Who's your cable techie?

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

Had a couple of Comcast techies swing through to try and solve an ongoing problem. The first guy immediately went to the keyboard and hit this slick little online site to check the download and upload speed. It's kinda neat....hadn't seen it before. He couldn't quite diagnose the problem so 5 days later they dispatched a second guy. First thing I did (Sun.) was to show the 2nd guy the test site that his colleague had accessed earlier. Not only was he unaware of it but when I asked him to explain the difference between 'download' and 'upload' speeds, he said he really wasn't familiar with upload. Am I nuts, or is that totally whacked out? I admit that I'm a dunce when it comes to half of this stuff....but a cable technician? Would that be like a gas station attendant not knowing what hi-octane gas is?

[Jim Alfredson]

The second guy sounds like a maroon. Upload speeds are always much slower than download speeds. I'm not sure why that is, but that's how it goes.

What problem are you having?

[Jim Alfredson]

Ha! I was going to say that upload speeds are usually 1/10th of the download speeds, but I wasn't sure. After going to that site, it confirmed that I was right.

My download speed: 3696kbps

My upload speed: 359kbps

Not too shabby for a wireless connection! I bet it would be even faster if I tested it on a computer that was physically connected to the router.

[JSngry]

Ha! I was going to say that upload speeds are usually 1/10th of the download speeds, but I wasn't sure. After going to that site, it confirmed that I was right.

My download speed: 3696kbps

My upload speed: 359kbps

My download is 7209 kbps, but my upload is only 355 kbps.

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

Just checked mine 10 minutes ago (connected to router) and it registered 4445 and 676 which is pretty good.

I've been having this problem where the signal would suddenly drop and I'd have 15-60 minute blocks without service. I've actually been calling these folks off & on for months about this and they did everything but check the line. One guy actually put 2 attenuators on the modem to dampen the signal because he said it was too strong. Two months later, the next guy walks in and says 'why did he put those on there?' and proceeds to remove them. On Sunday, 'Mr. Upload' hooked the cable to a meter and said that there was something wrong with the actual cable about 12 feet out...some possible damage affecting the signal. He replaced about 20 feet and then re-tested. Same meter reading. He then replaced an additional 25 feet or so and re-tested. Meter now reports a problem some 1,800 feet away. He said that he must have forgotten to re-charge the meter. I started to laugh.

So far, it seems to be running alot better but even when I checked it 2 minutes ago, the download speed was registering 6271. Something's going on with the signal.

[catesta]

Had a couple of Comcast techies swing through to try and solve an ongoing problem. The first guy immediately went to the keyboard and hit this slick little online site to check the download and upload speed. It's kinda neat....hadn't seen it before. He couldn't quite diagnose the problem so 5 days later they dispatched a second guy. First thing I did (Sun.) was to show the 2nd guy the test site that his colleague had accessed earlier. Not only was he unaware of it but when I asked him to explain the difference between 'download' and 'upload' speeds, he said he really wasn't familiar with upload. Am I nuts, or is that totally whacked out? I admit that I'm a dunce when it comes to half of this stuff....but a cable technician? Would that be like a gas station attendant not knowing what hi-octane gas is?

I'm not surprised the guy had no clue about what he was doing.

I think Time Warner in NYC just grabs people off the street and throws them in a truck.

[Christiern]

Weizen: "Would that be like a gas station attendant not knowing what hi-octane gas is?"

Or a presi............. never mind!

[Jim Alfredson]

I just tested it on a computer directly connected to the router and my upload speed was the same (359kbps) but the download speed was greater (5406kbps). Interesting...and still not too shabby considering the ancient neighborhood I live in.

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

Weizen: "Would that be like a gas station attendant not knowing what hi-octane gas is?"

Or a presi............. never mind!

......ya know, I thought of him when the first meter reading registered a WMD somewhere around

2-feet out from the modem!

Now stop egging me on or Johnny will try to get this thread tossed into political!!

