Newsgroup port blocking

[aln_m]

Is it now policy for F2S to block all traffic to the NNTP (119) port for long periods during the evenings and at weekends?

I cannot connect to the F2S news servers between approx 6pm and 11pm on weekdays and from approx 2pm and 11pm at weekends.

The blocking is not only to the F2S news servers but anything on that port as I cannot reach my back-up news server accounts with other ISPs (which also work outside the port blocking hours).

I only subscribe to a few 'low bandwidth' text only newsgroups where the daily total of articles only take a few seconds download.

F2s are still advetising a no port block service which appears no longer to be true.

[kmount]

They claim that nothing's changed but as so many people are now reporting this it would appear something has.

[Antonio_f2s]

Originally Posted by aln_m

F2s are still advetising a no port block service which appears no longer to be true.

It is true.... we do not block any ports. We employ a traffic management policy which preferences interactive traffic over bandwidth heavy non-interactive applications.

Traffic management is not to be confused with port blocking.... I use newsgroups myself and I dont have problems connecting to the servers at any time of the day/week.

Have you tried to telnet to the news server on port 119?

[aln_m]

Originally Posted by Antonio_f2s

It is true.... we do not block any ports. We employ a traffic management policy which preferences interactive traffic over bandwidth heavy non-interactive applications.

Traffic management is not to be confused with port blocking....

So, is traffic shaping the new F2S word for port blocking? If traffic shaping results in the news server not responding for periods of 5 hours on a week day evening and for periods of 9 hours at the weekends then traffic shaping is no different to port blocking as far as I'm concerned. My news reader software is set to connect every 15 minutes and it will always time out (after about 5 to 10 minutes) during the time of this so called traffic shaping. I also have accounts allowing use of 3rd party news servers which show the same problems when connected through F2S broadband. I have no problems with the F2S or third party news server outside the period when F2S is not blocking the 119 port (and a few possible alternative ports)

Why is F2S traffic shaping text only newsgroups in the first place? They are not high bandwidth and by their nature people who subscribe to them are using them interactively to communicate with others. I suppose I could always connect to the Google Groups web interface that are not blocked and read exactly the same information but with a x10 increase in the download for the same information

I use newsgroups myself and I dont have problems connecting to the servers at any time of the day/week.

Try being a F2s customer from my part of the world (Southend-on-Sea, SE Essex) and you will find that your access is restricted. I'm at work during the day and by the time I get home the port blocking has already started.

Have you tried to telnet to the news server on port 119?

And what will this prove? I have seen this problem every day for the past 3 weeks or so and I can set my watch at the time the port blocking ceases late in the evening.

[kmount]

Locking this one off and suggesting we continue a collective discussion in the older thread about the same thing.

Link here.