Netherlands sometimes VERY slow

[go558a83nk 362]

Sorry, I've been away for a while.... Today I connected with the Netherlands country config, landed on Alphecca, and downloads were extremely slow. I promptly disconnected/reconnected, landed on Edasich, and I was back up to my usual speed. This intermittent sluggishness is how it's been for years. I may go days before it happens again. I don't understand. I had checked the Alphecca server page, and the graphs and numbers looked fine. I ran a my little Mac WhatRoute utility, which puts a traceroute on a geographical map, but when using a VPN tunnel, it only starts at the exit server, so I can't tell if I'm on a badly circuitous route on the way to the VPN server. I believe the AirVPN staff saying that it's some kind of problem between me and the AirVPN server, but what else can I do to get to the bottom of this?

 

nothing, just switch servers like you did.  if it is a route problem between you and the server how do you think you can fix it anyway?  just be glad you have options.

[yepper 4]

^ I don't accept that answer and attitude.

 

I connect with websites all over the world without VPN, and I never experience these symptoms; only when connecting with a Netherlands country config. I've never had sluggishness connecting with a Romania country config. I'm not necessarily saying it's AirVPN's fault, but something's going on uniquely involving AirVPN, and I'd like to find out what's going on.

[LZ1 672]

Sorry, I've been away for a while.... Today I connected with the Netherlands country config, landed on Alphecca, and downloads were extremely slow. I promptly disconnected/reconnected, landed on Edasich, and I was back up to my usual speed. This intermittent sluggishness is how it's been for years. I may go days before it happens again. I don't understand. I had checked the Alphecca server page, and the graphs and numbers looked fine. I ran a my little Mac WhatRoute utility, which puts a traceroute on a geographical map, but when using a VPN tunnel, it only starts at the exit server, so I can't tell if I'm on a badly circuitous route on the way to the VPN server. I believe the AirVPN staff saying that it's some kind of problem between me and the AirVPN server, but what else can I do to get to the bottom of this?

Which kind of download are we talking about here? In-browser stuff or torrenting? If it's downloads of webpages for example, you could take a look at the mssfix.

[go558a83nk 362]

^ I don't accept that answer and attitude.

 

I connect with websites all over the world without VPN, and I never experience these symptoms; only when connecting with a Netherlands country config. I've never had sluggishness connecting with a Romania country config. I'm not necessarily saying it's AirVPN's fault, but something's going on uniquely involving AirVPN, and I'd like to find out what's going on.

 

So, you insist that somehow AirVPN can fix the internet?  I guess they should take that as a compliment. 

[yepper 4]

Which kind of download are we talking about here? In-browser stuff or torrenting? If it's downloads of webpages for example, you could take a look at the mssfix.

 

LZ1, as I answered you in post #9, "By 'slow', I mean the network connection coming through the Netherlands VPN server is slow: web page loading, YouTube videos, download speeds—everything!"

 

I don't see why changing my MTU would improve things for my intermittent connections with the Netherlands country config that are slow, when my speeds are fine all the other times, and always fine with my Romania country connections. (By "country connection," I mean the AirVPN connection config that chooses for me among the several VPN servers within that country.) Wouldn't the fact that my robust connections most of the time (not to mention also no problems whatsoever when not using VPN) rule-out an improper MTU setting? But if you think I'm nevertheless not understanding the nature of the MTU setting even in light of no problems most of the time, I will change mine and test if you say so.

 

 

So, you insist that somehow AirVPN can fix the internet?  I guess they should take that as a compliment.

 

go558a83nk, I'm sorry, but I said nothing of the sort. You're putting words in my mouth. It's as if you didn't even read the very data points I made that you quoted in your reply, or at least your insults don't reflect a recognition of taking into account the situation as I described, viz., if the sluggishness (intermittently) occurs if and only if I'm making an AirVPN Netherlands country connection—and never with other country connections or under other circumstances not involving VPN—then that strongly suggests that something's amiss, which very well may not be AirVPN's fault, but to which AirVPN might be a catalyst, and I'd like to find out what's going on. I don't know where you get a demand from me that AirVPN "fix the internet," except from bad motives on your part.

