High internet jitter and high internet latency

[StuartR]

We had a test session last night with 3 people A – B – C with the followingSetup:

• Person A: Windows10 Laptop, Interface Steinberg UR22MK2, Internet 45Mbit/s download, 9Mbit/s upload
  
• Person B: Windows10 Laptop, Interface Behringer UMC404HD, Internet 84Mbit/s download, 38Mbit/s upload
  
• Person C: Mac Laptop, Interface Focusrite Scarlet Solo 3rd Gen, Internet 64Mbit/s download, 13Mbit/s upload
  

Physical Distances:

• A – B: 7 km (3.5 miles)
  
• A – C: 30 km (20 miles)
  
• B – C: 23 km (15 miles)
  

Experiences:

• A => B: reasonable total latency, good sound quality
  B => A: reasonable total latency, high internet jitter, very frequent package loss 100% and low audio Bw Rx resulting in extremely bad sound quality, i.e. frequent and long disruptions (95% of time no audio at all)
  
• A => C: reasonable total latency, good sound quality
  C => A: reasonable total latency, good sound quality
  
• B=> C: high internet latency resulting in high total latency, good sound quality
  C => B: high internet latency resulting in high total latency, good sound quality
  

For details refer to attachedSketch01 with the session diagnostics to and fro between all participants.

Comments:

• B and C had a session one day earlier, same set up, same equipment, same internet, same settings in JK: internet latency 10ms, total latency 18 – 20 ms, good sound quality
  
• A and B had a session a couple of days earlier, same set up, same equipment, same internet, same settings in JK: low internet jitter whatsoever resulting in good sound quality, total latency approx. 25 ms
  

What we tested last night to get rid of the problems:

• Leave the session and step back in person by person: no change => no change
  
• Cancel the session and restart it => no change
  
• On all 3 laptops: Sign out from JK, shut down JK, restart laptop, new JK session => no change
  
• Just A leaves the session/new session with just B and C => no improvement with the B – C/C – B issue
  
• Just C leaves the session/new session with just A and B => no improvement with the A – B issue
  

New experience:
After 1 ½ hrs of restarts, new sessions etc. (see above) all of a sudden the A => B issue was gone without any changes in settings whatsoever. Clear sound without disruptions now. However, the B – C issue stayed unchanged. Refer to Sketch02.

Questions:
Any explanations for the phenomena described? And more important, any ideas or advice what to do to get rid of the issues, reliable and for good? “Works every now and then” wouldn’t be a good basis for regular band rehearsals.

While I cannot speak for the JK team, I'll hazard a guess that their new network acceleration network connectivity might be the culprit here. Here's what they told us at the end of September in their last email update:

"Latency Reduction & Connectivity Improvements
In our last email, we shared some data on the latency reduction and connectivity success rates we can see from our new networking technologies. We have been continuing to complete the implementation of this set of technologies. It’s pretty complex stuff, so it’s taking time. There is also a limit to how much we can test it ourselves without pu$ng it out onto the platform, so the transition period as we release and harden this technology is going to be a little bumpy - but worth it!"