slow internet speeds

[stirling]

i seem to be running very slow last few days, a few weeks ago my download speeds was 7100 kbps  now its dropped to just over 2400 has anyone any ideas?

[Simon]

Hi Stirling,

Can you post your router stats and BT Speedtester results for when the techies come along?  Also, do you happen to know what your 21CN WBC status is?  You can check it out on Sam Knows. 

[stirling]

Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test:  -provides background information.
    Your DSL connection rate: 2944 kbps(DOWN-STREAM),  448 kbps(UP-STREAM)
    IP profile for your line is - 2500 kbps
    Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 2072 kbps  that was bt speed test at 9 30pm

   
System Up Time 31:32:53
Port Status TxPkts RxPkts Collisions Tx B/s Rx B/s Up Time
WAN PPPoA 240230 315477 0 268 2548 31:32:09
LAN 10M/100M 294879 240647 0 2442 334 31:32:49
WLAN 11M/54M 25093 11172 0 180 12 31:32:39


ADSL Link Downstream Upstream
Connection Speed 2944 kbps 448 kbps
Line Attenuation 13 db 3 db
Noise Margin 14 db 9 db

sorry but i havent a clue what is meant by the 21cn wbc is

[stirling]

i forgot to mention i have had this kind of issue previously and recently bt sent an engineer to do a lift and shift at the exchange and this resolved the problem fopr about 3 weeks

[Rik]

WBC is the new broadband service which BT is switching to. Although it's related to 21CN, it's happening at different, generally earlier, times. In the few months before it goes live at an exchange, there will be engineering work going on which might cause the sort of issues you're experiencing.

Clearly, atm, your sync speed means you are getting a 2500 profile and throughput to match. For that line attenuation, that is very low. On top of that, it looks to me as if your target noise margin has been increased to 15db, which trims ~2000k off your sync speed. Even with that, you should be getting twice the speed you are.

You need to talk to support again, there's clearly something physically wrong with the line and, provided you've eliminated everything your side of the master socket, then BT need to sort it out. I'm guessing that your speed is well below your FTR (fault threshold rate), set at the end of the training period, so there should be no wriggle room for BT.

[Sebby]

As Rik says really. If you were getting throughput in excess of 7Mb, you must have had full sync at one point. Now you're only sync'd at 2944k (albeit with a 15dB margin to attempt to improve stability).

It's worth trying another router and filter if you've got, and also the test socket if you have an NTE5 master socket. If there's no change, let IDNet know and they'll arrange for an engineer to visit.

[stirling]

  this was done at a quiet time, 17.20 on a sunday afternoon, cant imagine bt doing anything with the lines at this time so i guess i better be in touch with help first thing tomorrow, how i love my internet when it works.........................

[Rik]

You profile is the limiting factor, Stirling. That takes 3-5 days to increase generally, providing you are not losing sync. Have you checked the router logs for and drops?

[Sebby]

  this was done at a quiet time, 17.20 on a sunday afternoon, cant imagine bt doing anything with the lines at this time so i guess i better be in touch with help first thing tomorrow, how i love my internet when it works.........................

The time of day is irrelevant. The speed is not the issue per se; it's the sync, which is down to your line - obviously this is limiting the profile and thus the speed.

[stirling]

ill be in touch with support first thing and thanks for everyones help

[stirling]

Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test:  -provides background information.
    Your DSL connection rate: 2944 kbps(DOWN-STREAM),  448 kbps(UP-STREAM)
    IP profile for your line is - 2500 kbps
    Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 2320 kbps, carried bt test out at 7 30 am so at least its consistent.

[Rik]

Basically you're getting the right throughput for your current connection speed and profile, Stirling. You need to resolve that sync speed problem.

[Sebby]

What Rik said. Until the sync is sorted, you can't go any faster.

[stirling]

after contacting support i was told the line sync should recover in next two days im afraid its still bad so ill have to get back onto them


  

[Rik]

Have you forced a re-sync?

[stirling]

havent done anythin as support said lookin at line as it stands now it will recover in next few days as long as no further low sync events, its all double dutch to me but i put myself in the expert hands Rik

[Rik]

They seem, in that case, to be talking about your profile. Sync speeds only change when you re-sync, so you would have been told to do that. Profile changes, otoh, happen overnight in most cases, and are automatic.

Do a BT speed test in the morning if you can.

[stirling]

kk rik will do and ill post results as well

[Sebby]

Let us know.

[stirling]

Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test:  -provides background information.
    Your DSL connection rate: 2944 kbps(DOWN-STREAM),  448 kbps(UP-STREAM)
    IP profile for your line is - 2500 kbps
    Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 2276 kbps
as you can see no change really, this was at 5 45 am thursday morning

[Lance]

You are not going to see any improvement until your sync rises higher than the current 2944. It may be worth unplugging the router at the wall, waiting a minute and then plugging it back in (effectively forcing a resync). If you then have a look in the router stats you will hopefully see it has increased.

