router - Some websites load only text parts
2014-07
bosu
I'm having a problem loading some websites like Pintrest and Twitter when connected to through my router, either wired or wireless. Only textual parts of the sites loads.
If I connect to Internet directly (without the router) everything loads fine.
Things I have tried:
- Changed router (Netgear N150 to TP-Link TD W8968).
- Checked on Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and IE (I dont have any addons).
- Checked on different computers.
How can I fix things so browsers can load all of the resources they need to display a page properly?
Spiff
Does your Internet connection require PPPoE? The PPPoE protocol has 8 bytes of overhead per packet, reducing your MTU from 1500 to 1492. PPPoE or not, some ISPs' networks have other MTU restrictions.
Client devices try to handle MTU restrictions by doing a procedure called "Path MTU Discovery" (PMTUD). But routers that misbehave and don't send ICMP "Fragmentation required but 'Don't Fragment' bit set" messages when necessary, and firewalls that block some kinds of ICMP messages, can cause PMTUD to break. Some idiotmisinformed firewall administrators block all ICMP because they want to block ping attempts, but don't realize that ICMP is used for a lot more stuff than just ping, and that blocking ICMP does serious damage to the way some low-level parts of TCP/IP are supposed to work.
Good quality home gateways try to handle MTU restrictions by doing something called "TCP MSS Clamping", but it's possible that the gateways you've tried aren't doing it, or aren't doing a good job of it.
If your path to the Internet has an MTU restriction and it's not being handled properly, it can cause a situation where files smaller than the restricted MTU (say, an HTML file that's less than 1400 bytes) can fit in one packet that's not too big for the network, and get through. But files that are larger than that are put into full 1500 byte packets that are too large for the network and have to be dropped.
To get around this, Google's sites always negotiate a 1380-byte MSS for all TCP connections.
Try this:
To see if unhandled MTU restrictions are your problem, set the MTU fairly low (say 1300) on one of your machines that sees the problems. If a 1300 byte MTU solves your problem, try different settings closer and closer to 1500 to see where the cutoff is. Then set the largest working MTU on all your client machines.
If unhandled MTU restrictions end up being your problem, buy a better home gateway that does TCP MSS Clamping correctly (I know Apple's AirPort & Time Capsule lines have always done this well, but I can't vouch for others), and make sure you don't filter out ICMP, so that PMTUD can work.
Darrel Hawes
Three sites that I visit regularly:
- michelfortin.com
- lewrockwell.com
- screencast.com
Are not coming up on my computer nor any computers on my home network. When I connect via my Verizon card, they DO come up... but the signal is marginal so it doesn't really help except to isolate the problem.
The ping tests fail.
I have a call into my ISP, a small local provider.
I don't think it's a DNS problem, as I run OpenDNS through my wireless router, and the resulting non-connectivity for these three sites is the same whether I connect to the router or plug directly into the ISP's modem. Plus, the standard OpenDNS errors are not coming up. I admit I have a lot to learn about DNS issues.
And yes I have reset the wireless router and broadband modem by cutting the power for more than a minute.
As I need one of the sites for my home business and I probably won't hear from my ISP until after the weekend, I'd appreciate if anyone has insight.
Edit: for clarity, I should mention that I previously checked all the sites with downforeveryoneorjustme.com, and checked the hosts file on all affected computers.
When I run tracert, here is the result:
C:\Users\Darrel>tracert screencast.com
Tracing route to screencast.com [72.52.191.14] over a maximum of 30 hops:
1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms WL.domain.com [192.168.2.1]
2 1 ms <1 ms <1 ms 192.168.100.1
3 142 ms 25 ms 11 ms 66.239.236.121.ptr.us.xo.net [66.239.236.121]
4 16 ms 14 ms 14 ms p4-3-0.mar2.spokane-wa.us.xo.net [207.88.83.173]
5 32 ms 26 ms 41 ms p5-1-0-3d0.rar2.seattle-wa.us.xo.net [65.106.0.153]
6 82 ms 19 ms 22 ms p5-0-0d0.rar1.seattle-wa.us.xo.net [65.106.1.97]
7 81 ms 61 ms 41 ms te-3-1-0.rar3.seattle-wa.us.xo.net [65.106.1.46]
8 58 ms 84 ms 84 ms 207.88.13.145.ptr.us.xo.net [207.88.13.145]
9 137 ms 196 ms 90 ms 206.111.7.138.ptr.us.xo.net [206.111.7.138]
10 * * * Request timed out.
