Disconnects, anyone?

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: Disconnects, anyone?

From a posting on Allakhazam:

ICR Terrence J.: The problem isn't anything you can solve your self. The problem lies with the provider your ISP goes through.
ICR Terrence J.: It's not your ISP's problem. The problem lies with the people they go through. They told you it isn't their problem because it isn't. Their networks are working fine.
Lindsay **: *bangs head on desk* who can I call to get some kinda help then? Who do I tell that something is wrong?
ICR Terrence J.: Us. As a consumer, you have no access to the company that is having problem. As an Information Center tech, I have no access to them. This is all something that needs to be handle by the people above us.
Lindsay **: Tell me what to do now.
ICR Terrence J.: Just wait it out. If you personally know someone who isn't having problems or have a friend who has Verizon, go bum their connection.
ICR Terrence J.: You can atleast use their connection to move your character.

Edit:
Possible (and possibly sensible) workaround for PC clients:
Use a VPN whose network is working with FFXI.

[Nakti]

Re: Disconnects, anyone?

Can you link to the original article for me? (I don't want yet another account, but Blue Gartr forum won't let me use the search function without username/password.) It does fit the symptoms, though, from what you've written.

Unfortunately, I can't >< I'm not a member and I can't search either. I usually just slog through various threads, checking links in posts.

That's why I said to take the statement with a grain of salt. It was someone else who mentioned it. I'll see if I can find an original comment tomorrow. I've got a wicked migraine right now.

What's the verdict after the latest mini-update? Are people still getting R0? Since I wasn't having the problem, I can't check this.

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: Disconnects, anyone?

Supposedly Taj (of BlueGartr fame) said the data being received during the R0 times was corrupted, therefore the client throws it out and eventually cuts the connection.

Can you link to the original article for me? (I don't want yet another account, but Blue Gartr forum won't let me use the search function without username/password.) It does fit the symptoms, though, from what you've written.

[Eohmer]

Re: Disconnects, anyone?

In a normal disconnection (I would know, I've gotten them) I run through a zone, disconnect, and when I log back in I'm where I started running.

In these recent disconnections, people run through zones, disconnect, and when they log back in they're where they stopped running.

I can confirm this... that's how my DC's have been.

[Nakti]

Re: Disconnects, anyone?

Take this with a grain of salt because it is utterly hearsay and I don't feel like wading through posts on BlueGartr to find the horse's mouth...

Supposedly Taj (of BlueGartr fame) said the data being received during the R0 times was corrupted, therefore the client throws it out and eventually cuts the connection.

This makes a lot of sense to me.

In a normal disconnection (I would know, I've gotten them) I run through a zone, disconnect, and when I log back in I'm where I started running.

In these recent disconnections, people run through zones, disconnect, and when they log back in they're where they stopped running.

This, together with the odd search failures I've received, and garbled system messages I've seen in-game, makes me think that, yes, the client is receiving this corrupted data. For some people it's worse corruption than others. However, data being sent to SE servers is just fine which is probably why SE thought "yeah, everything's a-ok".

[Llydya]

Re: Disconnects, anyone?

OMG!!!!!!! After 4 1/2 days of not getting past aquiring player data, getting a new ip, doing all sorts of things on our router, I finally gave up. I thought that because we were playing on a PS2, we'd just have to wait until forever for our ISP to correct whatever was wrong.
Then I got the bright idea to install the new wireless router we bought my son for Christmas (that he couldn't seem to get working correctly and went back to the old one). Took a while to get all the pc's and console up on on (everything is hardwired to the new router - I haven't tried the wireless thing on the laptop yet), then just shut everything down, disconnected ALL power to modem and router, waited 5 minutes and brought everything up again.
GUESS WHAT!!! We're IN!!! VANA D'IEL LIVES AGAIN!!!!

Many thanks to all who posted about the routers and IP addresses. Now to get back and start leveling and cooking again.

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: Disconnects, anyone?

It's a shame that it'll be hard to locate the problem though. I guess this might take a while?

Only S-E may be able to give you a real answer--all I can do is provide some general background info. ^_^; (Just stuff like: this may actually be a hard problem; S-E isn't necessarily lying; and, please calm down, folks, it's not the end of the world, yet, etc.)

[Avenius]

Re: Disconnects, anyone?

Thanks for the explanations. It may not solve the problem, but I feel a bit more enlightened now

It's a shame that it'll be hard to locate the problem though. I guess this might take a while?

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: Disconnects, anyone?

Actually, each zone IS hosted on another server, according to Kitten...

Well, the way I would put it is "Each zone is a server." ("Server" is a software program, run a machine usually referred as its "host". You can have multiple server programs running on the same host.)

So how would that be since the problems only happen after the March 9th updates? It must be their corrupted updates. I never had this d/c'ed problem when zonning in certain area(s) before the updates.

What if you turn the question around, and ask "If the update is the cause of the problem, why doesn't everyone get the the problem or even the same problem?"

Yes, it happened close to the update, and it could be the case that the update included some changes to the servers (zones), hosts (machines), network (on S-E's premises), and/or clients (the S-E programs which run on PS2's, xBox 360, PC's) which play a part in the problem. However, none of that contradicts with the evidence on network dependency.

Update 5:
Logged on from a different physical location using a different ISP, and my character no longer stuck at Holla. ^_^v After a quick warp, I'm enjoying the very normal lag that is Aht Urhgan now...

[Bonus]

Re: Disconnects, anyone?

Actually, it's becoming less weird to me.

