Is DSL connection rate in line with stats?

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shermanp

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#89239 29-Aug-2011 13:06

We have just switched our broadband over to totalhome broadband, from the old xnet river plan (with its capped 128k upload). I haven't paid too much attention to the DSL stats before now, because we were getting ~4.5mbps anyway, which I believe is about the max when you have a capped upload.

However now that we have uncapped DSL, I want to take a closer look at out connection, because it is not as High as I was hoping it might have been.

Using the supplied Thompson router (stats are about the same on our old WAG120N), the modem tells me the following:
Uptime:0 days, 0:14:14

DSL Type:G.992.1 annex A

Channel mode:Interleave

Maximum Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]:864 / 5,440

Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]:832 / 5,344

Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [kB/MB]:0.00 / 1.21

Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]:11.5 / 19.5

Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]:14.0 / 30.0

SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]:12.0 / 12.5

Vendor ID (Local/Remote):TMMB / ALCB

Loss of Framing (Local/Remote):0 / 0

Loss of Signal (Local/Remote):0 / 0

Loss of Power (Local/Remote):0 / 0

Loss of Link (Remote):0

Error Seconds (Local/Remote):0 / 0

FEC Errors (Up/Down):1 / 0

CRC Errors (Up/Down):6 / 1

HEC Errors (Up/Down):1 / 0

Is the reported bandwidth in line with the reported Attenuation and SNR values? Or is it a bit on the low side?

We live in the suburb/township of Bell Block, which is very urban. Looking at the telecom wholesale map, we are about the only area in bell block who won't be cabinetized. Instead it looks like we will continue to connect directly to the bell block exchange (which STILL hasn't been upgraded to ADSL2+). I'd say we are within 1km of the exchange (direct that is), although I don't lnow how long the cable is.

EDIT: I ran an isolation test, and there is no difference in stats. We have 4 jackponts in the house, but only 1 phone and the router are connected. Phone has a filter.

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#513436 29-Aug-2011 13:17

I think (?) that having a capped/non-capped plan doesnt affect your sync rate, the rate limiting is done elsewhere

More to the point, the theoretical max for standard adsl is ~7-8meg, so sounds about right that you get 5. I think you just have to wait for adsl2+ to come to your exchange. We were in the same situation up until a few months ago, and have since gone from 5 to 17 meg sync, which is awesome.

At a very rough estimate, you should get at least double the sync rate with ADSL2+, which looks to be happening in December for you

cyril7

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#513438 29-Aug-2011 13:19

Hi, 5.4Mb/s is way low for 30dB of attenuation, so you would be well advised to attempt a more extensive isolation test that has you connecting the modem to the demarc or as close as you can get to it with the house wiring removed from the circuit (for the test), you should be able to get full ADSL1 speed (around 7.5Mb/s) and on ADSL2+ I estimate around 10-12Mb/s

Cyril

shermanp

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#513442 29-Aug-2011 13:24

Yeah, I know the sync rate would have been the same, but it didn't bother me much, cause I knew we were limited by our upload anyway.

I guess I'm used to the ~7.6Mbit/s I used to sync at when I lived in Palmerston North.

I think that's why I was wondering about the line speed, cause my stats in Palmy weren't hugely different (from memory around 28db for attenuation and ~14-15db SNR)

cyril7

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#513457 29-Aug-2011 13:39

I recommend you do that more complete isolation test before you wonder any further.

Cyril

shermanp

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#513475 29-Aug-2011 14:11

I took a wonder around the outside of the house and didn't see anything that screamed "demarc point" at me, so I looked in the garage where the main circuitbreaker etc is and saw this hiding away on the ceiling: Possible Demarc?

Would that by any chance be the demarc point? Or is it something else?

If it is the demarc point, it will be a right pain to access it.

cyril7

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#513477 29-Aug-2011 14:20

Hi, that is a power junction, dont open it or you might get a shock :)

How does the phone line enter the house, can you see it from the street, is it overhead or underground, if overhead it will be a thin 3-4mm dia black cable.

In newer or recent houses the line if underground will terminate in a small white box, not too dissimilar to the picture you have but it would be on teh side of the house about 300-500mm off the ground, tyically on a wall facing out to the street and close to where the telcom pillar in the street is (small grey mushroom pillar).

In older houses the cable will simply appear at the first socket, the cable will be quite distinct in that it will be a heavy black cable and the internal house wiring will be white or grey and much thinner. Obviuosly the first socket is also the joint between the inbound line and the rest of the house.

Cyril

shermanp

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#513480 29-Aug-2011 14:25

The only box on the outside of the house is the one for the power meters from what I can see.

House was built in about '84.

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cyril7

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#513483 29-Aug-2011 14:34

I would rip open each of the phone sockets then, see if you can find the one the black sheath cable is on.

Cyril

shermanp

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#513485 29-Aug-2011 14:35

Ok, just popped the top off what looks like the master jackpoint, and saw a thick black cable leading into it.

I am going to test my modem at that jack to see what it gives me.

cyril7

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#513487 29-Aug-2011 14:40

Yep, make sure the other house wiring is not connected, just the black cable.

Cyril

shermanp

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#513493 29-Aug-2011 14:49

Directly connecting to the master jack increases the rate to ~5,888kbit/s.

Is it possible to disconnect the house wiring without cutting/breaking anything?

cyril7

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#513501 29-Aug-2011 15:00

Hi, the key to sorting this is to remove the house from the line, so all you have is the line.

Cyril

shermanp

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#513516 29-Aug-2011 15:31

I'm not 100% sure I can disconnect the house from the line and (most importantly) put it all back together again right now, so I might leave it as-is for now.

Part of the problem is that the master jack is at one end of a relatively good sized two story house, and the other (3) jacks are at the opposite end of the house.

So as I said, I'll leave it for now. Our DSL seems to be very stable, and we don't appear have any other problems except for the lower than expected sync rate.

Thank you very much for your help cyril.

cyril7

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#513530 29-Aug-2011 16:01

Next time you are in town get a plastic IDC tool from an electrical wholesaler, a few scotch locs may also be of use. The basic plastic IDC tool is only $3-5 hand full of scotch locs about the same.

Probably pay to get a couple of 2Wire sockets as well, the newer 2wire ones have triple slots for terminating multiple wires on, will make the job easier.

Cyril

shermanp

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#759043 10-Feb-2013 16:30

Sorry to perform necromancy on my own thread...

Just wanted to say two things,

First, for anybody who reads this, we got a DSL splitter installed several months ago, which increased the sync rate dramatically :D We definitely had house wiring issues.

I am still a bit disappointed in our sync rate however. Current modem stats are as follows:

DSL Status:Showtime
DSL Modulation Mode:ADSL2+
Downstream Rate:9077 Kbps
Upstream Rate:1047 Kbps
Downstream Noise Margin:11.8db
Upstream Noise Margin:12.7db
Downstream Line Attenuation:31.5
Upstream Line Attenuation:13.5
Downstream Transmit Power:0.0
Upstream Transmit Power:12.6

We can't seem to hit anything higher than around 8Mbit/s in real-world throughput currently, despite chorus saying we are in a >10Mbps Urban environment according to their map...

I've read that we should theoretically be able to attain 13-15Mbit/s line rate with a 31.5dB attenuation on ADSL2+. Is there anything that can be done to improve our speeds, or is the above reasonable?

Or are we just to sigh and wait for fibre to arrive in 2015?

Thanks,
Sherman

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