[Ron S]

I actually have Speakeasy for my DSL service, and have been using that test site for years (I have it bookmarked). The key is to pick the server closest to you to get the most accurate reading of your speeds. Here is another site I occasionally use just to double-check the reading I get from the Speakeasy site (I believe the server for that test is in San Antonio, TX). Your upload speed is the speed at which data travels from your computer TO the internet, as opposed to download speed which is the speed at which data travels FROM the internet to your computer. Upload is generally capped by your ISP at a range much lower than your download speed to preserve bandwith (for example, the stated speeds of my DSL service are 1500 kilobits--or 1.5 megabits--per-second download and 384 kilobits-per-second upload). Generally, you don't need as much speed for upload since the typical internet user sends out only a fraction of the data volume (emails, requests for internet pages, etc.) that he or she downloads (web pages, multimedia files, etc.). So, unless you're operating your computer as a web server, you really don't need as much speed for upload as you do for download.

[JSngry]

I've been having this problem where the signal would suddenly drop and I'd have 15-60 minute blocks without service... Something's going on with the signal.

Two questions:

Do you have Comcast Cable Internet?

Have they told you about power-cycling the modem?

I have Comcast Cable Internet, and there are days when my signal goes out a few times per day. Mostly it's a good solid noinstop signal, but there are "those days"...

How I've had it explained to me is that Cable & DSL give you a dynamic IP. Sometimes, for reasons not explained, your IP will change and your modem will fail to "grab on to" the new one. What you then have to do is unplug your modem (and router, if you have one), wait 30-60 seconds, and then plug it back in. The modem then reconnects to the signal and "grabs" the new IP, and all is well.

I've heard conflicting reports about whether or not you should also power off your computer when power-cycling, but since it seems to always work when you do (and only sometimes when you don't), I'd say it can't hurt. The sequence is: A) Power off the computer B) Unplug the modem C) Unplug the router D) Wait 30-60 seconds D) Plug in the router E) Plug in the modem F) Wait until the modem is fully connected and operating (check the signal lights) G) Reboot the computer

Usually not as big a pain in the butt as it sounds, I assure you,

But, if your signal's returning on its own after going out for a while, there may be something altogethe different going on. I don't know. This is just posted as a PSA on the behalf of The Dept. Of FWIW.

[7/4]

That's a pretty cool utility. Here's what I get:

Download Speed: 3241 kbps (405.1 KB/sec transfer rate)

Upload Speed: 352 kbps (44 KB/sec transfer rate)

Comcast are a bunch of knucleheads.

[rostasi]

I use Speakeasy too, but I've been accessing it the past few years

thru this site.

I agree with David about Comcast. I reluctantly went with SBC

(now AT&T again) after they cut my phone off accidently one full weekend -

and they weren't even my phone company at that time!

But after a few months of research, I went with them afterall because

of their price and service. Of course, I've heard horror stories from others,

so I could just be one of the lucky ones.

Wish I had more upload (449) for the rodcasts tho...

[Claude]

Upload speeds are always much slower than download speeds. I'm not sure why that is, but that's how it goes.

It's because the cable or DSL operators configure the speed limits that way. For most internet uses, download speed is much more important than upload speed, and there are also technical reasons to make uploads slower than downloads

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADSL

[Shawn]

That's a cool little utility! I use Comcast as well. My download rated at 5421kbps, my upload was 701kbps.

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

Shawn, You're probably living in N. Arlington and getting the primo service........they treat us like bad pennies down here in S. Arlington!

Jim S, Yes, they've schooled me in that procedure.....but powering off the computer was never part of the equation. Hmmm. On occasion, the unplug modem & then router routine seems to work. The thing is though, the router is a fairly recent addition and I've been logging calls to these folks well in advance of the time frame mentioned in my previous post. I'd just go with the flow for awhile and live with it....then get re-animated all over again when something really really bad happened -- like losing service just as I tried to cast a last minute bid on a Getz Japanese mini-lp last week! probot57!!!! You dodged a bullet on that one!!! You're a lucky man!!