There seem to strong evidence that the problem has a network dependency. Assuming each zone of each world is a different server and possibly hosted on a different machine (yes, "server" is program, not hardware), it makes a lot of sense that only a particular combination of end user network location + zone would have the problem symptoms.

Traffic data from and from player's client (software) takes a certain network route to/from the zone server. The exact route is determined in part by where the client is connected to the Internet as well as where the client is connected. The "route" is actually a list of network nodes--usually very specialized computers/devices for moving network traffic--and, when everything is working, your data "hops" from one node to another until it reaches the destination.

Now, some interesting tidbits:
1. The data from-server-to-client and from-client-to-server do not have to take the same exact routes. This would explain why many players can update their character position before getting d/c'ed, to move ever closer to the zone line; only one route (server-to-client) is broken.
2. Any node in the route selected can have problem--in fact, there can be problems which only occur in-between nodes. S-E does not control most of these nodes; this is why I believe S-E is perfectly honest when they say "Everything is working! (As far as we can tell!)"

In fact, it's also explains why it's darn long to investigate--they don't own/control much the network system between their servers (the zones!) and us (suffering players' clients), so they would have a hard time determining where/what is the problem located.

Basically, S-E is screwed, and so are we.


p.s. Did I mention the "routes" can change? Even while you're playing? In multiple ways? Yes, it's very possible to have no problem, then a while later hit the dreaded condition--if this is some sort of route related problem.

So how would that be since the problems only happen after the March 9th updates? It must be their corrupted updates. I never had this d/c'ed problem when zonning in certain area(s) before the updates.

[Eohmer]

Re: Disconnects, anyone?

Assuming each zone of each world is a different server and possibly hosted on a different machine (yes, "server" is program, not hardware), it makes a lot of sense that only a particular combination of end user network location + zone would have the problem symptoms.

Actually, each zone IS hosted on another server, according to Kitten...

Talked to POL customer service once about this matter. When you cross into another zone, you're actually connecting to another server within your world server. Sometimes, with an update, some changes can to your own configurations can occur, so the server no longer recognizes your usual address and you get timed out when you access the next zone's server.

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: Disconnects, anyone?

This is just so weird.

Actually, it's becoming less weird to me.

There seem to strong evidence that the problem has a network dependency. Assuming each zone of each world is a different server and possibly hosted on a different machine (yes, "server" is program, not hardware), it makes a lot of sense that only a particular combination of end user network location + zone would have the problem symptoms.

Traffic data from and from player's client (software) takes a certain network route to/from the zone server. The exact route is determined in part by where the client is connected to the Internet as well as where the client is connected. The "route" is actually a list of network nodes--usually very specialized computers/devices for moving network traffic--and, when everything is working, your data "hops" from one node to another until it reaches the destination.

Now, some interesting tidbits:
1. The data from-server-to-client and from-client-to-server do not have to take the same exact routes. This would explain why many players can update their character position before getting d/c'ed, to move ever closer to the zone line; only one route (server-to-client) is broken.
2. Any node in the route selected can have problem--in fact, there can be problems which only occur in-between nodes. S-E does not control most of these nodes; this is why I believe S-E is perfectly honest when they say "Everything is working! (As far as we can tell!)"

In fact, it's also explains why it's darn long to investigate--they don't own/control much the network system between their servers (the zones!) and us (suffering players' clients), so they would have a hard time determining where/what is the problem located.

Basically, S-E is screwed, and so are we.


p.s. Did I mention the "routes" can change? Even while you're playing? In multiple ways? Yes, it's very possible to have no problem, then a while later hit the dreaded condition--if this is some sort of route related problem.

[Kirsteena]

Re: Disconnects, anyone?

It is totally wierd. I did the update at home, np.

Went to my b/f's for the weekend. Laughed at others having issues.

Went back home, started with dead zones, reset modem/router, can't log in. Karma bit me.

[Eohmer]

Re: Disconnects, anyone?

My friend from Japan was stuck in the Airship between Kazham and Port Jeuno. There was no way to get out of it. She tried timing the ship and try to log on right when it was docking... nothing.

So, a mutual friend, from Florida, logged in to her account, and got her out. She didn't have issues.

This is just so weird.

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: Disconnects, anyone?

Update:
Managed to somehow encounter the stuck while acquiring character information error on my PC; with both my own account and my sister's. Fiddling with the user folders didn't work--obviously, it never get the char info from POL/FFXI to check against the local info.

Restarted the router (with no changes to MAC cloning--the cheapo router we have does not have that feature), and was able to log on to both accounts afterwards. lol.

Not sure if resetting the router was connected with correction of the problem, or if FFXI just magically fixed itself.

I'm inclined to think the "not able to acquire user info" and "d/c'ing in certain zones" are entirely different problems. (I encountered the first, but was not able to reproduce the second one.)

Update 2:
Finally managed to reproduce the problem on my PC, using my sister's account. Teleport-Holla, and bingo, d/c. Switching out the character data folder didn't do a thing. This is lending credence to the mysterious "back-bone network problem" reported on Allakhazam. heh. Going to Teleport-Holla my own character and see what's up.

Update 3:
Yep. Managed to get my own character stuck. =b

Soooo.... Looks like it's some sort of zone server specific issue and tied to network in some way, and probably(?) not a character/account issue.

Next test is to try from a different ISP. Wish me luck!

Update 4:
My sister's friend logged her in from a different ISP, and was able to unstuck her. Looks like there's definitely a network dependency here. (I still have to test/un-stuck my character, but late for something IRL now, so will do that later. I'll try to gather the network info later as well.)