Internet Connection
Discussion
Hi guys,
Wonder if anyone here can solve my problem.
I keep getting regular losses of ADSL, almost always between around 6 & 10PM, although sometimes it lasts till later and sometimes it all works fine. Typically once the drop outs start it will be off for 4-5 minutes then back on for 1 minute.
Could this problem be:
a) Poor connection to my local exchange. Despite the fact that I'm hardly in the middle of nowhere (just outside the M25 in Essex) I've only been able to get ADSL for about the last 24 months. I'm around 2.5 miles from my exchange and have never been able to get a downstream speed of greater than 1MB.
b) Dodgy modem. I was given a Binatone ADSL500 modem with my first ADSL connection and to be honest I've never been totally convinced by it. However given that at times I can get a good connection this option seems unlikely to me.
c) Contention ratio. TBH I've never really understood this. I have a contention ration of 50:1 (pretty standard) and understand that this means that I could be sharing my line with 50 other local users, but as I live in a fairly densely populated area surely there are way more than 50 people wanting to use broadband? I am suspicious of this as any drops in connection do tend to happen at peak times. Also, does the contention ratio apply to the exchange (this is what I'd guess) or the ISP?
d) ISP problems. Since switching to my current provider I've been pretty happy with them, but could this be due to load on their system at peak times? They certainly haven't reported any problems on their site.
e) Something else. Who knows!
Hope someone can help, it's beginning to drive me nuts!
Cheers in advance,
Dogsey. (Written between drop outs!)
Wonder if anyone here can solve my problem.
I keep getting regular losses of ADSL, almost always between around 6 & 10PM, although sometimes it lasts till later and sometimes it all works fine. Typically once the drop outs start it will be off for 4-5 minutes then back on for 1 minute.
Could this problem be:
a) Poor connection to my local exchange. Despite the fact that I'm hardly in the middle of nowhere (just outside the M25 in Essex) I've only been able to get ADSL for about the last 24 months. I'm around 2.5 miles from my exchange and have never been able to get a downstream speed of greater than 1MB.
b) Dodgy modem. I was given a Binatone ADSL500 modem with my first ADSL connection and to be honest I've never been totally convinced by it. However given that at times I can get a good connection this option seems unlikely to me.
c) Contention ratio. TBH I've never really understood this. I have a contention ration of 50:1 (pretty standard) and understand that this means that I could be sharing my line with 50 other local users, but as I live in a fairly densely populated area surely there are way more than 50 people wanting to use broadband? I am suspicious of this as any drops in connection do tend to happen at peak times. Also, does the contention ratio apply to the exchange (this is what I'd guess) or the ISP?
d) ISP problems. Since switching to my current provider I've been pretty happy with them, but could this be due to load on their system at peak times? They certainly haven't reported any problems on their site.
e) Something else. Who knows!
Hope someone can help, it's beginning to drive me nuts!
Cheers in advance,
Dogsey. (Written between drop outs!)
Ok. Contention Ratio shouldn't affect it. To use completley the wrong terminology. The exchange is fitted with one or more DSLAM cards that provide ADSL, 50:1 means that a maximum of 50 people will be hanging off that card. If all 50 appear at once and thrash it then all that happens is everyone goes slow as the pool of avaliable bandwidth is consumed (I remember a 10MB/s figure but can't remember if that's per DSLAM or per exchange), to avoid confusion, that's a lot faster than an "8meg" broadband connection.
Now, I don't know much about your modem, does it have a web interface to manage the connection? If so log in to the modem and see if it has a status page or system log avaliable, when you start getting outtages go in to this page and see what the modem says. If it believes everything is fine, try rebooting it and see what happens, if it tells you that it's lost the ADSL link or something similar than it would point to a issue else where.
This could be at the exchange, the copper linking you to the exchange or the wiring in your house. If your able to, try hooking directly to the BT master socket with no extension leads and see if the thing remains stable, if so, you've narrowed it down to something in your house, it not... you've potentially eliminated your house from the problem.
If possible, I'd also suggest asking someone at work if they have a spare modem you could borrow for a weekend, just to see if that changes anything.
Right laptop batter's dead, so I'm off
Now, I don't know much about your modem, does it have a web interface to manage the connection? If so log in to the modem and see if it has a status page or system log avaliable, when you start getting outtages go in to this page and see what the modem says. If it believes everything is fine, try rebooting it and see what happens, if it tells you that it's lost the ADSL link or something similar than it would point to a issue else where.
This could be at the exchange, the copper linking you to the exchange or the wiring in your house. If your able to, try hooking directly to the BT master socket with no extension leads and see if the thing remains stable, if so, you've narrowed it down to something in your house, it not... you've potentially eliminated your house from the problem.
If possible, I'd also suggest asking someone at work if they have a spare modem you could borrow for a weekend, just to see if that changes anything.
Right laptop batter's dead, so I'm off
Right, modem does have a web interface complete with a diagnostic test which looks like this:
Diagnostic Test: Test Complete
Checking USB Connection
Testing USB connection PASS HELP
Checking ADSL Connection
Testing ADSL Synchronization PASS HELP
Checking Circuit 0 for Network Connection
Test Ethernet connect to ATM PASS HELP
Test PPPoPvc 0 PPP layer connection PASS HELP
Test PPPoPvc 0 IP connect to PPP PASS HELP
Testing Internet Connection
Ping default gateway PASS HELP
When it stops working it fails at the PPPoPvc 0 PPP layer connection test, but all it tells me then is FAIL.
Cheers,
Dogsey.
(BTW ... the HELP section is totally useless!)
