What is a TBBQM and why is it useful?

[.Griff.]

The TBBQM to use it's short name is a "Broadband Quality Monitor" developed and operated by thinkbroadband.com.

It is essentially a simple latency and packet loss monitor which by pinging your router records the data and extrapolates it into a graph.

A typical graph over a 24 hour period will look something like this -



The green indicates the minimum recorded latency and on a stable connection this should be flat and smooth. The blue and yellow plots represent average and maximum latency respectively and it's normal for "spikes" to appear when the internet is in use. For example downloading large files, watching videos on Youtube or general web-browsing can all result in spikes on the graph. You may also see spikes at times when the internet is not in use but as long as the spikes are fairly small this is perfectly normal.

If your router does not reply to a ping request, for example your connection has dropped, there is a fault, and/or the backhaul is extremely saturated then you may see packet loss (also known as dropped packets) indicated at the top of the graph in red. The lower the red spike descends the more packets have been lost.

Why is a TBBQM useful for me?

In my opinion the TBBQM can be an extremely useful tool in diagnosing potential faults and problems with your internet connection. For example if your connection dropped for 10 minutes, indicated by 100% packet loss for that period, then you may be wondering what the issue was but if other IDNet customers have a TBBQM in place and their respective graphs show the same packetloss at the same time then you can be confident it was a network issue and nothing specific to your connection. Conversely if your TBBQM shows an issue but other users don't then that suggest a localised issue.

The TBBQM can also be useful in showing changes in the level of interleaving, re-syncs, and congestion.

Example Graphs

Multiple resyncs



Multiple line drops lasting from 5 - 15 minutes caused by fault on line



Drop in level of interleaving/Switch to fastpath



(In this example you can see the connection drop immediately before the change in minimum latency. This is caused by the DLM forcing a resync to apply the changes)

Increase in the level of interleaving



(Again in this example you can see a resync immediately before the level of interleaving is increased)

Downloading large file



(At approximately 7.30pm you can see a large spike with a distinct increase in average latency lasting roughly 15 minutes. This is associated with downloading a large file and/or heavy bandwidth use)

P2P/Torrents



(The left hand side of this graph clearly indicates heavy P2P use, most often caused by using Torrents. The dramatic increased in average latency is caused by the connection uploading data over an extended period)

Congestion



A lot of people mistake interleaving changes as congestion but this graph perfectly demonstrates a congested network. Namely the time, it starts and increases when people are arriving home from work and school and jump onto the internet, and the gradual increase in minimum latency as times progresses. Compare that to the instant latency change associated with interleaving changes)

How do I setup a TBBQM?

Click on this link and follow the simple set of instructions -

http://www.thinkbroadband.com/ping/monitors/create.html

If you don't already have an account on thinkbroadband you will need to create one then my link will take you directly to the TBBQM.

http://www.thinkbroadband.com/register.html

[.Griff.]

I've written this as a rough guide to help people understand what a thinkbroadband quality monitor is and why it has it's uses. Hopefully it's of sufficient use to form part of the "Common issues, how to deal with them, how to get advice quickly" FAQ?!?

If anyone has any TBBQM graphs showing any of the usual issues I've not covered feel free to send them to me and I'll update the post.

[Rik]

Stickied...

[Ray]

Excellent post, Griff, very useful information.

[.Griff.]

Cheers Rik and Ray 

[Steve]

 

[Lona]

I can't remember my user name or password

Would this slow down your connection by running it in the background, Griff.?

[.Griff.]

Would this slow down your connection by running it in the background, Griff.?

Not in the slightest Lona. I and plenty of other IDNet users have been using it for over a year and I've not seen a single person have any negative comments to make about it.

[Rik]

Except Ian Livingstone.

[Lona]

Except Ian Livingstone.

Who's he?

[Simon]

Chief Executive of BT.

[Baz]

wheres the link for the d/l or do you have to register

[.Griff.]

It's at the end of my post Baz.

