Will changing my area code also change my default IP's

[Mr_Dasher]

Hi,

I'm in Canada but have a NYC phone number. In the evenings my calls are extremely poor which I've come to the conclusion is congestion on the MJ network. I've done tests and have found a new area code that has great pingg and tracert, etc. I've tested by blocking my current MJ IP and only allowing this new area code and my calls are perfect.

I've tried the MJ tech chat and asked if they could change my default IP without changing my number. Well that experience was like hitting my head against the wall and I wasn't successful.

Now I'm ready to use my one free number switch to change my number to this new area code. I'm wondering if changing the number will also change my default proxy. I'd hate to make the number change and still be stuck with the poor NYC proxy.

Thanks,

Mr_D

[az2008]

Now I'm ready to use my one free number switch to change my number to this new area code. I'm wondering if changing the number will also change my default proxy. I'd hate to make the number change and still be stuck with the poor NYC proxy.

It should. I asked a similar question and was told area codes are associated with proxies. So, if you got a Los Angeles area code, then your MJ should connect to the Los Angeles proxy.

But, why don't you just change your proxy? I thought you were working with that? What was the problem?

Mark

[Mr_Dasher]

But, why don't you just change your proxy? I thought you were working with that? What was the problem?

Mark

Hey Mark - I did choose a proxy using the method outlined in the Wiki and when it worked the quality was great but I also found that it was hit and miss when trying to actually connect. I left three proxies active in case of fall back.

Sometimes it would take a while to connect while it was trying to find a proper proxy to use (try explaining that to my girlfriend) and other times it wouldn't connect at all. Either it would get returned to dial tone after dialing a number and other times it would just hang. I also found that my CID didn't work when I used a different proxy.

But again when I did connect I never experience the slightest problem with the actual call.

Mr_D

[hsweiss]

I too was having the same problem with the NY proxy. So tonight I tried blocking the NY proxy (216.234.64.8 (proxy1.newyork.talk4free.com) and 216.234.64.12 (vms1.newyork.talk4free.com)) by routing them down a rat-hole (e.g., route add 216.234.64.8 mask 255.255.255.255 192.168.1.250 where there is nothing at .250 on my internal network).

After adding the routes, I restarted MJ and the first try used the Cleveland proxy and the call was completed and *very* clear. But then MJ crashed and restarted. After that, anytime I tried to make a call, I just got back to a dial tone. I pulled the MJ dongle out to force a hard reset - no change. Still back to dial tone when trying to make a call.

I deleted the rat-hole routes, did a soft restart of MJ and calls completed - albeit with stuttering like I usually have in the evenings using the NY proxy. Added the rat-hole routes back, no call completion.

BTW, it never went back to the Cleveland proxy again. Afterwards, for some reason it went to the Los Angeles proxy which politely said (via Wireshark): Status: 100 Trying followed by a Status: 603 Decline.

Anyone have any idea what's going on??

[az2008]

BTW, it never went back to the Cleveland proxy again. Afterwards, for some reason it went to the Los Angeles proxy which politely said (via Wireshark): Status: 100 Trying followed by a Status: 603 Decline.

Anyone have any idea what's going on??

Try blocking the LA proxy?

Mark

[hsweiss]

Exactly the same problem after blocking both the NY and LA servers.....

[az2008]

Exactly the same problem after blocking both the NY and LA servers.....

It may be specific to you. I just blocked my default server (Phoenix) and started MJ. I went to San Francisco. Repeated calls to the echo test number are fine (more choppy than Phx).

Maybe block whatever server you're connected to now, and see what happens when you get another one?

Mark

[Mr_Dasher]

I'n having the same problems as hsweiss. Blocking my default proxy sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. When it did work the calls were clear but the inconsistency was a real pain in the butt.

So.....

I took the plunge and used my one free number change and switched to a city that had better spec's (ping, etc.) then my default NYC IP address. I took a chance that switching cities would also switch IP addresses. We it doesn't . Though I have a new city my calls were still being routed through NYC.

Now I've used up my one free number change and now have a phone number in a city I didn't want.

Mr_D

[rodak]

I doubt your AC has anything to do with the proxy. I think the MJ program has a little dartboard with all the proxies on it...... My AC is Atlanta (and I LIVE near Atlanta), but MJ sends me through Chicago. go figure.

I tried blocking chicago, MJ started, said "Ready to call", but no calls would go through. It would "Trying..." then just hang up.

I'll mess with it some more another day - too tired now.

[Mr_Dasher]

Maybe it doesn't depend on AC but I picked a NYC number and I have a NYC proxy (though I live in Canada). It stands to reason that you're more likely to pick an area code were you live . The quickest internet route would be a proxy in the city that you live (if possible). But I'm sure there are other variable that we don't even know about (if it's a full moon or not,earths gravitational pull, etc.)

Mr_D

[hsweiss]

Maybe it doesn't depend on AC but I picked a NYC number and I have a NYC proxy (though I live in Canada). It stands to reason that you're more likely to pick an area code were you live . The quickest internet route would be a proxy in the city that you live (if possible). But I'm sure there are other variable that we don't even know about (if it's a full moon or not,earths gravitational pull, etc.)

