topic Wireless Router in BreakPoint

Wireless Router

Cory_K — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:56:43 GMT

I'm having some weird internet problems at home, has anybody seen something like this before?

We had DL speeds of ~ 1 Mbps and UL speeds of ~0.3 Mbps.

We tried upgrading via our ISP, and were told we would get:
DL --> 6 Mbps

UL --> 1.5 Mbps

After they confirmed the change went through on their end,

I checked if we were seeing the new speed on our end.

By looking at the router (via 192.168.x.x) it said it was getting 6 Mbps down and 1.5 Mbps up... perfect.

However, after going to some benchmarking websites, such as speedtest.net we are still seeing the slower speed (1 Mbps down).

Would the router be limiting the speed to a given computer for any reason?
Or is something else likely to be the culprit?

Re: Wireless Router

smercurio_fc — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:01:45 GMT

What router are you referring to? Do you have a router that's separate from your DSL modem, or does your DSL modem have a router built-in?

Re: Wireless Router

Cory_K — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:08:08 GMT

Its called the DGN2000, which for some reason I cannot find on their website,

but this one is pretty close.

Yes, it is both a wireless router and DSL modem 2-in-1.

Re: Wireless Router

altenbach — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:21:21 GMT

Cory K wrote:
By looking at the router (via 192.168.x.x) it said it was getting 6 Mbps down and 1.5 Mbps up... perfect.

OK, that probably just means it is configured that way. There is no guarantee that you will actually get that.

How far away are you from the CO?

Slower speed could be due to many reasons. Can you test your speed to a server at the ISP?

Re: Wireless Router

Cory_K — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:05:39 GMT

I'm not sure if that is reflecting a measured speed or a configuration/setting.Here's what it says at the router's homepage:

That is where I got the impression that I am getting 6 Mbps down (though the UL speed is a little slower than I thought).

According to the speedtest results, the server they are using is <50 miles away.

Here are the results of that test

As for your last question, I'll have to contact my ISP to find out if they have a test server for that purpose.

Re: Wireless Router

altenbach — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:42:07 GMT

Are you testing via wireless or with a computer wired to the router?

Can yo do a line quality test here, for example?

Re: Wireless Router

Cory_K — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 20:27:41 GMT

I tried a few times from:

- laptop

---> Windows 7, 64-bit

---> Wireless connection

- desktop computer

---> Windows Vista, 32-bit, SP2

---. LAN connection to router

Both measure approximately the same speed.

As for the line quality test, it appears to be offline at the moment, but I'll keep checking that utility as well

Thanks for the suggestions so far, I'll keep poking around to see if I can figure out what the problem is.

Re: Wireless Router

smercurio_fc — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 21:46:44 GMT

Simple question: Have you contacted AT&T?

Re: Wireless Router

Cory_K — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 00:53:06 GMT

Haha, yes I have contacted AT&T.

After several (6-8) hours of tech support, they basically gave up and told me to call Netgear.

After several more hours of tech support with Netgear, they haven't really told me anything I don't already know (ie reset the router, etc).

I just thought I'd ask you guys, in case you're familiar with the functionality of routers and if this is expected behavior for some reason.

Re: Wireless Router

Hornless.Rhino — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 04:52:42 GMT

What happens when you try and download a few files simultaneously?

Do you get a speed greater than when you download just the one? (try a multi threaded download if you can too).

Re: Wireless Router

Intaris — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 11:33:50 GMT

Do you have a DMZ port on your router?

If so connect your PC temporarily to tha tport and re-rest. Maybe some of the security features are slowing down performance.

Shane.

Re: Wireless Router

AnalogKid2DigitalMan — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:21:56 GMT

What does Task manager show under Networking when downloading a large file?

Can you update the router's firmware?

Have you tried unplugging power to the router and repowering it up to reboot?

-AK2DM

Re: Wireless Router

altenbach — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:55:42 GMT

@cory K wrote:

Haha, yes I have contacted AT&T.

After several (6-8) hours of tech support, they basically gave up and told me to call Netgear.

After several more hours of tech support with Netgear, they haven't really told me anything I don't already know (ie reset the router, etc).

sounds like the typical story... 😞

Cory,

the line quality test is back online. If the problem persists, I would recommend to post in this other forum.

If they cannot deliver the advertised speed, talk to billing and tell them that you are only paying for the old speed unless they can deliver what's promised. 😉

Does the router/modem indicate anything about line quality?

Speedtest is typically very good, so I am sure the problem is local to your connection. (I always get the full 35/35 mbps (up/down) when testing my FIOS at home).

(Of course make sure that you are not testing while your PC is updating windows or antivirus for example.)

Re: Wireless Router

Cory_K — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:57:59 GMT

@altenbach wrote:

I always get the full 35/35 mbps (up/down) when testing my FIOS at home).

Lucky! The only ISPs where I live are Comcast and AT&T.

If there was Verizon FIOS available, I would switch in a heartbeat.

And for all of the suggestions up until now: I will try as soon as I get home today and post back with the (hopefully positive) results

Thanks again everyone.

Re: Wireless Router

Mark_Yedinak — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:34:20 GMT

Is your connection DSL or cable? If DSL, do you know how far you are from your exchange? DSL speeds are reduced the further you get from the exchange. If you have cable how densely is your area populated? Cable suffers from being a shared medium and if you have lots of active neighors your speeds will be reduced as well.

Re: Wireless Router

altenbach — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 19:30:36 GMT

He's on DSL.

@Mark Yedinak wrote:

If you have cable how densely is your area populated? Cable suffers from being a shared medium and if you have lots of active neighors your speeds will be reduced as well.

This is one of these urban legends, perpetuated by the phone companies to make them look better compared to cable. Any node can be oversold, independent of the technology. The trunk line from the CO can equally be limiting if there are many users. Remember, everything on the internet is "shared" one way or another and 99.9% of the time, your packets travel outside the control of the ISP.

For example, if too many users connect to this forum here, it will slow down, even if you have a dedicated OC-768 connection at home 😄

Re: Wireless Router

Mark_Yedinak — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 19:36:04 GMT

@altenbach wrote:

He's on DSL.

@Mark Yedinak wrote:

If you have cable how densely is your area populated? Cable suffers from being a shared medium and if you have lots of active neighors your speeds will be reduced as well.

This is one of these urban legends, perpetuated by the phone companies to make them look better compared to cable. Any node can be oversold, independent of the technology. The trunk line from the CO can equally be limiting if there are many users. Remember, everything on the internet is "shared" one way or another and 99.9% of the time, your packets travel outside the control of the ISP.

For example, if too many users connect to this forum here, it will slow down, even if you have a dedicated OC-768 connection at home 😄

True, anything can be oversold. Having spent a number of years in the telecomm industry though I know that most of the providers like to get by with as little as possible. There is also a fair amount of the ISPs stating that they are delivering a higher data rate than what is actually provided. They can get away with this since 99% of their customers have no clue what rate they are actually getting.