How to improve sync speed?

[#1]

Regarding the default noise margin there are conflicting stories.
However I would leave it connected continuously and if, after about 3 weeks, it hasn't changed raise a ticket explaining what you have done and that the line has been stable for 3 weeks and ask that the default noise margin should be lowered to 6dB.

[#2]

hi, glad that face plate sorted you out, i was having the same problems when i bought one from them and my speed is around the 6k download now. some might say that  decent cable is a waste of time, well they did to me anyway, but for my peace of mind i bought a decent extension cable as well as i needed 15 meteres to get my spare room.
just a thought as it rules out any cables issues from the socket to your router and looks neat as well. it also points any faults to the bit bt has to look after, ie outside your house, unless your router or pc are shot.
they do shorter lengths as well.
http://www.adslnation.com/phpapps/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=118
just my 2p's worth
regards
Andy

[#3]

Thanks for the replies.
Results after 2 days of using ADSLNation faceplate. Router was rebooted last night after a 10sec electrical powercut.
                                        3/11                        4/11                      5/11
Download speed                1040kps                  956kps                  1098kps
DSL Conn rate Down        1856kps                3872kps                  3808kps
                        UP            448kps                  448kps                    448kps
IP Profile                          1500kps                3000kps                  3000kps
Router up time                                                                                  21 hrs
SN Margin (Down)                                                                          14.5db
Martin2006 - I would love to have something nearer to 6K like you. As you can see I am struggling to get 1k. I am using the cable supplied with the D-Link router so I assumed that it is a quality cable and so did not think I need to replace it as part of my attempt at getting faster speed. I think the BT cable to the master socket is okay as PN ran tests with router connected to the test socket and said the problem was in my internal wiring or telephones and I should be getting a 4 speed increase if I removed the problem.

Oldjim - I am still learning about SN margin. From looking at the router stats I can see the SN margin and it changes frequently on its own. Until your reply I had not realised that this could be set by PN.  I will wait patiently for 3 weeks with fingers crossed that the router stays up for that time. So far the router has been rebooted each day for different reasons.
Regards.

[#4]

fair one, i got the new one cos i have to run up from my master socket into the roof and back down into my spare bedroom which is almost exactly 15m and before that i had one of those crappy extension leads with the wires about the size of a gnats family allowance
are you a long way from your exchange to be getting those speeds or just in the process of getting sorted
it does seem to taKe an age for things to update though

[#5]

I hope I am on the way to getting things sorted so that I can get a decent speed. One website reports that the average PN user get about 3.8k speed. I would be satisfied with that but I am nowhere near it yet. I suppose I am about a mile by road from the exchange. I don't think that is long but I am not sure now te cable gets to my house.

[#6]

http://www.samknows.com/broadband/mapping/mapping.php
http://www.top10-broadband.co.uk/packages/
click on tools for the one above and enter postcode
http://www.top10-broadband.co.uk/speedtest/streetstats/

these might be helpful although you cant always believe everything
one site said if you dial 170170 from a bt phone it calculates the length of your line to the exchange but i have no idea if that works, might make your head drop off for all i know
hope you get it sorted though as i know it can be really frustrating
its all a process of elimination, find out what you should get, what others around you are getting and then rule out one thing at a time.

[#7]

Quote

Looking at your post here your sync speed has increased from 1856kps on the 3rd to 3808kps on the 4th and 5th. Your IP profile at the time you posted was still set to 1000kbps but it looks like that's now increased to 3000kbps
Whilst your SNR is at 15db you'll not get the most out of your line but if things remain stable for a few weeks then there's a possibility that we'll be able to get this reset for you.
Dropping it to 6db will probably increase your sync speed to something in the region of 6500kbps.

[#8]

Bob - Thanks for the reply. It would be fantatstic to get to 6500kps. I will wait patiently but with anticipation. Results so far after 3 days of using ADSLNation faceplate are shown below.
                                        3/11                        4/11                      5/11                      6/11
Download speed                1040kps                  956kps                  1098kps            1164kps
DSL Conn rate Down        1856kps                3872kps                  3808kps            3808kps
                        UP            448kps                  448kps                    448kps              448kps
IP Profile                          1500kps                3000kps                  3000kps              3000kps
Router up time                                                                                  21 hrs                  47hrs
SN Margin (Down)                                                                          14.5db                  12.9db

[#9]

Hi arjem,
glad the faceplate seems to have sorted your main problem. Here's something that may give you some hope -
Statistics Downstream Upstream 
Line Rate 6912 Kbps 448 Kbps 
Noise Margin 9.2 dB 21.0 dB 
Line Attenuation 43.0 dB 22.0 dB 
Output Power 19.8 dBm 12.1 dBm
So hopefully you may eventually achieve something close to my current line stats especially as your line attenuation is marginally better than mine  (mind you that's got nothing to do with throughput speed I'm currently getting due to a stuck bRAS profile at 750kbps - but that's another matter!).
To get the best out of your line in current circumstances I'd suggest you try watching your noise margin throughout say a 24 hour period, you should find that it is at it's greatest in the daytime. I'd suggest a re-boot of the modem/router in the day (I'm currently recommending at least 1 1/2 hrs after sunrise  & 1 1/2 hrs before sunset). You of course then need to leave the modem/router on 24/7 with no drops in connection and a low error rate for maybe upto 28 days either for the exchange DLM to lower your margin or PN to get BTw to do it.
If you have any thunder and lighting storms that cause a drop in sync that doesn't immediately recover very close to previous sync speed, I'd switch off until well after the storm has passed.
FYI, you asked in your initial post about locating problems on internal lines and voice equipment. Basically you do it by process of elimination, but as the face plate seems to be doing the trick, I wouldn't worry about it. It was most likely due to the bell wire, but it may have been a dodgy filter - just bear that in mind for future reference - I wouldn't go messing about at the moment, you want a nice stable line now.

