Last week someone from church referred a friend to me whose internet connection was "very slow". I found no problem. Asking questions revealed that the problem was intermittent. I have no personal experience with DSL as ATT is local provider and consider their product to be over sold, over hyped, over priced and emphasizing misdirecting the customer's attention. Besides which dialup is fast enough. /endrant It's my understanding that residential DSL comes at different service levels and that the most common can slow down under loaded conditions. I suggested he keep a log for several weeks and use that when contacting ATT support. What keywords should I search for? Or can someone recommend a site which would educate me? Springfield is in *very _RURAL_* SW Missouri (Not so long ago, if students were excluded, livestock would outnumber people. The nearest newsstand as most of you would recognize as such is still a 3 hour drive.) Five years ago, well within long time city limits, I could not get DSL as being too far from CO. He lives much further out. But the surrounding area has been recently annexed and more than 100 upscale homes have been built and the general expansion of the city is in that direction. TIA
[OT] DSL slowdown
Started by ●March 15, 2008
Reply by ●March 15, 20082008-03-15
On Mar 15, 8:58�am, Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> wrote:> Last week someone from church referred a friend to me whose internet > connection was "very slow". I found no problem. Asking questions > revealed that the problem was intermittent. I have no personal > experience with DSL as ATT is local provider and consider their product > to be over sold, over hyped, over priced and emphasizing misdirecting > the customer's attention. Besides which dialup is fast enough. /endrant > > It's my understanding that residential DSL comes at different service > levels and that the most common can slow down under loaded conditions. I > suggested he keep a log for several weeks and use that when contacting > ATT support. > > What keywords should I search for? Or can someone recommend a site which > would educate me? > > Springfield is in *very _RURAL_* SW Missouri (Not so long ago, if > students were excluded, livestock would outnumber people. The nearest > newsstand as most of you would recognize as such is still a 3 hour drive.) > > Five years ago, well within long time city limits, I could not get DSL > as being too far from CO. He lives much further out. But the surrounding > area has been recently annexed and more than 100 upscale homes have been > built and the general expansion of the city is in that direction. > > TIAdoes it happen everyday at around sundown? That happened to my DSL. I decided it was due to the street lights igniting. They are very electrically noisy when starting up but quiet down after they warm up. Mark
Reply by ●March 15, 20082008-03-15
Mark wrote:> On Mar 15, 8:58 am, Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> wrote: > >>Last week someone from church referred a friend to me whose internet >>connection was "very slow". I found no problem. Asking questions >>revealed that the problem was intermittent. I have no personal >>experience with DSL as ATT is local provider and consider their product >>to be over sold, over hyped, over priced and emphasizing misdirecting >>the customer's attention. Besides which dialup is fast enough. /endrant >> >>It's my understanding that residential DSL comes at different service >>levels and that the most common can slow down under loaded conditions. I >>suggested he keep a log for several weeks and use that when contacting >>ATT support. >> >>What keywords should I search for? Or can someone recommend a site which >>would educate me? >> >>Springfield is in *very _RURAL_* SW Missouri (Not so long ago, if >>students were excluded, livestock would outnumber people. The nearest >>newsstand as most of you would recognize as such is still a 3 hour drive.) >> >>Five years ago, well within long time city limits, I could not get DSL >>as being too far from CO. He lives much further out. But the surrounding >>area has been recently annexed and more than 100 upscale homes have been >>built and the general expansion of the city is in that direction. >> >>TIA > > > does it happen everyday at around sundown?I don't know. One of the reasons I suggested keeping the log was he didn't seem to have a clear idea of just how often the problem occurred. Only that it was often enough to be annoying.> > That happened to my DSL. > > I decided it was due to the street lights igniting. They are very > electrically noisy when starting up but quiet down after they warm > up.Street lighting - what street lighting ;) There also are not any electrically noisy loads in area that I can think of.> > > Mark