How do I setup a TBBQM?

Click on this link and follow the simple set of instructions -

http://www.thinkbroadband.com/ping/monitors/create.html

If you don't already have an account on thinkbroadband you will need to create one then my link will take you directly to the TBBQM.

[Baz]

yeah been there Griff but I was expecting something to download all that takes me to is a Login page

[.Griff.]

yeah been there Griff but I was expecting something to download all that takes me to is a Login page

There's nothing to download Baz.

Simply create an account on thinkbroadband and then try my link again.

[Baz]

thanks Griff   must have had one before as I just did a p/word reset and im in.

[.Griff.]

Nice one Baz.

Steve has kindly edited the wording at the end of my post to make it clearer.

[Baz]

Hmmm  must be doing something wrong as I only get a complete red graph when I look at this now

[.Griff.]

Hmmm  must be doing something wrong as I only get a complete red graph when I look at this now

You've either entered the wrong IP address or your router is not accepting incoming ICMP requests.

Which router are you using Baz?

[Baz]

netgear dg834pn

i get address dynamic Griff    could it be that

[.Griff.]

netgear dg834pn

i get address dynamic Griff    could it be that

It depends how often the IP changes Baz. When I was with Be I had a dynamic IP but because it had a long lease it didn't change in over a year.

It's more likely to be your router not accepting the ping requests. Give me a few minutes and I'll see if I can find the necessary setting to change.

[Baz]

ok thanks.

I just had a quick look on TBB site about the red graph and there is a bit about WAN settings for netgear routers for respond to ping,
but the router help guide says not to change it as it could cause problems 

[.Griff.]

Ok Baz, section 6-3 of your manual -

"Respond to Ping on Internet WAN Port
If you want the ADSL modem wireless router to respond to a 'ping' from the Internet, select the
'Respond to Ping on Internet WAN Port' check box"

On other words, go to "Advanced" on the left hand side of the Netgear control panel, then "Wan Setup" and tick "Respond to Ping on Internet WAN Port"



Edit - The manual just says it should only be used as a diagnostic tool which is exactly what the TBBQM is. The wording Netgear use is a little over the top to be honest.

[Baz]

yeah it mentions that its a security risk

ive ticked the box so see if that works.how long before it starts plotting any thing

[.Griff.]

yeah it mentions that its a security risk

ive ticked the box so see if that works.how long before it starts plotting any thing

You should start seeing something within 30 minutes.

[Baz]

yeah its working now Griff    getting some big peaks in the yellow section, is that normal.not all the time and not for very long but they hit the max on the scale

[Rik]

What else is happening on your connection at the time, Baz, eg anyone viewing YouTube?

[Baz]

could be Rik yeah  will check later no one up yet.I would say just general usage but we do you tube some times

[Baz]

 i am trying it again as I started to notice first thing in the morning a lot of activity on the router,flashing wireless light, when no one was using it.Sometimes we leave any downloads till off peak so I thought it may be that but it hasnt been.

there is 2 HTC phones in the house that also may use it I dont know how they work 

[Steve]

This is my usual looking TBBQM , on a non FTTC connection you'll see the max latency rise quite sharply with just moderate internet usage.

[Baz]

heres mine so far

[.Griff.]

Baz - Your graph looks fine. The minimum latency is flat, there's very little packet loss indicated and the maximum latency spikes are normal.

Steve - Again Steve that looks normal. If you look at the first half of the graph although maximum latency appears in the form of large yellow spikes your minimum and average latency remains pretty flat. Compare that to the two spikes at roughly 8am and 10am where average and minimum latency spike as well. The 8am spike suggests someone was downloading something at the time while the 10am spike suggests a combination of heavy download and possibly upload.

[.Griff.]

Some of the example graphs in the guide are no longer working. I've asked TBB to look into this as some of my historical data seems to have become corrupt.

[Steve]

Well if you need some edits let one of us know.

[Rik]

heres mine so far

Are you on LLU, Baz?