Late Collisions and familysearch.org FT issues
Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 9:54 pm
I'm the assistant stake technology specialist for family history in my stake. I'm tasked with keeping the Internet running in the Stake Center, where our FHC is located. I have one issue, and one error message. These may or may not be related.
The problem started when the FM changed our ISP from a DSL to a T1. FamilySearch FamilyTree is badly broken. At first, I thought the FamilySearch developers had changed something and would eventually fix it (as they are in active development). However, the problem has not gone away, and seems to only occur in our building, not from home. This leads me to believe there is a networking problem of some type.
FamilyTree pages fail to load, partially or in full. It is far more common for a page to fail to load, than it is for one to load fully, but the specific behavior is erratic. "Server Error", or "Failed to load..." family relationships/change history/sources/discussions/ordinances/etc are very common. This occurs irrespective of browser. Since other websites don't appear to have problems, it leads me to speculate that there could be a problem on the familysearch.org servers that is being compounded by a local problem.
When they changed our ISP, the FM also changed out our Cisco 800 series VPN (same model, different unit). We had all kinds of trouble getting the unit to register, primarily because we needed to configure a static IP on the WAN (and the HTML interface was being disagreeable).
Now, when logging into the unit and setting "terminal monitor", and visiting FamilyTree, I see 2-4 "LATE COLLISION" errors on FE4 (WAN). Since this is an ethernet level error, I can't see how this would cause more than a slowed signal on an https connection (requiring the tcp layer to resend lost packets). In other words, I have my doubts that this is the actual problem. So far, though, it's my only real lead. Online forums suggest than this error should never occur in a proper setup, and that it is usually caused by either a duplex mismatch, or a bad cable run. Since the cable run is brand new for this transition (and is probably a fairly long run; I can't measure it), I fear this may be the problem, though I'd like to have some better assurance before bothering the FM about it.
The FE4 interface is in half duplex 100 mode. I have tried setting it to full duplex, and the connection goes down (it comes back up when set to half or auto). I do not yet know if the ISP equipment is in half, full, or auto duplex. I have already tried substituting a cross over cable in the networking cabnet between the wall jack and FE4 with no change in behavior (a recommendation on many sites when auto mdi/mdi-x fails when manually setting duplex on cisco equipment).
Again, I don't know if the familysearch.org problems and the late collisions are related in any substantial way.
Any theories or diagnostic suggestions are welcome. I don't have a Fluke or access to the building attic (where the cable runs), and I may need a good rationale before I can get the FM involved. I have physical access to all other equipment, including the networking cabinet, and the electrical closet where the T1 comes into the building. I'm not entirely sure what to look for in Wireshark, but I've used the program before and it doesn't scare me.
Thanks in advance.
The problem started when the FM changed our ISP from a DSL to a T1. FamilySearch FamilyTree is badly broken. At first, I thought the FamilySearch developers had changed something and would eventually fix it (as they are in active development). However, the problem has not gone away, and seems to only occur in our building, not from home. This leads me to believe there is a networking problem of some type.
FamilyTree pages fail to load, partially or in full. It is far more common for a page to fail to load, than it is for one to load fully, but the specific behavior is erratic. "Server Error", or "Failed to load..." family relationships/change history/sources/discussions/ordinances/etc are very common. This occurs irrespective of browser. Since other websites don't appear to have problems, it leads me to speculate that there could be a problem on the familysearch.org servers that is being compounded by a local problem.
When they changed our ISP, the FM also changed out our Cisco 800 series VPN (same model, different unit). We had all kinds of trouble getting the unit to register, primarily because we needed to configure a static IP on the WAN (and the HTML interface was being disagreeable).
Now, when logging into the unit and setting "terminal monitor", and visiting FamilyTree, I see 2-4 "LATE COLLISION" errors on FE4 (WAN). Since this is an ethernet level error, I can't see how this would cause more than a slowed signal on an https connection (requiring the tcp layer to resend lost packets). In other words, I have my doubts that this is the actual problem. So far, though, it's my only real lead. Online forums suggest than this error should never occur in a proper setup, and that it is usually caused by either a duplex mismatch, or a bad cable run. Since the cable run is brand new for this transition (and is probably a fairly long run; I can't measure it), I fear this may be the problem, though I'd like to have some better assurance before bothering the FM about it.
The FE4 interface is in half duplex 100 mode. I have tried setting it to full duplex, and the connection goes down (it comes back up when set to half or auto). I do not yet know if the ISP equipment is in half, full, or auto duplex. I have already tried substituting a cross over cable in the networking cabnet between the wall jack and FE4 with no change in behavior (a recommendation on many sites when auto mdi/mdi-x fails when manually setting duplex on cisco equipment).
Again, I don't know if the familysearch.org problems and the late collisions are related in any substantial way.
Any theories or diagnostic suggestions are welcome. I don't have a Fluke or access to the building attic (where the cable runs), and I may need a good rationale before I can get the FM involved. I have physical access to all other equipment, including the networking cabinet, and the electrical closet where the T1 comes into the building. I'm not entirely sure what to look for in Wireshark, but I've used the program before and it doesn't scare me.
Thanks in advance.