This is an authentic chat transcript with not one but three (3)
technicans at Comcast (my cable modem provider). It's very interesting
on many levels. I've had Comcast service less than a week...

I was unable to connect to www.classmates.com. Knowing their
37,000,000 users would not stand for a 2 day outage; I was beginning
to think it was Comcast because most other sites worked. I suspected a
router problem at Comcast.

Think about this for a second. They are asking me to do 'nslookup' and
'tracer' commands in the Windows XP console. IMAGINE THAT. Most
customers live in a world where erroneous double-clicking of
hyperlinks and typing spaces in Web addresses is common place. So
imagine a customer asked to run an 'nslookup' or 'traceroute' these
are even geeky to a guru like me! :roll:

It's most fun when "Kyle" appears in the 3rd and final chat
transcript.

Enjoy. :wink:


Status: Analyst Jim is here and your issue status is: working
Problem: Web Browser/Internet Explorer/Page Not Found Error

Jim > Thank you for contacting Comcast, my name is Jim. How may I
assist you with your Comcast Internet service?

Shawn> Looking to diagnose a router problem... www.classmates.com as
well as a host of other sites are not coming up.

Jim > I am sorry for the difficulties and I can assist you. To best
help you, I need to ask you some questions about your account and
service.

Jim > Am I chatting with Shawn?

Shawn> Yes.

Jim > Hello Shawn. I understand you are seeing some connection issues

Shawn> It's a simple problem, really. If you are able to connect to
www.classmates.com and I am not there is a router issue. If you are
unable to see
their site, then it is down.

Shawn> Just need that confirmation and I'll be on my way, thanks
Jim...

Jim > One moment, please - checking the site

Jim > I was able to pull the site successfully

Shawn> I see, then I need to file a ticket for a router problem. I am
able to get to google.com, amazon.com, etc. but not classmates.com
hence there
is a comcast.com/net router problem.

Jim > I am checking for any reported outages

Jim > There are no reported network outages for your area at this
time.

Jim > Before a ticket can be made, troubleshooting must be done.

Jim > Do you use a router or a computer that is used for ICS (Internet
Connection Sharing) between your computer and the cable modem?

Shawn> Negative. I just have a cable modem. I'm referring to a router
at the Comcast DNS level.

Jim > There are requirements for the ticket that must be meet for an
issue such as what you are describing.

Shawn> Please proceed.

Jim > What operating system do you use on your computer?

Shawn> XP Home

Jim > Would you run a tracert to www.classmates.com and paste the
results into the chat?

Jim > Also, let me know what you have for a default gateway IP

Shawn> Running. STDBY

Shawn> The default gateway IP is XXXXXX (edited out)

Jim > Thank you.

Shawn> Tracing route to classmates.com (edited out) [152.63.105.22] 10
20 ms * 25 ms 0.so-7-0-0.WR2.SEA10.ALTER.NET
[152.63.107.137] 11 * * * Request timed out. 12 31 ms

Jim > I am seeing similar to you on the last hop

Shawn> It's been years since my network sysop days, I'm trying to make
sense of this myself.

Shawn> It looks like it clears comcast DNS OK but fails at the
ALTER.NET or something like that... your view?

Jim > Something, someplace has changed to cause this

Shawn> Exactly. And Classmates.com is the ONE site I need right now,
Murphy's law...

Jim > This is what I see at your modem:

Jim > 16 * XXX.XXX X(edited out)

Shawn> I can't decipher that, I'm afraid, what does this mean?

Jim > The * denote a time out, similar to a ping timeout.

Shawn> I see. So 10.134 is the router where it fails, eh?

Jim > Would you ping your gateway and www.comcast.net and paste the
results from both into the chat?

Shawn> working STDBY

Shawn> trace of gateway:

Shawn> Tracing route to XXX.comcast.net (edited out) Trace complete.

Jim > Thank you. In this type if situation, process is to set up a
service call - That trace shows an issue between you and the default
gateway

Shawn> tracer of comcast.net

Shawn> more traceroute info
11 * 77 ms * gar1-p360.n54ny.ip.att.net [12.123.1.129] 12 88 ms * 77
ms mdf1-gsr12-2-pos-7-0.nyc3.attens.net [12.122.255 .162] 13 94 ms *
98
ms sccsbix12-1-6.attbi.com [63.240.64.50] 14 94 ms * 96 ms
192.168.201.12 15 99 ms * 94 ms www.comcast.net [63.240.76.72] Trace
complete.

Shawn> I see. Great, then what is my next step?

Jim > Before scheduling an appointment, I need to inform you that our
technician will only check the network connection from your cable
modem to the
local network. If the technician determines your issue is not
Comcast-related, you could be charged a service fee up to $49.95. Do
you understand
that a service fee may be assessed?

Shawn> Yes, but I do not agree to pay it, as it was determined that
the issue is in fact a network/ISP issue, how can I be charged for a
service
interuption that was in no way my doing?

Jim > Thank you - I understand. Before moving forward.. When was the
last time the modem was powercycled and connections at the modem
checked?

Shawn> The day it was installed, less than 7 days ago.

Jim > Thank you. One moment, please.

Jim > Can you make a copy of the chat (especially the data you have
entered)?

Shawn > Yes, already have

Shawn> Done.

Jim > There may be a way to resolve this without the service call.

Jim > The step is to reboot the modem and check the connections.

Jim > If that does not resolve this issue, we can set up a service
call.

Shawn> Should I do it with the button or kill the power?

