Keep a log of internet service issues?

[d000hg]

I run a constant

ping -t google.com

window on my main PC which runs 24/7 and this will catch my eye if the ping suddenly jumps from 20ms to 1000ms which tends to precede a problem, or will report outages you might not notice in everyday computer use. But it doesn't log anything. I don't want to log all the results as it will end up a big log file.

Can any Powershell (for preference) experts give me any ideas how I could run a similar script, which would continue to stream to my command window but also write problematic entries to a log file?
Or would I be better to spend an hour writing my own little C# application rather than faffing about?

---

(We have persistent intermittent internet supply issues on our FTTC supply - short outages somewhat often and longer outages or prolonged very slow speeds. We're an isolated house with a overhead line at the limit what the cabinet can supply but still typically get a 30/6 sort of speed... except it seems to be increasingly unreliable. Had the engineer out a few times but there's never a fault when he's here. He suspects our internal CAT6 wiring or mesh WiFi is the problem but anyway)

[WTFH]

Something like this?
https://oss.oetiker.ch/smokeping/index.en.html

Or for $10: https://netuptimemonitor.com

Other questions: do you know how many properties are connected to your cabinet? Are there engineers out at it frequently?

[eek]

I run a constant

ping -t google.com

window on my main PC which runs 24/7 and this will catch my eye if the ping suddenly jumps from 20ms to 1000ms which tends to precede a problem, or will report outages you might not notice in everyday computer use. But it doesn't log anything. I don't want to log all the results as it will end up a big log file.

Can any Powershell (for preference) experts give me any ideas how I could run a similar script, which would continue to stream to my command window but also write problematic entries to a log file?
Or would I be better to spend an hour writing my own little C# application rather than faffing about?

---

(We have persistent intermittent internet supply issues on our FTTC supply - short outages somewhat often and longer outages or prolonged very slow speeds. We're an isolated house with a overhead line at the limit what the cabinet can supply but still typically get a 30/6 sort of speed... except it seems to be increasingly unreliable. Had the engineer out a few times but there's never a fault when he's here. He suspects our internal CAT6 wiring or mesh WiFi is the problem but anyway)

This youfibre or still BT?

[d000hg]

Something like this?
https://oss.oetiker.ch/smokeping/index.en.html

Or for $10: https://netuptimemonitor.com

Other questions: do you know how many properties are connected to your cabinet? Are there engineers out at it frequently?

Thanks, they look the sort of thing.

And, I don't know but I think it's a fairly busy cabinet. There's a village and this is in the middle of it, then we are a couple of hundred metres outside the village. I understand people frequently see brief blips but we are getting issues where there is a problem, then it is hobbled for hours seemingly by some software which automatically adjusts the speed to get a stable service. I can live with a slower speed (say 20 instead of 30) but bouncing from 30 down to 3 when I use RDP so much is a bit old PITA.

The engineer claims my home network (wifi, ethernet wiring) could have a fault which is propagating back up the line but this seems off to me. Wiring between the master phone point to my router could obviously cause problems but if the router itself or my CAT6 cabling had issues, surely that can't take the connection down? He also seemed to be saying if you are thrashing the connection maxing out bandwidth, this can cause problems on the line/connection itself. Again, how can packets bouncing around on my ethernet/wifi cause a line fault?

This youfibre or still BT?

Sadly still regular FTTC. Been waiting on YF for yonks now

[WTFH]

The engineer claims my home network (wifi, ethernet wiring) could have a fault which is propagating back up the line but this seems off to me. Wiring between the master phone point to my router could obviously cause problems but if the router itself or my CAT6 cabling had issues, surely that can't take the connection down? He also seemed to be saying if you are thrashing the connection maxing out bandwidth, this can cause problems on the line/connection itself. Again, how can packets bouncing around on my ethernet/wifi cause a line fault?

