Truth or Myth?

[FrankO]

"To maximize connection speed, leave this modem on for 10 days after DSL
installation is complete." Is this truth or myth and does it have anything
to do with intermittent connection problems?

Is the same 10 day connection advice true for a router?

 

[Chuck [MVP]]

"To maximize connection speed, leave this modem on for 10 days after DSL
installation is complete." Is this truth or myth and does it have anything
to do with intermittent connection problems?

Is the same 10 day connection advice true for a router?

The LEC (the folks who own the phone wires) tests against the modem - that's the
CPE (customer premises equipment) that they "support". Anything past the CPE is
for the customer to support. If you report a problem, the first thing they tell
you to do is connect a computer directly to the modem.

The exact figure - 10 days - is probably a myth (legend?). But from what I've
read, your LEC does conduct repetitive tests during the first few days, to
determine what speed they can allow you to have, that's reliable. The DSL
Reports forums discuss this, and other issues, about broadband.
<http://www.dslreports.com/forum/sharing>
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/sharing

--
Cheers,
Chuck, MS-MVP 2005-2007 [Windows - Networking]
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/
Paranoia is not a problem, when it's a normal response from experience.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck mvps org.

 

[FrankO]

"To maximize connection speed, leave this modem on for 10 days after DSL
installation is complete." Is this truth or myth and does it have anything
to do with intermittent connection problems?

Is the same 10 day connection advice true for a router?

The LEC (the folks who own the phone wires) tests against the modem -
that's the
CPE (customer premises equipment) that they "support". Anything past the
CPE is
for the customer to support. If you report a problem, the first thing
they tell
you to do is connect a computer directly to the modem.

The exact figure - 10 days - is probably a myth (legend?). But from what
I've
read, your LEC does conduct repetitive tests during the first few days, to
determine what speed they can allow you to have, that's reliable. The DSL
Reports forums discuss this, and other issues, about broadband.
<http://www.dslreports.com/forum/sharing>
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/sharing

--
Cheers,
Chuck, MS-MVP 2005-2007 [Windows - Networking]
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/
Paranoia is not a problem, when it's a normal response from experience.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck mvps org.

Thanks for your quick reply and the awesome website. I hope others will
appreciate your input as much as I.

My speed tests vary from the time of day and from day to day but are very
close to the speeds claimed by my DSL supplier.

Question: Is a lower "latency to Server" number better, I hate to assume?

 

[FrankO]

"To maximize connection speed, leave this modem on for 10 days after DSL
installation is complete." Is this truth or myth and does it have anything
to do with intermittent connection problems?

Is the same 10 day connection advice true for a router?

The LEC (the folks who own the phone wires) tests against the modem -
that's the
CPE (customer premises equipment) that they "support". Anything past the
CPE is
for the customer to support. If you report a problem, the first thing
they tell
you to do is connect a computer directly to the modem.

The exact figure - 10 days - is probably a myth (legend?). But from what
I've
read, your LEC does conduct repetitive tests during the first few days, to
determine what speed they can allow you to have, that's reliable. The DSL
Reports forums discuss this, and other issues, about broadband.
<http://www.dslreports.com/forum/sharing>
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/sharing

--
Cheers,
Chuck, MS-MVP 2005-2007 [Windows - Networking]
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/
Paranoia is not a problem, when it's a normal response from experience.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck mvps org.

According to the five different speed tests at various times I get from
1.04MBPS/464.4KBPS to 4.5MBPS/443.3KBPS

I have AT&T Elite service advertised at 6000/768

 

[peter]

yes Lower latencies are better
try this site for a speed test...........its pretty accurate
http://www.speedtest.net/
peter

"To maximize connection speed, leave this modem on for 10 days after DSL
installation is complete." Is this truth or myth and does it have
anything
to do with intermittent connection problems?

Is the same 10 day connection advice true for a router?

The LEC (the folks who own the phone wires) tests against the modem -
that's the
CPE (customer premises equipment) that they "support". Anything past the
CPE is
for the customer to support. If you report a problem, the first thing
they tell
you to do is connect a computer directly to the modem.

The exact figure - 10 days - is probably a myth (legend?). But from what
I've
read, your LEC does conduct repetitive tests during the first few days,
to
determine what speed they can allow you to have, that's reliable. The
DSL
Reports forums discuss this, and other issues, about broadband.
<http://www.dslreports.com/forum/sharing>
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/sharing

--
Cheers,
Chuck, MS-MVP 2005-2007 [Windows - Networking]
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/
Paranoia is not a problem, when it's a normal response from experience.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck mvps org.

According to the five different speed tests at various times I get from
1.04MBPS/464.4KBPS to 4.5MBPS/443.3KBPS

I have AT&T Elite service advertised at 6000/768

 

[Chuck [MVP]]

Thanks for your quick reply and the awesome website. I hope others will
appreciate your input as much as I.

My speed tests vary from the time of day and from day to day but are very
close to the speeds claimed by my DSL supplier.

Question: Is a lower "latency to Server" number better, I hate to assume?

Latency, Frank, is a rather vague metric. Latency in general could be any of
several figures. "Ping Latency", for instance, is the time to ping to a target,
and get a response. Latency won't be a direct result of bandwidth - you can
have high bandwidth and high latency. Dialup, properly setup, could have
decently low latency, but terribly low bandwidth.

It's possible that the setting for your connection, that controls your
bandwidth, could affect latency. If your "final mile" connection (the wire
between the LEC's connection office and your house) is set too optimistically,
you could be experiencing frequent packet losses. Constant retrying
transmissions could overload your connection, and send your latency figures into
the toilet.

Speed tests are dependent upon the location of the speed test server, relative
to your ISP. If your connection to the speed test server goes through the
Internet, the results that you get will be affected by Internet traffic more
than by the speed of your final mile connection.

All of these issues are discussed, in more coherency, at DSLR Networking forums.

--
Cheers,
Chuck, MS-MVP 2005-2007 [Windows - Networking]
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/
Paranoia is not a problem, when it's a normal response from experience.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck mvps org.