11 * * * Request timed out.
12 * * * Request timed out.
13 * * * Request timed out.
14 * * * Request timed out.
15 * * * Request timed out.
16 * * * Request timed out.
17 * * * Request timed out.
18 * * * Request timed out.
19 * * * Request timed out.
20 * * * Request timed out.
21 * * * Request timed out.
22 * * * Request timed out.
23 * * * Request timed out.
24 * * * Request timed out.
25 * * * Request timed out.
26 * * * Request timed out.
27 * * * Request timed out.
28 * * * Request timed out.
29 * * * Request timed out.
30 * * * Request timed out.
Trace complete.
C:\Users\Darrel>
Final Edit: Thank for the help guys. The problems resolved themselves before the end of the day. Yes I could have gone elsewhere to access the screencast.com site... the issue was partly that I live a long way from civilization and the other that I just didn't understand what was happening. I still don't understand it but perhaps my ISP will be able to explain it tomorrow.
quack quixote
Based on your tracert and the other info you've given, it looks like xo.net is having issues with a router that's needed to get you where you want to go. It's beyond your control, so cross your fingers and hope it clears up soon. In the meantime, if you absolutely must get access to your site, either use your Verizon link or physically go elsewhere. It's likely anyone on your local ISP would have the same problem.
If xo.net is your local ISP, call again and complain. (Of course, the problem could be with their peer for that link, not their problem directly, so be polite.)
Here's my traceroute to your site. Is LiquidWeb your hosting provider? Can you access any of your provider's help sites? If not, there's a definite problem on the link between you and your hosted sites.
C:\> tracert screencast.com
Tracing route to screencast.com [72.52.191.14]
over a maximum of 30 hops:
1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms (redacted) [(redacted)]
2 18 ms 18 ms 19 ms (redacted) [(redacted)]
3 18 ms 19 ms 18 ms (redacted) [(redacted)]
4 25 ms 24 ms 24 ms (redacted) [(redacted)]
5 23 ms 24 ms 23 ms te3-1.ccr01.clt01.atlas.cogentco.com [38.104.168.29]
6 30 ms 31 ms 31 ms te8-4.mpd02.dca01.atlas.cogentco.com [154.54.7.141]
7 32 ms 31 ms 32 ms te4-3.mpd02.iad01.atlas.cogentco.com [154.54.26.122]
8 33 ms 32 ms 32 ms te2-1.ccr02.iad01.atlas.cogentco.com [154.54.26.77]
9 32 ms 32 ms 32 ms sprint.iad01.atlas.cogentco.com [154.54.9.58]
10 33 ms 32 ms 32 ms sl-crs1-dc-0-13-0-0.sprintlink.net [144.232.25.12]
11 43 ms 43 ms 43 ms sl-crs1-akr-0-10-5-0.sprintlink.net [144.232.18.218]
12 53 ms 52 ms 52 ms sl-crs2-chi-0-12-5-0.sprintlink.net [144.232.24.49]
13 52 ms 51 ms 51 ms sl-st20-chi-12-0-0.sprintlink.net [144.232.8.219]
14 63 ms 57 ms 56 ms 63.167.95.70
15 57 ms 57 ms 63 ms lw-dc2-core3-ge1-5.rtr.liquidweb.com [209.59.157.141]
16 57 ms 57 ms 58 ms lw-dc2-sec1-dist2-po1.rtr.liquidweb.com [209.59.157.128]
17 59 ms 59 ms 59 ms 72.52.191.14
Hope it gets fixed for you soon.
CarlF
Open a Panix account and use ssh tunneling to connect via their router instead of your ISP.
You can cancel the account after a month, but if you absolutely have to get work done this weekend ....
Of course, you can also just take a laptop to the nearest public library.