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Networking Discussions and Tips
Below is a quick summary to read before posting and may turn into a WRS-OE Networking FAQ over time. If new good information is provided in this thread we'll either copy or link it in this OP over time.
Background
Many users have DC or "invisible driver" issues when they first start racing online. With some tweaking of routers/modems things can usually be improved, but not always. If you search around GTP enough you'll find helpful tips scattered about, but we wanted to provide a place specifically for GTP_Registry members to discuss issues, offer help and basically create another WRS community resource.
If you experience issues your best bet is to plan ahead of time and get these issues resolved during practice so you get in the best possible condition during official WRS races. There's nothing more frustrating then to put a lot of preparation time in and get DC'd from the race.
The event stewards and hosts are eager to help during practice sessions, but during official races there is a limit to how much we can delay starting races. At some point after several attempts by a driver to exit lobby and return the race director has to make a call to start with known issues or in some cases require a driver sit out because their connection is too problematic.
The biggest two factors are (1) the connection quality and (ii) the router.
Connection Quality
Connection quality/speed is basically divided into two components: bandwidth and latency.
Bandwidth: This refers to the data rate supported by a network connection or interface. Bandwidth represents the capacity of the connection. The greater the capacity, the more likely that greater performance will follow, though overall performance also depends on other factors, such as latency.
There is a minimum bandwidth requirement to maintain a connection to other drivers in the lobby. If that requirement isn't met the driver will experience lag (as will others near this driver) and eventually a DC or even a lobby refusing entry.
The exact requirement depends on the size of the lounge (# of drivers) and the lounge settings.
- Fewer drivers in the race obviously means a lower bandwidth requirement.
- Lower race quality settings reduce bandwidth requirements.
- Lower mic settings or disabled mics lower requirements further.
The game also tends to send more frequent updates when you are close to other cars so the requirements go up at the beginning of races or anytime a large group is racing close together. Unfortunately, those are also times when incidents are more likely and lag is more troublesome.
You can test your speed using http://speedtest.net and all troubleshooting should start with this test and publishing your results to this thread.
Latency: Latency is another element that contributes to network speed. The term latency refers to any of several kinds of delays typically incurred in processing of network data. A so-called low latency network connection is one that generally experiences small delay times, while a high latency connection generally suffers from long delays.
Satellite Internet service illustrates the difference between latency and bandwidth. Satellite Internet connections possess both high bandwidth and high latency. When loading a Web page, for example, most satellite users can observe a noticeable delay from the time they enter a Web address to the time the page begins loading.
Low latency is more important than very high bandwidth in GT. You only need to satisfy the minimum bandwidth requirements for a room to get a good connection, but if you have very high latency you're never going to keep a stable connection to a lobby.
You can test latency using http://www.pingtest.net/ and all troubleshooting should include this test and publishing your results to this thread. A ping test isn't perfect as it only tests a single path that might not be the same path used when you connect to a lobby. But if you get a bad ping result to a server near you then you know you have a latency issue.
Sharing a Connection
Remember the effective speed of the connection to your PS3 depends on not only your base connection to the ISP, but the load in your household sharing that bandwidth. If you have a very fast ISP connection, but have others in your household streaming movies, music, etc. the traffic left for the PS3 may be very little.
QoS: Unless you can convince your household to stay off the internet while you race (good luck) you could check out routers that can prioritize traffic using QoS. They can be set up to give your PS3 higher priority or carve out a minimum bandwidth for your PS3 while sharing the rest with other devices. These routers are sometimes marketed as gaming routers at a premium price, but any router that supports QoS properly could meet your needs. Search the internet for 'gaming router' or 'QoS' for more information. If people use these settings and post to the thread we can link to those posts or gather more information in this section.
Connection Types
Wired Ethernet: The gold standard and always preferred/optimal if you have the option.
