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[alexw]

Just got an Infinity2 package and my HomeHub5 connects at 79999/19999 kbps, so I'm quite happy. I want to replace the HH5 with a VDSL modem (various reasons) which I will unlock. My area just had a cabinet installed and I happen to be pretty close to it but I don't know which hardware sits at their end and how aggressive/sensitive the DLM is on BT Infinity 2 packages, or at BT in general.

I'm looking to get either an ECI /i, ECI /r or HG612 modem from ebay. My worry is speed and stability.

According to this post, the HG612 and the ECI /r can hit 100 Mbps, and the HG612 being slightly better at higher attenuations: http://huaweihg612hacking.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/firmware-with-the-newest-hardware-driver-blog/

I've read around and I'll unlock the modem and disable QoS.

Could a kind soul comment on stability (and speed) differences among the 3 modems, in conjunction with known BT DSLAMs and DLM configs (for Infinity 2 or in general)?

Cheers,
Alex.

p.s. I looked at the Wiki for the HG612: can I put it into "modem only" mode if I uncheck Nat in the WAN settings page? i.e. is that equivalent to bridged?

[Dray]

Is your HomeHub5 a Type A or Type B?

[JamesK]

The only modem you can easily unlock is the HG612. Given that you're so close to the exchange and are getting the maximum sync speed in both directions it won't really matter what modem you opt for.

The HG612 can easily be unlocked and there's plenty of articles on this forum about doing so. I would say that would be your best bet.

I live about 950m away from my ECI cabinet, and while the HG612 worked fine for me and was superb for getting lots of line statistics when I had problems, I've found using an ECI modem gives me about a 3/4mbps increase in speed.

That being said, in the last few weeks, like a few others on here I've had a few re-syncs, and my sync speed has come down. Initially I thought it was crosstalk, but I'm now wondering if OR have been doing changes to the ECI cabinets as I've gone from 42mbps down to 39mbps in that time which is strange.

If you order an HG612 you can use the stats output to identify whether you're connected to a Huawei or ECI cabinet. Alternatively if you know where the cabinet is located, the two types are easily identifiable. There's a few articles on here, and also easy to find with a google search.

Hope that helps.

[HighBeta]

On mine line around 500m

ECI/r v2* the best --so stable its like watching paint dry    All  the ECI's (I/v1/v2) are now compatible with openwrt if you looking for some serious network config options.

Closely followed by the HG612 3B with the 38 firmware. Although The 38 firmware gives higher error rates though.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*For burakkucat style correctness ....The  ECI B-FOCus V-2FUb/r Rev B has two types the v1 & v2

[alexw]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

@Dray: My HomeHub5 is Type B. Does that mean anything in terms of VDSL modem manufacturer or FTTC cabinet vendor?

@JamesK: I know how to unlock both of them and am aware the ECI ones require a JTAG cable. I already have some (I deal with FPGA boards and chips) so I'm not intimidated by the unlocking. Sorry to be thick but how exactly do I identify the vendor of the FTTC cabinet exactly? I know how they look like, have googled too, but they all look the same to me ... and I'm not being racist

@HighBeta: I'm want to put it in modem only mode (bridged, no NAT) without any QoS -- I have a much more potent router running OpenWRT which I plan to place after the modem. The link I provided in the 1st post shows that the ECI/r performs slightly worse than the HG612 with the latest firmware. I'm now inclined to get both an ECI/r and an HG612 to test stability

[HighBeta]

Sounds like a plan   Most on here have both units to play around with  .

The HH5 Type B is the Broadcom unit

[burakkucat]

All three of the devices mentioned, when used as supplied by Openreach, operate in pure bridge mode.

For the unlocking of any of the ECI devices you will just need a serial cable -- no JTAG'ing will be necessary. 

[alexw]

Indeed, my bad. I have UART cables and headers too (actually still have an old laptop with COM ports). A few more questions:

- I'll be plugging/unplugging/resetting the modem multiple times while testing; do I risk the DLM lowering the sync speed? If yes, should it return to normal after a few days?

