Kitz Forum
Announcements => Site & Forum Discussion => Topic started by: kitz on October 09, 2007, 05:14:23 PM
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IP / bRAS Profile (http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/IPprofile.htm)
Information about the bRAS profile has always been on the maxdsl page since dslmax first appeared, but since then the importance and impact of the IP profile has become more apparent and things have changed a little.
Therefore Ive expanded on the information, updated a couple of things and included info about the new "Adaptive Max Logic" by putting everything on a page of its own. Theres also a couple of javascript profile range tool thingies too.
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Good stuff.
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You've really laid that page out most clearly - thank you - it's a very useful page to refer others to
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Just one suggestion Kitz, how about including a glossary page for those of us who are a bit thick when it comes to all the terminology... you have no idea what images the term 'bRAS profile' conjure up in my mind.
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>> Just one suggestion Kitz, how about including a glossary page for those of us who are a bit thick when it comes to all the terminology
Good suggestion - something else added to the "to do list".
>> you have no idea what images the term 'bRAS profile' conjure up in my mind.
Oh I bet I can lol
and I also think Ive heard all the jokes by now such as "uplifting the bRAS", contacting Support about the bRAS, keeping abreast of the bRAS profile etc :D
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So what is a bRAS profile?
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Theres a linky in there somewhere in that page about the RAS (http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/equip2.htm#RAS). RAS = Remote Access Server. For many years most people when talking about adsl normally just say "the RAS".
However its correct name is actually Broadband Remote Access Server, and when BT brought out the profiling they started using the term B-RAS or bRAS profile because thats actually where on their network the profiling takes place.
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It still doesn't mean anything to me (sorry for being so thick).
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A B-RAS is simply a broadband convergence point - there are several dotted about the country usually in large metropolitan areas - think of it as like a 'super-exchange' where all the broadband connections from each exchange meet up.
The RAS / B-RAS (both terms are generally used to mean the same thing in UK BT Broadband lingo), is made up of some obviously pretty sophisticated equipment (supposedly!). One of the functions of this equipment is to store information about the speed your line syncs at.
This is known as your speed profile, and since the work is done by the BRAS, it's called your BRAS profile! This speed profile restricts the maximum speed you can download at, and is rounded down to the nearest 500kbps below your actual sync speed.
It's not really any more complex than that.
Now obviously, the details of how the profiles work... and importantly how the BRAS profile is rounded down, and how it is updated when your sync speed changes, are a bit more complex, and there's no point me repeating what Kitz has already written on her site, but hopefully that gives you some background as to exactly WHAT a BRAS profile means.
Hope that explains things a bit?
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So it's a sort of national local loop system?
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>> So it's a sort of national local loop system?
Sorta - its a major stage in the BT Network grid but more "regional" rather than local or national. However regional isnt strictly true either, because its very possible that even if say youre up in the North UK, "your RAS" could be down in London.
Did you see the linky to RAS (http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/equip2.htm#RAS).. on that page theres also a diagram of where the RAS fits in on the BT Network. Whilst the RAS is actually hardware it's sometimes easier for people to think of it as a "Super Exchange" which converges connections from 100's of exchanges before the next onward stage of the journey to your ISP.
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So I've discovered that here in Norwich we're linked to Bletchley.
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and I also think Ive heard all the jokes by now such as "uplifting the bRAS", contacting Support about the bRAS, keeping abreast of the bRAS profile etc :D
Oh dear oh dear... it must be a very uplifting experience when you get it your bRAS right though.