From owner-freebsd-hackers  Wed Sep  3 16:39:51 1997
Return-Path: <owner-freebsd-hackers>
Received: (from root@localhost)
          by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.7/8.8.7) id QAA15519
          for hackers-outgoing; Wed, 3 Sep 1997 16:39:51 -0700 (PDT)
Received: from nico.telstra.net (nico.telstra.net [139.130.204.16])
          by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.7/8.8.7) with SMTP id QAA15509
          for <hackers@FreeBSD.ORG>; Wed, 3 Sep 1997 16:39:47 -0700 (PDT)
Received: from freebie.lemis.com (gregl1.lnk.telstra.net [139.130.136.133]) by nico.telstra.net (8.6.10/8.6.10) with ESMTP id JAA05116; Thu, 4 Sep 1997 09:37:51 +1000
Received: (grog@localhost) by freebie.lemis.com (8.8.7/8.6.12) 
       id IAA10934; Thu, 4 Sep 1997 08:40:25 +0930 (CST)
Message-ID: <19970904084024.29000@lemis.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Sep 1997 08:40:24 +0930
From: Greg Lehey <grog@lemis.com>
To: Nate Williams <nate@mt.sri.com>
Cc: Mike Smith <mike@smith.net.au>, Jaye Mathisen <mrcpu@cdsnet.net>,
        hackers@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject: Re: Anyway to get connect speed with usermode ppp/tun0 device?
References: <Pine.NEB.3.95.970902223809.9029U-100000@mail.cdsnet.net> <199709030659.QAA00291@word.smith.net.au> <199709031656.KAA27641@rocky.mt.sri.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
X-Mailer: Mutt 0.81e
In-Reply-To: <199709031656.KAA27641@rocky.mt.sri.com>; from Nate Williams on Wed, Sep 03, 1997 at 10:56:05AM -0600
Organisation: LEMIS, PO Box 460, Echunga SA 5153, Australia
Phone: +61-8-8388-8250
Fax: +61-8-8388-8250
Mobile: +61-41-739-7062
WWW-Home-Page: http://www.lemis.com/~grog
Fight-Spam-Now: http://www.cauce.org
Sender: owner-freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG
X-Loop: FreeBSD.org
Precedence: bulk

On Wed, Sep 03, 1997 at 10:56:05AM -0600, Nate Williams wrote:
>>> No, the CONNECT string from when ppp parses up the output of the CHAT
>>> script...  ie, connect 31200, v.34/ARQ, etc.
>>
>> Why do you want this number?  It is fundamentally useless in a modern
>> modem environment.  Consider retrain operations, fallback/fall-forward,
>> line hit density etc.
>
> Most 'cheaper' modems don't fall-forward (which includes about 99% of
> the modems in use today by folks), and it's far from useless.  It gives
> you a pretty good 'guess' at how good the line quality is from you to
> the other side at connection time.  With this information in hand, you
> can point to the customer and say "it ain't my problem your connection
> sucks so badly, it's the phone company's problem".

How well do modems handle fallback?  If you're running PPP with LQM,
that should give you a pretty reliable indication as well.  I'm
running a no-name Rockwell V.34 modem here, and my line quality seems
to be pretty good, but on one occasion I got a whole lot of:

Aug  3 17:31:05 freebie ppp[196]: Phase: HDLC errors -> FCS: 89 ADDR: 0 COMD: 0 PROTO: 0 
Aug  3 17:32:05 freebie ppp[196]: Phase: HDLC errors -> FCS: 17 ADDR: 0 COMD: 0 PROTO: 0 
Aug  3 17:33:05 freebie ppp[196]: Phase: HDLC errors -> FCS: 35 ADDR: 0 COMD: 0 PROTO: 0 
Aug  3 17:34:05 freebie ppp[196]: Phase: HDLC errors -> FCS: 59 ADDR: 0 COMD: 0 PROTO: 0 
Aug  3 17:35:05 freebie ppp[196]: Phase: HDLC errors -> FCS: 8 ADDR: 0 COMD: 0 PROTO: 0 
Aug  3 17:36:05 freebie ppp[196]: Phase: HDLC errors -> FCS: 14 ADDR: 0 COMD: 0 PROTO: 0 
Aug  3 17:37:05 freebie ppp[196]: Phase: HDLC errors -> FCS: 38 ADDR: 0 COMD: 0 PROTO: 0 
Aug  3 17:38:05 freebie ppp[196]: Phase: HDLC errors -> FCS: 66 ADDR: 0 COMD: 0 PROTO: 0 

Note that these are errors per minute.  They went away when I
redialled.

Greg