My IP Profile has dropped. Is this normal?

[#1]

Sorry if this as been asked before, but I’ve been reading all the previous post and I don’t understand.
Usually my router is synced at 7616 and my IP profile is 6500.  This evening I noticed that my connection was running noticeably slower than usual.  I did a few speed tests and I’m only getting 4800 to 4900 kbps (I usually get between 6000 and 6100 kbps), even though I’m still synced at 7616.
On checking my IP profile, it’s dropped from it usual 6500 to 6000.  As a result, my download speeds have dropped.  I know my IP Profile is updated twice a day, but it’s always been 6500.
Is this normal?  Will my IP Profile return to 6500?  Do I have a problem?  Should I worry about it?
Any help/advice will be appreciated.
Jessica
http://www.mybroadbandspeed.co.uk/results/00852132.png

[#2]

Wait 3 days and maybe...

[#3]

Jessica,
I'm in the same boat as you. I used to have have a rock solid 8128 connection and it never changed for well over a year.
Now all of a sudden, I'm finding my router is re-syncing at a new rate, but nothing showing up in the log. 
As axisofevil said though, it could be worth waiting the 3 days and re-syncing to see if your data rate increases.
Unless you're really noticing any speed changes (You won't really notice any difference between 6500 and 8128 to be honest) there isn't much to worry about.

[#4]

Quote

Is this normal?  Will my IP Profile return to 6500?  Do I have a problem?  Should I worry about it?

To answer these in turn:
It is normal to see your profile drop if there's been a resync at a lower rate.  Your situation would suggest that you synced briefly at less than 7616 and that the BT systems have adjusted your IP profile accordingly.
Your profile will return to 6500 provided that you continue to sync at 7616 consistently.  As it's only been a small drop it can take up to five days to go back up (that's just the way BT designed things - see here under the heading "What is Adaptive Max Logic?").
You're unlikely to have a problem - the blip may have been caused by electrical interference in your house (something being turned on or off) or a thunderstorm or even a neighbour using a power tool for example. 
If it's a one-off I wouldn't worry about it - it's just a fact of life with ADSL.

[#5]

Thanks for the replies.
Now I am worried 
This morning it’s down to just 5000 and I’m still synced at 7616.  It’s running really slow at the moment.
I’ll wait three days and see what happens.
Cheers,
Jessica

[#6]

Hey Jessica,
Have a read of link:speed and feel free to ask me any questions if there's anything you don't understand.

[#7]

If everything is working as it should, then you are syncing at a lower rate briefly.  It might be worth trying to find out when this is happening, and then what else happens at that time.  Such as does your boiler/streetlights/some other electrical device come on or go off at that time.
Phil

[#8]

Like Jessica, my speed has been going silly since Apr 12, I was on hols router off from 17th Ap to May 3
Cant check at master socket as they didnt fit them 49 years ago.  Why has my profile dropped?, no line drops since I switched back on, CSC  couldnt tell me
System Up Time 23:00:30:42
ADSL Speed (DS/US) 5888/448 Kbps
LAN IP Address           192.168.1.1
Default Gateway   195.166.128.72
Primary DNS Server 212.159.13.49
Secondary DNS Server  212.159.13.50

Firmware Version   2.21.05.05_A2pB018c1.d16d
Boot Loader Version 1.0.37-21.6.4
Wireless Driver Version  3.91.39.0 (Wireless is enabled)
Wireless BSSID             00:11:F5:EA:B1:02
Ethernet MAC Address 00:11:F5:EA:B1:01
Latency Type Interleave   Line Up Time 12:14:41:32
Line Coding   Trellis On     Line Up Count 37
Statistics                                               Downstream Upstream
Line Rate                                               5888 Kbps 448 Kbps
Noise Margin                                             21.3 dB         17.0 dB
Line Attenuation                                   19.0 dB       10.5 dB
Output Power                                           19.8 dBm     11.9 dBm
K (number of bytes in DMT frame)         185               15
R (number of check bytes in RS code word)  16                   16
S (RS code word size in DMT frame)         1              8
D (interleaver depth)                                 32                 4
Super Frames                                           64102755  64102753 
Super Frame Errors                                 1609          2 
RS Words                                             64020060  8002488   
RS Correctable Errors                               246282  0 
RS Uncorrectable Errors                     30755        0 
HEC Errors                                             1491        0 
OCD Errors                                                 65          0 
LCD Errors                                                        0            0 
ES Errors                                                     0              0

BT test

Results Image not loaded
Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test: -provides background information.
    IP profile for your line is - 5000 kbps
    DSL connection rate: 448 kbps(UP-STREAM)  5888 kbps(DOWN-STREAM)
    Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 4594 kbps

[#9]

Thanks Jameseh,
I’ve read it all.  Understood parts of it.
If my IP profile is based on my sync speed, and my sync speed is always 7616, why is my IP profile in freefall?
Just checked my IP profile again and its still 5000.  According to what I’ve just read, it should be 6500.
Who is changing my IP profile?  Is it Plusnet or BT?  Is it some form of traffic management or traffic shaping that’s being imposed on me?
I live in a rural area.  No big industries and factories.  No road works, nothing.
As you can see, it's getting worse.
http://www.mybroadbandspeed.co.uk/results/00855474.png

[#10]

Hi Jessica,
Looking at the information that we get from BT, your sync speed was (probably briefly) 6240Kbps yesterday afternoon, which is the reason why your IP Profile is set at 5000Kbps (although it should be 5500Kbps, but that's another matter).  If you are continuously syncing at your current levels, this should see an increase in your IP Profile to 6500Kbps in 3 days.  But only if you are continually getting those sync speeds.
The IP Profile is set by BT Wholesale.  It's not traffic management, just a restriction on your maximum obtainable throughput speed.

[#11]

Why would BT put a restriction on my maximum obtainable throughput speed?

[#12]

@Jessica
Have a read of the page that I linked to earlier (this one) under the heading "Why do we need an IP / bRAS profile?"
Hopefully that should explain things. 
In fact, the whole page is worth a read (and so is a look round the other ADSL pages on that site).

[#13]

Jameseh's choice of words was perhaps unfortunate; it just seems like BT Wholesale are doing that. What they actually do is define an IP Profile based on sync speed that represents the idealised maximum throughput capability for that sync speed, i.e. when transmission overheads are subtracted.
Starting from sync speed (datagram rate) of 6240kbps subtract approximately 10% for ATM overheads and another 3% for TCP/IP overheads and you get 5448kbps idealised throughput rate, an IP Profile of 5500kbps. Jameseh was mystified why you were given 5000kbps, perhaps there was a brief transient below 6240 but that hasn't been reported to PlusNet.
When you do a speedtest you measure actual throughput, and this will be less than the idealised (IP Profile) value because of real transmission management effects (such as making sure you receive all the data, free of errors and in the correct order).

[#14]

If you can no longer sync at 7616 kbps as you used to, then you may want to look at your adsl filter(s).  If one of them has started playing up then that would explain why now you sync at lower speeds.
As has already been said, if you sync at 7616 then leave your router on and check again after three days.  Assuming you haven't dropped the line and resync'ed at a lower connection speed you should get your old IP Profile back, along with higher throughput speeds.

[#15]

Thanks for the info. 
Read it and understood most of it.  But it still doesn’t explain why it has changed.  I’ve been with Plusnet for three months and apart from the first few days; my sync has been 7616 and my IP profile 6500.
Lets hope it returns to normal soon.