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Author Topic: FTTC - Distance from the Cabinet - Realistic speed estimate  (Read 253969 times)

Bald_Eagle1

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Re: FTTC - Distance from the Cabinet - Realistic speed estimate
« Reply #285 on: September 09, 2011, 04:49:37 PM »

Just a quick update folks:-

Another engineer's visit is being planned to further investigate this matter, hopefully for early next week.

I have asked Alex at Plusnet for clarification of what this will entail.

Until I receive that feedback I can only assume a "lift & shift" is now finally being considered as the further investigation refers back to previous fault ticket updates where it was mentioned as a possible option, along with returning my connection to the equivalent of a brand new FTTC installation..

I probably won't have much to report until the visit has been concluded.
How on earth will you all waste spend your time over what promises to be a sunny weekend without yet another essay from me to read? :lol: :lol:

I have the attached file on standby, just in case.


Paul.

[attachment deleted by admin]
« Last Edit: September 09, 2011, 05:09:09 PM by Bald_Eagle1 »
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tuftedduck

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Re: FTTC - Distance from the Cabinet - Realistic speed estimate
« Reply #286 on: September 09, 2011, 05:26:03 PM »

>>> How on earth will you all waste spend your time over what promises to be a sunny weekend without yet another essay from me to read? <<<  ;D

It's all being turned into a script for my new long running TV series...... :D
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Bald_Eagle1

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Re: FTTC - Distance from the Cabinet - Realistic speed estimate
« Reply #287 on: September 09, 2011, 05:39:41 PM »


It's all being turned into a script for my new long running TV series...... :D


Something like "The fall and rise of Reginald Eagle's download speeds"?

I didn't get where I am today by writing short forum posts.


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renluop

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Re: FTTC - Distance from the Cabinet - Realistic speed estimate
« Reply #288 on: September 09, 2011, 06:25:28 PM »

I didn't get where I am today by writing short forum posts.

And where's that then? ;D
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waltergmw

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Re: FTTC - Distance from the Cabinet - Realistic speed estimate
« Reply #289 on: September 09, 2011, 08:22:28 PM »

@ TD,

Perhaps we could invent the Geekers, an everyday story of nerdfolk.
Cue appropriate country dancing music complete with jingling bells, handkerchiefs and clouting sticks !

Kind regards,
Walter
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limbo

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Re: FTTC - Distance from the Cabinet - Realistic speed estimate
« Reply #290 on: September 13, 2011, 01:15:44 PM »

Hi limbo,

I have the BT supplied modem & a Netgear WNR1000 router as supplied by Plusnet for an ethernet connection from the BT modem.

The modem as supplied by BT cannot be monitored as it is locked, but the Netgear router maintains an activity log, showing stuff like this:-

[Time synchronized with NTP server] Tuesday, Aug 30,2011 18:56:38
[Internet connected] IP address: 91.125.94.116, Tuesday, Aug 30,2011 18:57:00
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, Aug 30,2011 18:48:53
[Admin login] from source 192.168.1.100, Tuesday, Aug 30,2011 16:55:57
[DHCP IP: (192.168.1.3)] to MAC address 00:01:E6:70:69:6C, Tuesday, Aug 30,2011 16:28:28
[DoS attack: ACK Scan] attack packets in last 20 sec from ip [212.159.15.7], Tuesday, Aug 30,2011 16:08:19
[DHCP IP: (192.168.1.4)] to MAC address 00:1C:23:03:F9:4B, Tuesday, Aug 30,2011 12:46:44
[Admin login] from source 192.168.1.100, Tuesday, Aug 30,2011 12:27:07
[DoS attack: ACK Scan] attack packets in last 20 sec from ip [212.159.15.10], Tuesday, Aug 30,2011 12:19:33
[DoS attack: ACK Scan] attack packets in last 20 sec from ip [212.159.15.10], Tuesday, Aug 30,2011 12:08:01
[Admin login] from source 192.168.1.100, Tuesday, Aug 30,2011 11:03:43
[DoS attack: ACK Scan] attack packets in last 20 sec from ip [212.159.15.6], Tuesday, Aug 30,2011 10:49:09
[Time synchronized with NTP server] Tuesday, Aug 30,2011 08:13:10
[Internet connected] IP address: 87.113.179.243, Tuesday, Aug 30,2011 08:13:58
[Admin login] from source 192.168.1.100, Tuesday, Aug 30,2011 08:12:34
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, Aug 30,2011 08:07:29
[DHCP IP: (192.168.1.5)] to MAC address 00:24:2B:07:68:E6, Tuesday, Aug 30,2011 06:29:42

