I'm having a perplexing network issues.
For context, I work at a radio station cluster–multiple stations in one location–and we use the Internet a great deal in delivering our audio content. We stream 3 radio feeds to our online feeds, we push two different feeds out to two different tower sites where the audio is broadcast over the air, receive two audio feeds (sometimes 3), and send one feed back to its source. All of this streaming is 24/7, so we use our Internet a bit more than the average guy. We never stop broadcasting–unless we lose connection.
We have been suffering from connection loss for some time, which is very problematic for a professional radio station. We've called the Internet service provider for answers and have come back empty handed from each attempt to have them look into the problem.
At first, I thought the issue was just packet loss. But then I noticed that the connection losses were only semi-random and that there was some sort of pattern. Each station is hooked up to a silent sensor, which sends out alerts if and when a station goes off air. These alerts can mean different things; but for us, the alerts have only signified an interruption in our Internet connection. To troubleshoot this issue, I am using information gathered from the two stations that receive audio from another location. The alerts are sent out when we stop receiving audio from the source.
First, the connection issues are not completely random because–for the most part–the connection interruption only occurs 2 minutes before the beginning of a new hour–12:58, 4:58, 1:58. I would say that the connection issues occur approximately 2 minutes before a new hour at least 90% of the time. But I would have to check to be certain. To me losing connection 2 minutes before an hour is strange enough, but there's more.
The connection interruptions do not happen every hour or even during the same hour each day. The hours that the connections are interrupted vary each day. And even more strangely, one station may experience a network interruption 2 minutes before the end of an hour, while the other station does not experience an interruption. In fact, though each station loses connection 2 minutes before a new hour, I don't think I've ever known a case where both station went down at the same time. Therefore, the connection issues not only occur during random hours throughout the day, but also occur during different hours for each station. The only common denominator is that the connection loss is occurring approximately 2 minutes before the end of "an" hour.
I'm not at the station right now, so I can't provide the exact equipment that we are using, but the setup is fairly simple.
We have a modem that is connected to a Netgear Prosafe 24 port switcher. The switcher then feeds the individual rooms in the building. Generally, each room then has a small 4-8 port switcher (various brands). The audio processing devices that receive the audio are then connected to these smaller switchers.
I'm at a complete loss here. I'm even having trouble convincing Comcast that its not our fault. Right now, I'm thinking about disconnecting the 24 port switcher for the weekend and using only the four ports on the back of the modem to feed vital/essential equipment (I think I would have to keep at least one of the smaller switchers connected, though). I imagine then, Comcast would have to take the blame if the problem persisted because there wouldn't be any intervening technology.
Any help would be a HUGE blessing! Why are the issues semi-random? Where do I start looking for the source of the problem? I'm a little suspicious of the modem; the issues started happening near the time a modem was swapped out–I think. But, ultimately, I'm lost... lost.. lost.
