Speed Question

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, MyRepublic, 2talk and Vocus) › Speed Question

megagit

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#28666 8-Dec-2008 10:54

So after weeks of hemming, hawing, and comparing plans, I finally switched to Orcon's ADSL2+ service. And I'm completely happy. Over the moon. I'm able to watch streaming media in realtime again! 2002 here I come!!!
I am curious about my line speed though. It's roughly the same as it was on Telecom... between 4500 and 5300 mbps. The actual speed attained is great - I've gotten 500k/sec downloading from international direct download, as well as in the p2p realm. So don't get me wrong. I am happy.
But looking at the other posts in the forum and the theoretical speed calculators (i.e. http://fremnet.net/article/216/adsl-theoretical-speed-calculator) and I'm at about 1/3 of my maximum potential line speed (2.2k from Onehunga exchange, according to calculator above).
1) Are there any router settings that could help me improve this speed?2) I've heard that switching to the HomeHub has led to some significant line speed increases. For $5/mo, would it be a good investment?3) Any other ideas?
The line to the router comes straight from the wall to a splitter, and then straight into the router (e.g. no extension leads).
Router: Dlink DSL-G604T Gen II ADSL2+Line Attenuation: 31 d/s 15 u/s SNR Margin: 7 d/s 10 u/sData Rate: 5177 d/s 883 u/sModulation: ADSL_2Plus
Router settings: VPI: 0VCI: 100Virtual Circuit: EnabledWAN Setting: PPPoE/PPPoAAuth Type: AutoConnection Type: PPPoA VC-MuxMTU: 1400MRU: 1492Default Route: EnabledPPPoE Pass Thru: DisabledNAT: Enabled Thanks for any replies guys... I tried to research old topics before posting...

rscole86

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#182698 8-Dec-2008 11:01

What do you mean by splitter? Is it an ADSL filter? or Double adapter?

w2krules

497 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 20

#182700 8-Dec-2008 11:15

I'm also on the Onehunga exchange with Orcon. My d/s rate is currently 8778 kbps and the attenuation is 36.5 dB, so I'm probably a little further from the exchange that you are. My sync speed went from 5000 to 9000 on their network.

It looks to me like you're syncing at ADSL1 speeds. Would be worth a call to Orcon to check their connection info. Do you have another ADSL2+ modem that you can try? If you've changed to Orcon, they'll probably give you a basic Dynalink modem if you ask nicely.

One quick check that's worth trying is to unplug all of your filters and phones and plug the modem directly into the master socket. If you get a higher sync speed, then plug everything back in one at a time until you find what's slowing things down.

I was a geek before the word was invented!

megagit

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#182731 8-Dec-2008 13:37

rscole86: What do you mean by splitter? Is it an ADSL filter? or Double adapter?

A thousand pardons, rscole86. I meant ADSL filter. Thanks for clearing that up.

w2krules:
Thanks for the local info. That is actually really useful. I plugged the router directly into the wall and the numbers improved only marginally:
SNR Margin: 4 d/s 13 u/sLine Attenuation: 31 d/s 15 u/sData Rate: 5353 d/s 1020 u/s
Taking into account it's a different time of day (early morning for the original #'s, and early afternoon for these), I'm not sure if it's it or not.

I've opened a support ticket with Orcon. I'll keep you posted.
Certainly appreciate the comments.

w2krules

497 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 20

#182785 8-Dec-2008 16:21

Time of day shouldn't affect your sync speed, but can affect actual download speeds. Please let us know what Orcon find.

I was a geek before the word was invented!

megagit

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#183925 13-Dec-2008 20:33

Just to update... Spoke to Orcon's technical support, and they said that due to my relatively high SNR (it is an old house), I was placed in "Profile 3". He suggested that Orcon could move me to "Profile 1" which is faster, but apparently more unstable. Especially for non-Homehub users, which was interesting. I told him to go ahead and switch me and if I was having connection problems, I would just go ahead and rent the Homehub. You're paying for the speed, so you might as well use it, right?
He said that D-Link modems would have connection problems when the SNR got down to 6 or below (u/s), whereas the Homehub could maintain connection integrity all the way down to 2.
I've seen reports on this forum from people claiming they've gained several Mbps by switching to the Homehub, and this might have something do with it (profile assignment).
-It's been 48 hours, and my numbers are the same (I've obviously been restarting the modem prior to testing). The Orcon guy said he would "put me in the queue for the profile change", so maybe it will take a few days. I've also seen my SNR dip below 7, so I might have to get the Homehub after all, which wouldn't be the end of the world, I s'pose.

w2krules

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+1 received by user: 20

#183962 14-Dec-2008 04:58

Hmm. I thought that the SNR was related to the sync speed? If your line is noisy, then the sync rate will be reduced to maintain the SNR so you will get a lower rate than a less noisy line. Our SNR (6 dB) did not change when we moved to Orcon+. And I wouldn't expect it to be higher than this 'cos we're a long way from the exchange and our attenustion is 37 dB.

All other things being equal, it might pay to check the phone cable and wiring in your house. Will be interesting to see what the "profile change" does.

I wouldn't rush to get a Home Hub. If you've got a noisy line, then a change in router shouldn't make much difference. Would defintely be worth trying a different router though.

I was a geek before the word was invented!

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megagit

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#184370 15-Dec-2008 19:01

Just gave Orcon another ring to see if my "profile" had been changed or not. Sync speeds certainly haven't improved. Orcon said that the change had been made, but I might need to turn off the modem for 10 mins or so, which forces the port to restart at the exchange.
I did this, and (at present) I now have 2.64x the sync speed, and just over twice the maximum rubber-to-road speed!!!!

I'm stoked, even though SNR is at 2!

We'll see if noise will be an issue, but after a few hours of fairly rigorous testing it's "so far, so good"!
If there are others out there who have made the switch to Orcon, and found their sync speeds looking very low in relation to their attenuation (see chart below) a call to Orcon's support to request a profile change might be the answer. It certainly has worked (so far) for me.

w2krules

497 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 20

#184402 15-Dec-2008 22:16

"but I might need to turn off the modem for 10 mins or so, which forces the port to restart at the exchange."

Well, that's worth knowing! I'll try this in 2 days' time next time my connection goes down.

Pleased to hear it's working well; a SNR of 2 sounds a bit low but if it works for you, WTF.

I was a geek before the word was invented!