stop ui lag: QOS settings

[SeraphimLeftNut]

What to do when your ISP admits they suck and that they can't do anything about it.

Bufferbloat sucks and will add a lot of extra latency. http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest
See if you have it.

A way to ameliorate this issue is to give FAF higher network priority by having your system assign packets from FAF higher priority.

Part 1: On your system run gpedit.msc and go to the policy based QOS wizard, etc. (unfortunately this is only available in pro versions of windows, but maybe there is a workaround)
As you go through the wizard specify a dscp value (such as 48(corresponds to CS6)) and remember it.
Part 2: Go to your router QOS settings and create a custom QOS policy, make it for upstream and specify CS6 (if you wrote 48 for the dscp value)

All this may or may not work depending on what you have done to your system in the past and what is living in your registry.


useful things:
in powershell(cmd) type GPUPDATE /TARGET:Computer /FORCE, to get the computer to pay attention
registry settings to change if things don't apply
Add these two keys : [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\Tcpip\Parameters] "DisableUserTOSSetting"=dword:00000000
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\Tcpip\QoS] "Do not use NLA"="1" THIS IS NOT A DWORD BUT A STRING

The last entry is necessary to get the DSCP value to assign to both tcp and udp packets

also in the QOS group policy editor advanced settings(right click on the icon)
Go to DSCP marking override tab and put a checkmark in the control DSCP....

also in your ethernet settings make sure you have QOS packet scheduler checkmark(on by default)

As always PLEASE RESPOND with what you know

Successfully tested against: Jagged and Blodir. Two players I haven't been able to compete with in ages. Although they did suck quite bad in the games, I didn't have any lost orders or other bs.

[nine2]

my understanding is you turn that stuff on (like i did) and then your isp ignores it and just does business as usual

[SeraphimLeftNut]

Playing with and without these makes a pretty big difference for me. I would love to know if this works for others.

[nine2]

one scenario where it might do stuff is if you had lots of traffic on your own home network, the qos might convince your router to send FAF traffic instead of something else.

In my house we have 2 ipads 2 phones and about 5 computers... they are always downloading updates, netflix, syncing photos etc. The other day I had to get some 4gb dropbox file at work ... it didn't occur to me that it would also sync it to two of my home computers at the same time.

anyway point being maybe if your network is flooded it could help. Or maybe not, I don't really understand these things. But sometimes when I'm getting lag I just turn off the whole house except for my pc.

[snuffles]

I don't know of a single person (other than myself) who I play with that is IT literate and will understand and do what you've written - you don't write instructions too well for the average joe... Shall I rewrite it for you?

[SeraphimLeftNut]

I don't know of a single person (other than myself) who I play with that is IT literate and will understand and do what you've written - you don't write instructions too well for the average joe... Shall I rewrite it for you?

Yes please

[RocketRooster]

Bufferbloat happens when your ISP sets up its routers to cache packets instead of forwarding them immediately. In other words, it's like a post office receiving letters and dumping them in a bag for each destination address and then only giving the bag to the postman for delivery once the bag is full, or when a certain time limit is reached.

The reason they do it is twofold:

1) link saturation. Their infrastructure might be under heavy load and combining packets reduces the routing overhead.
2) money. Pursuant to the above, ISPs usually lease bandwidth from a major upstream carrier, for which they have to pay. They might configure their switching equipment simply to reduce costs even if they have no performance constraints. It's just a handful of bytes here and there, but it adds up quickly and the consumer is always at the mercy of a provider's bottom line.

ETA - there is nothing you can do to make your ISP give FAF packets higher priority, the solutions offered by TA4Life are a means of ensuring that your computer fills up the isp buffer with faf packets in preference to other traffic from your PC. Since QoS is time-based, the isp router MUST forward packets within a certain timeframe regardless of how much is in the buffer, so the idea is to make sure that you cram as much FAF traffic into the buffer to maximise the value of the particular time-until-route for each buffer.

[snuffles]

Original by SeraphimLeftNut

THIS SOLUTION WILL ONLY ALLEVIATE LOCAL CONGESTION EFFECTS ON YOUR FAFOREVER TRAFFIC

This does not apply to non-pro versions of Windows.
You must be running an Admin account or have Administrative Rights/Permissions to complete this guide.

Part 1: Windows Settings

Local Group Policy Changes
1. Go to RUN and type gpedit.msc, then hit OK

Spoiler: show

2. Find and start the Policy Based QOS Wizard

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3. Progress through the Wizard and specify a DSCP value, eg 48 (CS6 on a router - more later).

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4. Complete the Wizard, and then right click the Policy Based QoS Wizard and select Advanced Settings

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5. Go to the DSCP Marking Override tab and tick "Control DSCP Marking..." Click OK, and then close the Local Group Policy Editor

Spoiler: show

6. Go to RUN and type the following (not case sensitive), then hit OK:
GPUPDATE /TARGET:Computer /FORCE

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7. A CMD window will appear for a breif moment to update the Computer-specific Group Policy. Let it do its' work, and it will close automatically.

Spoiler: show

Registry Changes
1. Go RUN and type REGEDIT then hit OK

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2. Registry Editor will appear. Browse through the tree to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\Tcpip\Parameters

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3. In the Parameters Folder (Key) right click in the pane on the right to add a new DWORD (32-bit value)
By default "New Value #1" will appear, and it will be set to zero.

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4. Type in the following, and then hit Enter
"DisableUserTOSSetting"

5. Browse through the tree to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\Tcpip\QoS

Note: If you can't find this QoS Key, Right Click the "TCPIP" Key and mouse to New -> Key
Label this new Key "QoS"

Spoiler: show

6. Select the QoS key and create a new String inside it called:
"Do not use NLA"
This is a string value, also make sure you give it value 1.

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7. After creating the new DWORD, hit enter again to modify it

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8. Change its' value to 1 and then hit Enter to save the change.

Close REGEDIT and any other windows we have opened, to return to your desktop.

Network Changes
Now, in the System Tray where your clock is:

1. Right Click on your Networking icon (WiFi or Ethernet) and click Network and Sharing Center.

2. Click the Connection (blue text) that has "Access Type: Internet"

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3. In the window that pops up, click Properties
4. Ensure that the QoS item(s) are ticked, then click OK etc to return to your desktop.

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Part 2: Router QoS Configuration
This is where there are too many variations to be precise.

1. Log onto your router and go to the QoS settings
2. Create a custom QoS policy, make it for upstream and specify CS6 (if you wrote 48 for the DSCP value)
An example from a Billion router. Ensure you specify your computer's IP address etc. Best results are experienced if your computer's IP is static

Spoiler: show

All this may or may not work depending on what you have done to your system in the past and what is living in your registry.

[snuffles]

on another note, if this Windows QoS setting change could be implemented as a part of the FAForever.msi/FAF.msi installation script, that would be a better idea

[SeraphimLeftNut]

on another note, if this Windows QoS setting change could be implemented as a part of the FAForever.msi/FAF.msi installation script, that would be a better idea

Yes that would be great