VDSL Modems - can someone help explain this ... in layman's terms.

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › VDSL Modems - can someone help explain this ... in layman's terms.

hoghoghog

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#129594 20-Sep-2013 20:44

Hello,

So, my house was eligible to upgrade to VDSL2 from ADSL2+.

Our house has 2 laptops and 1 desktop; and 3 mobile devices connected but not always used.

Before changing to VDSL we had Netgear D6300 modem/router. We bought it because we were convinced by the 802.11ac technology providing 300+1300mbps of 'internet' for 2-3 machines at the same time.

Now, with VDSL, TG589vn V2 modem is 802.11n technology... things seem much slower with just two computers...

Did I make a mistake in changing to VDSL?

Can I use the D6300 to somehow ... boost the internet speed with TG589vn V2?

Or is my theory wrong?

Thanks

- Your ISP and plan --- Telecom --- Plan: the expensive one... 119 dollars a month?
- Your general location (or street) - Mt. Roskill
- If you are rural or urban - suburban :D
- If you know your connection is to an exchange, cabinet or conklin --- little white box on the wall, exchange?

1 | 2

6019 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#899210 20-Sep-2013 20:44

Hello... Our robot found some keywords in your post, so here is an automated reply with some important things to note regarding broadband speeds.

If you are posting regarding DSL speeds please check that

- you have reset your modem and router

- your PC (or other PCs in your LAN) is not downloading large files when you are testing

- you are not being throttled by your ISP due to going over the monthly cap

- your tests are always done on an ethernet connection to the router - do not use wireless for testing

- you read this topic and follow the instructions there.

Make sure you provide information for other users to help you. If you have not already done it, please EDIT your post and add this now:

- Your ISP and plan

- Type of connection (ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL)

- Your modem DSL stats (do not worry about posting Speedtest, we need sync rate, attenuation and noise margin)

- Your general location (or street)

- If you are rural or urban

- If you know your connection is to an exchange, cabinet or conklin

- If your connection is to a ULL or wholesale service

- If you have done an isolation test as per the link above

Most of the problems with speed are likely to be related to internal wiring issues. Read this discussion to find out more about this. Your ISP is not intentionally slowing you down today (unless you are on a managed plan). Also if this is the school holidays it's likely you will notice slower than usual speed due to more users online.

A master splitter is required for VDSL2 and in most cases will improve speeds on DSL connections. Regular disconnections can be a monitored alarm or a set top box trying to connect. If there's an alarm connected to your line even if you don't have an alarm contract it may still try to connect so it's worth checking.

I recommend you read these two blog posts:

- Is your premises phone wiring impacting your broadband performance? (very technical)

- Are you receiving a substandard ULL ADSL2+ connection from your ISP?

I am the Geekzone Robot and I am here to help. I am from the Internet. I do not interact. Do not expect other replies from me.

hio77

12999 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lizard Networks

#899234 20-Sep-2013 20:52

your wireless speeds and internet speeds are completely different. you are confusing the two.

given that you have a ac router, it would work out more of an advantage (assuming you have ac cards for the computers using it ofcourse) to disable the wireless interface on the telecom router, and setup the ac router to work as an access point.

moving to vdsl from adsl isnt a mistake at all, it will indeed be faster.

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

hoghoghog

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#899237 20-Sep-2013 21:02

Thanks for the response hio77

Reflecting on what you've said, now I'm wondering if my computers have ac cards or not.

With the ac modem, things did run a lot faster, but at the moment, both computers are lagging on YouTube and Gmail!

And I guess the question now is, how can I "setup the ac router to work as an access point"...

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#899251 20-Sep-2013 21:42

hoghoghog:
And I guess the question now is, how can I "setup the ac router to work as an access point"...

Probably one of the most asked questions on Geekzone. Pretty much disable DHCP and plug a cable from your existing router into a LAN port.

You could also buy a VDSL2 modem and leave it in bridge mode using your ac device as the router.

hoghoghog

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#899265 20-Sep-2013 22:07

Thanks you guys,

I'll 'think on it' in the weekend, and train my laymanbrain to figure out what 'disable DHCP' actually involves.

I'll post updates ... and maybe it will help others haha.

hoghoghog

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#899339 21-Sep-2013 09:26

Update:

I called Telecom this morning and I told them of the situation - 6 devices + their modem + VDSL = slow connection.

They did a test and said that I should be getting 23mbps download and 9.75mbps upload.

I told them the problem is, I'm only running two computers + 1 device at the moment. So maybe that will askew the test results.

He said I shouldn't worry and this is just a normal process of calibrating our internet for our home.

He said, before disabling the DHCP or calling a technician, we should wait 10 days for the calibration process to complete.

If our home network still suffers from crippling lags, then we should call them again - before - disabling the DHCP or calling a technician.

I'm slightly disappointed, but I'll do what they suggest, and I'll still consider combining the d6300 modem-router.

hio77

12999 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lizard Networks

#899348 21-Sep-2013 09:51

i get the feeling mixed understandings were involved in your talk with them..

sounds like the CSR you spoke to, did not understand what your trying to achieve, and assumed you were talking about turning DHCP off on the vdsl modem...

number of devices on the network has NO direct correlation to internet speed.. yes, if all thoses devices are actively using it on all thoses devices.

now where it can matter is if all your testing is done over wireless...

you have already indicated that you may not actually have ac gear in the computers, so the ac router would actually even less of a difference than you think..

if you want help with your speed problem, we can work through that.. telecom CSRs job is to deal with your connection itself, not what devices you use after that for the most part... and so their help with that will be rather limited to say the least.

