[fyregirl]

**Apologies for the length, but please read on with my advance gratitude** 

I just moved out to the stix from Boston and am on my roommate's DSL service now.  He upgraded his service with the local (and only available) service tand it should now be a 1.5m download, 512k upload. 

His original set up was that the DSL came in one jack and was apparently running through all jacks in the house.  He uses a wireless router that's an 801.11g.  I understand that usually has a speed of 54kbps and it's been fluctuating a little bit but staying near that.  This, plus the fact that my download test results don't change much when wireless or wired into the LAN make me think the router isn't the issue.  Last week, the ISP came out and moved the DSL jack up to my office.  They said that now the DSL would be coming in on only that jack and not through the whole house, which should improve the speed.  It has not. 

When I next called, tech support told me to do a series of DL and UL speed tests over a few days time and my results averaged 307kbps download and 432kbps upload.  The service should be, as I said earlier, 1.5 and 512.  This issue is with all the computers in the house, not just mine.  On a Mac and a PC.  Tonight it got worse than ever at one point: 

:::.. Download Stats ..:::
Download Connection is:: 93 Kbps about 0.1 Mbps (tested with 97 kB) Download Speed is:: 11 kB/s Tested From:: http://testmy.net/ (Main) Test Time:: 2008/11/11 - 10:01pm Bottom Line:: 2X faster than 56K 1MB Download in 93.09 sec Tested from a 97 kB file and took 8.5 seconds to complete Download Diagnosis:: May need help : running at only 17.68 % of your hosts average (taconic.net) D-Validation Link:: http://testmy.net/stats/id-7864ZNEGS
User Agent:: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 1.1.4322) [!]

My feeling at this point is that the only possible issue could be with the actual lines outside the house.  I believe this since everything else seems to be working and because moving the jack didn't help matters.  I know that when they moved the jack that's all they did in terms of rewiring and they went around the outside of the house.  I need to light a fire under the ISP because call after call has yielded no results but I was hoping to get some input as to if the general opinion is that my theory sounds right or there are other thoughts so I can really give them a *direct* piece of my mind and get them to fix this!

I telecommute through a VPN for work so we can't switch over to satellite service and are stuck with this ISP, so it MUST get resolved.

Any advice, any thoughts?  Help!! 

Signed,
Lost in Upstate NY

[mudmanc4]

First off, you came to the right place. Welcome.
What is your network layout as far as routers and or switches.

  I would as you say " light a fire " , chances are, there is a line issue. Your DSL speeds should not be fluctuating that much unless there is other internal network activity  " slurping " up the bandwidth.  You also have to keep in mind as to the distance from there router that you are. They cannot guarantee speeds when you are over a certain footage.

If the lines inside the house are properly installed, and clean, and you know this as a fact, as the ISP is not liable for this, your phone company would be if you have this insurance.

Just keep on them about this, persistence  pays off.

[fyregirl]

Thank you for the reply and the welcome Mudmanc4.

You asked:  "What is your network layout as far as routers and or switches?"

The network layout is pretty simple.  The phone line from the DSL jack goes into the modem from the ISP (which is also the phone company so double whammy) and it's connected to a D-Link 801.11g wireless router.  It could probably stand to be upgraded but I dont' think it's causing the issue.  Two of the computers run wirelessly from that router and the third, my work computer, has a direct ethernet connection from the wireless router to the computer.  I do notice some slowdown on the router speed further across the house but for the most part it seems to be running at 54kbps which I think is standard for that router. 

"I would as you say " light a fire " , chances are, there is a line issue. Your DSL speeds should not be fluctuating that much unless there is other internal network activity " slurping " up the bandwidth."

I do notice that when I VPN into my office, the speed on that computer goes WAY down but it doesn't seem to change the fluctuations on the other machines in the house.  Also, this issue occurs even when the work computer is not connected to VPN so I don't think that's "slurping" up bandwidth to a degree it would be a problem.  That said, I'd sure like to know if there are any ways to speed up the VPN speed.  A traceroute shows that my office is sending the data through 19 jumps to get it there and back. 

"If the lines inside the house are properly installed, and clean, and you know this as a fact, as the ISP is not liable for this, your phone company would be if you have this insurance."

We're not sure about the inside lines, but the ISP is also the phone company and we do have the insurance.  THey should be able to fix this no matter if the problem is inside or out. 

"Just keep on them about this, persistence  pays off. "

Plan on doing just that, thanks. I am glad to see an agreement with my thought about the actual lines.  I put in two calls today and the "local internet technician" is supposed to be calling me to make an appointment and come out.  They're going to love me until they get here.   

Thank you for the thoughts and if anyone has ideas about VPN speeds I'd love to hear those as well!

