2 IP ranges available for your site @ICT_GUY?

I found that when we had our new backup line installed in the summer, RM engineers decided to set a throttle on our router config so 50% of our bandwidth was only available on each of our 2 ranges to "save bottlenecking".

 

Took a few weeks of them "checking" and trying to claim it might be the Telco til they noticed the limit and reset it so we get 100% capacity on both ranges but they can't exceed our line speed (which isn't an issue as we use the 2nd range purely for BYoD traffic and limit the network card on the internal NAT to be 100Mb :D)

Now this would seem to fit the issue.

Yes we have multiple ip ranges. 

Unfiltered proxy range

Two curiculum ranges.

And two admin network ranges. 

It was working fine with the meraki switches doing all the internet routing to the juniper box. 

It would not surprise me at all that they are throttling each network as the admin network connection is significantly lower bandwidth than the curiculum even though it used to be the same 1GBS

 

I think you may have found the issue lets see if they own it.

[Boredguy]

Yep ask them in the support call to remove the QoS cap for the vLans on your circuit

[ICT_GUY]

I have done now.

Lets see what happens.

[ICT_GUY]

No Qos installed.

Now the admin networks have gone from 300mbs to 500mbs the same as the rest of the network.

Ran the tests on a laptop a very high spec n150 with 4gb of ram running mint linux.

Same capped speeds.

Ran the tests at home on my home network and I got full 1Gbs speeds. 

Funny that, it is alsmost like after a month of dancing around the issue that either the juniper box as broken (reallyunlikely) or the ISP they outsource to is capping the speeds, but that never ever happens right? Oh wait.

[Boredguy]

When I proved the issue for Support, I took a laptop that I gave static IP details to and connected directly in to the router port to do a speed test, as at one point hey were trying to suggest it could be caused by switch infrastructure (brand new Unifi kit), even though we had identical setup at multiple other sites with no speed cap.

 

I did the speed test via the laptop at end of day so that disruption was only for a couple of minutes.  You could try this on port 0/0/2 as per your OP, just not with the server as thats not really ideal.

[dmj]

I'd try capping the 10Gbps network, or upgrading the FTTP to 5 or 10Gbps. 

On a 10Gbps network, the server can send a burst of ACK packets at the router. The router then has to jam those 10 Gbps bursts into the 1Gbps uplink port. If the switch or firewall buffers are small or overwhelmed, it will drop those ACK's. When TCP loses ACKs, the sender pauses and can cut its download speed in half.

Networking is all about shifting bottlenecks. 

[ICT_GUY]

It worked flawlessly since install.

Connected a laptop directly to the juniper box speeds still capped by the ISP. This on a port set up to bypass the proxies. Same laptop at home on my network of shame gave full 1gbs speed during testing. 

 

Testing at the weekend still showed the same capped speeds. 

 

RM out source the connection to an ISP Virgin Or EE typically. ItlLooks like they decided to cap our speeds to a 500mbs connection and lied to RM about doing so.

 

One of the RM guys I talked to on the phone said this happenes more often than it should do.

Rm monitoring shows the maximum load to the internet is capped at 500mbs, though normally hovers around 300mbs on general use.

Also the servers don't really access the internet for anything other than updates. Even DNS goes through our pihole ad filter.

 

[ICT_GUY]

And the dance continues.

 

So now I have had to hard reset the ont box. No change.

 

Now I have been told to run the connection test again directly on the school router.

 

I mean I couldunder stand if the connection speed was capped at 10/100 speeds but switches do not negotiate a stable 500Mbs connection if there is a bad cable somewhere.

 

SO this is an issue that has been ongoing for two months and has had me waste 10s of hours resetting, changing cables, running test after test that I can run on another school network with full speeds with way worse hardware. I mean every excuse under the sun rather than admiotting the ISP has throttled us to a 500Mbs connection which is exactly what every test has shown. 

 

frustrated is an understatment 

Edited June 2 by ICT_GUY

[Ratcliffepg]

If you are dealing with RM Internet support based in India, good luck.....

[ICT_GUY]

Well the guy I am dealing with has an English Name.

