Tips for reducing lag

[Ice Cannon]

Here is some information on reducing lag for ADSL'ers and 56kers

For ADSL'ers

Advice from Worm on DFHQ.net:

For xDSL, the MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) is the primary factor. xDSL runs over a Virtual Private Network which you can liken to a tunnel within the standard Internet connection. VPN uses 8 bytes for the overhead. Consequently, if your MaxMTU is set to 1500, each packet you send will have to be reassembled at the other end because it will arrive fragmented. I personally have found that a MaxMTU setting of 1434 to which Windows automatically adds 28 bytes, is the optimal setting for xDSL (where "x" represents the type of connection).
You can test your current connection by going to this site and running the "Tweak" test: www.dslreports.com/tweaks After it completes, click the "Results" button which will take you to a page where youy have to choose options from the dropdown menus. So if you're on xDSL, choose "dsl" under Service, your d/l speed in kbits i.e. 1024k, your Operating System i.e. Windows XP, "raspppoe" if you're on xDSL, or "normal" if you're on cable. Then click the "Recommend" button on the right. In the centre column of the results, right down the figure you see where it reads "Max packet sent". This figure will be between 1400 and 1500. Close the connection and then go to a Command prompt and typing this command: PING -F -L xxxx www.microsoft.com where "xxxx" represents the figure you wrote down for "Max packets sent", but substitute "microsoft.com" with the name of your own Provider. So for example, if you saw the figure 1472 there, type PING -F -L 1472 www.yourprovider.com and then hit Enter.
If you see this 4x times, your connection is operating correctly:
"Reply from (IP address): bytes=1472 time=82ms TTL=251" (the time and TTL might vary incidentally).
But if you see this 4x times instead, it means that every packet you send has to be reassembled at the server before it can send an acknowledgement:
"Packet needs to be fragmented, but DF set"
If the server itself hasn't been configured properly either, you're going to get major lag.

To optimize your own settings, run the same command as before, but drop the figure of, in this example, "1472" by 10 (so to 1462) until you don't get the message "Packet needs to be fragmented, but DF set" anymore. Then raise it by the value of "1" until you get the error again. Then drop it back to one below that. That is then your optimal setting.
But nothing will happen until you change that value in the Windows Registry. To do that safely, d/l a tool from http://www.dslreports.com/front/drtcp.html called "Dr.TCP". If you're running Win98 or ME, d/l v.019, otherwise d/l one of the higher versions for XP or W2K. When you run it, it will show on the right under MaxMTU the current setting in the Registry. Change the network adapter setting from PPP Adapter to the only other one which will be in there (dropdown menu) which will be the one you have installed in your machine before you make any changes though. Then delete the "MaxMTU" and replace it with your optimal value. At this stage of the game, I would advise you not to change the "Tcp Receive Window". You can experiment with that later if you want to. Save, exit and reboot (Changes don't take effect in the Registry until you reboot).

N.B. Some Providers won't allow you to ping their server. If that is indeed the case, phone their tech support line and explain that you need the IP to a server you're allowed to ping in order to optimize your MaxMTU.


For 56kers

Advice from "worm" on dfhq.net:

Many players can greatly improve their connections by making sure the system is setup properly to begin with. For 56k'ers, check your Port Settings - go to Device Manager, scroll down to Ports, click the COM port for your modem (usually COM1 or COM2), click Properties / Port Settings. You should be connecting at 115200. If you see a Baud rate of 9600, that's the Windows default setting for a 14.4k modem. So enable the higher setting from the dropdown menu and then reboot. If you find it's too fast, drop down to 57600.

Advice from Iprimus tech support:


Your connection could be struggling due to the condition of your
phoneline.

Modems are a lot more sensitive to line noise, so while you may not notice
anything during a normal voice conversation, your modem is likely to be
affected by a poor quality phoneline. The effects of a poor quality line
vary, from being disconnected, having problems getting connected, connecting
at a low speed, and very poor (sometimes seemingly non-existent) data
transfer rates.

Modems use sound to communicate over the phoneline, while the sounds are
meaningless to us, it is essential that the two modems can hear each other
clearly (think of it as a conversation). Also, if the line noise increases
during the connection, then you will notice your connection slow down, and
could disconnect due to the extra noise on the line.

Because a modem communicates at such a high speed, even the slightest noise
can cause the modems to miss out on hundreds of bits of data. This is not
ideal as the data needs to be sent again, and it increases the chance of
having an unreliable connection, as well as increasing your ping times.

If you notice this mainly happens during weekends or peak hours, it would
appear that you are getting a lesser quality line from your telephone
exchange, as the higher quality lines are being used. During non peak hours,
you connection would be placed on a high quality line to give you the best
possible connections. A lower quality phoneline will result in increased
line noise and increased connection problems.

Just like everything else, phonelines do require maintance, and are subject
to declining quality, even newly installed phonelines will be influenced by
environmental factors. If you have had unusual weather recently, such as a
long spell of hot dry weather, or it has been raining heavily, or you have
had thunderstorms in the area, all these environmental factors will impact
on the quality of your phoneline.

A quick and easy way to determine if the phonelines in your area are having
difficulty is to connect your computer and modem to another phoneline. If
you know someone in a neighbouring suburb that has perfect internet
connections (they do not necessaraly need to be with the same ISP), take your
computer and modem there, and try your ISP connection. On a high quality
phoneline, provided your modem is performing correctly, you will notice an
improvement in your ISP connection.

You would best be suited to contact your ISP's helpdesk,
regarding this matter, Below is a brief list of things that will impact upon
the quality of the phone line.

Employing extensions cords to connect your modem to the phone outlet. These
cheap cords which are fine for normal telephone calls often cause havoc for
an Internet connection. As they have no shielding they are subject to a
great deal of interference If you must use an extension keep it as short and
direct as possible and always avoid any electrical fields such as heaters,
fridge's, mobile phones and the like.

Having phones/faxes/answering machines connected to the line while
connected to the Internet. It is imperative that you unplug any
phones/faxes/answering machines from the sockets so that the modem is the
only device connected to the line. Also avoid double adapters.

Having call waiting enabled on the phone line. To disable Call waiting,
lift up the handset on your phone and dial #43# and to re-enable it dial
*43#. Be sure to do this before and after you have connected/disconnected
from the Internet.

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I hope this helps some of u guyz out
NB: Some of each post has been edited by ICE CaNNoN*AUS*