See, God hates snipers!

Edited February 21, 2006 by Son-of-a-Weizen

[Claude]

A friend recently asked me to help him fixing his internet connection, as his modem often could not connect.

I found out that he switched the modem off after the internet session and asked him why, as they are meant to be left on all the time (mine has been on for the past 4 years). He told me the guy who installed it said the modem must not be left on because it would overheat

[JSngry]

Jim S, Yes, they've schooled me in that procedure.....but powering off the computer was never part of the equation. Hmmm.

Not sure, but I think it has somethng to do with how your start-up files configure your network card setup at system startup. Rebooting after power-cycling gives everything, all the various configurations, a chance to "start clean". Or something like that. I grasp the principal much better than I do the specifics. I think...

I went through a few days last week wher I was having to power-cycle 2. 3, sometimes 4 times a day. Not cool. But then it stopped. It goes in spells, it seems...

Check this out, though - a few months ago, I had a 48 period where the shit was flakier than Grandma'a best biscuits, and I called up to express my, uh, "dissatisfaction". The CS rep was totally cool and gave me a two day cresit on my upcoming bill. Of course, I stressed that I "do business" over the net and that the outages were costing me irreplaceable time and effort. Kinda stretching the truth, but then again, kinda not. Anyway, Comcast seems to not be afraid to make it right somehow if you got a legit-enough sounding beef.

The only thing more you can ask is flawless service 24/7, and I really don't think that the technology is sophisticated enough at the consumer level yet to get that from anybody at this juncture. So a break on the bill is all right by me for now.

[.:.impossible]

Sangrey did a pretty good job of explaining everything regarding the dynamic IP address.

Basic residential service is going to get you a variable upload/download speed that you can usually count on to be around 384k/1.5M. Y'all's speed tests seem low. Most carriers are now offering premium services for gamers who do actually use there upload bandwidth. Aside from Jim Alfredson and a few other posters here, most of us are rarely using 10% of our upload bandwidth. As soon as I hit 'Add Reply' I am uploading this tiny text file to the server that hosts org.org. Immediately my modem begins downloading the most current version of the thread I posted in.

Businesses pay A LOT more for their static IP addresses, their guaranteed symmetrical bandwidth, etc. They are using their bandwidth to transfer larger amounts of data back and forth between locations. In these cases, upload is as important as download.

Think about a four lane road in town that shuts down one of the inbound lanes during evening rush hour and reallocates it for outbound commuters. Your ISP is basically deciding for you that you don't need that extra outbound lane. They are reallocating that bandwidth for other users on the network.

[JSngry]

Sangrey did a pretty good job of explaining everything regarding the dynamic IP address.

Wow, maybe I can get a tech-support gig!

Seriously - can you explain how the IP addresses get out of sync and the power-cycling thing becomes necessary? I don't understand how this can happen when my modem, router, & computer are on. Seems like if they're on, then everything should continuously be in sync. But no, eh?

[rostasi]

Yessir..me too! I don't understand this.

Are you saying Mr. Ricky that you have to turn your computer off and on

to keep connected?

That's a funny story 'bout the guy who turns his modem off because it may overheat

Instructions:

"To maximize connection speed, leave this modem on for at least 10 days

after DSL installation is complete."

I began imagining that it was making this imaginary groooove in conceptual space

Rod

---

Now playing: Virgil Gonsalves Sextet - Yesterdays

[Chuck Nessa]

Basic residential service is going to get you a variable upload/download speed that you can usually count on to be around 384k/1.5M. Y'all's speed tests seem low.

I agree. Remember the site is trying to sell you something. Is your correct speed to THEIR advantage to close the deal?

BTW, I've encountered the same problems Jim mentions but unplugging the modem and recycling it does the trick. On a couple of bad days I've reinstalled the router software but rarely reboot the machine.

[Ron S]

Basic residential service is going to get you a variable upload/download speed that you can usually count on to be around 384k/1.5M. Y'all's speed tests seem low.

