Recommended router for Orcon ?

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xpd

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#30753 20-Feb-2009 09:19

Is there any paticular brand/model router that Orcon "recommends" ? I dont mean for support, but for actual performance etc.

My 3Com may have bit the bullet (still testing - No ADSL layer at all and Orcon cant see any faults, just my router not there picking up the signal) so im on the look out for a replacement unit.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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#196860 20-Feb-2009 09:28

We recommend hireing a Siemens Homehub from Orcon. Being Siemens DSLAMS in the exchange, they work very well together. We can also use TR-69 to manage your homehub from remote to update software and support from remote in the event you have issues.

Failing that, anything with an Infineon chipset work very well too.

xpd

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#196971 20-Feb-2009 17:22

Thanks for that :)

My connection appears to have come back so Im suspecting exchange/cabinet issue....

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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w2krules

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#197075 21-Feb-2009 04:01

xpd: Thanks for that :)

My connection appears to have come back so Im suspecting exchange/cabinet issue....

You're not the only Orcon customer to have had this type of problem. Typically, there are no connection errors but you just can't see the Internet. There's been a couple of threads on this recently.

A new router won't fix the problem.

I was a geek before the word was invented!

Radiotron

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#198654 1-Mar-2009 21:15

Yes, have had ongoing issues with Orcon LLU, have tried 3 different routers with varying degrees of success, here is a table of results:

	Linksys WAG200G	US Robotics USR9106	Dynalink RTA1320
Firmware	v1.01.06	v2.5	v3.30j
Profile	ADSL2+	G.DMT	ADSL2+
Down speed	3484kbps	2863kbps	2471kbps
Up speed	1020kbps	1010kbps	1020kbps
Line attenuation down	38dB	39.5dB	44dB
Line attenuation up	11.5dB	22.6dB	23.2dB
SNR margin down	9dB	11.9dB	12.8dB
SNR margin up	12dB	15.6dB	14.3dB
Downstream transmit pwr	12dB	12.5dBm	0dBm
Upstream transmit pwr	19dB	0.0dBm	12.8dBm
Failure mode	drops PPP when connection stressed	drops ADSL when connection stressed	drops PPP when connection stressed (less often)

BazNZ

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#198685 2-Mar-2009 06:45

Change ISP's...thats the only fix. Orcon suck!

Radiotron

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#198827 2-Mar-2009 21:48

Thankyou BazNZ for your insightful commentary.
However, in fairness to Orcon, they have made some reasonable effort to resolve the issues I have been having, I'll persist with that for a bit longer, as I regard other options as somewhat vile.
Telecom: NO. Suffered their abuse of monopoly for too long, and this includes any connections via 3rd parties using Telecom wholesale provisioning.
Vodafone/Ihug: NO. The Vodafone/Telecom duopoly has been ripping off the New Zealand mobile callers for years (I have an original and still live Bellsouth 021 number), they are NOT getting any more $$ from me.
I guess that leaves Orcon.
There are issues for them to resolve regarding compatability of their ADSL hardware with anyone else's, but they have at least attempted to be helpful, if a little misguided now and then, I regard my network (and landline) issues as a work in progress.
Simply leaving them in a huff does not fix anything.
Does anyone else out there have some thoughts to share, intelligent contributions to this thread would be welcome!

Ilmarin

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#198845 2-Mar-2009 22:55

Leaving them in a huff doesn't fix anything for them or other Orcon customers with similar problems, but it may well fix everything for you. I too have stayed with Orcon because I wanted to see them play the David to the Goliaths of Telecom, Telstra and Vodafone, but frankly, if you're going to get better service for the same price from another provider, then you don't owe Orcon a damn thing.

Are your problems unique to Orcon LLU? i.e. did you have a previous provider (including Orcon bitstream) at the same address? If you can get closer to 5.5 - 6 Mbps on Telecom equipment, then Orcon simply don't deserve your patronage. If you get the same results on Telecom equipment, then you probably have an issue with line noise. Sub-par performance can be caused by a bad port config at the DSLAM end... I once had such a problem with Ihug and had similar stats to yours (normal was around 5400 kbps on G.DMT), and it wasn't until I switched to Orcon (and presumably had my port rebuilt in the process... though still on Telecom equipment) that it was fixed.

Have you tried G.DMT on your Linksys and Dynalink modems? I wouldn't imagine you'd get much out of ADSL2+ anyway... before I was cabinetised I had around 41 dB downstream attenuation and didn't notice any significant difference in sync rates between ADSL2+ and G.DMT. I have had stability issues with ADSL2+ on occasion.