Shawn> And then how should I restablish contact with you?

Jim > Kill the power - This is an RCA modem?

Shawn> Affirmative.

Jim > There are specific steps to reset that modem:

Jim > 1. Power down the computer first.

Jim > 2. Unplug the power cord from the RCA cable modem.

Jim > 3. Have a paper clip or similar available.

Jim > 4. While holding in the reset button on the back of the modem,
apply the power cord to the modem. Do *not* remove the paper clip
until fifteen
seconds have lapsed.

Jim > 5. Next, let the modem gain normal lights.

Jim > 6. Power on the computer and see if you can connect to the
Internet.

Jim > Check the connections when the modem does not have an electical
connection

Jim > I am noting the account. Please keep the data set ready if you
do chat with another person.

Shawn> This would appear to solve a hardware/cable modem issue, but
it's a gateway/network issue, how can powering it down resolve it? I'm
unclear on that. Regardless, I will try that. Goodnight.

===============================================
15 minutes later:
===============================================

Status: Analyst Stacy is here and your issue status is: working

Problem: Web Browser/Internet Explorer/Page Not Found Error

We are experiencing higher than usual service times. Please wait and
an analyst will be with you shortly.

Stacy > Good evening and thank you for contacting Comcast Cable. My
name is Stacy. How may I assist you?

Shawn> Hi Stacy sorry for the delay, we just had a major explosion
here in Seattle.

Shawn> I was in the basement and it might have been thunder+lightning
but we don't usually have that here, and not in November. It was quite
alarming.

Shawn> Anyway back to my issue on the computer... I just reset my
cable modem per the last technician and it still is failing to connect
to certain
Websites, I think a service call or other remedy is in order.

Stacy > Only certain websites? You have general internet connection?

Shawn> Yes, for instance everything is fine, however
www.classmates.com does not work. The last technician and I ran a
tracert and it does fail at
the gateway level, so he had me do a hard reset of the RCA cable
modem, but www.classmates.com still fails to come up, and he was able
to pull up
that Website, so it's localized or at least a bad router on the
network or something.

Stacy > Ok, the modem has no ability to filter. It can only send and
receive packets. All website traffic is transmitted via port 80. There
isn't a
way for the modem to filter certain packets on one port.

Stacy > What operating system are you using?

Shawn> XP Home

Stacy > Click on start, run, type in nslookup and hit enter.

Shawn> Yes, you are right, which is why I was skeptical that the last
operation.

Shawn> Done.

Shawn> What would you like me to lookup?

Stacy > classmates.com

Shawn> > nslookup classmates.com Server: classmates.com Address:
65.243.133.81 DNS request timed out. timeout was 2 seconds. ***
Request to
classmates.com timed-out

Stacy > Can you get to that site? http://65.243.133.81

Shawn> Negative 404 DNS not found

Stacy > Can you get to 65.243.133.80?

Shawn> Negative.

Stacy > Close all windows of Internet Explorer except this chat.

Shawn> Done.

Stacy > In Internet Explorer, click on tools, internet options. Click
the clear cookies and the delete files buttons. Click the settings
button. For
"Check for newer version of stored pages" change it to "every visit to
the page" On the security, privacy and advanced tab, click restore
defaults.
Then apply and ok.

Shawn> I've already done all that before. This is not a cache issue,
it's likely a network/gateway issue... as we saw with the nslookup, it
times
out.

Stacy > No, you got a response and it is valid classmates server IP.

Stacy > You are getting the correct DNS>

Shawn> I'm puzzled then.

Stacy > The issue with the traceoutes is probably just that our
routers don't all respond to icmp and udp packet requests.

Shawn> OK, then what is the next step in the troubleshooting chain?

Stacy > if you have already completed this, the only thing I can think
of is flushing the route tables. The issue is most likely local to
your
computer.

Shawn> Please walk me through that.

Stacy > In the command prompt, type in route -f and hit enter. You
will want to wait until we disconnect as it will sever all internet
connections.

Shawn> OK I will do that. If it fails, I will return to live chat
support and wait in line. Thank you for your time.

===============================================
8 minutes later:
==============================================

Status: Analyst Kyle is here and your issue status is: working

Problem: Web Browser/Internet Explorer/Page Not Found Error

We are experiencing higher than usual service times. Please wait and
an analyst will be with you shortly.

We are experiencing higher than usual service times. Please wait and
an analyst will be with you shortly.

Kyle > Thank you for contacting Comcast, my name is Kyle. How can I
help you?

Shawn> Hi Kyle, this is my 3rd round with live tech support. Using
Windows XP. Unable to pull up classmates.com. 1st technican thought it
was a
gateway issue, so we did tracers, all that stuff, then reset the
modem. No luck. 2nd technician thought it might be a cache issue, so
we reset the
cache and made those changes. Here I am, still no luck.

Kyle > I am sorry to hear that you are having difficulties Shawn ,
however, I should be able to help with that.

Kyle > Are you able to access the wabsite by IP address?.

Shawn> Negative.

Kyle > Ok, I have just checked the site, and it is active, what were
the results of the traceroute?.

