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[PortyAL]

Hi

Happy New Year to all.

Had to think hard as to what to title this thread as there are a few issues I'm confused about.

First a brief bit of background info - up until early December I had a very stable ADSL connection with a sync rate of approx 3mbs and no problems. Then due to an error by BT my phone line was disconnected instead of a neighbours who was moving house. As a result my phone line had to be re-installed (as per BT, new "routing" had to be installed in the exhange as the existing routing was used for the new resident moving in to my neighbours house). My broadband was reactivated on 14 Dec (although the date Plusnet gave me was 18 Dec). Since then I have been experiencing random disconnects. I accept that for a period of 10 days this is expected due to "line training", but it's now 17 days and it is still happening.

What has really confused me is that as per BT's broadband checker, the maximum rate for my line is 4mbs. Prior to 14 Dec my sync rate was approx 3mbs. Since 14 Dec it has been consistently over 5mbs (the highest being 5.6 mbs). I entered my details in the ADSL line checker on this site and got different info depending on whether I entered my phone number or post code. When I enter my postcode is states my Max rate is 4mbs, but when i enter my phone number it is 2mbs.

My connection drops approx twice a day, although I have occasionally gone over 24 hours without a disconnect. When I reconnect I usually get a different sync rate than the previous one - sometimes higher, sometimes lower. I can live with this but am confused as to why it is happening given that prior to my phone line being re-installed I had no such problems. I am using a Voyager 2091 router.

Is my line still going through the "line training process", is my disconnects to do with my seemingly high sync rate or are there any other issues which might be involved. (I am using the same filters, hardware etc. as before.)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

AL

[guest]

Sounds like you have a physically different line - probably a D-side shift which is where your line is changed from the street cabinet to your house although perhaps it was an E-side shift (at the exchange).

You have got lucky (believe it or not) as the new line is much better than the old one. Were it me then I would be inclined to do nothing until all the Christmas lights are down and then see whether it keeps disconnecting. I suspect it won't but if it does then you have a router which the DMT tool works on so it can be "tweaked" by you to make it more stable.

[kitz]

>> You have got lucky (believe it or not) as the new line is much better than the old one.

Although it may not seem like it now - I agree with that statement.

It looks like this line may be more sensitive to SNR fluctuations, and unfortunately xmas (lights) are a bad time for this.  If I were you I would perhaps try leave the router alone as much as possible over this period and hope that it finds its "best level".


>> When I enter my postcode is states my Max rate is 4mbs, but when i enter my phone number it is 2mbs.

That will be because the BTw database is often several weeks (months) behind and its probably still recording the data on the line for which the phone no was previously linked to.
Using the postcode alone gives an average of your surrounding (neighbours) area.

>> I am using a Voyager 2091 router.

DMT tool does work with this router you want DMT v8.
Which is an option if things dont sort themselves.  If you need more help with DMT at any point just shout.

Your line stats would also be helpful and may provide some more information.

[PortyAL]

Thanks both of you for your advice.

I'm away on holidays next week so I'll see how things are when I come back.

I'll post my line stats this evening.

Thanks for the offer of help with DMT - I'll need it as I haven't a clue what it is 


AL

[guest]

No worries. I suspect all will be fine once the lights come down but if not then a tweak of a couple of dB should see your line being faster and just as stable as it ever was.

Don't worry if you don't understand a word of that

[PortyAL]

Line stats as promised

 Line Rate 5088 Kbps 448 Kbps 
 Noise Margin 6.9 dB 22.0 dB 
 Line Attenuation 50.0 dB 30.5 dB 
 Output Power 19.3 dBm 12.0 dBm 
 K (number of bytes in DMT frame) 160 15 
 R (number of check bytes in RS code word) 0 0 
 S (RS code word size in DMT frame) 1 1 
 D (interleaver depth) 1 1 
 Super Frames 3396663  3396661   
 Super Frame Errors 4279  0   
 RS Words 0  0   
 RS Correctable Errors 0  0   
 RS Uncorrectable Errors 0  0   
 HEC Errors 2986  0   
 OCD Errors 103  0   
 LCD Errors 0  0   
 ES Errors 0  0 

 Happy New Year

 AL

[guest]

You have a very quiet line - in electrical noise terms. If the Christmas lights coming down don't help then I reckon that using the DMT tool to bump up your noise margin to 8dB will give you a line that is rock-solid at 4.5Mbps or so.

22dB upstream margin on a 30dB line is quite exceptional. Do you live somewhere rural by any chance?