Generally, he's talking rubbish but covering himself.
But...
How are you connected between the master and the router? Do you have a filter plugged in, or is it one of those master sockets that has a built in splitter/filter?
If you've got a filter and it's more that a few years old, swap it out for a newer one (if you're like me, you'll have several of them lying around, unused)
Apart from that, do you have any other phones/sky box/etc plugged in around the house without a filter?

The other thing to do, although it's a bit of a pain... the next time you spot it dropping, go for a drive and see if Openreach are at the cabinet. It's an amazing coincidence how someone's internet goes down the same day that they are at the cabinet fixing someone else's issue. I say "coincidence", because in recent studies, 100% of the time an engineer is at the cabinet, at least 1 house that was working will experience issues.

[d000hg]

The engineer has run his tests to various points and our master socket is definitely good (it was replaced in fact)... router plugs directly into this with a typical 1m cable.
Of note he said that he got worse (though OK) results when our router was plugged in compared to when his special box was which he's justifying the "it's your end mate" argument.

The frustrating thing is I know there's all this service monitoring software that automatically tries to optimise your service... you often see speed jump right up to high 30s then come down to 20s for instance. But it seems when there is an issue it sometimes goes into some sort of 'safe mode' until someone pokes it with a stick (I surmise, could be bollocks in my understanding) which I cannot do.

I have my own router/modem so maybe I'll put the plus.net one back so they can't blame my 'custom' equipment.

They did suggest they might put be on a different cabinet - we're in the valley between two villages and technically we're on the wrong side.

[WTFH]

When he plugs his special box in, I suspect he takes off the front plate before hand

Do you still use a landline? If not, remove the top of the front plate and try connecting your router in there.

(Also, the plus net router isn't too bad)

[DealorNoDeal]

We live in the sticks and used to be plagued by network problems. Unfortunately, there's a lot of overhead wire between us and the cabinet and it was forever getting damaged by the wind or shotgun pellets. Openreach often tried to point the finger at our wiring/equipment but it never was. In the end, we ditched the landline and switched to mobile broadband.

There are times when it runs slow but that could be anywhere within the Telco's network or even beyond their network.

Sometimes tracert might give a clue as to where the bottleneck is.

tracert bbc.com

[DealorNoDeal]

What would be useful is if you could ping the IP address of a gateway or server (DHCP, DNS etc), within the ISP's network, that sits between your router and the ISP's connection to the internet.

Unfortunately, I've never been able to find such an IP address. The trouble with pinging the likes of bbc.com is you never know if the problem is with your ISP, the internet or the network of the server you're pinging (bbc).

[d000hg]

When he plugs his special box in, I suspect he takes off the front plate before hand

Do you still use a landline? If not, remove the top of the front plate and try connecting your router in there.

(Also, the plus net router isn't too bad)

He does indeed. Since his A/B test was all my kit connected Vs directly into the plate, in hindsight I could have got him to test with my router plugged directly in and nothing else, though technically he's only supposed to test up to the socket.

We live in the sticks and used to be plagued by network problems. Unfortunately, there's a lot of overhead wire between us and the cabinet and it was forever getting damaged by the wind or shotgun pellets. Openreach often tried to point the finger at our wiring/equipment but it never was. In the end, we ditched the landline and switched to mobile broadband.

They seem to have done a decent amount of investigation everywhere from the cabinet to my house. We have an overhead cable up the drive (100m) and he's tested from the pole to the house, pole to cabinet and a few other access points (he says) without finding anything much. A previous engineer visit found some old bits which were replaced and they have changed other bits just to be sure.

What would be useful is if you could ping the IP address of a gateway or server (DHCP, DNS etc), within the ISP's network, that sits between your router and the ISP's connection to the internet.
Unfortunately, I've never been able to find such an IP address. The trouble with pinging the likes of bbc.com is you never know if the problem is with your ISP, the internet or the network of the server you're pinging (bbc).

When it starts complaining I generally see everything else go wrong... VPN connection to my client, etc... and it's typically a precursor to the connection dropping entirely. So it's not perfect but seems to be good enough in practice. Good point though.