Reply by ●March 15, 20082008-03-15
Richard Owlett <rowlett@atlascomm.net> writes:> [...]I can't address your question(s), but I'd be interested to find out from others if their time-warner roadrunner cable service has been unreliable lately (say, the past two weeks). It took me 16 hours to download a fedora 8 respin using the "jigdo" mechanism (it's about 3.8 GB, which should have taken only a couple of hours) about two weeks ago. I've also been experiencing "Page Not Found" misses when hitting Google and other well-known sites. I suspect the problem is overburdened/misconfigured domain name servers. I have confirmed to some extent that is the problem with nslookup, which can sometimes "hang" for as much as seven seconds just doing a translation. Of course technical support denies anything is wrong. It is true that my data transfer rate is fine, as measured by one of those web-based utilities like http://www.speedtest.net/ but that just further supports the DNS theory. Any other folks in the Raleigh/Durham, NC area notice this? -- % Randy Yates % "...the answer lies within your soul %% Fuquay-Varina, NC % 'cause no one knows which side %%% 919-577-9882 % the coin will fall." %%%% <yates@ieee.org> % 'Big Wheels', *Out of the Blue*, ELO http://www.digitalsignallabs.com
Reply by ●March 15, 20082008-03-15
"Richard Owlett" <rowlett@atlascomm.net> wrote in message news:13tnt2hm55l509b@news.supernews.com...> Mark wrote: >> On Mar 15, 8:58 am, Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> wrote: >> >>>Last week someone from church referred a friend to me whose internet >>>connection was "very slow". I found no problem.Richard, A number of things come to mind: 1) It's not the DSL at all but, rather, something slowing down the computer like a virus scan. Many folks can't tell the difference. A speed test from speakeasy.net might be able to tell the difference - I'm not sure. I'd regularly run this test under the circumstances - just so one isn't being fooled. 2) One of the DSL filters (at *another* jack in the house) is connected backwards or flipped. I've seen this happen and it took a *long* time to troubleshoot. As I recall it WAS intermittent. The filters need to be connected as intended. And, there's always the possibility of a bad filter. Try connecting the DSL modem directly to the phone line with NO filter at that point - it's only the phones, computer modems (whether internal or external) and FAX machines that need to be filtered and the DSL port should be "straight through". 3) Look for "old phones" in the house and disconnect them. This really applies more to dialup problems. 4) Look for electrical noise sources near the phone line with DSL. Maybe a sewing machine or other device with a motor or high energy radiation like a microwave. Even a portable phone if the DSL wire is very close to it. This is a black art of course... Again, this really applies more to dialup problems. 5) Use twisted pair wire from the jack to the modem. Usually this wire is round instead of the typical phone extension flat wire. Generally the wire inside the wall is twisted pair - and generally the wires outside the wall aren't. I have seen where this mattered and it may have been a combination of (4) and (5) - that would be likely. All this is for a wired connection. If it's wireless then there's another whole set of things. Fred
Reply by ●March 15, 20082008-03-15
"Randy Yates" <yates@ieee.org> wrote in message news:m3od9g3qq7.fsf@ieee.org...> Richard Owlett <rowlett@atlascomm.net> writes: >> [...] > > I can't address your question(s), but I'd be interested to find out > from others if their time-warner roadrunner cable service has been > unreliable lately (say, the past two weeks). It took me 16 hours to > download a fedora 8 respin using the "jigdo" mechanism (it's about > 3.8 GB, which should have taken only a couple of hours) about two weeks > ago. >Randy, The ability to hit one URL and not other URLs often happens when a router loses its mind. Time to reboot it. There is no logical way to reach that conclusion from the evidence at hand. I've seen it from LAN to WAN and from LAN IP to LAN IP. In every case, a router reboot fixed the problem. Fred
Reply by ●March 15, 20082008-03-15
