i just came back to LFS after about 4/5 months, in which time ive changed ISP (im now on pipex).

i can connect to the master server, but its slow to bring down the list, lets me connect then after 1 to 5 mins it drops me.

i read around on here and changed the port in my cfg.txt file to 8080 which seemed to fix it, but then after 10 mins this time it drops me

short of changing ISP (12 month contract ) is there anything i can do to make LFS work online?

thanks

Yes, change ISP! I was with Tiscali (same as Pipex) and i couldn't play LFS online at certain times so I told them I was cancelling and I didn't want to be charged for rest of my contract (10 months) as they were breaking the terms and conditions. No problem!
Saving that, check your FUP (fair use policy), if its like Tiscali they will cancel your contract with no penalities if you download alot at peak times

so all i can do is change isp? theres no workaround? damn

Pipex proper, or Pipex Homecall ?
Homecall is essentially a Tiscali conection.

I had a few issues when I was on Pipex (not Homecall), but I found that every time it was massive packet loss at one hop (using WinMTR). A few reconnects to get onto a different gateway would solve it.

Meh, it's not exactly a problem unless you lag all over the shop.

EDIT : OK, your situation is worse.

its pipex proper afaik

Quote from gishuk :

its pipex proper afaik

To check, go to http://whatsmyip.org/
It will show your IP at the top of the page, then use the 'Whois & DNS' to do a lookup.

If its Homecall, it will say it's a Tiscali IP.

netname: PIPEX-DSL-DYNAMIC
route: 81.178.114.0/24
descr: PIPEX Communications
descr: (PIPEX Internet)
descr: UK
origin: AS5413
member-of: AS5413:RS-PIPEX

i guess thats proper pipex then yea?

Quote from gishuk :

netname: PIPEX-DSL-DYNAMIC
route: 81.178.114.0/24
descr: PIPEX Communications
descr: (PIPEX Internet)
descr: UK
origin: AS5413
member-of: AS5413:RS-PIPEX

i guess thats proper pipex then yea?

Aye.

Try checking for daft amounts of packet loss with WinMTR

Plusnet users that are have had problems with high pings on the STCC servers during peak times should now see a big improvement.

If you are still seeing high pings please report it in this thread
http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?p=381640#post381640

OK, newbie question, what is considered an acceptable ping time? and how do I find out if my ISP is using packet shaping. I'm using Orange (formerly Wanadoo) with a wanadoo wireless box (but connected using an ethernet cable). Currently on a 2mbs connection but upgrading to 8 shortly.

A good ping to the STCC servers from a uk based player would be in the region of 20-35 ms, maybee 50ish if you have interleaving on your line

hi again

sorry to bump an old thread, but i was wondering if since i last posted this, there was any change which would allow me to play LFS without having to change ISP?

thanks

The only way to avoid packet shaping is to change the LFS traffic into traffic which they do not limit.

There are various methods for doing this, but in the long run you're going to be slowing down your traffic even more doing this.

Since your traffic must go through their network, there is no realistic way to avoid it.

Options;
1. Complain and see if you can get them to change their policy, or at least find out whether they whitelist protocols, or ports, or whether they blacklist specific ports, etc.
2. Change ISP