Jye

After last nights game a few people have had problems connecting so I though we could start a thread of potential problems and solutions.

Im going to have a good look on Google today to see if I can find any reasons/solutions.

1. 600K connections have only half the upload of ADSL 512, i.e 128K, could this be a problem?

2. It seems many NTL customers need to reboot their routers to get DHCP functioning correctly before a game. Im not with NTL, Im with Eclipse (1mb ADSL) but I noticed after I had used the XBox last night I had no net connection and had to rebooot my Netgear DG814 Router

3. There is an Idle Timeout field on many routers which by default is set to five. Unless you want the connection dropping out on you a lot then it is recommended to set a value of zero in this field. I doubt this is a problem for anyone though as it would show up while using the net etc.

4. This is a list of router know not to work or cause problems with XBox live: List is at the bottom of the page.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/conne...patibility.htm


If anyone knows of any other issues please add to this thread.


Cheers


John

[Edited by Jye - 12/16/2003 9:49:04 AM]

Bumpster

I know with NTL they do a "Xbox Live" package, maybe this package (which costs more than your standard 600k connection increases the upload speed to 256k?

Jye

Possibly, I know you cant really host with a 128K upload, or you can host but it restricts the number of players without lag.

JackClark

Interesting, I don't see any extra problems when hosting, just get kicked off every now and then and can't join rooms.

Iain Young

I've got the ntl 1meg package, going through an Actiontek router. never had any problems with having to reboot the router before using live, (xbox is on dchp). Perhaps this problem is specific to certain makes / models of router?

Iain Young

Interestingly, I've been booted out of games mid-race as well, but I don't get signed out of xbox live. I just need to connect to the game again!!

I think there may be one or two little bugs in pgr2 itself...

kernel

I've not played MotoGP recently but never had these connection problems with that game. Is it the service is more popular now, is it related to ping times, these must be below a certain level before the game allows you to connect?

Last week I was running P2P software at the same time, occasionally peeps complained I had a bit of lag but often I was generally hosting without complaints.

I didn't host last night, perhaps I should have to see if sammyh could connect to me.

I am on Nildram 512K ADSL through a Vigor 2200 USB router. No ports are explicitly open for the Live service.

Picnic

Jye

I also read problems could be caused by people using the same ISP, which I think is nonsense. The router issue is a definite one though as after reading loads of threads on the live forums its router compatablity which causes the most grief.

[Edited by Jye - 12/16/2003 11:37:30 AM]

JohnMcC

FWIW, I have NTL 600k, no router and seem to be having no real problems atm.

Have not really had any issues with Top Spin, R6 or PGR2 while playing on live, although it has to be said that I dont host games.

As I just unplug the modem (ie NTL set top box) from my PC and plug it into my XBox when I want to go on Live, I do have to reset my NTL box each time, but (touch wood) it takes seconds and then I have no problems.

The only thing that I have noticed with PGR2 is that, when I am signed in, sometimes it says it is searching for a better connection, or something (can't remember the exact wording) when I go to actually play. It has always been able to find a decent connection after a few seconds though - it has always worked.

Ive played a few hours of PGR2 Live now and in only one session was there any lag, with some guys car bouncing all over the shop. He left or was booted soon afterwards so everything was hunky dory after that.

kernel

I've raced with JustJack on a couple of occasions and each time he has had problems. But I've never seen him laggy, he just disappears.

If Live simply uses TCP/IP in what way to some routers cause problems?

sammyh

iTrader: (1)

Jye the games I hosted last night were on Ntl 600 did you notice any lag? I think at one point we had 6 players and all seemed fine.

I'm sure the connection is not the problem with regards to getting into the rooms.

Jye

Lag can make you disappear or drop you if your ping is very low. You can also test your connection quality and ping through the Dashboard.

Jye

No Sammy your games were spot on m8, but I guess it can change due to contention ratio. If everyone sharing your cable/adsl connection is maxing it out at the same time you are playing then it could become laggy.

Iain Young

Just a thought, but does live use two-way communication, (i.e. does the xbox act as a server when you are hosting the game, or is the game actually mananed on the microsoft server and the "host" just controls it). A lot of routers (if not all) have a hardware firewall built in to stop incomming transmissions etc. Perhaps this area is where the problems are occurring (some glitch in the data flow)

Jye

I'm sure the connection is not the problem with regards to getting into the rooms.

I agree, I still think its somehow router related. Routers are the only way to go IMO as they transparentlysort out DHCP.

I have noticed quite a few threads on the live forums as I said earlier and the concensus was that it was router related.

Jye

--or is the game actually mananed on the microsoft server and the "host" just controls it--

Yes.

Scooby-Doo

Last night I could access Sammyh's game but he could not access mine. Picnic could not join Sammyh's game at all. I can only assume there was an issue between Sammyh and Picnic somehow !!!!

Jye

Its a deffo known prob now.

http://forum.officialxboxmagazine.co...pic.php?t=7575

http://forums.xbox.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=5618471

The only solution seems to be you should contact Xbox live and complain

[Edited by Jye - 12/16/2003 2:43:58 PM]

JackClark

From the developers site http://www.bizarrecreationsforum.com...pic.php?t=1661

Jye

--On my ADSL router (Webramp 600i) I forwarded incoming udp/88, udp/3074 and tcp/3074 to the internal IP address the xbox gets (from dhcp). i.e. Any traffic that hits my router on those ports goes directly to the xbox.--

Have you tried this Jack? I guess it could be worth a go although your problem of being connected than getting kicked is not related to UDP imo.