Fred Marshall wrote:> "Richard Owlett" <rowlett@atlascomm.net> wrote in message > news:13tnt2hm55l509b@news.supernews.com... > >>Mark wrote: >> >>>On Mar 15, 8:58 am, Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> wrote: >>> >>> >>>>Last week someone from church referred a friend to me whose internet >>>>connection was "very slow". I found no problem. > > > Richard, > > A number of things come to mind: > > 1) It's not the DSL at all but, rather, something slowing down the computer > like a virus scan. Many folks can't tell the difference.I'll suggest he run task manager and add that info to when he logs a slow event.> A speed test from > speakeasy.net might be able to tell the difference - I'm not sure. I'd > regularly run this test under the circumstances - just so one isn't being > fooled.Is the test easy enough for a totally non-tech user to run? I can't drive until i get training on driving with hand controls.> > 2) One of the DSL filters (at *another* jack in the house) is connected > backwards or flipped. I've seen this happen and it took a *long* time to > troubleshoot. As I recall it WAS intermittent. The filters need to be > connected as intended. And, there's always the possibility of a bad filter. > Try connecting the DSL modem directly to the phone line with NO filter at > that point - it's only the phones, computer modems (whether internal or > external) and FAX machines that need to be filtered and the DSL port should > be "straight through".Are the filters obviously marked?> > 3) Look for "old phones" in the house and disconnect them. This really > applies more to dialup problems. > > 4) Look for electrical noise sources near the phone line with DSL. Maybe a > sewing machine or other device with a motor or high energy radiation like a > microwave. Even a portable phone if the DSL wire is very close to it. This > is a black art of course... Again, this really applies more to dialup > problems. > > 5) Use twisted pair wire from the jack to the modem. Usually this wire is > round instead of the typical phone extension flat wire. Generally the wire > inside the wall is twisted pair - and generally the wires outside the wall > aren't. I have seen where this mattered and it may have been a combination > of (4) and (5) - that would be likely.I can question him re 4 and 5.> > All this is for a wired connection. If it's wireless then there's another > whole set of things. >As far as I know there is only one computer in the house so I would suspect it's hard wire. However, if it is wireless, what's the probability of the wireless router next door (<200 ft) interfering?> Fred > > >
Reply by ●March 15, 20082008-03-15
"Fred Marshall" <fmarshallx@remove_the_x.acm.org> writes:> "Randy Yates" <yates@ieee.org> wrote in message > news:m3od9g3qq7.fsf@ieee.org... >> Richard Owlett <rowlett@atlascomm.net> writes: >>> [...] >> >> I can't address your question(s), but I'd be interested to find out >> from others if their time-warner roadrunner cable service has been >> unreliable lately (say, the past two weeks). It took me 16 hours to >> download a fedora 8 respin using the "jigdo" mechanism (it's about >> 3.8 GB, which should have taken only a couple of hours) about two weeks >> ago. >> > > Randy, > > The ability to hit one URL and not other URLs often happens when a router > loses its mind. Time to reboot it. There is no logical way to reach that > conclusion from the evidence at hand. I've seen it from LAN to WAN and from > LAN IP to LAN IP. In every case, a router reboot fixed the problem.Hi Fred, Thanks for your knowledged. Unfortunately, I've already done that, so if it is the router, that didn't fix it. I have wondered whether my router has gotten ch0wned. -- % Randy Yates % "I met someone who looks alot like you, %% Fuquay-Varina, NC % she does the things you do, %%% 919-577-9882 % but she is an IBM." %%%% <yates@ieee.org> % 'Yours Truly, 2095', *Time*, ELO http://www.digitalsignallabs.com
Reply by ●March 15, 20082008-03-15
On Mar 15, 4:54�pm, Randy Yates <ya...@ieee.org> wrote:> "Fred Marshall" <fmarshallx@remove_the_x.acm.org> writes: > > "Randy Yates" <ya...@ieee.org> wrote in message > >news:m3od9g3qq7.fsf@ieee.org... > >> Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> writes: > >>> [...] > > >> I can't address your question(s), but I'd be interested to find out > >> from others if their time-warner roadrunner cable service has been > >> unreliable lately (say, the past two weeks). It took me 16 hours to > >> download a fedora 8 respin using the "jigdo" mechanism (it's about > >> 3.8 GB, which should have taken only a couple of hours) about two weeks > >> ago. > > > Randy, > > > The ability to hit one URL and not other URLs often happens when a router > > loses its mind. �Time to reboot it. �There is no logical way to reach that > > conclusion from the evidence at hand. I've seen it from LAN to WAN and from > > LAN IP to LAN IP. �In every case, a router reboot fixed the problem. > > Hi Fred, > > Thanks for your knowledged. Unfortunately, I've already done that, so > if it is the router, that didn't fix it. I have wondered whether my > router has gotten ch0wned. > -- > % �Randy Yates � � � � � � � � �% "I met someone who looks alot like you, > %% Fuquay-Varina, NC � � � � � �% � � � � � � she does the things you do, > %%% 919-577-9882 � � � � � � � �% � � � � � � � � � � but she is an IBM." > %%%% <ya...@ieee.org> � � � � � % � � � �'Yours Truly, 2095', *Time*, ELO �http://www.digitalsignallabs.com- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text -Hello Randy, Some sources will throttle back the download speed once your amount of downloaded data per day has crossed a threshold. Clay