[coolbuster2007]

here's an article that might be of help to you

Quote

You don't say what type of VPN or VPN products you are using, and that can have A LOT to do with performance. Some possibilities that might or might not pertain to you include:

    * Fragmentation - VPNs add headers onto existing packets. If the Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) size is not adjusted, large packets that once just fit your MTU must be broken in two (fragmented), resulting in twice as many packets. In most cases, MTU path discovery automatically adjusts MTU size, but if fragmentation is your problem, decreasing MTU on your hosts can help.

    * Lifetimes - When VPN tunnel lifetimes are very short, the overhead associated with establishing the tunnel can become noticeable to end users. If your users are sending very little traffic per tunnel, inactivity timeouts can also come into play. Keep alives and increased lifetimes can help if this is your problem.

    * Encryption - Many VPN gateways can encrypt at link speed, particularly if using hardware encryption. However, low-end VPN gateways that perform encryption in software can become a bottleneck, particularly during heavy usage periods. If this looks like your problem, you might be able to use another cipher or shorter key and still meet your security needs. Alternatively, look at expanding your VPN gateway's capacity through hardware acceleration or load sharing.

To start diagnosing the problem, you really need to get a handle on what's going on. Record and compare interface statistics available at various points along the VPN path to spot bottlenecks, places where fragmentation may be occurring, or excessive error rates. Although VPN traffic is encrypted, packet analyzers can still be helpful to get "the big picture" on flow rates -- for example, comparing information captured on two sides of an intervening device that might be a bottleneck. If you can isolate where VPN traffic gets bogged down, you'll have a target for making improvements.

[url=http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/expert/KnowledgebaseAnswer/0,289625,sid7_gci970300,00.html[/url]

[coolbuster2007]

source: techtarget.com

[mudmanc4]

Quote

  They're going to love me until they get here.   

  Sounds good in theory, but I would suggest a bit of technique when speaking to the  "tech " .  Generally , if you make a person feel important, and uplift there abilities.  Maybe start out with the person by asking them how they like there job, one they start talking, then you can feel them out to try getting on there mental level and connect with them, you might be surprised what you get Vs. just unloading on them. know what I mean ?  Just a suggestion.

[fyregirl]

Quote

    Sounds good in theory, but I would suggest a bit of technique when speaking to the  "tech " .  Generally , if you make a person feel important, and uplift there abilities.  Maybe start out with the person by asking them how they like there job, one they start talking, then you can feel them out to try getting on there mental level and connect with them, you might be surprised what you get Vs. just unloading on them. know what I mean ?  Just a suggestion.

Actually, truth be told I'm not the 'unloading' type.  I do intend to keep calling them back until the mystery tech gets back to me, but I am a usually a believer in more flies with honey.  I'm not above asking for a supervisor though if it gets far enough.  Of course, it's sometimes frustrating when you get a different person and personality on the phone every time you call.  It would be nice, and more effective I think, if one could start a rapport.  However, I guess that's just how many places handle their support calls these days.  And that's a whoooooole other conversation. 

[fyregirl]

Quote

here's an article that might be of help to you

[url=http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/expert/KnowledgebaseAnswer/0,289625,sid7_gci970300,00.html[/url]

Thank you coolbuster, I'll take a look at it!      I did read an article yesterday that talked about MTUs and adjusted the size down until the point at which they stopped fragmenting, about 1280 down from 1400.  It really hasn't had any affect I'm afraid. I'll keep on it though.  Terrier, all that.

[Sequoia]

This is an old dial-up check but I think it would help diagnose your problem if you can do it.
You need to connect direct to your NID(outside telephone service box).Do this with just 1 computer disconnect the line that goes to the rest of you house so the one modem is all that's connectedto the NID.
You need to locate the modem & computer as close as possible to the NID.Since this is only temporary to test locate the window closest to the NID & run the shortest good quality telephone cable you can from the modem to the NID.
Same for the ethernet cable from modem to computer.
If this improves your speed majorly then the problem is not from the NID out but either house telephone wiring.A device such as a telephone causing a problem.The router or computer settings.
If you get no improvement from this then the problem is somewhere out from the NID or your computer settings.

[iced98lx]

Quote

This is an old dial-up check but I think it would help diagnose your problem if you can do it.
You need to connect direct to your NID(outside telephone service box).Do this with just 1 computer disconnect the line that goes to the rest of you house so the one modem is all that's connectedto the NID.
You need to locate the modem & computer as close as possible to the NID.Since this is only temporary to test locate the window closest to the NID & run the shortest good quality telephone cable you can from the modem to the NID.
Same for the ethernet cable from modem to computer.
If this improves your speed majorly then the problem is not from the NID out but either house telephone wiring.A device such as a telephone causing a problem.The router or computer settings.
If you get no improvement from this then the problem is somewhere out from the NID or your computer settings.

This is a good suggestion, also wire your computer to the router or directly to the modem and test, start eliminating things so you know it's the ISP's problem.

[Sequoia]

I just wanted to add the possibility that with the test I suggested it could also be a bad modem.
If you can get your ISP or the tech to at least let you test with a new one it might spot the problem.