[PortyAL]

22dB upstream margin on a 30dB line is quite exceptional. Do you live somewhere rural by any chance?

Not at all. I live in Lurgan Co. Armagh which would be one of the larger towns in N. Ireland.

I'll see what happens over the next few days, and will report back.

Thanks

Alan

[guest]

Not at all. I live in Lurgan Co. Armagh which would be one of the larger towns in N. Ireland.

Never been that far South in NI - which sounds a bit strange Been in Larne and Belfast a couple of times but usually I've been around the North coast - keep meaning to go to Coleraine (I sort of know someone there that I'd like to meet in real life) but I can't see me being back in NI anytime soon.

Hopefully you'll see a bit more stability once the worst of the Christmas decorations are down.

[kitz]

You have a very quiet line - in electrical noise terms.
22dB upstream margin on a 30dB line is quite exceptional.

Indeed - I'm on a 7dB atten line - in comparison my upstream SNR on max was 20dB (9dB on maxpremium).
The downstream sync is at the top end of a 50dB line.

Even though they mucked up - You seem to have done pretty well out of the swap and have been given a nice quiet line.

Using DMT - you should get some pretty good speeds for a line of your length.

[kitz]

If the Christmas lights coming down don't help then I reckon that using the DMT tool to bump up your noise margin to 8dB will give you a line that is rock-solid at 4.5Mbps or so.

Rizla

I've just had a thought - I know that normally we would recommend waiting until after the xmas period to see what happens after the xmas lights are all put away.
But in view that this is such a sweet line..  how about setting DMT to work now before the DLM starts to get its mits on it and say permanently bumps the Target SNR up to 9dB.

I realise theres pros and cons for both sides of this.. but with DMT at least we can "roll back" unlike having to play ticket tennis between ISP and BTw if the DLM gets involved.

I think I'd be tempted if that was my line to give it a shot.
What do you think John/Eric/other DMTusers - if it was your line would you go for it now?

------

Its also up to AL if he wants to give this a go and you realise that you will be making chances to the speed which sync at now.

A lower sync speed will alter your IP profile which will give you slower throughput speeds, but what you will be doing is giving yourself a greater SNR margin to play with in order to stop the disconnects.

The beauty of DMT is that you can always go back to the default and your IP profile will adjust within a few days.

After having seen your stats, the one thought that does occur that at some point (no-one knows exactly when the DLM process will kick in) it will decided that there has been "enough" disconnects on your line and then permanently raise the target SNR to 9dB. 
If your disconnects are to do with say xmas lights and the DLM kicks in before the seasons over then you will be stuck with that all year round and probably wont get the chance again of the higher sync speeds.

[guest]

I will defer to you on this one kitz as I've never had DLM on my line - I went from Zen's legacy 2Mbps service to LLU remember so I honestly don't know what AL should expect. I'm rather surprised that DLM hasn't already started to "work" after 17+ days 

I will confess to being a little disingenuous on previous posts in that if it really were me I'd have already tweaked it using the DMT tool.

If AL hasn't already mentioned the line resync'ing to Plusnet then I'd say "go for it". What can it hurt after all?


PS - is it possible for an IPStream line to be "opted-out" of the DLM process? I just wonder whether when all the line swapping/etc went on did someone mess up? It'd be a real result if this had happened

[roseway]

I rather agree with Kitz. Provided you don't go mad with the DMT settings (i.e. only make small changes at a time) there's not really any downside to using it now. That's what I would do, although I have to admit to being an inveterate fiddler.

[kitz]

>> I'm rather surprised that DLM hasn't already started to "work" after 17+ days

yep... Ive seen Target SNRs increased way before now as part of the DLM process

>> that if it really were me I'd have already tweaked it using the DMT tool.

Me too - although I can understand the reason why some less technical people are hesitant to do this, and prefer to let BTw handle it all, rather than having to mess around themselves.

>> PS - is it possible for an IPStream line to be "opted-out" of the DLM process?

Not that Ive ever heard of.  I'm sure if you could than many would have already requested it.
If you could (along with the IP profile thing) then Im also sure it would have stopped quite a few moves over to LLU.

[kitz]

>> I rather agree with Kitz.

lol like most "inveterate fiddlers" I thought you'd also go for it.

AL if you do wanna go for it.... we need to consider this

>> My connection drops approx twice a day.

When do these drops mostly occur? 
If its in the evenings (which it normally is).. then you are probably going to be best starting DMT tweaking outside of these hours and during "daylight" when your SNR is likely to be at its optimum.