Qtel Traffic Shaping on VPN connections
Hi Everyone,
I'm wondering if there are any other VPN users out there who have noticed what I have –
Qtel appear to have de-prioritised VPN traffic
I'm sure everyone noticed a few weeks ago the internet speeds (I’m simplifying things obviously - we are talking about common protocols like HTTP, FTP and even bit torrent) shot up quite dramatically. I'm sure Qtel have some idiots answer if asked about it, "...we upgraded our network...". Really? You don't say? Is that why it's running faster then? Because you did something? Slackers.
....but I digress.
Something quite worrying that I've noticed since that time though is that PPTP and L2TP IPSEC VPN traffic has been slowed down to the point where it's not really usable. Most of the time for me I use VPN's for work related stuff but occasionally I use them to watch BBC iplayer (I pay the UK TV Licence fee). These days, pages won't even load over a VPN connection let alone get a video stream working and my file shares on server back in Europe... forget it. I've given up on even trying.
Perhaps you might ask if it's the other end of the connection causing the issue but I have access to the firewall on that end and it’s on a 100Mb connection that only reaches 10% capacity which rules that out. I’ve also tried from different ADSL connections with the same result.
I thought I’d get this posted to see if anyone else has noticed the same thing and just to sanity check my observations. As any of the techies know, net neutrality is a corner stone of the internet and no service provider has the right to tell me what has priority and what doesn’t, let alone go and change things behind my back and most likely disguise installing traffic shaping and deep packet inspection software on their network while smiling at me and saying everything is fine... “trust us”.
Open VPN or SSTP VPN (for Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8) can't be shaped because it can't be recognised as VPN connections instead of standart PPTP VPN connection.
A few time ago in Doha I've used this http://vpnprivacy.com VPN on my notebook with Win 7. It was a bit slow compare with my Qatar ADSL, but not critical for my tasks.
LOL, use openvpn! DERP! Problem solved...
Oh, I forgot to add, my wife was making a Skype call at the time my daughter was watching "Charlie and Lola" on http://www.lamnia.co.uk/buynowtestaff.php?xyz=74 and they both worked at the same time to my surprise. I am on a large compound though, so they may have given it more bandwidth? - I'm not too knowledgeable in that area.
Hope you get the problem sorted.
Regards,
Quagmire
No problems here, BBC iplayer, ITV, C4 full streaming with VPN below, which I would highly recommend (- see my other post, for those getting started with VPN's)
http://www.lamnia.co.uk/buynowtestaff.php?xyz=74
Regards,
Quagmire
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Ash.law...everything here is being monitored and controlled by the government. if you read the SLA for the leased line application, you can see there that they need to be informed if you will be using the link for VoIP calls or setting up a VoIP system, and the number of VoIP phones you are going to use. they also need to know the VPN requirement as they want to provide the service for VPN. for the residential areas, the requirement of people using the VPN is very minimal to none. Working at home is not an option here in Qatar, and when people found out about the workaround on how to browse the blocked sites, Qtel is already on the move. If you also notice the crap wireless router they provide with their adsl package, you'll notice that whenever someone is downloading or using the VoIP via Yahoo/skype, the router will just restart for no apparent reason. In order to controll/discourage the use of the VPN client software to browse illegal sites, they just configured the QoS and put maybe a 10% bandwidth allocation for any VPN connection.
Just my assumption.
It's not because things are difficult that we don't dare, it's because we don't dare that makes things difficult!
ash.law...the reason why Qtel deprioritized the VPN traffic on the residential adsl is probably because of (just my assumption) one application where you can connect via VPN and still browse the sites restricted by the State thru US servers, and that famous application is using the L2TP IPSEC for security. Business who had a leased line is not affected by it. Only from residential adsl connection. I have a VPN linked to our regional offices around the world, and we have had no problem.
It's not because things are difficult that we don't dare, it's because we don't dare that makes things difficult!