Re: Max DSL query.

But there's only me here. :)

Rabbit...

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

Don't know. On the ADSL status page there are two columns for Downstream
and Upstream. The labels for each line in these columns are:

MCC...

What's the URL of the ADSL status page please?

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

I should have said it's the ADSL Status Page of my router so it's addy is
Mike. Here's a screen print:

MCC...

Anita...

Is this the one you want?

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

Nope what I was referring to was the adsl status page for my SafeCom router.
http://www.flyingnun.co.uk/adslstatuspagesafecomrouter.jpg

All understood, thanks

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

Good. :) But does it help me? :(

MCC...

Not knowing your router, your line length from your exchange, and all sorts
of variables on your exchange there may be, I can only talk in a general
sense. What occurred to me though was that, PlusNet being a local Sheffield
company, they might be likely to attract more customers in the local area,
thus raising the contention on local exchanges. Or am I talking a load of

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

Well since Plusnet sponsor Sheffield Wednesday FC, their home ground is
less than a mile from me and the Plusnet Logo is displayed on the team
shirts I suppose you are bound to be correct.
However when I first signed up with Plusnet my contention was 30:1. It
was change to 50:1 about a year ago, which is when I noticed a marked
decrease in my measured download speeds. I don't think the contention has
changed since then though.

MCC...

Yebut, your contention of 50:1 is much more likely to have 50 people trying
for a connection than what mine is here in the wilds of west Cornwall ;-)

rubbish as usual.

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

Agreed.
I've just carried out a BT Speedtest check - it came up with 1047 kbps.
Surprising since the Plusnet test is showing 2818.7 kbps and the router
synch rate is 4320 kbps. I'll do a few more spread over the next couple of
days and then raise a ticket with Plusnet.

pmj...

But you may well have an *equivalent* Page on your Router?
(Belkin for example use an IP Address of 192.168.2.1 for theirs)

& if you aren't using a Router, but are using just an ordinary type
USB ADSL Modem, then usually they have a Diagnostic Utility that shows
the same Info.

What Make & Model of USB Modem do you have?
Is it a Binatone (or a Zoom) one? - I seem to remember you mentioning
them?

MCC...

I'm using a Belkin router - I know where to find my status page, thank you
;-)

pmj...

Yep, but have you got the URL's of all the various *other*
Status & Diagnostic & Engineering Info Pages, which aren't accessible
from the ordinary Belkin Menus & Navigation?

MCC...

I had already been given all those links, thank you, which is how I knew
how to get to my status page, but other Belkin users might appreciate them.
Thanks.

The Safecom Routers show a lot of the Info Pages & let you acccess
them straight from the (Advanced) Menu/Navigation, but Belkin Routers
don't...

Try some of these to start with (I've been collecting them from
various places - on various Sites on the Web & also from looking at
the Belkin FirmWare & the TCP/IP & UDP Packets that get Sent across
the Network etc,)...

MCC...

Here's another you can add to your list :-))

pmj...

BTW - What Page does that show then? [*1]

I also have a similar URL -

Is that a "32" or a "3" in that URL of yours?

MCC...

It's "32"

But neither of those work on the last Belkin Router I tried.

[*1]
Ah - I just did a quick Web Search & I gather they are the PPoA (Point
to Point Protocol over ATM - Asynchronous Transfer Mode) Setup Pages

MCC...

WAN > Connection Type > PPPoA(Routing Mode, for multiple PCs) is the page
title.
It's the page where I change my username and password when I want to use
the BT test page and back again to PlusNet

http://192.168.2.1/atminta.stm/32

Not all of them are available on all Models & some of them are
Scripts or XML Info things, which may not make much Sense, unless
you like reading that sort of thing!

But some of the others are *very* Interesting!...

You'd be surprised at the Info that is available from your Router!
(BTW - many of these also work on other Makes of Routers that use
similar ChipSets, such as some 3Com & some LinkSys Models)

http://www.flyingnun.co.uk/adslstatuspagesafecomrouter.jpg

SNR Margin - 15.1 dB - I presume Signal to Noise Ratio
Line Attenuation 39.6dB
Loss of Signal 0
Loss of Frame 0
CRC Errors 83
Data Rate 4384 kbps - I presume Synch Rate
Latency INTERLEAVED

These are the values for the download column. The Latency was said to be
*Fast* until about 10/06/2006 and then changed to *INTERLEAVED*

I'm staying at a pretty steady speed but I am getting the disconnections
which others are getting. Seems to me you get one or the other ( low speeds
or disconnections)
You might be interested though in this quote from Dave Tomlinson (Plusnet
Comms Team)

The throughput can also fluctuate a lot in the main because with the faster
speeds more likely to notice the effects of contention kicking in, and also

pmj...

Yep, that's a good point!!!

that the "up to 8Mbps" describes not the throughput but the sync speed. In

pmj...

Oh?
That's a new one on me!!!
But yep, I s'pose that makes sense.

reality the maximum throughput possible is about 7.1Mbps but people are
unlikely to see much more than about 6.5Mbps under optimum conditions
because of overheads and local contention.
I certainly didn't realise that the *up to 8Mb* was the synch speed.

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

Me neither: When I was first connected to Maxdsl my synch rate was around

pmj...

Nor me!
But then I'd never really thought all that much about that particular
aspect of it...

5000 - 5500 kbps and I was experienceing download speeds ~ 4000 kbps. Since
my latency (whatever that is) was changed from *fast* to *Interleaved* the
synch rated has dropped - first to around 4500 kbps when download speeds
were ~ 2800 kbps, but today synch speed is around 3500 kbps and download
speed is still ~2800 kbps. ( 3 measurements in last 5 minutes using the
plusnet speed check gave 2833.9, 2844.1 and 2849.4 kbps)

pmj...

LOL!!!...

3 Measurements of your Download Speed in 5 Minutes (if it uses
anything like a reasonable sized File, which it should do, to give
a sensible Measurement) is *bound* to affect the Contention Ratios!!!

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

Well the file size seems to depend on what the check initially reckons your
download speed is. At higher speeds it says it's 2.93 Mb if your speed is
down around the 1 kbps mark the downloaded file size appears to be more like
1 Mb

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

Looks like yours is set back to *Fast* as nothing seems to be coming through
*Interleaved*

Especially if other people on the same Network (exchange or whatever)
are *also* using their Internet Connection for anything that a
Broadband Connection is worthwhile for.

I haven't, as yet, suffered any disconnections though.

pmj...

It seems to me as if all this fancy MaxDSL stuff that the various ADSL
ISPs are offering is trying to "squeeze a Quart out of a Pint Pot"?

Ali...

More like a gallon out of a pint pot.

It's fairly obvious that the actual Copper Lines that are used for
most of the circuits are being pushed to the limits of their Capacity?

Ali...

I think the copper can manage quite a bit more, the connectors and
terminators and stuff will be what is slowing it down.

The *Telephone* System (which is what ADSL uses) was never designed
to carry *Data* in the first place, was it?

Ali...

That depends what you mean by 'data' :^)
Surely a voice message contains data?
Remember the first copper wire telecoms were binary in nature - current
flowing or not flowing.

Also X25 packet switching has been used on telephone networks for 30 years
now.

& especially not at the current Rates/Speeds, which people seem
to expect (or are led to believe is achievable).