Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[tommy45]

Explicitly, the low-pass filter, located in the cabinet housing the DSLAM, will stop all signals (other than voice band) proceeding from the D-side ---> E-side and the converse.

Interestingly though the engineer told me that even when there is a HR fault on the Eside  it can still affect the FTTC service despite the filter in the cab, and that was why he was able to swap the E side pair

[tommy45]

You say he found a problem with a battery at the exchange and also a problem with the test head at the exchange? Neither of those things would affect your FTTC broadband anyway as that only runs over the D-side. But then maybe you weren't on FTTC with Plusnet.

I'm not surprised the Exfo was able to see something that a line test couldn't though, that can happen.

No this last engineer didn't find a battery fault , the fault was a hr on the E'side pair which has been swapped , but i'm still not convinced that there isnt still a fault with the d'side that is picking up interference
 it was a previous engineer , who found a fault with the GEA test Head it's self, and whilst she was at the exchange she then found a battery fault

[Icaraa]

Interestingly though the engineer told me that even when there is a HR fault on the Eside  it can still affect the FTTC service despite the filter in the cab, and that was why he was able to swap the E side pair

Nope, he was wrong. I think when FTTC first came out some people thought that. But most engineers know better now.

No this last engineer didn't find a battery fault , the fault was a hr on the E'side pair which has been swapped , but i'm still not convinced that there isnt still a fault with the d'side that is picking up interference
 it was a previous engineer , who found a fault with the GEA test Head it's self, and whilst she was at the exchange she then found a battery fault

This all sounds fishy to me, not you of course. I mean what you've been told.

There is no GEA test head as such and even if there were, is the headend at your local exchange anyway? For many people their fibre cabinets aren't connected to their local exchange anyway.

[tommy45]

Well without published info on which are parent  & child exchanges and parent only , we are unable to challenge what was said aren't we? As for the Filter on the FTTC cabs i queried this with the engineer when he said E'side , he told be the reverse of what you said, in that they are now allowed to also fix e'side faults as it has been proven that they can be service affecting to GEA FTTC services as the filters don't stop everything
He also was contemplating fitting one of those new style NT5's (push fit) but following my questioning about it, and that some people had found it increased attenuation and lowered sync or attainable rates ,he decided not to fit it ,
I can only relay /repeat what i have been told, But what i do know is the issue is still there interaction between PTSN and bb service when ringing( voltage increase) and error bursts from an outside neighbouring source

And during the time the engineer was working on the e'side  the vdsl connection remained in sync throughout, until after he rang to say he was having difficulty finding a good  e'side pair,Which is registered as a RDI in the MDWS He then returned  performed the PQT or whatever and got passes apparently , and after resetting dlm via an app on his iPhone  off he went

Although the issue that i reported is still there, the issue as i now see it is this, If BTOR engineers testing equipment isn't likely to pick up a fault , i will be throwing £160 for the visit away if no fault found ,as getting a good conscientious engineer isn't guaranteed it should be but it isn't
Now if i had my own test equipment  and i was able to see issues  using that  then i would keep complaining  until it got fixed and refuse to pay call outs if it wasn't fixed

[Icaraa]

I can imagine it's frustrating. I've been told not to worry about the E-side as it can't affect the FTTC services. I've never come across a job where I even suspected the problem was with the E-side after fixing literally hundreds of FTTC faults.

Strictly you'd be expected to fix an E-side fault though if you found one on ANY fault, FTTC or not.

[tommy45]

I can imagine it's frustrating. I've been told not to worry about the E-side as it can't affect the FTTC services. I've never come across a job where I even suspected the problem was with the E-side after fixing literally hundreds of FTTC faults.

Strictly you'd be expected to fix an E-side fault though if you found one on ANY fault, FTTC or not.