[LZ1 672]

 

Which kind of download are we talking about here? In-browser stuff or torrenting? If it's downloads of webpages for example, you could take a look at the mssfix.

 

LZ1, as I answered you in post #9, "By 'slow', I mean the network connection coming through the Netherlands VPN server is slow: web page loading, YouTube videos, download speeds—everything!"

 

I don't see why changing my MTU would improve things for my intermittent connections with the Netherlands country config that are slow, when my speeds are fine all the other times, and always fine with my Romania country connections. (By "country connection," I mean the AirVPN connection config that chooses for me among the several VPN servers within that country.) Wouldn't the fact that my robust connections most of the time (not to mention also no problems whatsoever when not using VPN) rule-out an improper MTU setting? But if you think I'm nevertheless not understanding the nature of the MTU setting even in light of no problems most of the time, I will change mine and test if you say so.

 

 

>So, you insist that somehow AirVPN can fix the internet?  I guess they should take that as a compliment.

 

go558a83nk, I'm sorry, but I said nothing of the sort. You're putting words in my mouth. It's as if you didn't even read the very data points I made that you quoted in your reply, or at least your insults don't reflect a recognition of taking into account the situation as I described, viz., if the sluggishness (intermittently) occurs if and only if I'm making an AirVPN Netherlands country connection—and never with other country connections or under other circumstances not involving VPN—then that strongly suggests that something's amiss, which very well may not be AirVPN's fault, but to which AirVPN might be a catalyst, and I'd like to find out what's going on. I don't know where you get a demand from me that AirVPN "fix the internet," except from bad motives on your part.

 

 

I think that since you're still experiencing issues, that it's worth trying out any potential solution that lands on your desk. Issues with websites loading is otherwise exactly an issue MTU fixes can help with. Besides, it can't hurt.

[Shiver Me Whiskers 15]

Something is definitely weird...

 

I am in the Netherlands, just a few hops away from any of the Alblasserdam servers. Actually, I am physically located within 50km of them on a pretty fast 400mbps internet ...

Still, in some occasions after the client connects to some of them, everything is very sluggish and terrible, I can't even open a page during the time it takes to make a Senseo coffee...

 

Solution: Disconnect to that server, reconnect to another "recommended" one - It works fine.

 

Even more strange is that if I disconnect again and reconnect to the first one that was very slow, it works now without a hitch !

This feels pretty random, there's no pattern.

 

---

Some thoughts:

 

I noticed a similar behavior in my own house (not related to VPN), even on a very fist fiber connection... when having DHT enabled in torrent client. That for example creates a gazillion connections in rapid succession, overloading routers, even if the traffic itself is tiny (usually it's just a few packets to exchange database info then disconnecting...). Until DHT finished it's data exchange and calmed down, everything else on the net was connecting very slowly (or with errors)

 

Might it be possible that some people connected to some VPN servers simply have "too many" connections at once, even if they aren't consuming traffic ?

 

Currently AirVPN only shows "raw bandwidth" and "user count"

- What if it would also show the number of active connections ? -

 

A server with just 40 users and 22% traffic might have 10 times more low-traffic connections than another one with 120 users that are doing almost nothing.

[yepper 4]

^ Thank you, Shiver Me Whiskers, a very useful, interesting post. You may be onto something. At least, too many connections—even if not transferring data, is consistent with the intermittent nature of the problem. A good lead to check out.

 

I can add one data point that differs from your other: several times when I have experienced a sluggish connection,  I have promptly disconnected & reconnected again with the Netherlands country config and happened to land on the same server that was very slow, and still experienced sluggishness each time. That complicates getting to the bottom of this.

 

I haven't experienced the problem since my last post, but the next time I do, I intend to try disconnecting my Amazon firestick from VPN, generating an AirVPN config of that specific server and reconnecting to it, and if the sluggishness persists, connect to that server with my Mac computer, and if it's also sluggish, then try reducing my MTU (I don't think I can do that on my firestick without rooting it) to rule that out.

 

We're making progress.