[#10]

Hi Anotherone;
Thanks for very helpful reply. I live in hopes that I will get a step up in speed and your stats help put mine into perspective. For example, I was 'concerned' that attenuation was very high particularly as I had read somewhere that each 3db of attenuation halves the possible line speed. Now I know yours is higher but your IP profile is twice mine. 
Can you tell me what is BRA profile and where it fits into the complex arena of line speed?
You have suggested a reboot of the router. Is this to be done at a point when noise margin is lowest?
I have stopped trying to find any problems in the telephony side of my wiring as the ADSLNation has avoided any conflict.
My latest results after installing ADSLNation Faceplate are :
                                        3/11                        4/11                      5/11                      6/11                    9/11
Download speed                1040kps                  956kps                  1098kps            1164kps                1089kps
DSL Conn rate Down        1856kps                3872kps                  3808kps            3808kps                3808kps
                        UP            448kps                  448kps                    448kps              448kps                  448kps
IP Profile                          1500kps                3000kps                  3000kps              3000kps                3000kps
Router up time                                                                                  21 hrs                  47hrs                110hrs
SN Margin (Down)                                                                          14.5db                  12.9db                14.9db

Regards

[#11]

Quote from: arjem

Can you tell me what is BRA profile and where it fits into the complex arena of line speed?

The BRAS profile is the profile that BT set on your line, based on stored details of your sync speed each time you connect to your router (and other line stats, noise etc.). This information is then sent to us and your PN profile is set to match.

Quote from: arjem

You have suggested a reboot of the router. Is this to be done at a point when noise margin is lowest?

Ideally yes - we find that generally sync speeds are higher in the mornings, so it'd be best to reboot then.
Hope that helps,

[#12]

Thanks for the helpful replies. I finally had some time this morning to sit at the PC. The router has been contiuosly connected for over 200hrs which in the past would have been unusual so the ADSLNation faceplate has improved that aspect of the service. I rebooted the router at 11am and then ran the BT Speed test and surprise surprise the download speed had more than doubled since the last test last night. All other parameters as you can see from below were the same or very close.
My latest results after installing ADSLNation Faceplate are :
                                        3/11                        4/11                        6/11                    9/11                    14/11
Download speed                1040kps                  956kps                1164kps                1089kps              26044kps
DSL Conn rate Down        1856kps                3872kps                3808kps                3808kps            3904kps
                        UP            448kps                  448kps                  448kps                448kps                448kps
IP Profile                          1500kps                3000kps                3000kps                3000kps              3000kps
Router up time                                                                              47hrs                110hrs                      4 minutes
SN Margin (Down)                                                                      12.9db                14.9db                    15.4db
Attenuation                                                                                                            40db                        40db

Is the best I can expect or what can  I do to get a faster download speed?
Regards.

[#13]

Hi arjem,

Quote

To get the best out of your line in current circumstances I'd suggest you try watching your noise margin throughout say a 24 hour period, you should find that it is at it's greatest in the daytime. I'd suggest a re-boot of the modem/router in the day (I'm currently recommending at least 1 1/2 hrs after sunrise  & 1 1/2 hrs before sunset).

This is generally when NOISE is lowest ie SNRM is highest., not as Matt had accidently implied by saying yes to your question.
To answer your last question the answer is no, it should do better, as I said previously. This will be achieved in two ways, by getting your Target SNRM down by a long period of stabilty at a constant (or higher) sync speed. The higher sync speed can usually be achieved by re-booting if the SNRM is 1dB above you current Target when noise levels are steady during the day. Under any other circumstances it gets risky. In other words if your current Target is 15dB, which yours looks as thought it is, then a re-boot when it is at a steady 16dB or higher.
Warning though - do NOT do multiple re-boots in a short space of time. To give a good safety margin (usually) nor more than 2 or 3 times in an hour waiting a good few minutes between each, then leave it alone for the rest of the day.
To do it a safer way, powerdown and wait several minutes before powering up again or when you need to swap things around for testing, powerdown your modem/router and wait several minutes for unplugging anything that disconnects it from the line eg. it's cable, the filter, master faceplate etc. Don't do this more than 5 times in an hour, and then leave it alone for the rest of the day. This is to help prevent the exchange DLM from thinking you have an intermittent line problem..
Again I stress if you are trying to achieve a better sync, you must do it when the SNRM is stable.

[#14]

Alternatively, you could raise a ticket and ask Plusnet to ask BT to reduce your target margin to 12dB as your line appears to be stable.
Who knows you might be able to go even lower - provided your data error rate remains low.

[#15]

The reason I hadn't suggested that yet Jeremy is that there has been no obvious cause for which an obvious fix was apparent and I'm not sure there is quite enough evidence that the line is stable. If we can pump up the sync a bit and things still seem stable, then we should be able to go down that path.