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Author Topic: Connection Advice  (Read 5540 times)

displaced

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Connection Advice
« on: October 24, 2016, 10:27:17 PM »

Hi everyone!

Long-time reader, first time poster :)

I recently switched from BT Infinity Option 2 (that's the fast one, right?) to Vodafone Broadband.  After 2 weeks of battling with their Customer Services and their shonky router which dropped its connection twice-daily, I finally extracted my PPPoE details from them and switched back to my Openreach Huawei HG612 modem.

Now, I'd had a solid 5.7MByte/sec download, and 1.2-1.5MByte/sec upload.  Unfortunately, I can't give sync rates as I never unlocked the Huawei to extract that info.  In 4 years, Infinity had been extremely reliable.  Steady speeds and I could count the service drops in 4 years on one hand.

So, on Vodafone, I'm only seeing ~3.2MByte/sec downloads and ~0.8MByte/sec uploads.

I've now unlocked the HG612 with the latest G.INP-capable firmware and set up DSLstats/MyDSLWebStats monitoring.  Thanks to the author, Eric, I managed to get it running on my FreeBSD server (I'll take some time later to package it up for submission to FreeBSD's Ports repository for others to use).

Unfortunately, I've now run out of knowledge :)  I know something's not right, but can't discern enough from the voluminous information to conclude what's going on with my line speeds.

If any of the smart people here wouldn't mind taking a gander at my stats, I'd very much appreciate it.  My MyDSLWebStats username is displaced.

(I know my line is reasonably long, so I'm not expecting miracles, but I'd really like to get the most out of what I've got!)

Cheers,
Chris
« Last Edit: October 24, 2016, 10:31:18 PM by displaced »
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skyeci

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Re: Connection Advice
« Reply #1 on: October 24, 2016, 10:33:53 PM »

Are you speed testing over wifi or ethernet?

displaced

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Re: Connection Advice
« Reply #2 on: October 24, 2016, 10:38:08 PM »

Ethernet.

I've got the 'cacti' monitoring system running on my server, performing a speedtest.net test (via the speedtest-cli command) every 30 minutes.

Attached is my graph for today.  The ping spikes and the brief drop are due to other usage on the line, but I believe it gives a good overall representation of performance.
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skyeci

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Re: Connection Advice
« Reply #3 on: October 24, 2016, 10:47:22 PM »

You have lots of attainable to use above  the ds sync .I wonder if your line is banded presently hence lowering the ds sync??

displaced

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Re: Connection Advice
« Reply #4 on: October 24, 2016, 10:53:17 PM »

Hmm.  You're right!  And that 'attainable' figure looks more like what I'm used to.

Is this something which DLM will eventually figure out and restore, or do I have to deal with Vodafone? (*sigh*).

If it's DLM, I'm happy to wait.  I can spend the time kicking the now-unused Vodafone router/modem against a wall :)

(not really, of course).
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skyeci

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Re: Connection Advice
« Reply #5 on: October 24, 2016, 11:12:50 PM »

I think dlm should relent but it could take a long long time based on previous comments...

Have a search on the forum for line being banded etc..

displaced

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Re: Connection Advice
« Reply #6 on: October 24, 2016, 11:13:38 PM »

Cheers, skyeci -- I'll have a look around!

Chris
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burakkucat

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Re: Connection Advice
« Reply #7 on: October 24, 2016, 11:14:20 PM »

I am unable to see much -- other than to agree with skyeci's observation that there is significant SNRm overhead showing for your DS.

In 24 hours time your circuit should, hopefully, have begun to disclose its main features.
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j0hn

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Re: Connection Advice
« Reply #8 on: October 25, 2016, 07:38:02 AM »

If you continue to sync at exactly 34,999 then your line has been banded by DLM. recent experience is that banding sticks, requiring an on site OpenReach engineer to perform a DLM reset to remove it.

Not Vodafones fault btw, and is happening with any ISP. IMO it seems to be more common on Huawei cabinets due to high ES from the lack of G.INP after an ISP migration. This leaves the EU to blame the new ISP. OpenReach really need to sort out the excessive permanent banding.
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displaced

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Re: Connection Advice
« Reply #9 on: October 25, 2016, 10:46:11 AM »

Thanks, j0hn -- that rather 'exact' sync figure did make me wonder if something was being forced.