[stirling]

Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test:  -provides background information.
    Your DSL connection rate: 8128 kbps(DOWN-STREAM),  448 kbps(UP-STREAM)
    IP profile for your line is - 2500 kbps
    Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 2337 kbps




rebooted router an hour ago so will watch it carefully and thanks lance

[Rik]

It's just a waiting game now. The profile can take anything up to 5 days to recover, but if the line is stable, it will.

[stirling]

this is why i love idnet so much, within minutes of posting theres freindly people there to help, now lemme find some more jokes for ya

[Rik]

We're waiting.

[Lance]

Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test:  -provides background information.
    Your DSL connection rate: 8128 kbps(DOWN-STREAM),  448 kbps(UP-STREAM)
    IP profile for your line is - 2500 kbps
    Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 2337 kbps




rebooted router an hour ago so will watch it carefully and thanks lance

That sync looks much better! As Rik says, should just be a case of waiting up to 5 days now. 

[Sebby]

It looks like things have returned to normal. Keep an eye on sync. It'll be a few days before the profile catches up.

[stirling]

Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test:  -provides background information.
    Your DSL connection rate: 8128 kbps(DOWN-STREAM),  448 kbps(UP-STREAM)
    IP profile for your line is - 7150 kbps
    Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 5924 kbps bt test few mins ago




thanks to all ,  you definatly know your onions ,things seem to be returning ro normal .

[Rik]

I'd hope for a bit more from that profile, Stirling, but you're not far off now. 

[Sebby]

Have you tweaked MTU/RWIN?

[stirling]

i havent tweaked anythin. it wasnt me , i didnt do it, maybe it was him next door, .........  sorry sebby i havent done anythin except speed tests, mainly because i wouldnt know where to start

[Rik]

Have a read here:

http://www.idnetters.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=1904.msg31673#msg31673

[Sebby]

i havent tweaked anythin. it wasnt me , i didnt do it, maybe it was him next door, .........  sorry sebby i havent done anythin except speed tests, mainly because i wouldnt know where to start

I meant it in that you should try tweaking if you haven't. Don't worry, you're not in trouble.

[Rik]

Yet... 

[Sebby]

[Simon]

Yes, don't touch anything without our permission, Stirling! 

[stirling]

OH how many times ive heard that simon, usually round about bed time
anyway things are lookin better
Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test:  -provides background information.
    Your DSL connection rate: 8128 kbps(DOWN-STREAM),  448 kbps(UP-STREAM)
    IP profile for your line is - 7150 kbps
    Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 5059 kbps

[Rik]

Well, unless your exchange is badly congested, Stirling, you may benefit by tweaking MTU & RWIN (not applicable if you're using Vista).

[Sebby]

What Rik said. Throughput is looking a little on the low side for the profile, so it's definitely worth tweaking.

[stirling]

still not sure if ive "tweaked " correctly but lookin better so thanx guys

[Rik]

What values are you using for MTU & RWIN?

[Sebby]

still not sure if ive "tweaked " correctly but lookin better so thanx guys

That looks more sensible. Run another test this evening - it may, of course, be exchange congestion.

[stirling]

seems if i want to use internet at 5 am i get best results, as for mtu & rwin im not sure what theyre set at

[Rik]

It points to exchange congestion, but did you try using either of the tools listed here? They will tell you your current settings (the router should be set to an MTU of 1500).

[stirling]

i dont know if im doing it correctly rik but if i ping bbc with 1430 bytes i get a reply of
reply from 212.58.251.195: bytes=1430 time=68ms TTL=121
reply from 212.58.251.195: bytes=1430 time=133ms TTL=121
reply from 212.58.251.195: bytes=1430 time=68ms TTL=121
reply from 212.58.251.195: bytes=1430 time=69ms TTL=121
ping statistics for 212.58.251.195:
packets: SENT=4, RECIEVED =4,LOST=0 <0%> LOSS
APPROXIMATE ROUND TRIP TIMES IN MILI SECONDS:
MINIMUM=68MS, MAXIMUM = 133MS , AVERAGE = 84 MS


Is this what i should be looking for? im afraid all this is way over my head

[stirling]

have now done as suggested and reduced the value by 2 until i got to 1318 and this is the reply
reply from 212.58.251.195: bytes=1318 time=68ms TTL=121
reply from 212.58.251.195: bytes=1318 time=68ms TTL=121
reply from 212.58.251.195: bytes=1318 time=68ms TTL=121
reply from 212.58.251.195: bytes=1318 time=68ms TTL=121
ping statistics for 212.58.251.195:
packets: SENT=4, RECIEVED =4,LOST=0 <0%> LOSS
APPROXIMATE ROUND TRIP TIMES IN MILI SECONDS:
MINIMUM=68MS, MAXIMUM = 68MS , AVERAGE = 68 MS

is this the setting i should adjust my mtu to?

