Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2008 04:37:28 -0800 From: "Ted Mittelstaedt" <tedm@toybox.placo.com> To: "David Banning" <david+dated+1202587312.e4b61b@skytracker.ca>, <questions@freebsd.org> Subject: RE: question on DSL signal Message-ID: <BMEDLGAENEKCJFGODFOCEEFNCFAA.tedm@toybox.placo.com> In-Reply-To: <20080204200151.GA16540@skytracker.ca>
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> -----Original Message----- > From: owner-freebsd-questions@freebsd.org > [mailto:owner-freebsd-questions@freebsd.org]On Behalf Of David Banning > Sent: Monday, February 04, 2008 12:02 PM > To: questions@freebsd.org > Subject: question on DSL signal > > > I run a small FreeBSD server with a standard DSL line. I have it ping > the ISP every five seconds, and when it doesn't ping it logs the > results. > > > 3. I have used three different DSL modems, but the are all home > quality: an Alcatel Speed Touch, a Speedstream 5260, > and a Westell Wirespeed. Would spending more money on > another type of modem help? If so, what is recommended? > I work at an ISP and do this stuff for a living. Westell makes some very good DSL modems. The 2100 and the 35R515, 516, etc. series are great. These are dumb bridges, so your BSD system must speak PPP if thats what your ISP uses. (we don't, we use bridged mode) There's a program (wdiag 0.9) you can compile that will query the 36R51x series of modems for statistics. Here's an example from my own home DSL line plugged into my FreeBSD system: mail# pwd /usr/ports/distfiles/manual-build/wdiag/src mail# ./wstart mail# ./westell Uptime Counter: 24696500 Upstream SNR: 90 Upstream Power: 120 Upstream Attenuation: 315 Upstream Sync Rate: 768 Downstream SNR: 50 Downstream Power: 180 Downstream Attenuation: 535 Downstream Sync Rate: 1536 FEC Errors: 0 CRC Errors: 0 HEC Errors: 0 Signal Lost: 0 Frame Lost: 0 Tx Cell: 7071744 Rx Cells: 8183507 Dropped Cells: n/a Rx Ethernet: 60256998 Tx Ethernet: 55199128 Discarded Ethernet: 0 mail# ./wstop mail# Anyway, as the other poster said, your problem is copper. Your ISP has to just keep calling the phone company and dispatching a tech out there. Weekly if necessary. We had the same problem with one of our customers provisioned through Verizon. It went on for months and the customer was under the impression that the problem was the modem, so every time she had a problem she would call up and ask to have her modem exchanged. I must have put a dozen modems out there, and of course the returned ones tested fine. I knew the problem was wiring not the modem but the modem swap thing made her happy. (no big deal for us we just gave the modems to other customers) The problem with dispatching a tech was that she was never home and her MPOE was in a dog run, and she wasn't really willing to setup access for the phone techs to get to the MPOE. Finally one day a tree fell in the neighborhood and knocked down a phone pole. After Verizon repaired that, problem vanished. The tree was about 3 blocks from her house. For instances when the customer was willing to stick around to let the tech have access, it usually takes about 3 dispatches on the tough ones before they are fixed. The local phone company dispatcher is wise to the deal and when they see multiple repeat calls to the same site they will send out their experienced linemen. The greenhorn linemen can't troubleshoot DSL worth crap. Just keep on dispatching them. The tech guys at the CO can look at the DSLAM statistics and see the same thing that you can see if you query the modem stats, and if your copper is bad it can't be hidden in the stats. As for all the talk about the phone company not caring, that is baloney. The phone company is very interested in DSL and works to fix the problems. It is true that some linemen think DSL is a waste of their time and don't lift a finger to actually get in there and feel around for the line problems. But this isn't the corporate party line on DSL at any phone company, and if you get blown off by a lineman giving you a raft of crap like they can't fix it, call the ISP and the ISP can force escalation and get a manager in there who can get a different phone tech who knows what he's doing. This stuff isn't rocket science, frankly your problem is your ISP, unless of course your using the telephone company as the ISP also, in which case your not ever going to talk to anyone competent. Good luck with that. There's a reason people use 3rd party ISPs. Ted
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