NTL acting up in Leopardstown - anyone else?

dsab

Hi Guys,

for the last 24 hours my NTL BB (3MB) is incredibly slow. Surfing takes ages, for example. It`s slower the dial up. Anyone else having problems? Was onto NTL, but they appearantly don`t know anything... as usual.

My pings are like this...

Pinging www.jolt.co.uk [82.133.85.65] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=1398ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=1236ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=1177ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=1694ms TTL=50

Ping statistics for 82.133.85.65:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 1177ms, Maximum = 1694ms, Average = 1376ms

Drapper

try a ping test for a few mins ? and paste.

NTL is terrible @!'

causal

D.16 - NTL 2Mb:

Pinging www.jolt.co.uk [82.133.85.65] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=30ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=28ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=29ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=30ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=30ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=35ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=30ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=31ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=37ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=31ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=29ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=31ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=31ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=30ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=31ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=30ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=29ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=29ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=29ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=30ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=29ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=50ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=29ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=30ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=30ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=31ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=29ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=28ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=34ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=50

Ping statistics for 82.133.85.65:
    Packets: Sent = 34, Received = 34, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 28ms, Maximum = 50ms, Average = 31ms

causal

CodeMonkey

ntl is having a lot of problems which is pissing me off. Can't connect to the service at all in the last 24hrs and when i do it's very very slow. The tech support girl I was talking to earlier says there's a problem somewhere which only affects the broadband service and they are working on it. No eta on when it'll be fixed.

causal

What's your 10-20 (location) codemonkey?

causal

kin9pin

I'm in D18 and have no problems, in fact the only problem I've ever had was with emails a couple of days ago.



Pinging www.boards.ie [82.195.136.36] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=16ms TTL=54
Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=14ms TTL=54
Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=14ms TTL=54
Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=15ms TTL=54

Ping statistics for 82.195.136.36:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 14ms, Maximum = 16ms, Average = 14ms


Pinging www.jolt.co.uk [82.133.85.65] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=24ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=24ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=26ms TTL=50
Reply from 82.133.85.65: bytes=32 time=24ms TTL=50

Ping statistics for 82.133.85.65:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 24ms, Maximum = 26ms, Average = 24ms

paulm17781

Mine has been good lately D8. Fingers crossed.

spanner_head

paulm17781 wrote:

Mine has been good lately D8. Fingers crossed.

Mine is good too - I'm in talla-fornia.

CodeMonkey

I am in D8, still having problems, can't login most of the time and when i do this is what i get...


Pinging www.boards.ie [82.195.136.36] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=48ms TTL=55
Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=24ms TTL=55
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=14ms TTL=55
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=55
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=25ms TTL=55
Request timed out.
Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=111ms TTL=55
Request timed out.
Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=15ms TTL=55
Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=101ms TTL=55
Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=27ms TTL=55
Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=40ms TTL=55
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 82.195.136.36:
Packets: Sent = 21, Received = 10, Lost = 11 (52% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 13ms, Maximum = 111ms, Average = 41ms

Drapper

CodeMonkey wrote:

I am in D8, still having problems, can't login most of the time and when i do this is what i get...


Pinging www.boards.ie [82.195.136.36] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=48ms TTL=55
Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=24ms TTL=55
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=14ms TTL=55
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=55
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=25ms TTL=55
Request timed out.
Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=111ms TTL=55
Request timed out.
Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=15ms TTL=55
Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=101ms TTL=55
Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=27ms TTL=55
Reply from 82.195.136.36: bytes=32 time=40ms TTL=55
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 82.195.136.36:
Packets: Sent = 21, Received = 10, Lost = 11 (52% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 13ms, Maximum = 111ms, Average = 41ms

D15 is same ! but its becuase its oversubscrided too !!

seamus

Mine went down last night completely out in Lucan. Started crawling, lost DNS resolution, and then it died altogether. The modem couldn't get a stable upstream, it kept constantly rebooting itself.

Didn't check it this morning, but I'm gonna ring them if it's not back up when I get home.

fatherdougalmag

I've been having problems with my NTL B/B for the past 3 or 4 weeks (shortly after upgrade). I've set up ping-logs from work and have had the opportunity to watch things from home for the past couple of weekends. Do me a favour, in addition to posting pings, please post your up and downstream signal strengths during times of dodginess. I've noticed that when my upstream signal drops below 30 things just die. A modem reboot seems to sort things out and immediately afterwards the signal jumps to 40 or so.

So that's something to watch. Either go to http://192.168.100.1 (username/password admin/admin) and read it from there or just get DocsDiag (needs Java) so you can double-click from the desktop. I just put it into a batchfile and put a 'pause' in afterwards so I can record the values during down and up times. Maybe NTL just need to crank up the power for consistent performance because when it's working it's great. But when it goes, you really notice it especially when you're considering a move to an eircom'less VoIP existence (which NTL are supposed to be rolling out anyway).

seamus

Yeah, it's been getting bad around 9 at night. It was fine tonight until then. Latency went through the roof, rebooted the modem and it couldn't get going for about ten minutes. It's a little improved. Download speed is stable through Bittorrent, but latency is still awful. 4.5sec pings to boards.ie

causal

fatherdougalmag wrote:

...or just get DocsDiag (needs Java) so you can double-click from the desktop.