It is just rediculous the number of silly excuses given as to why it is our rather exspensive Meraki network that is at fault despite having a 10Gbs back bone and 2 year old switches.  When the other school has 20 year old cat 5 and still gets faster internet speeds using the same settings.

I could understand if the speed was 10 or 100 Mbs. But having a VERY consistent 500Mbs connection? Hmm that sounds very much like an ISP capped speed. 

 

Lets  check what speeds Zen actually offers.

Full fibre 900 

Full Fibre 500

Full Fiber 150

 

Mmmmm looks like we might be on one of those speeds.

Edited June 2 by ICT_GUY

[psydii]

Get the Finance Director to write a letter to Head of Customer Services advising them of their breach of contract, and requesting immediate remedy. Send it recorded delivery.

[ICT_GUY]

Will be doing so.

So now we have an open reach engineer coming out to check the stable 500mbs connectioon for fiber signal issues.

 

 

[ICT_GUY]

Actually now I have to set up a ppoe connection on my laptop to connect directly to the fiber to test.

I am confused, when did I start working for RM? Ive not had a pay packet yet.

[Boredguy]

At most you should setup a static IP on your range, with the upstream DNS servers so you can plug your laptop straight into the router to do a speed test to ensure it's not your network side (which we know is unlikely to be the case).

This was their advice on your OP, so not sure why you need to setup a ppoe connection

[ICT_GUY]

Did that and it was the same throttled speeds.

PPOE connection straight to the ONT box full speed.

So it is a router config issue, probably a traffic shaping setting they changed randomly. though they are swearing they haven't implemented that.

So lets see what they do next.

[ICT_GUY]

This would also explain why the non curiculum range is getting 300mbs.

over two months this has been going on.

[ICT_GUY]

Still ongoing.

The connection to the school tested with a laptop connected via PPOE is full gig.

The new router can get full gig speeds.

The vlans all are capped at 500mbs. 

Seems pretty obvious that there is a problem with the routing or traffic shaping. However this has been going on for 3 months now.

[psydii]

Did they respond to your Finance Director's letter?

[ICT_GUY]

Not yet.

Honestly I have been sent the mother of all BS excuse responses today.

 

Funny enough asking me to run the speed tests directly on the router using a linux laptop as the low speeds are a windows networking thing. Well thats BS as at another school using much older and less capable kit I get full gig running any test still an RM connection. Also I have only ever used a linux laptop for testing direct to the router. Keeping in mind we were sent a brand new router a very nice one in fact. And no change in throughput. Though it can run internal tests at 1gbs. It is so obviously a configuration issue. Lastly we used to be able to run the tests internally at full 1GBs. 

 

So here is the nonsense I was sent.

 

The Technical Reasons for the Speed Drop

 

1. PPPoE MTU and Packet Fragmentation

 

PPPoE requires 8 bytes of data overhead. This drops your maximum packet size (MTU) from the standard 1500 bytes down to 1492 bytes.

 

- Through the Router: If the router is not configured with proper MSS (Maximum Segment Size) clamping, it receives standard 1500-byte packets from Windows and must split them into smaller pieces to fit the 1492-byte PPPoE limit. This splitting (fragmentation) heavily taxes the router's CPU and slows down data delivery.

 

- Direct to ONT: When Windows initiates the PPPoE connection directly, it automatically sets its own MTU to 1492. No splitting happens, resulting in clean, full-speed delivery.

 

2. Windows Network Throttling and TCP Window Auto-Tuning

 

Windows uses an optimization feature called Receive Window Auto-Tuning to manage how much data it downloads before waiting for an acknowledgement from the server.

 

- Windows auto-tuning algorithms are notoriously sensitive to packet variations caused by home routers (like slight latency spikes, packet reordering, or fragmentation).

 

- When Windows detects these router variations, it preemptively shrinks its "TCP window size," capping your speed around 600 Mbps.

 

- Direct PPPoE connections to the ONT offer a completely clean path, allowing Windows to scale the window size fully to 1 Gbps.

 

[5tu]

Ditch and switch?

[dmj]

If it's causing this much hassle, you can buy a generic 1GB up/down connection on a business rate for £50/month. 

For the cost of a laptop I'd just suck up the cost, wait for the least line to expire then get a contract elsewhere.