What do you reckon would be the best way of requesting a reset?  I'm guessing I'll need to speak to Vodafone.  That'll be fun.  They've already got the hump because I nagged my PPPoE login out of them so I could use the Huawei.

Wish me luck! 

(Any tips on how to ask for a DLM reset?!)

Cheers,
Chris

(P.S: My online stats aren't updating at the moment -- I had the ethernet cable strung across the hallway between the modem and my switch.  Got to drill another hole in the front of the bottom step to run it through -- a job for the weekend!)
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displaced

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Re: Connection Advice
« Reply #10 on: October 30, 2016, 02:42:28 PM »

Hi all,

Well I ran the Ethernet cable needed to collect stats continuously.  I've now got a solid 24hrs worth of data on MDWS.

I can't see anything obviously wrong with my line.  I've been trying to get in touch with Vodafone, but I've not had any luck yet.

It's quite annoying that there's no simple way to get VF/OR to take 10 mins to have a quick check and do whatever's needed to get my line back to how it used to be...
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Dray

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Re: Connection Advice
« Reply #11 on: October 30, 2016, 03:19:03 PM »

Are you on a 40/10 package now?
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j0hn

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Re: Connection Advice
« Reply #12 on: October 30, 2016, 03:32:54 PM »

Don't be annoyed at VF, it's really not their fault. On ADSL the ISP can control some factors of the DLM. On FTTC however, OpenReach completely control the DLM. The ISP can do nothing to change it. As stated above, an on site OR engineer is required to perform a DLM reset.
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Talktalk FTTP 550/75 - Speedtest - BQM

displaced

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Re: Connection Advice
« Reply #13 on: October 30, 2016, 04:46:32 PM »

Hi,

Nope -- I'm paying for the 76Mbit package. 

And yep -- point taken regarding VF.  The problem is they've been a shambles in virtually every aspect so far.  I switched my mobile to them, and they seem incapable of collecting the direct debit, despite all details being correct.  Their Vodafone phone app for checking usage doesn't work and the account section on their website only works intermittently.

Then I switched to their phone/broadband offering.  First I couldn't purchase the broadband/phone on the same account as my mobile because the 'Title' field wasn't populated -- but there's no option to populate it.  Their Live Chat advisor had me sign up to bb/phone using a new account, so now I have two, which causes aggro every time I contact them.

Then the router fiasco.  In the two weeks before my activation date, they allegedly posted three routers to me.  None ever arrived.  Eventually someone with a clue at their side arranged for me to collect one in-store on my switch date.  However, they failed to tell me I'd need to call them and provide the router serial number in order for the service to activate.  Only found that out myself after being on hold for literally hours.

And finally, despite being told pre-sales that using my own router/modem is absolutely supported and not a problem, it took me 2 weeks of begging in order to get my PPPoE details.  That at least has allowed me to ditch the VF router whose 3x daily resyncs and reboots have apparently caused my line to get capped.

I just know that getting this sorted via VF is going to be a total pain in the you-know-wheres.
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displaced

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Re: Connection Advice
« Reply #14 on: November 02, 2016, 08:22:26 PM »

Ok, so I managed to get a Vodafone broadband tech on Live Chat just before popping out this evening.  I need to call back tomorrow so they can run some tests (as well as plug their router back in).

The guy was very helpful and concurred that the VF box dropping connection regularly more than likely caused the profile to be lowered.  He said that's something they'd be able to resolve themselves, so that's hopeful!

In the meantime, I want to do a quick health-check on my line to give it the best chance after whatever needs resetting is reset.  I've got a really straightforward setup compared to some of the entertaining horror stories I've read on these forums!

My NTE5 is about 50cm from the HG612, still connected via the cable it came with.  The NTE5 has a 2014-era faceplate (OR-fitted). It has the OR logo, but no 'MKx' next to it -- so presumably a MK1.  A filtered extension is run into the lounge (about 6 metres). 

Now that I've had the nerdly joy of sending my stats, I've been looking at my HLog and QLN graphs.  The HLog in particular has a sizeable gap -- almost entirely empty between tones 2599 and 2800.  Is there anything I might be able to do to help with that?

I'll be getting a nice new DSL cable from ADSLNation soon.  Just trying to get the most out of what's given to me  ;D

Thanks all for your help!

(and this is truly an excellent forum.  I've lost hours reading through some of the brilliant tales of woe and success on here.  Even ended up down a Wikipedia-hole reading about GPO telephones :D)
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