Shawn> STBY

Shawn> Tracing route to classmates.com [65.243.133.81] over a maximum
of 30 hops: 1 46 ms * 13 ms c.client.comcast.net
] 2 23 ms * 36 ms 97 3 24 ms * 33 ms 12.244.0.13 4 26 ms * 22 ms
12.244.72.18 5 16 ms * 33 ms gbr2-p60.st6wa.ip.att.net
[12.123.44.118] 6 19 ms * 24 ms tbr1-p012601.st6wa.ip.att.net
[12.122.12.161] 7 29 ms * 17 ms ggr1-p340.st6wa.ip.att.net
[12.123.44.129] 8 16 ms * 15
ms POS1-1.BR1.SEA1.ALTER.NET [204.255.174.169] 9 23 ms * 29 ms
0.so-7-3-0.XL2.SEA1.ALTER.NET [152.63.105.22] 10 20 ms * 25 ms
0.so-7-0-
0.WR2.SEA10.ALTER.NET [152.63.107.137] 11 * * * Request timed out. 12
31 ms

Kyle > Ok, the connection is actually timing out at this IP address,
and is unsustainable : 152.63.107.137

Shawn> So what is the next course of action?

Kyle > One moment, let me research this IP, and see who it actually
belongs to please.

Kyle > Ok, that is actually a UUnet backbone.

Kyle > To contact them, you would need to use : +1-800-900-0241
TechEmail: help4u@mci.com

Shawn> I am not going to do that, Kyle, you are my ISP, not UUnet. You
are responsible for my Internet connection, thus Comcast should be
reporting
this to UUnet and resolving it.

Kyle > Unfortunately, this does seem to be an issue with a non-comcast
server, to help resolve, I would forward this traceroute, to our
abuse@comcast.net mail address, for our network operations to view,
however, to resolve this faster, you may consider forwardinbg the
information as
well to the help4u@mci.com address.

Shawn> Are you saying that my only course of action to get
connectivity to a major Website such as www.classmates.com is to
forward it to
abuse@comcast.net or to contact some obscure backbone network that
most customers would have no idea what to even express to?

Kyle > I do apologise, the abuse@comcast.net address is viewed by our
network operations department, and should help to resolve this issue,
however,
the website that you are trying to connect to is being reached through
a network of computers, one of which is not working correctly, as it
is not a
Comcast server, we cannot directly fix this issue ourselves, the UUnet
technical support would have to be notified of the issue. Out network
operations department will do that if provided the information in
these traceroutes performed, however, for a faster resolution, you may
consider
contacting them to inform of the situation as well.

Shawn> I will forward the entire text of the 232 lines of chat I have
entered with the comcast suport staff over the past 2 hours to
abuse@comcast.net and also forward the traceroute information to
UUnet. This is technically your job as the ISP but if this is the
total resolution
you can offer, this is unacceptable at this point, but I will do as
you say.

Kyle > I see, again, I do apologise for this inconvienence.

Kyle > Is there anything else I can assist you with today?.

Shawn> Negative. Goodnight.

Shawn:

Typical ISP BS from their support personnel. Verizon would produce similar results.

I had no problems accessing the site you referenced. It is/was a routing issue and your
report to Comcast should not be going to an ABUSE email address, it should be sent to a
Network Control address and they should find the cause of the Routing failure. I also agree
that Comcast, not you, should be contacting the backbone service.