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#198846 2-Mar-2009 22:56

Radiotron: Yes, have had ongoing issues with Orcon LLU, have tried 3 different routers with varying degrees of success, here is a table of results:

Linksys WAG200G US Robotics USR9106 Dynalink RTA1320

Firmware v1.01.06 v2.5 v3.30j

Profile ADSL2+ G.DMT ADSL2+

Down speed 3484kbps 2863kbps 2471kbps

Up speed 1020kbps 1010kbps 1020kbps

Line attenuation down 38dB 39.5dB 44dB

Line attenuation up 11.5dB 22.6dB 23.2dB

SNR margin down 9dB 11.9dB 12.8dB

SNR margin up 12dB 15.6dB 14.3dB

Downstream transmit pwr 12dB 12.5dBm 0dBm

Upstream transmit pwr 19dB 0.0dBm 12.8dBm

Failure mode drops PPP when connection stressed drops ADSL when connection stressed drops PPP when connection stressed (less often)

Hi

Can you PM me your Orcon ticket number and/or login name. I will see what I can dig up.

w2krules

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#198876 3-Mar-2009 03:12

Radiotron: Yes, have had ongoing issues with Orcon LLU, have tried 3 different routers with varying degrees of success, here is a table of results:

Linksys WAG200G US Robotics USR9106 Dynalink RTA1320

Firmware v1.01.06 v2.5 v3.30j

Profile ADSL2+ G.DMT ADSL2+

Down speed 3484kbps 2863kbps 2471kbps

Up speed 1020kbps 1010kbps 1020kbps

Line attenuation down 38dB 39.5dB 44dB

Line attenuation up 11.5dB 22.6dB 23.2dB

SNR margin down 9dB 11.9dB 12.8dB

SNR margin up 12dB 15.6dB 14.3dB

Downstream transmit pwr 12dB 12.5dBm 0dBm

Upstream transmit pwr 19dB 0.0dBm 12.8dBm

Failure mode drops PPP when connection stressed drops ADSL when connection stressed drops PPP when connection stressed (less often)

I have similar line attenustion to you and a 8900 kb/s downstream speed. So there is defintely a problem somewhere. Hopefully Sounddude can sort this out for you.

As with any ISP, you need to get to Orcon's techs to get issues like this resolved. And Sounddude does a great job for Geekzone members!

And my experience of Orcon's customer support has generally been very positive. The only outstanding problem for me is their lack of international bandwidth during peak times. It's getting so bad that I will change ISP once I can find the time to do it.

I was a geek before the word was invented!

Athlonite

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#198878 3-Mar-2009 04:28

a siemens speedstream 4200 or a vodafone Huawei smartAX mt882

i was like you with the dynalink rta1320 except mine died from over heating issues twice it killed them

Radiotron

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#199269 4-Mar-2009 19:13

Hi, thanks llmarin and Sounddude for your replies, interesting.
Llmarin, yes, I have had ADSL service at same location previously, via telecom wholesale prior to rollout of orcon LLU in my area (Te Atatu). At that time I had only the USR9106, was slow, around 1.8mbps, but never any problems.
When connectd to LLU had to have work done on the line as could not connect at all, that was when I bought the Linksys WAG200G. All was fine for about 3 months then problems with PPP connection dropping appeared.
Orcon sent the Dynalink for me to try, it is much slower, but drops PPP way less often.
I have tried G.dmt etc with the WAG200G, but no change, still dropping PPP when connection maxed out - e.g downloding a Linux iso.
Sounddude, thanks for your offer, yes, I will pm you with some info, any progess would be all good.
It does seem that speed is a bit low for 38dB attenuation, though I am some distance from exchange, so have not had great expectations so long as connection is robust and reliable.
The phone wiring is fine, only two outlets, one has a regular phone on it, and the other (right through wall from cable termination from street) has router connected (yes, correctly filtered, have even tried a few different filters in early days of problems).
Just today someone has loaned me a rather horrible looking little D-Link USB modem, I will see how it compares with the others...
Cheers

dan

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#199283 4-Mar-2009 21:16

goodluck with that WAG200 on Orcon LLU mate, once you get this problem with the WAG200 on there system it seems its all over,

i have tried several times to get them to solve it for myself and some of my customers but there was no result, it was just easier to change routers.

FYI same as you, works fine initally on Orcon LLU, then something changes, and the router will no longer hold the PPP when the connection approaches its max download speed.

those WAG200s i had to resell are still working perfectly on Telecom DSL connections to this day.

w2krules

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#199317 5-Mar-2009 00:15

Radiotron:
Just today someone has loaned me a rather horrible looking little D-Link USB modem, I will see how it compares with the others...
Cheers

If it's the same one that I tried a few years ago, I wouldn't waste your time! Could barely manage to keep going for 24 hours.

I was a geek before the word was invented!

Radiotron

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#199477 5-Mar-2009 20:48

Quite right, hideous little D-Link would not even set up, driver problems (no go at all with Windows 7 beta, was not going to mongrel my other box running win2k, it has been sweet for years). Sounddude and rest of posters here have been very helpful, will see where it goes from here... Interesting comment from "dan", I hope the WAG200 will still work, otherwise I'll have to unload some more toys on Trademe, the recession dictates that I sell old toys before buying new ones (another router)!

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#199482 5-Mar-2009 20:59

slightly OT, would it be worth noting on the nzconnections wiki with the LLU ISP's what best chipset works best with that ISP?

e.g Telecom Wholesale = Broadcom & Alcatel Lucent
Orcon = Siemens & Infineon
Vodafone = Huawei

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