I have been experiencing intermittent lag spikes over the last month. The spikes are very random and spaced out but I was able to capture one with pingplotter while it was happening. Could someone please help me interpret the results?

Hi!

The PingPlotter data capture here implies a complete loss of connectivity to google.ca. Hops 4-7 all have the exact same pattern, which implies that the problem originates at hop 4 or before. Hop 3 isn't normally a good responder (in the data you sent at least). This means we can't say *too* much about hop 3, but the pattern at hop 3 is different during the period of outage. This implies (but does not prove) that hop 3 was involved.

Hop 2 is non-responsive, and hop 1 is inside your network. Hop 1 looks like maybe you're connected via WiFi with your computer, but that connection is pretty good. Hop 2 is non-responsive, but that's not any indication of problems (discussion / examples here: http://www.pingman.com/kb/24).

Based on this short time period (20 minutes) and no description of the symptoms you were seeing during this period, I would *guess* that there's something a bit unreliable about your DSL connection to your provider (you're on DSL, right?).

Things to ask, though:

* What problem are you trying to solve, with which application(s)? What symptoms are you seeing?
* Were the symptoms you were seeing similar to the data you posted in PingPlotter? Did you have a total loss of connectivity for a couple of minutes? It's important to correlate the PingPlotter data to the actual symptoms so you know you're chasing the right thing.
* Does PingPlotter normally show this type of packet loss pattern when you're experiencing symptoms?

We cover those questions, and walk through some best practices of building a case here:

https://www.pingplotter.com/netnirvana

I would recommend using the worksheet there to help isolate and document the problem. You might call your ISP next and see if they seen anything wrong from their end (signal strength, noise, etc) - it helps if you can clearly describe the problem and how it affects you (see the worksheet for that), and then you can document the call with them so if there's any followup needed you have a trail to help expedite conversation.

Hope that helps.

Best wishes,
Pete

Thank you for the fast response.

The problem that occurs is with all applications, but it most notable while playing League of Legends. I used to get massive ping spikes to 500ms or so for multiple minutes but now it is a full out disconnect.

I have ran pingplotter on another computer simultaneously and the results have corresponded to each other. My problem has been very intermittent which has caused my ISP to have troubles assisting me. They have come out to my house and shown me that the line out of my house is working fine.

The symptoms I experience while playing league or talking on Skype are very similar to the data I collect from pingplotter. Ping plotter does show this type of packet loss pattern from when I lag.

I have attached another file with a lag spike in it. During the lag spike, hop 3 changes its pattern again, but doesn't seem to show an increase in ping. I think this file may be better than the previous.

Thanks for the follow up, and the additional .pp2 file!

The data you've got here looks to tell the same story as your first file: hop #3 still isn't a great responder, but what we *can* see there implies that it may be involved in your issue.

The pattern at hop #3 does indeed seem to change up when you experience issues between 3:20-3:24am (as you noted). There's also another instance at 3:40am where your final destination shows a small bump in latency. During this instance, hop #3 actually reports back some latency (instead of packet loss), and the pattern there matches up with the hop(s) directly after it. Based on this, we can infer that your issue is most likely occurring *somewhere* between hops #1 and #3.

Your next steps should be to isolate any variables (that you have control over) to see if you can definitively narrow down what the source of your problem is. If you're tracing over a wireless connection, try moving to a wired connection to see if that has any impact on your results. Another step may be to disconnect anything in your network that is actively using a network connection, and then start plugging things back in (one at a time) to see you can identify anything that may be contributing to your problem (and be sure to do this while still tracing with PingPlotter, so you can see any changes in your patterns!).

The guide that Pete referenced in his initial response (https://www.pingplotter.com/netnirvana) covers some other best practices and strategies around this idea, and may come in helpful here as well.

Hopefully this helps out! If you should find yourself with any questions, or needing any other guidance - please don't hesitate to let us know.

Best wishes,

-Gary

I know this may be off topic a bit, but I have been in contact with my ISP and they think it could potentially be a DoS attack (according to my downstream information during the same times) that is occurring. What type of ping plotter results should I expect during a DoS attack?