That's sorta true for DSL, although DSL providers are now offering faster downloads for more money (e.g., Verizon offers a 3M download and my own ISP, Speakeasy, offers a 6M download).

That is NOT the standard, however, for cable internet service--at least where I am. Comcast generally offers download speeds up to 6M, and 4-5M is pretty typical.

And the speed test results reported in this thread are much FASTER, and not slower, than the 1.5M D/L speed you cited, and are typical of cable internet service--Jim A. at over 3.5M, Jim Sangrey at over 7M, 7/4 at over 3M, Weizen at almost 4.5M, and Shawn at almost 5.5M. You have to remember to convert the results they reported, in KILObits per second, into MEGAbits per second. And to further confuse things, these download tests also offer the equivalent transfer rates in kiloBYTES per second, which will seem much slower but really aren't--remember that there are 8 bits to every byte.

In any event, from what I've seen, cable is going to get you generally higher download speeds these days than DSL, although the cable speeds will be more variable at any given time than DSL speeds. Still, a cable download speed that varies between, e.g., 3-5M is going to be better than a DSL speed that stays fairly constant at 1.3M (the true speed you get with a so-called 1.5M connection because of "overhead"). And I say that as someone who has DSL.

[.:.impossible]

I have sold for both CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier, which I would assume Speakeasy is unless they have deeep pockets and somehow built out their own infrastructure, though it could be metropolitan only) and a facilities-based provider (Cox Business Services). If you can download another file at 7M, aside from the one on the speed test, I'd love to know about it. I've never done it. Then again, I don't really know of many sources that are allowing 7M of upload to any number of users, let alone a single user. The upload speeds have increased in the past year, but 384K is really going to be the best you are going to see. YMMV, as always with this stuff. We are sipping on Miller High Life here if you know what I mean. Data transmission over fiberoptic cable is an entirely different story. This is the direction that Verizon is moving in. Fiber to the premise. Pretty amazing $$$ they are laying down in order to deliver "content" to the household.

re: speakeasy. I don't know anything about them. Chances are Speakeasy is reselling Verizon's signal, or whichever LEC (Local Exchange Carrier - Verizon, Bell South, SBC, etc) is in your area. There really isn't much they can do to improve the facilities. The FCC allows them to buy "at bulk" and sell at a discount. They aren't required to lay out any dough for a network. They co-locate at the LEC switch, work side by side with the LEC guys, etc.

blah blah blah telecom

Just like telephone numbers, there are only so many IP addresses to go around. Certain providers "own" certain ranges of IP addresses. One thing that I've noticed that triggers a change is power surge. It doesn't have to be a power outage... this will bump you as well though.

I use DHCP settings and haven't really had any issues. I've had to contact the cable company here (TW) twice to reset my IP. Usually a power cycle will do. First thing everytime... unplug the modem and the router. Stretch, try to sightread a new tune, sit back down, plug it all in and the lights are blinking again.

Is curling on?

[Ron S]

Speakeasy DOES have it's own national network, and is not merely a reseller. See this. Also, they DO offer 768K upload. See this. They're also consistently the top-ranked national DSL ISP on Broadband Reports (the leading ISP-rating web site), here (scroll down to "National ISPs/Telco ADSL"). I'm not pimping for them, although they've been my DSL provider for over 5 years, and they are the class act of DSL providers nationwide. However, in addition to Speakeasy, I also have Comcast cable broadband service coming into my house (provided by my wife's employer), so I actually have both kinds of broadband service here. I regularly test the download speeds of both services through the same Speakeasy server in NYC, and the cable is generally at least in the 3-4M range, whereas the DSL is in the 1.3M range. And apart from the speed tests, web pages seem to load much more quickly on the cable connection. Bottom line, in the next few months I plan to drop the DSL service and put both networks on the cable service. At least for now, and I think until the telcos have a true fiberoptic network widely in place (don't hold your breath on that for Verizon, according to what I've recently heard), you're generally going to get much higher speed for your money with cable. At least around these here parts.