You can set the router to email the logs to you if you wish.
I have mine set to email me at 5:00am every day.
If you do choose that option, the router logs are cleared as soon as the email is sent, so you would have to save the emails for record purposes.

You will see from the above log that it can take quite a few minutes for the router to regain an internet connection, even though the BT modem only takes a few seconds (unless it is continually trying to re-sync due to line/connection problems etc.

If you haven't already received it yet, the Netgear router should arrive from Plusnet a day or so in advance of the FTTC installation & give you time to set it up with your own connection details/wireless access & security etc.

Plusnet can also confirm disconnections/reconnections via a chart, but usually only do so if they are trying to monitor your connection's stability etc.

If you choose to use a different router with the BT modem, it should also have its own logging facility.

HTH.

Paul.

Hey Paul I'm looking through my router's logs (btw, I can't seem to get the email bit of it to work; do you use your PN email account? Both Gmail and Live don't want to work).

It seems that my router takes less time to reconnect than yours:

[Internet connected] IP address: 80.229.127.146, Tuesday, Sep 13,2011 02:26:59
[Internet disconnected] Tuesday, Sep 13,2011 02:26:41
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Bald_Eagle1

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Re: FTTC - Distance from the Cabinet - Realistic speed estimate
« Reply #291 on: September 13, 2011, 01:25:40 PM »

Hi Thomas,

Yes, I do use my PN account for the router email logs.

I'm not at home at the moment to check the settings I used, but let me know if you want me to confirm them later on.

Paul.
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alexrolls

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Re: FTTC - Distance from the Cabinet - Realistic speed estimate
« Reply #292 on: September 13, 2011, 03:46:36 PM »

@Bald_Eagle1

Your support ticket has been updated.
« Last Edit: September 14, 2011, 02:48:32 PM by alexrolls »
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Bald_Eagle1

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Re: FTTC - Distance from the Cabinet - Realistic speed estimate
« Reply #293 on: September 13, 2011, 05:59:32 PM »

@Bald_Eagle1

Your suppor ticket has been updated.

Cheers Alex,

Are you able to confirm what the engineer will actually be doing tomorrow (we have previously discussed lifting & shifting/port swapping and other options etc. in order to return my connection to the equivalent of a fresh installation) & how long he/she will be able to spend dealing with this?
I did ask you via the Plusnet support ticket, but you may have missed my query.

I notice from Plusnet's newsgroups that your providers (I assume BT???) have been updating your software in the early hours of this morning.
Is this likely to have any bearing on matters?:-

"What does it affect?
The routing of customers' broadband traffic.

How long will it take?
About five hours.

What does the work involve?
Our suppliers are performing a software upgrade.

Am I likely to notice the work?
Some customers on 21CN connections will experience a loss of connection
for at least 20 minutes between1.30am-3.00am. Brief disconnections are
also possible at any time during the maintenance window."

My router logs reported a disconnection at around 11:30 last night, but no disconnections during today.
Was that possibly due to the software upgrade being started earlier than planned?

Finally, I hope you have already mentioned to BT that I must be allowed to see & record any statistics as displayed on the engineer's JDSU or similar device.

I will be very disappointed, to put it very mildly, if the engineer refuses to disclose the connection stats again.

