2000 Ping? What's up with that!?

[Drocona]

Ok so here goes,

I've received a lot of messages past week on the 2000 ping errors. What's causing this is unknown at the moment, it's a problem that occurs randomly and not for everyone at some point.

Symptoms:
Server is online
Server name is visible
Server shows up as <not responding> status
When you click the server, game info window shows 2000 ping
Cannot join the server
After multiple tries you might get in
Get disconnected after a few minutes again if you get in at all
Total randomness, as it works at this point it won't the next.

How it looks on the client side:

  2kping.JPG (Size: 19.8 KB / Downloads: 48)

Some people can join server1 without any trouble, at the same time others can't join that same server1. While server2 might be inaccessible for the ones that can join server1 and the other way around.
It's just totally random.

It seems to occur when the server is behind a router most of the times, I have not heard of the problem for directly connected servers.

Happens to dedicated servers rented from a GSP too.

No fix as of yet, no idea where it comes from. If everyone that has this problem can post general information about their setup, we might get something out of it and find a solution.

What I'd like to see:
Operating system? Windows/Linux/Unix/whatever
router? yes/no
port forwarding? yes, how? or no
DMZ? yes/no
sv_lan? yes/no
ISP bound? (same ISP can join, different can't or the other way around)

If you ahve any additional information please provide it, this might be one simple bugger or a very big one. As I see it now there's not 1 thing that seems to be static here.

[millenio]

the connection with you to the server closes,
you cant get any info because of the packet loss.
have that problem as well,
mostly with server with ping higher than 50

[WW2-WARDOG]

I noticed this while waiting to join some servers, I would refresh the server every 5 seconds, my latency would be normal, eventually it would stall at 2000, and I couldn't refresh it again untill about 20 seconds later. Just an observation.

Steam bug? Don't know. But when a slot opend up I had no problem joining. It simply seems it has to do with the server refresh in Steam for me anyway.

[Hollanda]

Never have any problems with 2000+ pings, only at mapchange. My advice: rente a server with a decent uplink.

[Littlebert]

i have this problem

os: windows xp-sp2
router: netgear dg834pn
port forwarding yes
UDP:1200, 27000-27015 & 27020
TCP:27030-27039 & 27015
Both inbound and outbound
no DMZ
sv_lan 0
isp: tiscali max (8mb downstream & 512mb upstram)

hope this helps?

Solution
windows firewall... even though was configured correctly (all necessary ports open) when turned off everyone can get in 1st time and normal pings all round... woo

hope this works for some others

[roscoe]

Try adding a bot and then kicking the bot

[Drocona]

Thanks Littlebert and roscoe, hope it helps indeed.
I haven't seen this occur lately, maybe it was just a one time bug?
Or do some people still have trouble?