That Robin Walker guy provides great info, here's his 'Desirable Signal Levels' for the cable modem:

Downstream SNR: should be 30 dB or higher: the higher the better. As the SNR decreases below 30 dB, performance will steadily decrease, and errors will increase. The cable modem might stop working properly if the SNR drops below 23.5 dB.

Downstream Received Power: the DOCSIS specification requires cable modems to function correctly with downstream power levels in the range -15 dBmV to +15 dBmV: power readings at or close to those extremes are likely to be unacceptable. However, when connected to a real-life CATV network, a cable modem might be functional over a narrower range than this. Accordingly, cable ISPs will specify an even narrower target range when commissioning their network: this target range will differ according to ISP.
___________________ Target Commissioning Range ____ Wider Working Range
NTL original areas____ -2.5 dBmV to +2.5 dBmV _______ somewhat wider than that!
NTL ex-C&W areas___ -6 dBmV to -3 dBmV ___________ -12 dBmV to -3 dBmV

Provided the Downstream SNR is acceptable, the downstream power should be satisfactory if your cable modem reports a figure either within these specified ranges or close to them.

If a cable modem reports a downstream receive power of exactly 0.0 dB, this means that measurement of downstream power is disabled, and no information is available. In this case, you will need to judge downstream quality by SNR alone.

Apolagies for the dodgy formatting


hth,
causal

causal

Just noticed my IP address has changed (since June 6th at least)
It definitely remained unchanged from Jan to May 10th (I checked it after the upgrade) - some time between May10 and June 6th it had changed.

Anyone else notice a change - I wonder if they've recently reassigned IP numbers while trying to sort the network?

causal

crawler

causal wrote:

Just noticed my IP address has changed (since June 6th at least)
It definitely remained unchanged from Jan to May 10th (I checked it after the upgrade) - some time between May10 and June 6th it had changed.

Anyone else notice a change - I wonder if they've recently reassigned IP numbers while trying to sort the network?

causal

DHCP decides the refresh rate of IP addressing or when it changes (if not a refresh call)....The info on the signal levels, which very useful as a GUIDE, is very UK centric, not exactly the same here...and Galway and Waterford are better than Dublin.

Drapper

Would you all please listen to me !!! NTL is oversubscribed to in some areas! REBOOT and POST pings is useless ! I have a friend working for them and he has confirm ther is a number of areas where they are oversubscribed and you can switch on and off your modem until the cows come home but the fact is there is a limited number of slots on the URS router and NTL are squezing the life out of them !! Hence "High Latency" and "inconsistancies" in DL and UL. Give the NTL customer support hassle.

I dont have the list of areas but D15 and D18 area are fooked ! until they buy more slots/equipement in the nodes/switch areas, and as we all know they have "no money" to do improvement work to thier network yet !!

seamus

Drapper wrote:

Would you all please listen to me !!! NTL is oversubscribed to in some areas! REBOOT and POST pings is useless ! I have a friend working for them and he has confirm ther is a number of areas where they are oversubscribed and you can switch on and off your modem until the cows come home but the fact is there is a limited number of slots on the URS router and NTL are squezing the life out of them !! Hence "High Latency" and "inconsistancies" in DL and UL. Give the NTL customer support hassle.

I dont have the list of areas but D15 and D18 area are fooked ! until they buy more slots/equipement in the nodes/switch areas, and as we all know they have "no money" to do improvement work to thier network yet !!

This is all very recent though, like this week. If the problem was oversubscription, surely these problems would onset gradually as opposed to suddenly?

kin9pin

Anyone in the Leopardstown area thinking about going with NTL........don't! Go with another option, I've heard Eircom give you a great service.
I haven't had one problem with speeds/pings so it's best if you just let me get on with it by myself

Drapper

seamus wrote:

This is all very recent though, like this week. If the problem was oversubscription, surely these problems would onset gradually as opposed to suddenly?

No, I got NTL in Dec 04 and within 3 weeks the service dropped considerably and has never been sorted out ! pings are ok from about 2am - 6am in the morn. Power levels are as per NTL spec.

Basically there is a router of some sort with a number of available slots called URS. Nothing to do with contention. These are filling very fast as NTL offer a dam good BB package on paper with about 100 new connections a day in Dublin. The rack for the router cost about 75k per unit and they have a number on order, but no confirmed dates for installations in areas. Hence the sale have been told to "squeeze" as many people in and try to sort out the latenct once the equipement come !

It only take a small number of connections in your area to knock a sound latency if there is not enought room on the switch for all of you !

As I've said I've been waiting 6 months for mine to be sorted and have since had IBB installed throught frustration.

okidoki987

I dont have the list of areas but D15 and D18 area are fooked

Anyone in the Leopardstown area thinking about going with NTL........don't!