Well as far as the e'side fault affecting the FTTC goes i have always been of the same opinion as you, that they cannot affect the vdsl service running on the D'side  due to the filtering at the cab  But was adamant that only recently due to other engineers seeing this actually happening  that they have changed their stance on that, As for if he was telling porkies or not i cannot say
But whatever he did do hasn't fixed the issues affecting the FTTC service although the error rate whilst on Fast path was lower , be that coincidental or due to something he did, like re making the connections on the D'side at the pcp patch pannel

[Sheepie]

I always thought I was on the "speed" profile with Zen but apparently not, I asked them to check which profile I was on and they said "standard", and:

"standard profile is the normal profile for FTTC, regardless of WBMC of GEA"

And they cannot change it since:

"If the profile needed amending manually then this requires an SFI to go to the cab and run diagnostics, contact DCOE to request the change"

I can't beleive BT would roll out infrastructure that they cannot get to remotley, it doesn't make sense.

[Icaraa]

Well I can tell you that SFI engineers don't get any training on these profiles. Most don't know anything about it so certainly wouldn't be asking the DCoE to change it. As far as I know the CP request the profile they need when they place the order for FTTC on a line. Most are on standard though I believe.

[NEXUS2345]

To note about profiles, BT Wholesale use different terminology to Openreach. Wholesale's 'standard' is Openreach's 'speed'.

To give a full list:

Wholesale Standard = Openreach Speed
Wholesale Stable = Openreach Standard
Wholesale Super Stable = Openreach Stable

The Openreach profiles are the ones that are used for DLM. Zen will talk in terms of BT Wholesale profiles in most cases.

[Sheepie]

This is what Zen tell me is reporting from the DSLAM:


Downstream Line Characteristic
Ordered:
Profile: 0.128M-60M
Interleaving: Low
Sync Speed: 60

Upstream Line Characteristic
Ordered:
Profile: 0.128M-20M
Interleaving: Error Protection Off
Sync Speed: 20

Sync Status: In Sync
Current/Last Session (mins): NA
Current Policy Applied: Standard
Policy Change in last 14 Days: N
Current Rate Capping in Mbit/s: NA


so the DSLAM is BTO and therefore I am "Wholesale Stable = Openreach Standard"?

[tommy45]

If that reference to Current Policy Applied: Standard is the DLM stability policy, then it may be that, But aren't you currently on GEA in which case the BTW policies won't apply , Also Zen normally provision FTTC orders on the OR speed policy or the BTW policy that maps to the OR speed ,unless the customer requests otherwise, I would ring them as i suggested some time ago and ask them to double check it , just in case

[Sheepie]

yeah I'm confused, even Zen's own website says quite clearly that they always provision FTTC with the "speed" policy. "Nothing they can do anyway blah blah blah DLM is doing it's job blah blah". And you get different answers from them depending on who you speak to as well.

The reason I asked them which profile I was on in the first place is because even if I reboot modem once in 24hrs the DLM adds more INP the next morning.

[tommy45]

yeah I'm confused, even Zen's own website says quite clearly that they always provision FTTC with the "speed" policy. "Nothing they can do anyway blah blah blah DLM is doing it's job blah blah". And you get different answers from them depending on who you speak to as well.

The reason I asked them which profile I was on in the first place is because even if I reboot modem once in 24hrs the DLM adds more INP the next morning.

I agree with you , their support level isn't consistent, If it were me i would keep pestering them and then they may check, Problem with some they don't know enough about VDSL2 and how it works properly

[tommy45]

Well my connection is still fubarred on one of the available gateways DSL2  for some unknown reason, and i'm no longer having the choice of 3 gateways to choose from  Machester iirc has 4 available, one is reserved for customers who have IPV6 who get locked to that gateway
Zen say i'm the only customer on DSL2 seeing single thread issues if true then it has to be how they have things configured  something got changed  when the migrated  my circuit to their GEA  and didn't change  back or restore fully after they migrated it back onto WBMC , As i did not have any single thread issues on any of their gateways prior to being migrated to gea, just how long is it going to take them?