Dave



"Shawn Chittle" <shawnchittle@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:2427591.0311210019.390f0704@posting.google.co m...
| This is an authentic chat transcript with not one but three (3)
| technicans at Comcast (my cable modem provider). It's very interesting
| on many levels. I've had Comcast service less than a week...
|
| I was unable to connect to www.classmates.com. Knowing their
| 37,000,000 users would not stand for a 2 day outage; I was beginning
| to think it was Comcast because most other sites worked. I suspected a
| router problem at Comcast.
|
| Think about this for a second. They are asking me to do 'nslookup' and
| 'tracer' commands in the Windows XP console. IMAGINE THAT. Most
| customers live in a world where erroneous double-clicking of
| hyperlinks and typing spaces in Web addresses is common place. So
| imagine a customer asked to run an 'nslookup' or 'traceroute' these
| are even geeky to a guru like me! :roll:
|
| It's most fun when "Kyle" appears in the 3rd and final chat
| transcript.
|
| Enjoy. :wink:
|
|
| Status: Analyst Jim is here and your issue status is: working
| Problem: Web Browser/Internet Explorer/Page Not Found Error
|
| Jim > Thank you for contacting Comcast, my name is Jim. How may I
| assist you with your Comcast Internet service?
|
| Shawn> Looking to diagnose a router problem... www.classmates.com as
| well as a host of other sites are not coming up.
|
| Jim > I am sorry for the difficulties and I can assist you. To best
| help you, I need to ask you some questions about your account and
| service.
|
| Jim > Am I chatting with Shawn?
|
| Shawn> Yes.
|
| Jim > Hello Shawn. I understand you are seeing some connection issues
|
| Shawn> It's a simple problem, really. If you are able to connect to
| www.classmates.com and I am not there is a router issue. If you are
| unable to see
| their site, then it is down.
|
| Shawn> Just need that confirmation and I'll be on my way, thanks
| Jim...
|
| Jim > One moment, please - checking the site
|
| Jim > I was able to pull the site successfully
|
| Shawn> I see, then I need to file a ticket for a router problem. I am
| able to get to google.com, amazon.com, etc. but not classmates.com
| hence there
| is a comcast.com/net router problem.
|
| Jim > I am checking for any reported outages
|
| Jim > There are no reported network outages for your area at this
| time.
|
| Jim > Before a ticket can be made, troubleshooting must be done.
|
| Jim > Do you use a router or a computer that is used for ICS (Internet
| Connection Sharing) between your computer and the cable modem?
|
| Shawn> Negative. I just have a cable modem. I'm referring to a router
| at the Comcast DNS level.
|
| Jim > There are requirements for the ticket that must be meet for an
| issue such as what you are describing.
|
| Shawn> Please proceed.
|
| Jim > What operating system do you use on your computer?
|
| Shawn> XP Home
|
| Jim > Would you run a tracert to www.classmates.com and paste the
| results into the chat?
|
| Jim > Also, let me know what you have for a default gateway IP
|
| Shawn> Running. STDBY
|
| Shawn> The default gateway IP is XXXXXX (edited out)
|
| Jim > Thank you.
|
| Shawn> Tracing route to classmates.com (edited out) [152.63.105.22] 10
| 20 ms * 25 ms 0.so-7-0-0.WR2.SEA10.ALTER.NET
| [152.63.107.137] 11 * * * Request timed out. 12 31 ms
|
| Jim > I am seeing similar to you on the last hop
|
| Shawn> It's been years since my network sysop days, I'm trying to make
| sense of this myself.
|
| Shawn> It looks like it clears comcast DNS OK but fails at the
| ALTER.NET or something like that... your view?
|
| Jim > Something, someplace has changed to cause this
|
| Shawn> Exactly. And Classmates.com is the ONE site I need right now,
| Murphy's law...
|
| Jim > This is what I see at your modem:
|
| Jim > 16 * XXX.XXX X(edited out)
|
| Shawn> I can't decipher that, I'm afraid, what does this mean?
|
| Jim > The * denote a time out, similar to a ping timeout.
|
| Shawn> I see. So 10.134 is the router where it fails, eh?
|
| Jim > Would you ping your gateway and www.comcast.net and paste the
| results from both into the chat?
|
| Shawn> working STDBY
|
| Shawn> trace of gateway:
|
| Shawn> Tracing route to XXX.comcast.net (edited out) Trace complete.
|
| Jim > Thank you. In this type if situation, process is to set up a
| service call - That trace shows an issue between you and the default
| gateway
|
| Shawn> tracer of comcast.net
|
| Shawn> more traceroute info
| 11 * 77 ms * gar1-p360.n54ny.ip.att.net [12.123.1.129] 12 88 ms * 77
| ms mdf1-gsr12-2-pos-7-0.nyc3.attens.net [12.122.255 .162] 13 94 ms *
| 98
| ms sccsbix12-1-6.attbi.com [63.240.64.50] 14 94 ms * 96 ms
| 192.168.201.12 15 99 ms * 94 ms www.comcast.net [63.240.76.72] Trace
| complete.
|
| Shawn> I see. Great, then what is my next step?
|
| Jim > Before scheduling an appointment, I need to inform you that our
| technician will only check the network connection from your cable
| modem to the
| local network. If the technician determines your issue is not
| Comcast-related, you could be charged a service fee up to $49.95. Do
| you understand
| that a service fee may be assessed?
|
| Shawn> Yes, but I do not agree to pay it, as it was determined that
| the issue is in fact a network/ISP issue, how can I be charged for a
| service
| interuption that was in no way my doing?
|
| Jim > Thank you - I understand. Before moving forward.. When was the
| last time the modem was powercycled and connections at the modem
| checked?
|
| Shawn> The day it was installed, less than 7 days ago.
|
| Jim > Thank you. One moment, please.
|
| Jim > Can you make a copy of the chat (especially the data you have
| entered)?
|
| Shawn > Yes, already have
|
| Shawn> Done.
|
| Jim > There may be a way to resolve this without the service call.
|
| Jim > The step is to reboot the modem and check the connections.
|
| Jim > If that does not resolve this issue, we can set up a service
| call.
|
| Shawn> Should I do it with the button or kill the power?
|
| Shawn> And then how should I restablish contact with you?
|
| Jim > Kill the power - This is an RCA modem?
|
| Shawn> Affirmative.
|
| Jim > There are specific steps to reset that modem:
|
| Jim > 1. Power down the computer first.
|
| Jim > 2. Unplug the power cord from the RCA cable modem.
|
| Jim > 3. Have a paper clip or similar available.
|
| Jim > 4. While holding in the reset button on the back of the modem,
| apply the power cord to the modem. Do *not* remove the paper clip
| until fifteen
| seconds have lapsed.
|
| Jim > 5. Next, let the modem gain normal lights.
|
| Jim > 6. Power on the computer and see if you can connect to the
| Internet.
|
| Jim > Check the connections when the modem does not have an electical
| connection
|
| Jim > I am noting the account. Please keep the data set ready if you
| do chat with another person.
|
| Shawn> This would appear to solve a hardware/cable modem issue, but
| it's a gateway/network issue, how can powering it down resolve it? I'm
| unclear on that. Regardless, I will try that. Goodnight.
|
| ===============================================
| 15 minutes later:
| ===============================================
|
| Status: Analyst Stacy is here and your issue status is: working
|
| Problem: Web Browser/Internet Explorer/Page Not Found Error
|
| We are experiencing higher than usual service times. Please wait and
| an analyst will be with you shortly.
|
| Stacy > Good evening and thank you for contacting Comcast Cable. My
