Static Routing of Game Traffic

Depending on your router I believe you can set it to pick the route based on a number of different variables. What kind of router are you using? *Cisco? ;)*

I have a netscreen 5

Basically the ISP has created a latency issue for me when I am playing this game and I would like to reduce the number of hops required for the game traffic to get to the games servers.  Does that make sense?

I understand your question, but this is not possible.  Even if you could put a route in that said "send traffic directly to gaming companies router" the next thing the router does is decide "how do I get to gaming companies router", and the answer to that question is always going to be "send it via the ISP's router", and then you're right back where you started.

So there is nothing that can be done?

No, no matter what you can only send traffic via routers that are connected to you directly - and since you presumably only have one internet connection, then you only have one router directly attached to you (which is your ISP's router).

What if I had a secondary ISP internally I could force game traffic to go through a different network that way right..?

Hmm looks to be true, you can only staticaly route inside your own network. Once it hits the cloud the next router will decide the best path.

I would of sworn there was a way to set the route based on different variables like cost and time. Oh well.

I just thought a route was me telling the router what the IP of the next router was.  I thought I could technically put a route to the first router just outside the games network.  Then let that router send it in as it normally would.  Guess routing does not work the way I thought it did.  

That's like saying you could go instantly from LA to NY by giving someone directions where the first step is "take exit 11 off the New Jersey turnpike" ;)
You still need a way to get to the NJ turnpike, and likewise you still need a way to get to the gaming company's router, and with only one internet connection there's no choice.

Yeah that makes sense.  My damn ISP, they added some extra crap directly after my router which is creating a high than usual ping time, it did not change much but enough to notice something in the game.  My connection appears to be lagged by like 1.5 - 2.5 seconds in the game compared to others which can be a lifetime in certain situations.

Guess I need to drop a 2nd IP in here.

I'm assuming that you are using a residential internet service.

If so, another option is to go to a business class line, like a T1 or business Cable, where you have a guarantee, a contracted bandwidth and a contracted up time.  It all depends on how serious you are about this.  Residential lines basically get to share bandwidth that's leftover from business lines.  There are no guarantees as to bandwidth nor up time.

Having said that, your latency could be closer to your destination's location.  If that is the case, then either of these options are going to have a lesser effect.  You can probably figure that out by doing a trace route (tracert x.x.x.x) to the destination, then pinging each IP along the way and recording ping times.  It also could be within the destination's servers or network.

Another thing to note is that cloud routes are not static and can change at different times of day (according to loads).  You can see this by doing trace routes at different times of day and on different days, then compare them.  With a business class connection you should get the better overall performance that with 2 home lines, if the bulk of the latency is local to you.

2¢ worth.

This is a business class line and the bulk of the latency is not on my end it is in the routes themselves way upstream from me.  Out of 15 hops the bottle neck starts on the major backbone providers network just before the packet is handed of to the game mfgr.

I will figure something out.  Thank you all for you input.

Ok, I installed a 2nd ISP multi-homed my PC then added a static route for all traffic destined for the mfgr gam servers and used the default gw the router looks at for the ISP and it works perfect.  Thanks for all the help.