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

hoghoghog

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#899360 21-Sep-2013 10:41

haha, yes I got the feeling there were some confusion over the intent, but I did talk to them for about 30 minutes going over everything in a step by step manner (because I don't genuinely understand it).

... and while 'theoretically' (and I use the word here lightly) even I understand that I should be getting faster internet, what I've experienced with all the devices running at the same time is significantly different.

Now, I'm pretty sure (99%) that my laptop does not have an ac card - however, it could run an online game, HD quality youtube on my tablet, other online applications on my smartphone; and a second laptop watching HD youtube video; a third desktop doing the same (using d-link dwa-125); and a smartphone on skype chat ... with the ac modem.

That's how it was every evening until we switched to VDSL. I've told the family the real test is when we are all using our devices at the same time - and shockingly, when the desktop was on YouTube, I couldn't even check my email - and all our mobile devices switched to lower resolution quality because the internet speed was deemed too slow.

I'm pretty sure the home network we've naturally developed (since it's not planned at all lol) will need to be renovated.

So, I'm tempted to wait out the 10 days, because I know that Telecom hasn't done anything wrong (from what my layman brain can tell, they've successfully 'given' me 'the internet').

This is how I see things working:

RunningMan

8961 posts

Uber Geek

#899368 21-Sep-2013 11:11

Getting back to the very basics - can you describe in more detail what you mean by the internet being slow?

Is there some particular task that you use to test speed?

To try an isolate between a problem with your connection to the outside world (i.e. VDSL), and a problem with your internal network (wireless), can you plug one of your computers directly in to your modem with a network cable?

coffeebaron

6235 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#899385 21-Sep-2013 11:52

Most likely issue is WiFi interference. Disable WiFi on laptop and plug in directly to modem.

Rural IT and Broadband support.

Broadband troubleshooting and master filter installs.
Starlink installer - one month free: https://www.starlink.com/?referral=RC-32845-88860-71
Wi-Fi and networking
Cel-Fi supply and installer - boost your mobile phone coverage legally

Need help in Auckland, Waikato or BoP? Click my email button, or email me direct: [my user name] at geekzonemail dot com

hoghoghog

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#899393 21-Sep-2013 12:15

RunningMan: Getting back to the very basics - can you describe in more detail what you mean by the internet being slow?

Is there some particular task that you use to test speed?

To try an isolate between a problem with your connection to the outside world (i.e. VDSL), and a problem with your internal network (wireless), can you plug one of your computers directly in to your modem with a network cable?

I'll tell you about the two tasks that involve 'high' usage in my household.

1. when more than three devices are streaming HD videos - with d6300 it was fine, no lag at all; with TG589 every device lags (choppy video) and mobile devices will switch to low resolution quality.

2. I game, and my ping spikes become erratic. With d6300 my ping never had spikes, even if the other computers were streaming HD shows.

With TG589 my ping spikes are regular - although I have noticed that the severity is in favour of VDSL -
- d6300 ping spike is irregular but goes up to 500+;
- with TG589 ping spike is regular but goes only up to 250.

I want to connect the modem to my laptop because I know with cable I will have stable internet connection ... but the way our house is designed (from the 1960s) means that the only access point is at the front door! So we keep the modem wireless to reach every device. Also, the reason we bought the d6300 and the d-link dwa-125 for the desktop ... was because my asusg74sx would hog all the internet, and my dad's desktop with the d-link dwa-125, lagged...

coffeebaron

6235 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#899397 21-Sep-2013 12:31

Under house access? Move xDSL jack-point. Add a few CAT6 runs?

Rural IT and Broadband support.

Need help in Auckland, Waikato or BoP? Click my email button, or email me direct: [my user name] at geekzonemail dot com

RunningMan

8961 posts

Uber Geek

#899398 21-Sep-2013 12:35

There are probably a couple of things happening here.

1) You are getting some sort of wireless interference, either because you are using a different WiFi channel, or running in to bandwidth issues. The best way of ruling this out is to temporarily connect one of your computers using a wired network cable. You will soon see if this improves things for this device. You could also try changing the channel that the WiFi network is running on.

2) In very basic terms, VDSL connections take a couple of weeks to settle down to a stable speed. During this time, the connection quality will fluctuate a bit, as it tries different settings. Let it do it's thing for this time. This would be more likely to impact on gaming and other real time things, rather than video streaming from youtube or similar. I would expect that your VDSL connection would be at least as fast as your old ADSL connection, so if you should be able to do at least the same amount of youtube at the same time as you used to (once your Wifi problems are sorted).

RunningMan

8961 posts

Uber Geek

#899401 21-Sep-2013 12:41

Just a thought - I don't think the TG589vn does simultaneous dual band (someone please correct me if I'm mistaken), but the D6300 does.

The WiFi issue may be that different devices were on different bands previously, splitting the load on the network.

matisyahu

1624 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#899422 21-Sep-2013 14:36

For me I have the standard VDSL2+ modem Telecom hands out along with an Apple Airport Extreme Base Station; I've disabled the wireless functionality and put it into bridge mode then set up my Airport Extreme Base Station to do the PPPoE authentication. So far with that switch over everything has been very stable and reliable but changing the configuration from the default isn't for the faint hearted.

"When the people are being beaten with a stick, they are not much happier if it is called 'the People's Stick'"

1 | 2