Something is wrong with ISPs in India 🇮🇳

Summary

In this video, the narrator troubleshoots a frustrating issue with slow video playback on a learning platform, where a user in Gujarat, India, faces long delays and failed video loads. After extensive analysis using network tracing tools and reviewing API calls, the problem is narrowed down to routing issues within Cloudflare's infrastructure, potentially caused by faulty routers or ISP-related factors. While the problem is isolated to this region and user, a temporary workaround involving bypassing Cloudflare improves performance. The issue remains unresolved, with further investigation needed from Cloudflare's support team to pinpoint the exact cause.

Takeaways

• 😀 The issue involves slow video playback on a website built on the Formon infrastructure, with videos failing to load and causing frustration for the user.
• 😀 The user experiencing the issue is located in Gujarat, India, and the problem is specific to their location and connection to Cloudflare's infrastructure.
• 😀 The problem occurs when the user tries to play a video, with the video loader spinning indefinitely without starting the playback.
• 😀 The issue was diagnosed through technical debugging, showing that video chunks took an excessive amount of time to load (up to 15 seconds) and often failed to load entirely.
• 😀 Cloudflare's infrastructure was involved in routing traffic, but when other websites using Cloudflare were also slow for the user, it pointed to a possible issue in the routing process rather than a problem with the website itself.
• 😀 Trace routing revealed that the internet traffic between the user and Cloudflare was passing through several routers, which might be causing delays or failures in packet delivery.
• 😀 The user’s connection worked fine on a mobile hotspot, suggesting that the issue might be related to the user’s home network or a specific router along the route.
• 😀 The problem was not a user-side issue (like browser problems) or a backend issue on Formon's side, but rather a connectivity issue between the ISP and Cloudflare.
• 😀 Cloudflare Warp, a VPN service, was found to significantly slow down the user's connection, dropping their speed from 70 Mbps to 600 Kbps when enabled.
• 😀 The issue is still unresolved, and the video concludes with a call for help or insights from viewers, as the problem likely lies in the routing infrastructure but has not been pinpointed yet.

Q & A

What was the main issue that the user experienced on Learn.codesgan.com?

The user was unable to play videos on the website, as they would just keep spinning without loading. The issue was specific to a user in Gujarat, India.

What is Fon, and how does it relate to Learn.codesgan.com?

Fon is an infrastructure platform that allows users to build online learning platforms without managing the backend. Learn.codesgan.com is one of Fon’s customers that uses its infrastructure to host coding labs, courses, and assessments.

What did the initial investigation reveal about the problem?

The video chunks were taking longer than usual to load (10-15 seconds), and the API calls, which normally respond in under 500 milliseconds, were taking up to 11 seconds, suggesting an issue with the network path.

How does internet routing work, and why is it important in this context?

When a user accesses a website, their request doesn't go directly to the server. It passes through several routers, which manage the traffic flow. If one of these routers is faulty, it can cause delays, as seen with this specific user’s experience in Gujarat.

What tool was used to trace the network path, and what did it reveal?

The tool used was 'traceroute,' which shows the path internet traffic takes from the user's device to the server. It revealed that the traffic was passing through multiple routers, which could be causing the delay or failure in loading content.

Why was the issue only affecting the user in Gujarat?

The problem seemed to be localized to Gujarat due to the specific routing path between the user’s ISP and Cloudflare’s network. Other users in different regions did not experience the issue.

How did switching from Wi-Fi to a mobile hotspot help resolve the issue?

When the user switched to a mobile hotspot, the network traffic took a different path, bypassing the faulty router or problematic network route, and the website started working fine.

What role does Cloudflare play in this scenario?

Cloudflare is a CDN that manages the delivery of website content by caching data closer to the user. However, in this case, the routing through Cloudflare's infrastructure seemed to be causing the slowdown, as it was only affecting users in certain regions.

What is Cloudflare Warp, and how did it affect the user’s connection?

Cloudflare Warp is a free VPN service that routes internet traffic through Cloudflare’s nearest servers. When enabled, it caused a significant drop in the user’s internet speed, from 70 Mbps to 600 kbps, indicating a network issue when using Cloudflare’s infrastructure.

What was the conclusion of the investigation regarding the root cause of the issue?

The issue likely stems from a faulty router or misconfigured network path between the user’s ISP and Cloudflare. The problem was not with the website or the browser but with the routing of traffic through Cloudflare’s network.