Did ISP introduce a new hop that is significantly distant from the endpoint?
Did ISP introduce a new hop that is significantly distant from the endpoint?
Hello, I'm in the UK connecting to the North American Riot Games server up until about 3 weeks ago my connection was a very stable 105-110ms then they seemingly added a new hop that takes my traffic from NYC which used to be the final hop but now it goes down to Miami and then back up to Chicago which is the end point at first I thought it might be a short term outage but its been just over 3 weeks now so I'm a little lost on what/if I can do anything,
My ISP is Virgin Media and I'm on PC with an ethernet connection.
This is an image of PingPlotter
Sorry, I should have mentioned this. A VPN does restore the ping to about 115-120, but is there any way to bring it back to normal? If I reach out to my ISP, can they help resolve this issue?
Your issue with internet routing isn't about the most efficient route—it's mainly driven by financial considerations. Understanding who controls the fiber routers and their partnerships with other ISPs is crucial.
This site is quite convenient for checking IP ownership in network traces.
It appears that the last connections, especially those from Miami to Chicago, are managed by Liberty Media. This company likely owns a portion or all of Virgin Media in the UK. Keeping up with these mergers can be challenging, and they often don't update the names shown in traceroute. You may need to dig deeper to uncover ownership details.
Your ISP usually prefers using its own network instead of relying on another provider for transport. The problem stems from the connection to Riot. This depends heavily on the agreement between Riot and your ISP for connectivity. They don't always provide optimal routes in major cities.
It seems that Aorta was once partially owned by companies based in South America, which could explain why Miami connections often originate from Brazil.
Beyond these insights, they don’t resolve your problem; they just clarify the reasons behind it. Path changes can happen for various reasons—like a fiber cut or an expired rental agreement. Unless you decide to purchase the large holding company that owns your ISP, you have no control over this routing.
As mentioned earlier, the only solution might involve switching to a different virtual ISP via a VPN, which could alter the routing. However, predicting this is difficult because the VPN still needs to pass through your ISP to reach its data centers, and the final decision depends on the agreements between both parties.
Additional details are becoming more intriguing. Most ISPs aim to divert traffic away from their own networks as swiftly as possible, avoiding the need to handle the volume and requiring extra capacity. They often prefer transferring traffic through free-peering connections where multiple providers mutually agree to accept each other’s traffic without cost, hoping to secure a more advantageous arrangement by offloading more data than they receive. Alternatively, some opt for public peering points, involving numerous major providers who contribute financially and accept traffic as needed. In these scenarios, the ISP must weigh whether joining the peering point is more expensive or if direct negotiation with another ISP would force them to handle more traffic than they send, or if expanding their own infrastructure would be more economical—especially considering potential congestion and customer complaints.
Beyond adjustments to peering agreements, it’s possible the provider in NYC that previously handled your traffic was already experiencing heavy congestion. Consequently, your ISP might have chosen to discontinue using them for this specific route, as the overall path became more efficient for most users, even if your connection quality declined. This decision would aim to safeguard customers’ service standards.
Routing protocols are designed to manage such situations automatically, using quality-of-service metrics and performance data to guide routing choices. Ideally, an ISP could technically override this route manually, but they are unlikely to comply unless instructed, and they would need to retain records of any manual changes to maintain transparency.
Wow, thank you all for your response—I've gained more from this post than from three weeks of independent research. I'm glad to be at the mercy of our corporate leaders; I'll use a VPN now and might switch ISPs later once my current contract ends. Thanks for your assistance.
Switching ISPs because of one game can really impact your latency. You're already traveling across the Atlantic. (Since fiber speeds are fast, it's usually the processing equipment that adds delay, not the distance inside a country.)
I just checked the pingplotter and saw an extra 135ms. That’s likely due to routing over a DSL connection.
It wouldn’t be a big problem to send a support request asking them to verify if there’s a connection or routing issue in NYC. As someone who worked with ISPs, I know automated systems can miss things if monitoring and rerouting aren’t catching it, or if an alarm was cleared without fixing the problem. Be ready for a script reply and no real human interaction.
You could also post on social media to ask for a chat or find their NOC email address.