FCUK
Guess who just got in installed yesterday (haven't tried it yet though) :eek:

Drapper

okidoki987 wrote:

FCUK
Guess who just got in installed yesterday (haven't tried it yet though) :eek:

let this run in your command prompt for about 15 mins and see your results:-

ping www.bbc.co.uk -t

fatherdougalmag

And if/when your connection goes wobbly, post your upstream and downstream levels (available from the modem config at http://192.168.100.1). As a matter of interest and for your own info, post the values when the connection is good.

Drapper

fatherdougalmag wrote:

And if/when your connection goes wobbly, post your upstream and downstream levels (available from the modem config at http://192.168.100.1). As a matter of interest and for your own info, post the values when the connection is good.

BTW, the signal strenght can be fantastic and the latecy dire as the cable must enter the switch freely, any traffic will increase the latency, I've a perfect power level to my modem ! but packet loss and high latect all day.

D

fatherdougalmag

I think I'm trying to pursue complete outtages as opposed to dropped packets/high latency.

I've noticed that the upstream signal strength can jump from 40 or so down to 25 or thereabouts. When this happens, the connection dies completely even though the SYNC and RDY LEDs are solid. The downstream levels are fine but I'm guessing that the upstream signal strength isn't good enough for 2MB. Previously when on to NTL, they're only interested in the LEDs. The situation I'm experiencing doesn't seem to be covered by their definition of a problem so the only thing they can say is that there's a problem with the PC/router that I'm using.

I've been on to NTL and told them about my observations whilst asking them to bump me down to the 1MB package. He said he'd look into it but I won't hold my breath.

kin9pin

okidoki987 wrote:

FCUK
Guess who just got in installed yesterday (haven't tried it yet though) :eek:

I wasn't being entirely serious there. As I've said before, I've had no problems at all with speeds or pings. fyi I'm in Sandyford Hall.
Drapper, would you expect everyone in D18 to have the same problems or would it depend on the area? (sorry, I'm asking you as you seem to have a good understanding of how this whole worldwide intrawebby thing works )

Drapper

kin9pin wrote:

I wasn't being entirely serious there. As I've said before, I've had no problems at all with speeds or pings. fyi I'm in Sandyford Hall.
Drapper, would you expect everyone in D18 to have the same problems or would it depend on the area? (sorry, I'm asking you as you seem to have a good understanding of how this whole worldwide intrawebby thing works )

Not sure m8, they have a few routers around Dublin. TIP:- go into command pormpt in dos on your PC and type:- tracert www.bbc.co.uk

this will trace the route of your ping from your PC to the BBC website and you can see where the spikes/latency are............ post it here:-) you can see which "hop" had the highest latency.

causal

crawler wrote:

DHCP decides the refresh rate of IP addressing or when it changes (if not a refresh call)

Of course, but I'm curious about often ntl IP addresses are changed in practice. There are implications of a changed IP address.

....The info on the signal levels, which very useful as a GUIDE, is very UK centric, not exactly the same here...

It's the only reference I have, if you've got more precise levels appropriate to Ireland please do share.

...and Galway and Waterford are better than Dublin.

You've totally lost all cred with that statement

causal

RicardoSmith

My NTL in D.15 has been down for 2 days. The TV has been very poor quality over the same period. I've been too busy to do anything about it, I will tomorrow. I've complained a few times but they just say they'll get back to me, and they never do. I asked about cancelling it but, of course they never got back about that either.

Drapper

RicardoSmith wrote:

My NTL in D.15 has been down for 2 days. The TV has been very poor quality over the same period. I've been too busy to do anything about it, I will tomorrow. I've complained a few times but they just say they'll get back to me, and they never do. I asked about cancelling it but, of course they never got back about that either.

They are supposed to be doing work in the area !! RIchardo you know my storey ! NTL installed Dec 04 and never worked since Jan 05 !! Modem is gathering dust on my shelf at home !!

Put the boot in !!

RicardoSmith

Drapper wrote:

They are supposed to be doing work in the area !! RIchardo you know my storey ! NTL installed Dec 04 and never worked since Jan 05 !! Modem is gathering dust on my shelf at home !!

Put the boot in !!

They seem to be always "working in the area" with no effect.

Drapper

RicardoSmith wrote:

They seem to be always "working in the area" with no effect.

I got the inside word from a friend who works for them now, that many areas are oversubscribed too! power signals to the modem are fine but the sitch is clogged with connections !! try and obtain your NAT details when your on? your probably sharing it with 10 or 20 others !

BTW demand a refund for the down time! I've not paid them for BB yet

paulm17781

I asked would I be compensated for down time (a day) they said no as they don't guarentee a constant connection.

Drapper

paulm17781 wrote:

I asked would I be compensated for down time (a day) they said no as they don't guarentee a constant connection.

Thats bull !!! down means no wervice !! get a credit for the times its not working .............why should you pay for a service you dont have ? basic consumer rights!