Mr_D

I'm the same - I picked a NY number and anytime I watch the connections using Wireshark, the SIP credentials get sent to the NY proxy. There does not seem to be any sort of round-robin or server loading approach to selecting a proxy.

However, I wonder what would happen if you wipe your installation (I can find the tech chat info for removing everything from the registry if you'd like) and then reload now with your new area code if that would make a different proxy determination?

In the past when one could play with the hosts file I tried redirecting to a different proxy. Not only did that not work, but it wouldn't run after I removed the hosts file changes. Wireshark was showing that the NY proxy was rejecting my credentials. It took the tech chat folks to "refresh" my account before I could make calls again.

[hsweiss]

Update: I found another post regarding the use of blocking proxy servers via rat-hole routes. I had been using an unused address on my local network but the other post said to use the address of a live machine on the local network. So rather than using 192.168.1.240 which didn't exist, I routed the NY proxies to 192.168.1.253 (my HP printer). Holy crap - it worked! I blocked the NY and LA proxies and wireshark showed me now talking to the Philadelphia proxy and so far, all the calls I've tried have gone thru. They've connected in about the same time as they would when connected to the NY proxy but the sound was much cleaner - no breaking up, no noise.

So, at least in my case to block the NY proxies I used the following:

route add 216.234.64.8 mask 255.255.255.255 192.168.1.253
route add 216.234.64.12 mask 255.255.255.255 192.168.1.253

Right now I'm a happy camper!

[az2008]

I had been using an unused address on my local network but the other post said to use the address of a live machine on the local network. So rather than using 192.168.1.240 which didn't exist, I routed the NY proxies to 192.168.1.253 (my HP printer). Holy crap - it worked!

Are you using Vista? The wiki FAQ for changing the proxy says Vista users must use a real, live IP address on their LAN as the destination of the route command. Or, use iptables with a router or ipsec(? I never understood that part).

If you're not using Vista I'd like to know about it so I can consider how to modify the wiki FAQ.

Mark

[Mr_Dasher]

hsweiss your suggestion of directing the ip to an actual computer made the difference. I block all the proxy servers except the once that I want. When you restart MJ you can see it going through all the proxies to find one that works. Once it's set it's good to go. Once it's gone through the list it seems to stick. Does your voicemail, etc still work?

I think I may try blocking the vms servers as well. I have a few servers I would prefer to use because the routing / pings are smaller.

Mr_D

[az2008]

I think I may try blocking the vms servers as well. I have a few servers I would prefer to use because the routing / pings are smaller.

You should review the wiki about changing proxies. It points out that the vms server seems to be directly correlated to the proxy server you connect to. I.e., if you connect to Chigago's proxy server it's not going to instruct you to connect to Los Angeles's vms server.

It also mentions that routing to a real IP address is necessary for Vista users. I assume both you and hrweiss are Vista users?

Mark

[Mr_Dasher]

Actually my MJ is on a WinXP computer.

I've been watching the VMS servers that I use after blocking the IP's. I was surprised to find that they did vary. I've used servers from all over the USA.

I've also noticed, as was posted in another message, that the port range seemed to have increased.

[az2008]

Actually my MJ is on a WinXP computer.

I've been watching the VMS servers that I use after blocking the IP's. I was surprised to find that they did vary. I've used servers from all over the USA.

Thanks for the info. I use XP and routing to a non-existent IP address works fine for me. It's slow after blocking 6-10 proxies. Maybe routing to an existent IP LAN address would cause it to be faster.

Re: vms servers. I haven't seen one region's proxy server route to a different region. I'm going to do another test tonight. I'll watch for it. I'm not sure blocking vms servers have the same roll-over effect as proxy servers. The proxy is connected to at startup. The vms server is connected to at the time of the phone call. I don't see how the proxy could tell you to connect on a specific vms server, and then you could foil that by blocking access. If the softphone connects to a different vms server, I don't see how their network would know to route the voice traffic to that other server when it was waiting for you to connect at a certain one.

Mark

[Mr_Dasher]

I'll guess we'll find out. I've gone through and found all the IP addresses for every vms server I knew of. I'll watch to see if any other pop up and I'll block the others that isn't the one I want.

The one thing I do find is that the longer the list the longer it takes to connect. Also even when I've connected to my desired proxy every now and then MJ will do another search for the default which makes dialing a longer.

Mr_D

[az2008]

The one thing I do find is that the longer the list the longer it takes to connect. Also even when I've connected to my desired proxy every now and then MJ will do another search for the default which makes dialing a longer.

It definitely takes a long time for MJ to connect after blocking a few proxies. I haven't seen it repeat that series of attempts after finally connecting.

I've just blocked a few proxies, one at a time. Made a call each time. The vms server was always related to the proxy server. It never went to a different region.

Mark

[hsweiss]

Actually my MJ is on a WinXP computer.

I've been watching the VMS servers that I use after blocking the IP's. I was surprised to find that they did vary. I've used servers from all over the USA.

I've also noticed, as was posted in another message, that the port range seemed to have increased.

Mine is also a WinXP box. I have only blocked the NY and LA vms1 and proxy1 servers. When I look at Wireshark I have seen connections going to Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Houston - all of which have better call quality than the NY proxy.