Paul.
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jeffbb

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Re: FTTC - Distance from the Cabinet - Realistic speed estimate
« Reply #294 on: September 14, 2011, 01:05:59 PM »

 :drink:  nearly 21  :lol:
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Bald_Eagle1

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Re: FTTC - Distance from the Cabinet - Realistic speed estimate
« Reply #295 on: September 14, 2011, 01:43:12 PM »

Good afternoon Readers,

Feedback from today's engineer's visit:-

The OR Engineer arrived with no brief other than to find out what the issues have been & to fix them as necessary.

After a very brief summary of the issues, he accepted that I had indeed achieved download speeds in excess of 30Mb, which made a refreshing change. (see lower down for the engineer's theory on this)

He allowed me to photograph his JDSU, but unfortunately my camera skills are very poor, as you will see in the attached photo.

What I did glean though, was my US Line attenuation had gone down from 52.9dB to 21.9dB & my DS Line attenuation had gone down from 30.2dB to 23.0dB since the previous photograph of the JDSU.

He showed me the VDSL summary screen (thanks Thomas for obtaining that screen during your recent installation), which showed an estimated length of 1.1km.

I explained about the 22Mb or so that was seen recently at the cabinet, so off he went to check.

After quite a while, he returned with the following comments:-

I would not be allowed to photograph his JDSU again, but I was allowed to see it (he must have spoken to someone back at BT, as he had no qualms at all when I took the photo on his arrival).
I didn't manage to jot all the figures down, but it showed DS Actual Rate of 23500k & DS Max Rate of 23514k.
The estimated length was now showing as 1.0km

He had checked my connection at the cabinet, & as it was immediately showing lots of "errors", he had performed a lift & shift to a new DSLAM port.
This action sorted out the errors, & the speed following the L & S was actually 40Mb at the cabinet.

When I queried the still low speeds at home, he mentioned that the previous engineer had shown me "something" from BT's Network Records, but that it was the wrong screen as it didn't show the actual line route.
Therefore the previous engineer's reported line length of only 820m was incorrect & that it probably is actually around 1.0km as shown today on the JDSU.

The engineer's theory is that my new download speeds, currently around 22Mb are probably about right for the distance from the cabinet, unless something is still capping them. They are indeed slightly better since today's Lift & Shift.

He went on to state that via fibre, the cabinets currently receive "up to" 80Mb & that BT currently cap download speeds at a maximum of 40Mb for all customers.
Those living close to the cabinet (say up to 500m or so will indeed be able to download at around 38Mb or slightly higher, with those living further away achieving less, based upon signal loss over the copper D-side.

There are apparently tentative plans to provide "uncapped" connections in the not too distant future, no doubt at additional cost?.

He also added that typically, FTTC speeds are completely uncapped during the 10 day training period & that he has actually seen actual download speeds in excess of 60Mb at the end user's home.
In theory, the 40Mb cap is introduced immediately following the 10 day training period, but "occasionally" it gets missed & the user continues to enjoy higher than 40Mb download speeds.

He thought that it was possible that I was obtaining 33Mb or so for the first couple of weeks, because my connection was "open" to whatever uncapped speeds could be delivered, & as soon as the 40Mb cap was introduced, my line length would only allow up to 25Mb or so.

I have previously queried more than once whether speeds are uncapped during the training period & the answer has been that they are not.

He also thought that my various previous issues such as a crackly phone line, frequent random disconnections, HR fault (double jumpering), total loss of servce for a number of days etc. may well have been pure coincidence & a bit of a "red herring" in matters.

These theories could have some validity, but I will be asking Plusnet to confirm on my behalf that neither they, or BT are currently capping my download speeds for any reason.

