Re: [Karlnet] RE: Ping Jitter

[Chris Conn <cconn@abacom.com>]

> Also, there seems to be some debate about whether this
> is a problem or not - can you clarify if Karlnet see
> this as a problem or just the nature of how polling
> works?
Hello,

I won't speak for Karlnet, however it is mostly a cosmetic problem in the minds 
of the people who decide that a few 200ms RTT = slow.  However, there is some 
discussion as to low SNR showing poor throughput, which I have not seen in my 
networks.  I have not personally seen this, probably because I like to set the 
satellites at 5.5Mbps and this increases their sensitivity.  Have the 15dB or 
less people tried this?  You can still leave the base at 11Mbps.  I even have 
some very poor (< 10db) satellites at 2Mbps; this sacrifices some upstream 
speed, however they can download at the full rate with fewer problems (ie fewer 
retransmits from the base).

Karlnet is consistently working to improve their polling algorithm, and if they 
can make it "look" faster to the people who like to see consistent 30ms or less 
on IDLE satellites without sacrificing possible throughput gains on active 
satellites, good for them.   I personally have not seen the need (other than 
the educational one) to stabilize rtt when the client is doing nothing!

The fact of the matter is, ICMP round trip times are not a benchmark of 
anything other than the fact the packet made it all the way back.  They can be 
used as a guide or indication of latency, but you also have to understand the 
transport media (in this case, Turbocell) to judge if a few stray 300ms packets 
compared to relative traffic levels truly indicate poor performance.

Again, believe what you want and throw away your Karlnet and buy other products 
if that is your inclination.  You can also study your network with better tools 
and make up your mind as to the throughput you can obtain from it.

Chris