- I've read about people unlocking mostly to disable the QoS. How much of a difference does that make really (given I'll be using it in bridged mode, no NAT)?

- Once unlocked, is it advisable to disable the BTagent app? Is BT known to have made changes on their side which require different settings/firmware or even re-locking the modem?

[alexw]

Is this ECI/r a v2 or v1? https://dl.dropbox.com/s/7lji7oe0guzbf61/eci-r.jpg
Does the back label identify the v1 or v2 in some way?

[burakkucat]

Is this ECI/r a v2 or v1? https://dl.dropbox.com/s/7lji7oe0guzbf61/eci-r.jpg
Does the back label identify the v1 or v2 in some way?

Taking the relevant part of your image of the label to attach below and then scrutinise, I would tentatively say that is a v1 -- due to the lack of any such marking. However it might be best to wait for confirmation from a fellow Kitizen "who knows" . . . 

- I'll be plugging/unplugging/resetting the modem multiple times while testing; do I risk the DLM lowering the sync speed?

The DLM is known to consider the collective statistics for the line over the past quarter of an hour "window". Hence the majority advice is to power off the modem (thus ensuring that it sends a "dying gasp" to the DSLAM) and then remove the connection to the line. Once modifications have been made, ensure that 30 minutes have passed since the modem was powered off before reconnecting it to the line and powering it back on. Allowing 30 minutes to elapse will ensure that the DLM has sight of a complete 15 minute "window" which was preceded by a "dying gasp". Hopefully the DLM will then recognise the situation as a loss of power at the CPE and not assume there are problems with the metallic pathway.

[alexw]

Many thanks. I didn't know about the 15min window.

Regarding the ECI/r, is there a way to identify a v2 from the back label or does one have to open it up? I've read that the v2 has the newer vrx268 v1.2 chip whereas the v1 has the older vrx268 v1.1.

[JamesK]

This link shows the ECI cabinet and the larger Huawei cabinet: Click Here

This link shows the larger and smaller Huawei cabinets together: Click Here

[alexw]

Sorry for necro, but given it's my thread and related, I wanted to ask: My line speed dropped since I posted the 1st post from 79999 to 69055 ... although it's still not to shabby, I'm not exactly a happy bunny.

Both the HomeHub 5 Tyeb B and the HG612 3B unlocked with latest f/w B030SP08 give the same speed. HG612 line stats below.

Anything I can do to bring the downstream speed up? Can one trade SNR margin from uplink to downlink (I recall something like this from old ADSL days about 13 years ago).

Code: [Select]

# xdslcmd info --stats
xdslcmd: ADSL driver and PHY status
Status: Showtime
Retrain Reason: 0
Last initialization procedure status:   0
Max:    Upstream rate = 25755 Kbps, Downstream rate = 68720 Kbps
Bearer: 0, Upstream rate = 19999 Kbps, Downstream rate = 69055 Kbps
Bearer: 1, Upstream rate = 0 Kbps, Downstream rate = 0 Kbps
Link Power State:       L0
Mode:                   VDSL2 Annex B
VDSL2 Profile:          Profile 17a
TPS-TC:                 PTM Mode(0x0)
Trellis:                U:ON /D:ON
Line Status:            No Defect
Training Status:        Showtime
                Down            Up
SNR (dB):        6.3             15.3
Attn(dB):        14.4            0.0
Pwr(dBm):        13.7            4.0

[Weaver]

> Can one trade SNR margin from uplink to downlink (I recall something like this from old ADSL days about 13 years ago).

Yes, but unfortunately only if you are a modem designer and in control of the hardware at both ends. And I don't believe it's in the current standards either. (Does anyone know better?) Current modems don't have a facility to vary the ADSL split point under software control and agree with the other end by remote negotiations. Would be useful.

[alexw]

Well, I'm on VDSL2 (not ADSL) ... anything I can do to get back up to 79999 kbps? Any snrm tricks or otherwise?

EDIT: I attached my bit loading and tone snr graphs.