| name is Stacy. How may I assist you?
|
| Shawn> Hi Stacy sorry for the delay, we just had a major explosion
| here in Seattle.
|
| Shawn> I was in the basement and it might have been thunder+lightning
| but we don't usually have that here, and not in November. It was quite
| alarming.
|
| Shawn> Anyway back to my issue on the computer... I just reset my
| cable modem per the last technician and it still is failing to connect
| to certain
| Websites, I think a service call or other remedy is in order.
|
| Stacy > Only certain websites? You have general internet connection?
|
| Shawn> Yes, for instance everything is fine, however
| www.classmates.com does not work. The last technician and I ran a
| tracert and it does fail at
| the gateway level, so he had me do a hard reset of the RCA cable
| modem, but www.classmates.com still fails to come up, and he was able
| to pull up
| that Website, so it's localized or at least a bad router on the
| network or something.
|
| Stacy > Ok, the modem has no ability to filter. It can only send and
| receive packets. All website traffic is transmitted via port 80. There
| isn't a
| way for the modem to filter certain packets on one port.
|
| Stacy > What operating system are you using?
|
| Shawn> XP Home
|
| Stacy > Click on start, run, type in nslookup and hit enter.
|
| Shawn> Yes, you are right, which is why I was skeptical that the last
| operation.
|
| Shawn> Done.
|
| Shawn> What would you like me to lookup?
|
| Stacy > classmates.com
|
| Shawn> > nslookup classmates.com Server: classmates.com Address:
| 65.243.133.81 DNS request timed out. timeout was 2 seconds. ***
| Request to
| classmates.com timed-out
|
| Stacy > Can you get to that site? http://65.243.133.81
|
| Shawn> Negative 404 DNS not found
|
| Stacy > Can you get to 65.243.133.80?
|
| Shawn> Negative.
|
| Stacy > Close all windows of Internet Explorer except this chat.
|
| Shawn> Done.
|
| Stacy > In Internet Explorer, click on tools, internet options. Click
| the clear cookies and the delete files buttons. Click the settings
| button. For
| "Check for newer version of stored pages" change it to "every visit to
| the page" On the security, privacy and advanced tab, click restore
| defaults.
| Then apply and ok.
|
| Shawn> I've already done all that before. This is not a cache issue,
| it's likely a network/gateway issue... as we saw with the nslookup, it
| times
| out.
|
| Stacy > No, you got a response and it is valid classmates server IP.
|
| Stacy > You are getting the correct DNS>
|
| Shawn> I'm puzzled then.
|
| Stacy > The issue with the traceoutes is probably just that our
| routers don't all respond to icmp and udp packet requests.
|
| Shawn> OK, then what is the next step in the troubleshooting chain?
|
| Stacy > if you have already completed this, the only thing I can think
| of is flushing the route tables. The issue is most likely local to
| your
| computer.
|
| Shawn> Please walk me through that.
|
| Stacy > In the command prompt, type in route -f and hit enter. You
| will want to wait until we disconnect as it will sever all internet
| connections.
|
| Shawn> OK I will do that. If it fails, I will return to live chat
| support and wait in line. Thank you for your time.
|
| ===============================================
| 8 minutes later:
| ==============================================
|
| Status: Analyst Kyle is here and your issue status is: working
|
| Problem: Web Browser/Internet Explorer/Page Not Found Error
|
| We are experiencing higher than usual service times. Please wait and
| an analyst will be with you shortly.
|
| We are experiencing higher than usual service times. Please wait and
| an analyst will be with you shortly.
|
| Kyle > Thank you for contacting Comcast, my name is Kyle. How can I
| help you?
|
| Shawn> Hi Kyle, this is my 3rd round with live tech support. Using
| Windows XP. Unable to pull up classmates.com. 1st technican thought it
| was a
| gateway issue, so we did tracers, all that stuff, then reset the
| modem. No luck. 2nd technician thought it might be a cache issue, so
| we reset the
| cache and made those changes. Here I am, still no luck.
|
| Kyle > I am sorry to hear that you are having difficulties Shawn ,
| however, I should be able to help with that.
|
| Kyle > Are you able to access the wabsite by IP address?.
|
| Shawn> Negative.
|
| Kyle > Ok, I have just checked the site, and it is active, what were
| the results of the traceroute?.
|
| Shawn> STBY
|
| Shawn> Tracing route to classmates.com [65.243.133.81] over a maximum
| of 30 hops: 1 46 ms * 13 ms c.client.comcast.net
| ] 2 23 ms * 36 ms 97 3 24 ms * 33 ms 12.244.0.13 4 26 ms * 22 ms
| 12.244.72.18 5 16 ms * 33 ms gbr2-p60.st6wa.ip.att.net
| [12.123.44.118] 6 19 ms * 24 ms tbr1-p012601.st6wa.ip.att.net
| [12.122.12.161] 7 29 ms * 17 ms ggr1-p340.st6wa.ip.att.net
| [12.123.44.129] 8 16 ms * 15
| ms POS1-1.BR1.SEA1.ALTER.NET [204.255.174.169] 9 23 ms * 29 ms
| 0.so-7-3-0.XL2.SEA1.ALTER.NET [152.63.105.22] 10 20 ms * 25 ms
| 0.so-7-0-
| 0.WR2.SEA10.ALTER.NET [152.63.107.137] 11 * * * Request timed out. 12
| 31 ms
|
| Kyle > Ok, the connection is actually timing out at this IP address,
| and is unsustainable : 152.63.107.137
|
| Shawn> So what is the next course of action?
|
| Kyle > One moment, let me research this IP, and see who it actually
| belongs to please.
|
| Kyle > Ok, that is actually a UUnet backbone.
|
| Kyle > To contact them, you would need to use : +1-800-900-0241
| TechEmail: help4u@mci.com
|
| Shawn> I am not going to do that, Kyle, you are my ISP, not UUnet. You
| are responsible for my Internet connection, thus Comcast should be
| reporting
| this to UUnet and resolving it.
|
| Kyle > Unfortunately, this does seem to be an issue with a non-comcast
| server, to help resolve, I would forward this traceroute, to our
| abuse@comcast.net mail address, for our network operations to view,
| however, to resolve this faster, you may consider forwardinbg the
| information as
| well to the help4u@mci.com address.
|
| Shawn> Are you saying that my only course of action to get
| connectivity to a major Website such as www.classmates.com is to
| forward it to
| abuse@comcast.net or to contact some obscure backbone network that
| most customers would have no idea what to even express to?
|
| Kyle > I do apologise, the abuse@comcast.net address is viewed by our
| network operations department, and should help to resolve this issue,
| however,
| the website that you are trying to connect to is being reached through
| a network of computers, one of which is not working correctly, as it
| is not a
| Comcast server, we cannot directly fix this issue ourselves, the UUnet
| technical support would have to be notified of the issue. Out network
| operations department will do that if provided the information in
| these traceroutes performed, however, for a faster resolution, you may
| consider
| contacting them to inform of the situation as well.
|
| Shawn> I will forward the entire text of the 232 lines of chat I have
| entered with the comcast suport staff over the past 2 hours to
| abuse@comcast.net and also forward the traceroute information to
| UUnet. This is technically your job as the ISP but if this is the
| total resolution
| you can offer, this is unacceptable at this point, but I will do as
| you say.
|
| Kyle > I see, again, I do apologise for this inconvienence.
|
| Kyle > Is there anything else I can assist you with today?.
|
| Shawn> Negative. Goodnight.