[Sebby]

Try this - it should be clearer.

[stirling]

heads hurtin now so im gona lie down and try get my head round it all,, lol  thanx every body

[Sebby]

It's a pleasure.

[stirling]

startin to get annoyed now, lol  seems like the more i try and do the worse its getting, maybe i should just leave things alone

[Simon]

We have just had a small PPP outage, Stirling, but I wouldn't have thought it would have caused a resync.  Got any storms round your way?

[stirling]

No storms forecast in north east tonight, not sure whats been going on but this is an ongoing issue Simon

[stirling]

ive just restarted router.... again, and it still seems to be up and down , this is starting to annoy me surely i wont have to wait up to 5 days again for the synch to catch up again?  the last 5 days have just passed, i got up to nearly 7mb but now it seems to be dropping like a stone again

[Steve]

Has the sync dropped as well? or are you suffering from local BT exchange congestion

[Sebby]

That's what I was wondering, Steve. Could you post the router stats, or if not, do a BT speed test?

[stirling]

when i do tests in the am  the download speeds fine but later in day its always worse, as i said before not really a lot of good unless i want to get up at 5 am everyday to use net

Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test:  -provides background information.
    Your DSL connection rate: 8128 kbps(DOWN-STREAM),  448 kbps(UP-STREAM)
    IP profile for your line is - 7000 kbps
    Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 6550 kbps

[Sebby]

It sounds very much like exchange congestion to me (although your profile isn't right - it should be 7150 kbps - so there is potentially some instability on your line).

What's the VP status for your exchange?

[stirling]

 Virtual paths: Green

There are currently no known capacity problems on your exchange. There may still be an exchange problem, however BT are not currently reporting that they are aware of it. Please contact Support if you are having speed problems, who can advise further.

Record last updated: 28 Jul 08

Historical information for this exchange:

Status Date
21 Jul 08   
14 Jul 08   
07 Jul 08   
01 Jul 08   
23 Jun 08
may be having speed problems?  lol  if bt are aware why dont they sort it?

[Rik]

They do... eventually.

[Inactive]

  if bt are aware why dont they sort it?

££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££'s     

[stirling]

o yea inactive, how silly of me to forget the ££££££££s, maybe if i go back to bt for my calls they would feel more inclined to help me.................  but then again maybe not.

[Rik]

Your upstream speed is very low, Stirling, I'm wondering if there's a clue in that.

[stirling]

the upstream has stayed low all the time rik if ya check back from my postings  but the download is up and down like a fiddlers elbow, seems fine atm but i just know its gonna drop in next few hours

[Rik]

I've noticed the low u/s figure throughout, but I'm beginning to wonder if it's part of the story. Can you post your router stats?

[stirling]

System Up Time 20:06:17
Port Status TxPkts RxPkts Collisions Tx B/s Rx B/s Up Time
WAN PPPoA 162254 225060 0 824 2243 20:05:40
LAN 10M/100M 201879 153787 0 2068 862 20:06:13
WLAN 11M/54M 25555 18124 0 245 27 20:06:03


ADSL Link Downstream Upstream
Connection Speed 8128 kbps 448 kbps
Line Attenuation 12 db 2.5 db
Noise Margin 12 db 28 db

[Rik]

Those speeds just don't make sense for those stats. You've got bags of headroom, very low attenuation. You should be going flat out. If it's not exchange congestion, I'm stumped. I'd suggest letting support have the figures and see if they have any other ideas.

[stirling]

will do rik, ill call them in the morning,i just dont understand why the speed varies so much from 5 am to 10 pm, the last issue was solved by an engineer doing a lift and shift at the exchange but i only know that because support told me they were, even getting 3mb download speed is a damn sight faster than i ever got with my previous isp but i feel if im paying for more then i should be getting it

[Rik]

The timings are classic for exchange congestion, sadly.

[Steve]

No BBCi player uploading? or Zyxel P660HW bandwidth restriction?

[stirling]

only thing im runnin lately is msn and idnet forum, not downloading anything steve

[Sebby]

I agree with Rik - it doesn't make sense. You've got a really good line, and should be seeing full speeds.

[Steve]

Thats why I wondered whether spyware or some live programs like chat/instant messengers, torrent clients, etc are unknowingly using part of your upload bandwidth.