topic Re: Packet Errors in Broadband

Packet Errors

Fat_Leonard — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 10:10:26 GMT

Good morning, Here's a snippet of my router's current connection statistics. Comparing it to previous results I've posted here, there seems to be a reason for the slowness of our connection! Is anyone able to assist me in tracking it down?

Re: Packet Errors

jab1 — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 10:20:15 GMT

@Fat_Leonard Looking at that, there are a couple of things that stand out, apart from the packet loss, and most probably the reasons for it (1) your uptime is very low (2) your D/S SNR is way too high. Which modem/router are you using?

Re: Packet Errors

Fat_Leonard — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 11:29:37 GMT

Thanks for looking, @jab1. I don't know about the uptime reason. The router is 'always on'. I guess the errors mean the connection is dropping and being reacquired. The router is a TPLink Archer VR2800. Further information: we are a long way from the cabinet in a rural area, and the last time I spoke to a Plusnet engineer, the attenuation is consistent with the expectation from this distance. Previous problems have been down to issues like damp connections on the poles away down the valley. When working normally, we get 4-5Mbps and low latency, perfectly adequate for online games. I've attached another screenshot from June this year which is a bit more like what I'd expect to see.

Re: Packet Errors

jab1 — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 11:36:48 GMT

Fair enough, @Fat_Leonard I still think there is a BT/OR network issue involved here. My suggestion, for what it's worth, is to report a Broadband isse via https://www.plus.net/help/report-a-problem/broadband/

Just a thought - is your phone line free of problems - dial 17070, select option 2. You should here nothing after the confirmation of your phone number except the regular 'Quit Line Test' announcement.

Re: Packet Errors

Fat_Leonard — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 13:55:35 GMT

Yes, the SNR Margin is very off compared to what I've been told we should expect. With the high winds we've seen recently I wouldn't be surprised if there's a problem with the line down the valley as it runs through trees all the way.

I have tried a Quietline test and there is a faint, consistent background hiss (nothing like the crackling and fizzing I've heard during previous faults) but it did drop out to complete silence for a fraction of a second several times while I was on the line. It was quite similar to listening to the runout groove on an LP, but irregular.

I've followed the link you supplied, but can't see how to report a problem. It's changed since I last did so, and the only option is 'text HELP to...' rather than open a ticket. That's not great when you don't have any mobile signal in your house!

Re: Packet Errors

jab1 — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 14:05:14 GMT

OK, no mobile signal is a bit of a problem 😉 In that case, I suggest you raise a fault via:https://faults.plus.net , suggesting to them that you suspect a BT/OR network issue.

Please let us know the result - if they say there isn't one, we may have to approach this in a different way.

Re: Packet Errors

Fat_Leonard — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 17:25:55 GMT

Thank you - that page looks a lot more familiar! I got through most of the checklist until 'plug into the master socket' and recalled that the master socket is behind an MK4 filter plate. We only have the master socket and no other extensions. I replaced the filter plate with a dangling microfilter and have had a download consistently at 500KB/s for the last couple of hours. I wonder if the filter plate is to blame.

I will leave off reporting a fault and see how it behaves overnight. It would be nice to have such an easy fix!

Re: Packet Errors

jab1 — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 17:29:50 GMT

OK . Report back tomorrow morning.

Can you post your current DSL stats, please?

Re: Packet Errors

Fat_Leonard — Sun, 11 Dec 2022 14:48:48 GMT

The connection has been much more stable since my last post, with the dangling microfilter in place instead of the filter faceplate. A large game download was happy at 500KB/s for a whole day. Here are the latest DSL stats reported from the router. Interestingly, the connection says it's been active for only four hours. However, you can see the number of lost packets has only increased slightly since my initial post. The only other thing that stands out to my untrained eye is that I recall that when I last had a conversation with an engineer, he expected our downstream SNR margin to be more like 6.4dB.

Any conclusions to draw from all this?

Re: Packet Errors

jab1 — Sun, 11 Dec 2022 14:53:54 GMT

@Fat_Leonard wrote:

Any conclusions to draw from all this?

Yes - you are still losing xDSL connection. Does your router produce any readable error logs?

