Yes, there are people working in NOC.
Yes, there are people working in NOC.
You're experiencing latency issues during specific game sessions. The traceroute shows packets traveling from your area to Lubbock, Texas, then to California and back to Atlanta. This pattern suggests a routing problem or network congestion along that path. Since this only happens occasionally, it might be related to ISP routing policies or regional traffic management. You should contact both your local ISP in Lubbock and the central ISP handling the servers. Provide them with the full IP ranges, the affected game sessions, and details about the traffic flow (e.g., which cities are involved). This will help them diagnose whether it's an NOC issue or a network configuration problem.
No provider will alter the path for you. STOP. You must handle what you receive like everyone else. After the traffic departs from your home, you have no say in its destination. Once it leaves your ISP’s network, they also lose control. Who can say how many services are handling your data?
They won't alter the system on your behalf. Yet if you frame it as a chance to boost their network performance, who knows what could happen? By the way, you're fortunate your data stays within the Continental US—perhaps it could even travel across the Pacific instead. Twice that would be great!
I've spent time at a local WISP offering wireless connections. I've noticed some dynamics around how networks connect at big data center exchanges. Several elements might contribute to these challenges, mainly two in mind: 1. On the technical side—how the physical paths are set up and the rules routers follow can affect routing decisions. Sometimes certain servers become preferred due to cost or speed considerations, and label-switching technologies like MPLS or VPLS can lock paths in place. 2. The ISP might only establish direct peering links with nearby providers, leaving no cheaper alternative for reaching specific services between your network and larger exchanges. Understanding this fully would require being inside the ISP's environment as a network professional.