So, that may be that now. I may finally have to accept download speeds of around 22Mb as shown here, obtained since the engineer finished his job today:-


There still appear to be many uncertainties around BT's current FTTC provision, with various "experts" providing conflicting advice (as previously demonstrated in this very thread).
THIS NEEDS TO BE QUICKLY SORTED OUT ONCE & FOR ALL, SO THAT END USERS CAN ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND MATTERS ACCORDINGLY, IN THE SAME WAY THAT ADSL TECHNOLOGY (& ACHIEVABLE DOWNLOAD SPEEDS) ARE UNDERSTOOD.

How difficult should it really be for BT & ISPs to publicise a "typical" & realistic speed graph/chart based upon distance from the cabinet at a starting speed of 40Mb?
Surely, between them, they MUST have sufficient data based upon actual installations by now.

Furthermore, how difficult should it really be to provide customer help desk staff (& BT Engineers) with simple & accurate fact sheets, actually based upon facts?


Paul.

[attachment deleted by admin]
« Last Edit: September 15, 2011, 07:08:07 AM by Bald_Eagle1 »
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Bald_Eagle1

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Re: FTTC - Distance from the Cabinet - Realistic speed estimate
« Reply #296 on: September 14, 2011, 01:45:27 PM »

:drink:  nearly 21  :lol:

Hi Jeffbb,

I tried to make my latest posting long enough to get us to the celebratory "21 today" stage, but failed.

Paul.

EDIT: I now see that Just another line or two would have done it  :lol:
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alexrolls

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Re: FTTC - Distance from the Cabinet - Realistic speed estimate
« Reply #297 on: September 14, 2011, 02:48:07 PM »

@Bald_Eagle1

Your support ticket has been updated.
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Bald_Eagle1

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Re: FTTC - Distance from the Cabinet - Realistic speed estimate
« Reply #298 on: September 14, 2011, 05:46:44 PM »

Thanks Alex,

I have responded as just a couple of final queries remain, particularly (but not only) regarding the engineer's theory regarding BT's FTTC provision being completely uncapped during the 10 day training period, hence a "possible" explanation for my initial higher download speeds.

It doesn't explain why another Plusnet user, named limbo in this forum, only achieved 26Mb (compared to my initial 33Mb) following his FTTC installation this Monday, although he apparently has a shorter D-side than I have.
see http://forum.kitz.co.uk/index.php/topic,9901.msg200191.html#msg200191


Paul.
« Last Edit: September 14, 2011, 05:49:48 PM by Bald_Eagle1 »
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Bald_Eagle1

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Re: FTTC - Distance from the Cabinet - Realistic speed estimate
« Reply #299 on: October 02, 2011, 06:49:28 PM »

Dear All,

I haven't posted for a while for 2 reasons:-
1) I have been busy with other things
2) As suggested by Plusnet, I have waited to see if my connection would fix itself given time!!!!!

Well, these are this morning's results


Not only is the download speed down yet again, the upload speed is now only 0.67Mb from a 2Mb capped service.
It is usually around 1.6-1.7Mb.

I have also suffered a few disconnections recently (possibly coincidental with the unseasonal heat-wave?)

My stats are attached below.

DS Band D2 is the one used for VDSL2 fequencies.
You will see that I am receiving hardly anything in this band, probably due to the high attenuation level.

I do have graphs from earlier this morning showing absolutely nothing at all for DS Band D2, but at least my US speed was still O.K.

I have also attached someone else's stats from a good connection as a comparison.

Plusnet closed my previous (UNRESOLVED) ticket, so it seems like I'm back to square one again.

Don't panic though. I won't be making any more epic posts.

Paul.

P.S. I must say a big thank you to asbokid from the TBB forum (& an occasional visitor here) for making access to our stats possible, & also a big thank you to b*cat for his patience & assisting me with his Linux knowledge to convert the Linux graphing script into a Windows Batch file (even though he claims to know nothing about Windows  ;) ).

[attachment deleted by admin]
« Last Edit: October 02, 2011, 07:00:17 PM by Bald_Eagle1 »
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