Wifi: Wireless signals can be easily interfered with by portal phones or other electronic devices and quality is always a function of distance and radio traffic. It's not that wireless connection can't work, but use wireless at your own risk in a game or any other application where a constant and steady connection is a requirement. You may experience no issues with a rock solid wireless network, but be prepared for the occasional DC anyway when you use wireless even if everything else is perfect with your connection and hardware. Wireless is a much better platform for email, web browsing or even video streaming where the occasional dropped packet or slowdown isn't really that important or noticeable. Some drivers use wireless the majority of time and connect a wire for official online races and some drivers have no option but to use wireless due to the physical location of their PS3.
Powerline Networking: Powerline adapters can be used to reach remote parts of larger homes where wifi may not work and Ethernet cabling is not possible. The effectiveness is highly dependent on the wiring in your home and the exact route from point to point. Again, you are introducing a lot of variables that are not present with Ethernet cabling, but it might work. Use at your own risk, but post to this thread if you have an effective and solution that has been solid.
Solutions
Extremely low bandwidth or high latency cannot really be addressed without upgrading your connection or maybe switching ISPs. If your network cannot keep up with the traffic requirements then nothign you do with your in home setup is going to make a difference. In these cases you just won't have the capability to race online unfortunately and the time trials are your best bet. It's possible that your connection speed can maintain a decent quality of race with a few drivers and you'll just have to run some event and see in practice what the limit is for your setup.
Modem Issues. The modem usually isn't doing much translation so usually isn't a problem. However, if you have a combined modem/router than all the section under router applies. In our opinion it's much better to separate the functionality. Get a simple modem from your ISP and buy a good router yourself.
Wiring Issues. If you are using wired connections make sure all connectors are well seated and the cables are not crimped, bent or damaged. Shorter cables are better, but really a good Ethernet cable rarely has much signal loss even up to 100 feet.
Router issues are the biggest culprit and can be addressed. A router is the device that allows many other devices in your home to share a single internet connection (and single internet public address). Routers can interfere/block the information being passed between each driver and cause all sorts of problems. If a router does it's job properly the game will work properly, but many have compatibility issues which can cause individual drivers to not appear in your "version" of the race (invisible driver). In the worst cases a router can immediately disconnect you from the lobby or prevent you from connecting in the first place.
Methods to address permanent/persistent router problems:
- Upgrade the router firmware to the latest version (check the mfg support site)
- Do one of the following. All except UPnP require you to set up your PS3 on a fixed IP so the router knows which address the PS3 will be on every time it connects.
- Enable UPnP on the router and make sure it's detected by your PS3 using the XMB connection test.
- Set up your PS3 via it's fixed IP as your DMZ host (one local device exposed to the Internet to use a special-purpose service such as gaming).
- Forward ports from your router to your PS3's fixed IP. GT6 uses the following ports:
- TCP: 80, 443, 5223
- UDP: 3478, 3479, 3658
- Each of those ports should be open or forwarded to your PS3. Try finding out in the manual of your specific router how to do that. More info in the official GT6 manual
- If possible and potentially better than the above, physically bi-pass the router, connect PS3 directly to modem and thus set up a NAT 1 connection. This will prevent others in your household from sharing the internet including you if you own a second device like a laptop and use it while you race.
- Replace your router with a proven GT friendly model (hope to gather some info in this thread)
Methods to address random quirky behavior or glitches:
- Disconnect and re-connect to the lobby
- Power off and restart all network equipment involved in the connection. This includes the modem, router and any switches being used.
- Power off and restart the PS3
- Clear the cache in GT
- Try connecting again
Sometimes if you enter the lounge early it helps. Sometimes if you are last to enter the lounge it helps. Sometimes you have no issues with most other drivers, but one or two always cause problems for you. It can just be random and frustrating at times, but if you set up your own connection optimally you remove variables and hopefully make issues less common even if you can't eliminate them.
There are many of us that have very few issues after having done all the above and some of us who just have connections that will never be full proof so your mileage may vary.
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