Diagnostic Test: Test Complete
Checking USB Connection
Testing USB connection PASS HELP
Checking ADSL Connection
Testing ADSL Synchronization PASS HELP
Checking Circuit 0 for Network Connection
Test Ethernet connect to ATM PASS HELP
Test PPPoPvc 0 PPP layer connection PASS HELP
Test PPPoPvc 0 IP connect to PPP PASS HELP
Testing Internet Connection
Ping default gateway PASS HELP
When it stops working it fails at the PPPoPvc 0 PPP layer connection test, but all it tells me then is FAIL.
Cheers,
Dogsey.
(BTW ... the HELP section is totally useless!)
dogsey said:
Hi guys,
Wonder if anyone here can solve my problem.
I keep getting regular losses of ADSL, almost always between around 6 & 10PM, although sometimes it lasts till later and sometimes it all works fine. Typically once the drop outs start it will be off for 4-5 minutes then back on for 1 minute.
Could this problem be:
a) Poor connection to my local exchange. Despite the fact that I'm hardly in the middle of nowhere (just outside the M25 in Essex) I've only been able to get ADSL for about the last 24 months. I'm around 2.5 miles from my exchange and have never been able to get a downstream speed of greater than 1MB.
b) Dodgy modem. I was given a Binatone ADSL500 modem with my first ADSL connection and to be honest I've never been totally convinced by it. However given that at times I can get a good connection this option seems unlikely to me.
c) Contention ratio. TBH I've never really understood this. I have a contention ration of 50:1 (pretty standard) and understand that this means that I could be sharing my line with 50 other local users, but as I live in a fairly densely populated area surely there are way more than 50 people wanting to use broadband? I am suspicious of this as any drops in connection do tend to happen at peak times. Also, does the contention ratio apply to the exchange (this is what I'd guess) or the ISP?
d) ISP problems. Since switching to my current provider I've been pretty happy with them, but could this be due to load on their system at peak times? They certainly haven't reported any problems on their site.
e) Something else. Who knows!
Hope someone can help, it's beginning to drive me nuts!
Cheers in advance,
Dogsey. (Written between drop outs!)
Wonder if anyone here can solve my problem.
I keep getting regular losses of ADSL, almost always between around 6 & 10PM, although sometimes it lasts till later and sometimes it all works fine. Typically once the drop outs start it will be off for 4-5 minutes then back on for 1 minute.
Could this problem be:
a) Poor connection to my local exchange. Despite the fact that I'm hardly in the middle of nowhere (just outside the M25 in Essex) I've only been able to get ADSL for about the last 24 months. I'm around 2.5 miles from my exchange and have never been able to get a downstream speed of greater than 1MB.
b) Dodgy modem. I was given a Binatone ADSL500 modem with my first ADSL connection and to be honest I've never been totally convinced by it. However given that at times I can get a good connection this option seems unlikely to me.
c) Contention ratio. TBH I've never really understood this. I have a contention ration of 50:1 (pretty standard) and understand that this means that I could be sharing my line with 50 other local users, but as I live in a fairly densely populated area surely there are way more than 50 people wanting to use broadband? I am suspicious of this as any drops in connection do tend to happen at peak times. Also, does the contention ratio apply to the exchange (this is what I'd guess) or the ISP?
d) ISP problems. Since switching to my current provider I've been pretty happy with them, but could this be due to load on their system at peak times? They certainly haven't reported any problems on their site.
e) Something else. Who knows!
Hope someone can help, it's beginning to drive me nuts!
Cheers in advance,
Dogsey. (Written between drop outs!)
I have had very similar problems with the modems I've had, which then went pop. They can run at bid odd for months before they completely give up (in my experience).
I cant believe how many I've got through in the office and at home.
In 5 years the office has been through 4 ADSL modems and in 4 years at home I've had 3 blow-up on me.
One thing I always do now is make sure they don't get too hot.
FYI I always buy cheap crap modems
except the latest one in the office which I bought 4 weeks ago which still is going strong. Netgear. dogsey said:
Right, modem does have a web interface complete with a diagnostic test which looks like this:
Ok, I've fiddled with it so it's easier to understand
modem said:
Checking USB Connection
Testing USB connection PASS HELP
'Can I talk to you?'
modem said:
Checking ADSL Connection
Testing ADSL Synchronization PASS HELP
Checking Circuit 0 for Network Connection
Test Etherne connect to ATM PASS HELP
'Can I talk to the exchange?'
modem said:
Test PPPoPvc 0 PPP layer connection PASS HELP
Test PPPoPvc 0 IP connect to PPP PASS HELP
Testing Internet Connection
Ping default gateway PASS HELP
'Can I get a connection going?'
dogsey said:
When it stops working it fails at the PPPoPvc 0 PPP layer connection test, but all it tells me then is FAIL.
And it's always the same repeatable pattern?
:scratcheschin: I'd try rebooting the modem instantly when it goes down and see if it's the same error. If it does, reboot the PC and see if that makes a difference.
If that doesn't work, I'd be on the phone to your ISP, they should be able to pinpoint anything happening their side or between you and them or at worst pushing out a line test.
It's an odd one in my book.
ThePassenger said:
And it's always the same repeatable pattern?
:scratcheschin: I'd try rebooting the modem instantly when it goes down and see if it's the same error. If it does, reboot the PC and see if that makes a difference.
If that doesn't work, I'd be on the phone to your ISP, they should be able to pinpoint anything happening their side or between you and them or at worst pushing out a line test.
It's an odd one in my book.
:scratcheschin: I'd try rebooting the modem instantly when it goes down and see if it's the same error. If it does, reboot the PC and see if that makes a difference.
If that doesn't work, I'd be on the phone to your ISP, they should be able to pinpoint anything happening their side or between you and them or at worst pushing out a line test.
It's an odd one in my book.
Always the same, tried rebooting modem and PC (together and separately) ... no good.
So we're down to ISP or line now.
Cheers.
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