Re: Packet Errors

Fat_Leonard — Sun, 11 Dec 2022 15:21:32 GMT

Yes, and I've exported it to the attached text file. Thank you John.

Re: Packet Errors

jab1 — Sun, 11 Dec 2022 15:29:16 GMT

Looking at that log, you are losing xDSL,personally, I would use https://www.plus.net/help/report-a-problem/broadband/ to report an issue.

The faceplate could be a contributory factor, but I doubt it is the main one, considering you have bypassed it.

Re: Packet Errors

Fat_Leonard — Sun, 11 Dec 2022 16:06:47 GMT

Thanks again, John. I've raised a fault. Let's see what their tests reveal...

Re: Packet Errors

jab1 — Sun, 11 Dec 2022 16:07:41 GMT

Keep us informed.

Re: Packet Errors

Fat_Leonard — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 14:05:16 GMT

Well, John, they said nothing was showing as wrong on their tests. They re-profiled the line (I think that's the phrase) to 6dB SNR margin and sent a new Plusnet router to test. As ours is not one of theirs they couldn't read the data from it. However, now I've connected it I don't have the variety of information that our one has, nor its Guest Network capability.

Before changing over, it was unclear whether the packet loss had improved in the short time, but the download speed is now consistently about 6000Kb/s. I'm keeping an eye on it, and will probably reinstate the other router soon in order to do so better.

Thank you for your assistance.

Re: Packet Errors

Townman — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 12:16:07 GMT

@Fat_Leonard wrote:

I have tried a Quietline test and there is a faint, consistent background hiss (nothing like the crackling and fizzing I've heard during previous faults) but it did drop out to complete silence for a fraction of a second several times while I was on the line. It was quite similar to listening to the runout groove on an LP, but irregular.

That might suggest that there is some interference which could lead to line instability ... and thus an elevated SNRM with a consequential lower speed.

Which router are you using? Do you have access to a Plusnet Hub One? The Hub One is a BTHH5a for which there is a customised version of router stats. There is also a full version and lite version of the product which runs with a significant number of routers. See the link below.

It would be interesting to see what the SNRM plot looks like. Such can tell you a great deal of what is happening on an unstable line.

Re: Packet Errors

adamwalker — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 13:28:15 GMT

Hi all, I've just had a look into this for you and can see that the downstream speed is as low as 5mbs at present but I'm not seeing any obvious causes. Sorry if you've already done this and I've missed it, could you try a speed test whilst connected to the master socket?

https://community.plus.net/t5/Library/Testing-From-The-Master-Socket/ba-p/1322242

- Adam

Re: Packet Errors

Fat_Leonard — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 13:30:32 GMT

@Townman wrote:

That might suggest that there is some interference which could lead to line instability ... and thus an elevated SNRM with a consequential lower speed.

Which router are you using? Do you have access to a Plusnet Hub One? The Hub One is a BTHH5a for which there is a customised version of router stats. There is also a full version and lite version of the product which runs with a significant number of routers. See the link below.

It would be interesting to see what the SNRM plot looks like. Such can tell you a great deal of what is happening on an unstable line.

The router is a TP-Link Archer VR2800 v1. The original little square Plusnet router we were sent didn't have enough wireless oomph to go through our stone walls, and not enough ability to control advanced settings like port forwarding or static IPs. The TP-Link also has a Guest Network function which is very useful.

We have now been sent a new Plusnet router which looks like a HomeHub from when we were on BT, so I guess that's the Hub One you're talking about. I can plug that in and try your tests, but we need the guest network today so it will have to be tomorrow. Looking at the RouterStats page the VR2800 isn't listed.

Re: Packet Errors

Fat_Leonard — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 13:33:10 GMT

Thanks Adam.

The router is plugged into the master socket with a dangling microfilter, as the filter faceplate appeared to be linked to the problems I was experiencing before.

Do you mean 5Mb/s? If so, that's about the maximum we have ever got so not an indication of a problem.

Re: Packet Errors

adamwalker — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 13:58:55 GMT

Hey @Fat_Leonard I did yes, so it does look like you're getting the maximum available downstream speed up to the router at least.