A dire choice of broadband providers in my new place :(

qpop

ok, update:

Amazon won't replace it because I've moved and their returns system just isn't capable of sorting this out. So I'm stuck and want to buy a different ADSL modem. It needs to be able to be configured for bridged connections and I don't require/want any kind of NAT or firewall (as seperate wifi router will deal with this)

Does anybody happen to have any suggestions? I know it's a bit specific but I'm stuck!

Short_Seller

If you want to tweak then the Netgear DG834 GT (broadcom 6348 chipset) is always an easy option. And works well on most Dslam/Msams. Even the ex-sky ones often go for under a £5 & just require a filmware flash to work on any network.

If you are on a huawei Msam, & want paired exchange/router chipset. The 2 wire 2700 HGV (bt business hub) is so stable its borning to quote kitz Again these go between £5-£10 on ebay (brand new still sealed in strink wrap) due to BT sending out that many of the things. The pre 6 filmware verisons are easier to config.

Kitz's view & links to info 2wire info site.
http://www.kitz.co.uk/routers/2wire_2700_HGV.htm

If you like then high end Billion 7800n is based on the broadcom 6358 chipset.
A good few other routers use this platform for a fraction of the cost such as the TP-Link TD-W8960N.


Cheers

qpop

So you'd recommend running a router in half-bridge mode over buying a standard ADSL modem and running it in full bridge?

deklan99

Another thumbs up for the 2wire hgv2700, I've got three now just in case. Just keeps connected month after month and I've a long line. Various firmware you can flash to suit - http://bt2700hgv.tripod.com/ir1002700HGV.htm#Buying%20a%202700HGV

Could just be your connecting too fast for your line at night and it just drops out, adsl2+ is more sensitive than other modes. On a BT line DLM would kick in and although you'd be slower it would be stable. Maybe an increase in target noise margin to 12dB just to test the theory would help if possible.

qpop

OK I'm now absolutely convinced that it's a cap in place by the provider.

I've installed a DGT348 GT Netgear ADSL modem instead, and tweaked the SNR with DGTeam firmware, and it is syncing at 19mbps, but throughput is max 14mbps, whether connected wirelessly, by wire, or PPPoE through Windows. Thoroughly bizarre

Short_Seller

It is Strange.

There's no banding on your xilo package.

I'd raise a fault ticket as there might be something underlying on the line. Have you tried the 17070 line test just to check the line for noise.

The GT is an excellent bit of kit for issue finding.

The DMT to is so very handy for Bitloading charts to if the lines droping bins.

http://dmt.mhilfe.de/

qpop

OK I'm running DMT Tool now - it doesn't take well to DPI scaling:
https://twitpic.com/6k1u4m/full

Does that make any sense?

My worry with raising a fault is Xilo have pretty much confirmed the next step is getting an engineer to look into it; if they concluded it wasn't the network at fault I'm guessing I'd find a bill of £120 on my doorstep. I'm trying to work out if it's worth that risk for a potential (not even guaranteed) 4mbps bump in speed.

On a side note, the connection was dropping with the Netgear as well, so I've concluded that the weak link in that regard must be the D-Link, so I've cut it out entirely and will be using the Netgear for the near future until I can be bothered to buy a better router (Possibly Billion 7800N, or something)

edit: Quiet line test was very quiet....

Short_Seller

Nothing obvious stands out.

Maybe keeping a connection log for a few days might help in narrowing down the dropped syncs. Looking for noise spikes ect. Before raising a ticket issue.

Router stats is very handy for this.

http://www.vwlowen.co.uk/internet/files.htm

On a side note have you messured the speed via Cmd promt , just to rule out any java/flash issues before you go deeper into line mointering.

I'd post the DLM charts as well on xilo's boards as Matt over there is normally very helpful with this kind of issue.

Cheers

qpop

Yeah, I've got an ongoing dialogue with Matt/Tom at the Xilo support log, so I've kept them updated (not to mention Matt's posted on the thread I started about the issue on another broadband forum.

Like I said, for the connection dropping, I suspect that is down to the flaky PPPoE connection between the router and the modem, so I've "unbridged" and will see how it goes. I'll leave some torrents (high stress) going overnight with Routerstats running, and see I'm still connected in the morning!

The speed thing though is confusing me, it really must be a speed limit imposed at the exchange, I can't see any other answer (and the download speed is maxed out at 1.75MB/s on 2 pc's, through Firefoxes d/l interface, chromes, on a Mac using Safari and Chrome, and on jDownloader on all three computers. The only thing I haven't tried is wget but don't have a linux installation anywhere!

Short_Seller

Out of interest,Have you tried a CWP specific line speed tester?

http://www.talktalkmembers.com/content/view/53/124/

If these give the same lower 13 meg put through , its much easier at looking into any exchange backhaul issues.

Cheers