More Details on the Recent LCWA Network Overload

More Details on the Recent LCWA Network Overload

The Problem

In the last week we have seen changes in the nature, timing and volume of network traffic. This is clearly due to the large number of people now spending more time at home and using the LCWA network.

In the past our daily traffic tended to peak in the evenings. But now peak usage is starting earlier and peaking higher, and daytime usage has dramatically increased. The total daily delivered data has increased over the last week by over 15%  (From about 3700 Gigabytes per day to over 4300 Gigabytes per day). This increase is consuming nearly all our spare capacity. As a result, members are reporting much lower internet speeds.

More importantly, if this increase continues, or network could completely fail for all members.

About Streaming Video and its Impact on Our Network

As more of our members depend on the network for their livelihood and schooling we need to be mindful of the impact entertainment streaming has on our fellow members.

The LCWA network is built on technology that was designed to support email, web applications, and file exchange where preserving the accuracy of the information sent is critical.  These applications tend to send data in relatively small batches, and in a manner that is tolerant of some small time delays.

Networks like Dish and Comcast that are designed primarily for streaming entertainment, use a different method of sending information. This involves data transfers that are massive compared to other uses, and the transfer is time sensitive – delays causing video quality issues or buffering.  Timing is prioritized over accuracy because small errors in the transmitted stream are overwritten in the next frame (1/60 of a second) anyway. 

When you send an entertainment stream over our network, our hardware detects small errors, stops what it’s doing and asks that the data be resent until it’s correct, enforcing an accuracy that is not needed, at the expense of interrupting the stream.  The hardware cannot know what the content actually is, it just does its absolute level best to deliver it accurately.

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So, while streaming works over our network, it places an unwanted and unneeded burden on the network due to the fundamental nature of the technology.

In the past, this has not been an insurmountable problem, and we have been able to gradually upgrade our network to keep pace with the demand increases – roughly a factor of two every 18 months or so.

Now we are faced with a much more rapid increase in really important traffic, 15% in one week, far outstripping our ability to grow the network fast enough.

So, what can members do?

First, consider acquiring a separate system to watch video streams.  There are several services available, and your viewing experience will be much enhanced. 

Second, if you must stream video over our network, please use the techniques described in our previous letter to allow you to reduce the impact on the network.

Third, please consider limiting the streaming of video during the working hours of the day. 

The LCWA technical team is working hard to monitor and keep our network stable. This week we brought on-line a new radio system that potentially doubles the capacity of the most critical section of our network backbone, which was a major accomplishment. But this sudden surge in internet use has revealed bottlenecks in the downstream radios, and we are working on those now. That project that will take months to accomplish. In the meantime, please limit the nature of your video viewing so that at-home working and schooling can continue without interruption.

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