The problem is you've cached an old dns record, or (much less likely) you
are using an outdated dns server. The correct IP is not 65.243.133.81. It
is 65.243.133.80. It is not impossible that they just changed their IP and
the change has not gotten to you yet. Two days is not unheard of for dns
changes to propagate everywhere.

You will almost certainly find this site reachable once you execute the
command: ipconfig /flushdns. This will clear your dns cache.

use http://www.dnsstuff.com for more help.

"Herb Kauhry" <tiptoe@tulips.me> wrote in
news:zqidnVXm142BWSOiRVn-uw@comcast.com:


[root@inuyasha root]# host 65.243.133.81
81.133.243.65.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer classmates.com.

[root@inuyasha root]# host classmates.com
classmates.com has address 65.243.133.81


--
-FT
http://www.nonexiste.net
Seru isu Iviru! Laatsu ofu Puuru Fiishu Dai!

I am a Comcast customer. I have no problems getting to the web site.

c:\>tracert www.classmates.com

Tracing route to www.classmates.com [65.243.133.80]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 10 ms 10 ms 11 ms 10.102.152.1
2 10 ms 9 ms 10 ms 172.30.144.209
3 11 ms 10 ms 24 ms 172.30.144.250
4 10 ms 11 ms 11 ms 172.30.144.123
5 11 ms 11 ms 9 ms 172.30.141.250
6 15 ms 11 ms 11 ms 172.30.139.59
7 11 ms 11 ms 11 ms 68.80.0.234
8 10 ms 12 ms 23 ms pos-6-3-cr01.torresdale.pa.core.comcast.net
[68.87.18.5]
9 12 ms 11 ms 11 ms 12.119.53.49
10 13 ms 12 ms 12 ms tbr1-p012401.phlpa.ip.att.net
[12.123.137.45]
11 18 ms 16 ms 14 ms tbr1-cl8.n54ny.ip.att.net [12.122.2.17]
12 14 ms 13 ms 17 ms ggr2-p300.n54ny.ip.att.net [12.123.3.58]
13 17 ms 15 ms 17 ms so-2-1-0.BR1.NYC4.ALTER.NET [204.255.168.1]
14 14 ms 14 ms 15 ms 0.so-6-0-0.XL2.NYC4.ALTER.NET [152.63.21.82]
15 15 ms 15 ms 17 ms 0.so-2-0-0.TL2.NYC8.ALTER.NET [152.63.0.185]
16 89 ms 87 ms 88 ms 0.so-4-0-0.TL2.SEA1.ALTER.NET
[152.63.104.134]
17 91 ms 90 ms 90 ms 0.so-1-0-0.XL2.SEA1.ALTER.NET [152.63.2.133]
18 90 ms 87 ms 101 ms 0.so-7-0-0.WR2.SEA10.ALTER.NET
[152.63.107.137]
19 * * * Request timed out.
20 90 ms 96 ms 95 ms 65.203.224.50
21 96 ms 96 ms 89 ms 65.203.224.78
22 95 ms 95 ms 97 ms 65.203.232.145
23 94 ms 94 ms 107 ms www.classmates.com [65.243.133.80]

Trace complete.



"Herb Kauhry" <tiptoe@tulips.me> wrote in message
news:zqidnVXm142BWSOiRVn-uw@comcast.com...

No, I'm right.

http://www.checkdns.net/quickcheck.a...com&detailed=1

--

"FT" <FT@nospam.kicks-ass.net> wrote in message
news:bpmgv6$ae6$1@inuyasha.nonexiste.net...