Reply by ●March 15, 20082008-03-15
"Richard Owlett" <rowlett@atlascomm.net> wrote in message news:13tocimihie8d5a@news.supernews.com...> Fred Marshall wrote: >> "Richard Owlett" <rowlett@atlascomm.net> wrote in message >> news:13tnt2hm55l509b@news.supernews.com... >> >>>Mark wrote: >>> >>>>On Mar 15, 8:58 am, Richard Owlett <rowl...@atlascomm.net> wrote: >>>> >>>> >>>>>Last week someone from church referred a friend to me whose internet >>>>>connection was "very slow". I found no problem. >> >> >> Richard, >> >> A number of things come to mind: >> >> 1) It's not the DSL at all but, rather, something slowing down the >> computer like a virus scan. Many folks can't tell the difference. > > I'll suggest he run task manager and add that info to when he logs a slow > event. > >> A speed test from speakeasy.net might be able to tell the difference - >> I'm not sure. I'd regularly run this test under the circumstances - just >> so one isn't being fooled. > > Is the test easy enough for a totally non-tech user to run? I can't drive > until i get training on driving with hand controls.I find the speed test link a bit slow to come up and it doesn't just jump out at you but yes.> > > >> >> 2) One of the DSL filters (at *another* jack in the house) is connected >> backwards or flipped. I've seen this happen and it took a *long* time to >> troubleshoot. As I recall it WAS intermittent. The filters need to be >> connected as intended. And, there's always the possibility of a bad >> filter. Try connecting the DSL modem directly to the phone line with NO >> filter at that point - it's only the phones, computer modems (whether >> internal or external) and FAX machines that need to be filtered and the >> DSL port should be "straight through". > > Are the filters obviously marked?Yes, they are. But you never know what sort of lash-up someone may have re: the telephone cords. For example, it would be possible for someone to plug an extension cord into an *output* port/jack of a filter and to plug the input plug into the modem - thus backwards - because what they really needed was an F-F gender changer. More often people will have plugged a phone or other device into the DSL port or will have plugged their computer into the Phone port.> >> >> 3) Look for "old phones" in the house and disconnect them. This really >> applies more to dialup problems. >> >> 4) Look for electrical noise sources near the phone line with DSL. Maybe >> a sewing machine or other device with a motor or high energy radiation >> like a microwave. Even a portable phone if the DSL wire is very close to >> it. This is a black art of course... Again, this really applies more to >> dialup problems. >> >> 5) Use twisted pair wire from the jack to the modem. Usually this wire >> is round instead of the typical phone extension flat wire. Generally the >> wire inside the wall is twisted pair - and generally the wires outside >> the wall aren't. I have seen where this mattered and it may have been a >> combination of (4) and (5) - that would be likely. > > I can question him re 4 and 5. > >> >> All this is for a wired connection. If it's wireless then there's >> another whole set of things. >> > > As far as I know there is only one computer in the house so I would > suspect it's hard wire. However, if it is wireless, what's the probability > of the wireless router next door (<200 ft) interfering? > >Wireless is much more susceptible to speed variations unto itself - but maybe not so much related to this situation. Depends on SNR - which should tell you a lot just for starters. Wireless SNR is all over the map - sometimes in surprising ways. Take a look at this: Typical DSL modem has a 10mbps link that would feed one computer or the local router. Typical "high" DSL download speed is 1.5mbps - so it shouldn't be limited by Ethernet unless there's high traffic - which there probably isn't. I've seen pretty good performance even when the traffic is high. "Standard" wireless speeds range from 1Mbps to 54mbps and higher on newer "N" systems is promised for some situations. So, only the slowest wireless link would likely make a difference and then perhaps not all that noticeable. But, if there's packet loss and Ethernet retransmits a lot then it would be worse - so who knows? I don't have any experience with wireless being "too" slow - usually more like "not connected"!!! Fred
