XBL gone down?

[Jebus]

I suspect that capcom_suicide is correct - when you're online the new dash is making a tonne of calls to the XBL servers, and depending on the volume of users, that has to affect performance, giving the crap dash performance and lockups (maybe caused by server timeouts).

I'm actually starting to feel a little uncomfortable about how LIVE based the actual console is at times! Coupled with the recent advertising push in sensible soccer etc. I want my console to work when LIVE doesn't, because that's how it SHOULD be!

I love LIVE and the integration but it really shouldn't affect the dashboard and how the console runs if it's down for a day or seven!

[capcom_suicide]

I'm actually starting to feel a little uncomfortable about how LIVE based the actual console is at times! Coupled with the recent advertising push in sensible soccer etc. I want my console to work when LIVE doesn't, because that's how it SHOULD be!

I love LIVE and the integration but it really shouldn't affect the dashboard and how the console runs if it's down for a day or seven!

If you disconnect the console from the internet, it works fine.

360 Dashboard/Games try and get info from live = Lockup/timeout

360 in "Offline mode" = Dashboard/Games skip the live check.

[Jebus]

If I disconnect though, will I be able to play the live arcade stuff? This isn't my first 360 and some of the stuff was bought on previous ones that broke!

Also, if I pull the wireless network unit out I can't stream videos/music.

Perhaps "uncomfortable" is the wrong word...possibly "irratable" is the correct one. Either way, what I'd prefer is it just to work properly.

[capcom_suicide]

If I disconnect though, will I be able to play the live arcade stuff? This isn't my first 360 and some of the stuff was bought on previous ones that broke!

Also, if I pull the wireless network unit out I can't stream videos/music.

Perhaps "uncomfortable" is the wrong word...possibly "irratable" is the correct one. Either way, what I'd prefer is it just to work properly.

Yeah I'm mighty pissed off too!

But anyway, as you asked:

- XB Support can get the games realligned with your new 360, but Arcade games are mostly not serously effected by the live issues.

- You can remove the ADSL line from your router, so the 360 can connect to the access point and not get a live connection. You don't need to be connected to live to stream.

I only suggest these workarounds if it was a crisis.

The main issue is that XBL has for the first time become unstable for an extended period.

Most of us can forgive the odd night when EG halo3 came out. But a week? This is really really bogus.

[Jebus]

Fair enough and thanks for the advice but I'm not that desperate, I'll just chuck anything I *have* to see on a USB memory stick

I must admit, I'm really quite taken aback by how long this has been flakey. A service as popular as LIVE is always going to have blips, but I cannot believe a company the size of MS (who lets face it, doesn't have the best of reputations with the 360's hardware) is letting this go on for so long, unless they really don't know what is wrong!

I will say from my own experience though that it is worse during the evenings, which makes me believe its an issue with the LIVE network itself as it's not too bad during the day but during the evenings I've given up on trying three nights on the trot now.

[El Leone]

Jebus, have you tried deleting the XBLA games in question and redownloading them. This fixed the problem for me.

Edit: Just tried it again...It didn't.

[Jebus]

Jebus, have you tried deleting the XBLA games in question and redownloading them. This fixed the problem for me.

Another mighty fine suggestion sir!!! Thank you!

Though I think I'll wait til the LIVE network is more stable before attempting this

[El Leone]

Live is usually fine during the day. It just seems to get wonky around 8pm when just about everybody logs in.

[capcom_suicide]

Live is usually fine during the day. It just seems to get wonky around 8pm when just about everybody logs in.

Which does give a fairly big clue as to what the issue is.

But even if it was plain performance, even a company the size of MS can't just deploy a tonne of new servers and switches.

They will be subject to:

- getting a 100% assurance this is a pure performance issue, not design flaw
- getting Emergency PO signed off to buy kit
- getting required data centre space and rack space
- getting required infrastructure settings and network settings from their Operations team

The larger a company is, the harder it is for them to "Just sort it out"

My feeling is that they have under estimated the impact of the new dash. Someone should have been brave enough to say.

"We have dropped the ball, and the current infrastructure cannot take the load at peak times. As per the change control documentation we must deploy an emergency rollback on all connected devices to Firmware xx.xx"

Once the solution is stable again we can diagnose why things failed and either improve the code, or buy the required infrastructure.

In my career more often than not people have been too frightend to say "We have screwed up, we need to roll back."

Everyone makes mistakes, its how you deal with them that is important.

Just my 2p, sorry for the waffel!

[El Leone]

Major Nelson claims that they're still working on it, so we'll have to wait and see. I admit though, that the last few days I've been playing Live seems to have stabilized more.

Also Jebus, I just tried my advice out just to make sure it works......and it didn't. sorry.

[Ish]

They're probably busy installing patches on Windows Server 2003.

I'd laugh if I didn't think it was true

[Simmy]

Really should read the net more over the holidays, been convinced all week that my net connection was to blame for all the matchmaking issues I've been having on Halo 3 !

Here's hoping they fix it soon, they must realise that matchmaking is like crack to some of us, and I start to get the shakes when it takes 10 odd minutes to get my next fix

[Spatial]

Wahay! Seems my crackpot theory from a few pages back wasn't so crackpot.

[PhilG]

My feeling is that they have under estimated the impact of the new dash. Someone should have been brave enough to say.

"We have dropped the ball, and the current infrastructure cannot take the load at peak times. As per the change control documentation we must deploy an emergency rollback on all connected devices to Firmware xx.xx"

Once the solution is stable again we can diagnose why things failed and either improve the code, or buy the required infrastructure.

Can MS rollback the firmware on 360's though? I'd have thought they ought to be, but then having that facility might leave the console vulnerable to those who want to hack it.

I wonder if they're waiting until the numbers die down because its always cheaper to buy technology tomorrow, and they might feel that the short-term PR issue is worth the saving they'll make on the hardware if they only buy today what they absolutely must have, rather than what they should have.

There will certainly be a delay due to the requisition process - in the company I work for getting anything signed-off can be a huge pain, let alone expensive server gear, and everything needs to be cost-benefit analysed, which may be great for the bottom-line but is of no interest to me - I'm on holiday dammit and I want to play CoD until 3 in the morning

[Spatial]

I was getting real problems downloading anything earlier today - it just kept coming up with error codes or the category on the Marketplace said there was nothing there