"Herb Kauhry" <tiptoe@tulips.me> wrote in news:drudnaECv6JSfCKiRVn-sw@comcast.com:

Querying the One True Server:

[root@inuyasha root]# dig 81.133.243.65.in-addr.arpa. PTR @ns01.classmates.com.

; <<>> DiG 9.2.0 <<>> 81.133.243.65.in-addr.arpa. PTR @ns01.classmates.com.
;; global options: printcmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 17933
;; flags: qr aa rd; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 4, ADDITIONAL: 4

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;81.133.243.65.in-addr.arpa. IN PTR

;; ANSWER SECTION:
81.133.243.65.in-addr.arpa. 3600 IN PTR classmates.com.

;; AUTHORITY SECTION:
133.243.65.in-addr.arpa. 3600 IN NS ns01.classmates.com.
133.243.65.in-addr.arpa. 3600 IN NS ns02.classmates.com.
133.243.65.in-addr.arpa. 3600 IN NS ns03.classmates.com.
133.243.65.in-addr.arpa. 3600 IN NS ns04.classmates.com.

;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
ns01.classmates.com. 3600 IN A 65.243.133.75
ns02.classmates.com. 3600 IN A 65.243.133.76
ns03.classmates.com. 3600 IN A 65.126.52.23
ns04.classmates.com. 3600 IN A 65.126.52.24

;; Query time: 122 msec
;; SERVER: 65.243.133.75#53(ns01.classmates.com.)
;; WHEN: Sat Nov 22 19:08:25 2003
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 212

[root@inuyasha root]# dig classmates.com @ns01.classmates.com.

; <<>> DiG 9.2.0 <<>> classmates.com @ns01.classmates.com.
;; global options: printcmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 11598
;; flags: qr aa rd; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 4, ADDITIONAL: 4

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;classmates.com. IN A

;; ANSWER SECTION:
classmates.com. 3600 IN A 65.243.133.81

;; AUTHORITY SECTION:
classmates.com. 3600 IN NS ns01.classmates.com.
classmates.com. 3600 IN NS ns02.classmates.com.
classmates.com. 3600 IN NS ns03.classmates.com.
classmates.com. 3600 IN NS ns04.classmates.com.

;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
ns01.classmates.com. 3600 IN A 65.243.133.75
ns02.classmates.com. 3600 IN A 65.243.133.76
ns03.classmates.com. 3600 IN A 65.126.52.23
ns04.classmates.com. 3600 IN A 65.126.52.24

;; Query time: 123 msec
;; SERVER: 65.243.133.75#53(ns01.classmates.com.)
;; WHEN: Sat Nov 22 19:06:48 2003
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 188



--
-FT
http://www.nonexiste.net
Seru isu Iviru! Laatsu ofu Puuru Fiishu Dai!

Actually, classmates.com has f**ked up their dns, WWW.classmates.com points
to one IP, and classmates.com to another. IF you use the common approach
and put a "www" in their URL all is well.

So I am still correct and you are still wrong. I resolved the address of
their webserver, you (and the OTS) did not.

--

"FT" <FT@nospam.kicks-ass.net> wrote in message
news:bpp1dl$pgl$1@inuyasha.nonexiste.net...

"Herb Kauhry" <tiptoe@tulips.me> wrote in
news:QtSdnQ4NlaT-KV2iRVn-gw@comcast.com:

Direct me to the RFC that says one can't do that.

[root@inuyasha root]# host ietf.org
IETF.ORG has address 132.151.1.19
[root@inuyasha root]# host www.ietf.org
www.ietf.org has address 132.151.6.21
www.ietf.org has address 4.17.168.6

[root@inuyasha root]# host google.com
google.com has address 216.239.57.99
google.com has address 216.239.37.99
[root@inuyasha root]# host www.google.com
www.google.com is an alias for www.google.akadns.net.
www.google.akadns.net has address 66.102.11.99


[root@inuyasha root]# host microsoft.com
microsoft.com has address 207.46.245.214
microsoft.com has address 207.46.245.222
[root@inuyasha root]# host www.microsoft.com
www.microsoft.com is an alias for www.microsoft.akadns.net.
www.microsoft.akadns.net is an alias for www.microsoft.com.edgesuite.net.
www.microsoft.com.edgesuite.net is an alias for a562.cd.akamai.net.
a562.cd.akamai.net has address 216.52.232.148
a562.cd.akamai.net has address 216.52.232.133
a562.cd.akamai.net has address 216.52.232.149


In fact, I don't even have to have an A record for a zone to have hostnames
in the zone.

The only thing I said was that 65.243.133.81 reverse-resovles to
classmates.com.

It does.

--
-FT
http://www.nonexiste.net
Seru isu Iviru! Laatsu ofu Puuru Fiishu Dai!

There is no RFC that says you can't f**k up your dns. Don't be silly. It
only means that the people who choose to go to classmates.com get nada,
those who go to www.classmates.com see the site.

--

"FT" <FT@nospam.kicks-ass.net> wrote in message
news:bpqi4h$bnu$1@inuyasha.nonexiste.net...

In article <QtSdnQ4NlaT-KV2iRVn-gw@comcast.com>, Herb Kauhry wrote:
That doesn't mean they've f**ked up their DNS, assuming that www.classmates.com
is the host name they use in the URLs they give out.

--
Evidence Eliminator is worthless. See evidence-eliminator-sucks.com
--Tim Smith

The standard for web site is WWW.classmates.com

The standard for FTP sites is FTP.classmates.com

It is not normal for people to se http://classmates.com

Get a life!!!

"Herb Kauhry" <tiptoe@tulips.me> wrote in message
news:edKdndX9Ucs2NF6iRVn-iQ@comcast.com...

Seems to me that Shawn is a bit gruff and hard to deal with as a
customer. Having worked many years in many cable systems as a Network
Engineer, the problem Shawn is experiencing is not unheard of. On
occasion a DNS problem can occur when a service provider changes their
IP address or they change service providers or routing policy and a
minor glitch occurs that makes it so that things to not work as though
they are supposed to. Then, the site becomes unreachable to some but
reachable to others. It's usually DNS, routing tends to be more cut
and dry.

That doesn't change the fact that Shawn here thinks he knows
everything and that the tech support guys are clearly idiots not even
trying to do their jobs. While I'll be the first to admit that the
Tech support guys probably aren't much if any smarter than Shawn
himself - it is their job to help him. They have procedures and
scripts to follow which are designed with the best intentions - To
help him (and others like him) get back online. I myself am a Verizon
customer and in my experience I can troubleshoot a problem with their
network much faster than one of their customer support technicians and
have in the past done so. But, I understand something - they have a
procedure to follow and trying to go around that because I'm a network
god (sarcasm) will only mean I'll be on the phone longer and frustrate
both ends of it. I find it much easier to do their meager tasks and
then as nicely as possible try to steer them in the correct direction
if I do know where or what the problem is. I also know that the nicer
you are to the other end, the better your customer service experience
is going to be. Rarely has that strategy *not* worked for me on both
ends of the phone. I'll give you that when you know what you're doing
and they say "reboot your computer" and you know that won't do
anything - it's frustrating.

While respect is earned and not given, respect shown as a courtesy is
respectable in itself.

mikester wrote:
<...>
Exactly.

They don't know you from Adam, and every day they speak to someone who
claims to be a "network engineer" or a "network admin" when it's clear
that the most advanced task those people are capable of is plugging an
Ethernet cable into an RJ-45 jack. Back in the days that I did
front-line support the big fad was MCSE certification. Not a day went by
that I didn't speak to someone who thought he was hot-s**t because he
passed an exam or two, but didn't even have a network at home.

Again, on the nose.

The agents answering the phones seldom have any ability to do anything
to the ISP's network with the exception of running a few test tools. The
most power they typically have is the ability to indirectly reset an
account through the billing / customer accounts system. Their job is
primarily to help people who've messed-up their computers, help with
account issues, and screen for any real problems that haven't already
been detected by the Network Operations Center (NOC). And most network
problems are found (and often fixed) by the NOC long before the
customers even know, let alone call.

At any ISP you'll find that somewhere in the neighborhood of 98%+ of the
calls don't need any kind of escalation beyond the customer support
level, and you can hire relatively low-paid workers to handle those
calls. If you happen to have one of those very few calls that require
escalation beyond the realm of the low-paid customer suppport workers,
in order for them to escalate the call, they have to follow certain
procedures.

The triage nurse at the emergency room doesn't immediately call the
neurosurgon every time someone comes in with a headache, and claims that
they are qualified to determin their own headache rises to that level.
Protocols need to be followed. Specific observations need to be made and
noted, and procedures need to be followed. Even if it seems silly to you
if they ask if you've eaten any grapes in the last two days, there may
be a specific reason that they need to ask that question even if they
don't know why. If they take it upon themselves to skip a step because
they unilatterally decided that it was irrelevant, they won't be working
triage for very long.

Similarly if you have any desire to have your issue escalated, you need
to be cooperative. In most systems the next step is for someone to
review the work of the first person to be sure they have followed
protocol. If they haven't, it doesn't matter if it's because they were
sloppy, or if the customer was uncooperative. The issue will not go
further up. In neurogical issues, it's probably important enough to send
it back to be re-worked. ISP's aren't brain surgury, and lives are not
hanging in the ballance, so in most cases, that's where the incomplete
ticket will die, and be summarilly closed. The expensive time of the
network engineer is not going to be wasted with incomplete tickets.


Once they know you're going to fight them every step of the way,
depending on their mood they'll either take you on, and fight you every
step of the way, or they'll just go with the flow and send your
incomplete ticket up to die. On the other hand, if someone is nice
enough to cooperate with a smile, the agent will be more than willing to
add as much additional information as you can give them to help resolve
the problem.

So the choice is to either work with the protocols, or get nowhere.
Getting mad at someone for following the protocols is a step towards
going nowhere. Do it in the emergency room, and you'll spend some
miserable time in the waiting room, and not have a leg to stand on if
you later sue them for not treating you better. Do it when you call an
ISP, and your ticket will die shortly after you hang-up the phone.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Blatant Plug: Do your Christmas Shopping Online
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/associateshop.html

Jim Orfanakos wrote:

It's quite normal to leave the www. off of a url, I do it all the time.

If it fails (rarely), I add it on and try again. The amount of times
it works compared to trying again makes it worth the reduced effort.
My own domain works fine either way.

Isn't this thread old enough to die a quick death ?

Shawn,

Comcast issued me one of the RCA cable modems too... and the only
problems that I have ever had with my connection have been related to
the RCA modem.

I bought my own modem (motorola) and haven't had any problems since.

- WWWebtech@yahoo.com - Seattle, WA.


shawnchittle@hotmail.com (Shawn Chittle) wrote in message news:<2427591.0311210019.390f0704@posting.google.c om>...