Improving speed?

[#1]

Hi,
I'm on a long line to my exchange - not sure of the exact length but 3.5 to 4.5Km (63db attenuation suggests the latter).
Normal download speeds are 1.1 to 1.3Mbs / 0.35Mbs up
FTTC won't be in my area for some time so I'm trying to squeeze the last bit out of the existing connection.
I have a filtered BT faceplate (says ADSL V1.0) which the router is sat next to.
I have 1 DECT telephone base located away from the router and the other extensions about the house connect via their radio link, so no messy extension wiring or filters.
I'm thinking of getting a Billion 7800n or DXL as the reviews say they are good for long reach.
Also, with this router, I could tweak the SNR, mabe only 0.5 of 1db and this might take my sync speed up into the next IP profile.
Even an extra 200kbs would be worth the effort, more would be great.
Am I just grasping at straws / talking twaddle!? Can anything be done? will it be possible to get an improvement, albeit even a small improvement with changes my end or tweaks by Plusnet?
ATB
Supernova.
========================================================
Router is a 2 Wire 2700HG-B
DSL Connection Details
DSL Line (Wire Pair): Line 1 (inner pair)
Protocol: G.DMT Annex A
Downstream Rate: 1824 kbps (usual sync speed 1800 o 1920kbs)
Upstream Rate: 448 kbps 
Channel: Interleaved
Current Noise Margin: 6.0 dB (Downstream), 14.0 dB (Upstream)
Current Attenuation: 63.0 dB (Downstream), 31.5 dB (Upstream)
Current Output Power: 16.7 dBm (Downstream), 12.3 dBm (Upstream)
DSLAM Vendor Information: Country: {0xB5} Vendor: {IFTN} Specific: {0xB182}
PVC Info: 0/38

Internet Connection Details
Connection Type: PPPoE
==========================================================
BT Wholesale test
Download Speed
1.18 Mbps
 
0 Mbps 2 Mbps
Max Achievable Speed
Download speedachieved during the test was - 1.18 Mbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 0.4 Mbps-2 Mbps.
Additional Information:
Your DSL Connection Rate :1.82 Mbps(DOWN-STREAM), 0.45 Mbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 1.25 Mbps
============================================================
Router info:-
Transmit and Receive Data
IP Bytes  Packets  Errors
Transmit: 9569588  40211  0
Receive: 35580411  41877  0
Data Errors
Statistics
Collected for 1:53:33
Since Reset Current 24-Hour Interval Current 15-Minute Interval Time Since Last Event
ATM Cell Header Errors: 15 15 0 0:16:19

ATM Loss of Cell Delineation: 0 0 0 0:00:00
DSL Link Retrains: 0 0 0 0:00:00
DSL Training Errors: 1 1 0 1:52:56
DSL Training Timeouts: 0 0 0 0:00:00
DSL Loss of Framing Failures: 0 0 0 0:00:00
DSL Loss of Signal Failures: 0 0 0 0:00:00
DSL Loss of Power Failures: 0 0 0 0:00:00
DSL Loss of Margin Failures: 0 0 0 0:00:00
DSL Cumulative Errored Seconds: 16 16 0 0:16:18
DSL Severely Errored Seconds: 0 0 0 0:00:00
DSL Corrected Blocks: 528 528 30 0:00:14
DSL Uncorrected Blocks: 24 24 0 0:16:18
ISP Connection Establishment: 1 1 1 0:00:56

[#2]

That 2-wire has an excellent reputation for long lines. But what's the uptime on those current stats?
You have my sympathy here, because 20CN long line and you are only able to get a small change in speed to move to the next profile and on 20CN that small change takes nearly the full 5 days continuous connection to get reflected in the BT IP Profile.
With your Current speed your profile should rise to 1.5Mbps. You need to sync at 2016 kbps to 2240 kbps to get a 1.75Mbps profile.
Edit: forgot to ask has the Billion got the ability to drop the PPP Internet session, I think it has but not sure?

[#3]

Quote from: Anotherone

That 2-wire has an excellent reputation for long lines. But what's the uptime on those current stats? You have my sympathy here, because 20CN long line and you are only able to get a small change in speed to move to the next profile and on 20CN that small change takes nearly the full 5 days continuous connection to get reflected in the BT IP Profile. With your Current speed your profile should rise to 1.5Mbps. You need to sync at 2016 kbps to 2240 kbps to get a 1.75Mbps profile. Edit: forgot to ask has the Billion got the ability to drop the PPP Internet session, I think it has but not sure?

Hi Anotherone,
Typically the router will hold connection for at least a day or so, sometimes for several days without dropout.
I think the "collect for 1:53 is the lenght of time" is the up time on the stats (1:53) The connection is quite robust, hence my thinking it can be pushed a bit harder.
Not sure about the Billion PPP internet session, TBH I don't know how that effects me
ATB
SN.

[#4]

Not helpful that dropping connection, it may take longer for the Profile to go up.
It can be a good idea to drop the PPP session before powering off the modem/router (to effect a reboot) and power it on again after ideally say 10 minutes. Especially important if you have a dropping connection. This helps DLM to not treat it as a connection drop.
With an SNRM tweek you can coax it to go a bit higher, but what time of day does it tend to drop?
Edit: By the way, welcome to the Forums.

[#5]

Thanks for the welcome.
The 2 wire has very little in the way of diagnostics or logging so I don't know when a drop out occurs.
I can't see a disconnect function in any of the 2 wire menus it's that basic and another reason to get a better router ....as long as the new modem has at least as good long reach performance
Normally ithe 2wire will go for days, the last few have been a problem due to Plusnet issues.
The profile has been in the region of 1700 to 1900kbs for the last 6 months. I was using a netgear router, the best this could connect at was 1200kbs, the old 2 wire does a much better job.
I'm hoping the Billion can do at least as well with a small SNR tweak.
ATB
SN
dick:quote

[#6]

OK want to do some more sophisticated monitoring? Are you running a windows machine?

[#7]

Quote from: Anotherone

OK want to do some more sophisticated monitoring? Are you running a windows machine?

Would be good to get some data to see if anything can be tweaked and have hard facts of 'before and after' should I change the router.
I'm running Vista home premium 32bit OS
ATB
SN

[#8]

Well if the Billion can do SNR tweaks, yes. But this is to find out a bit more about what your line is like and if the noise levels vary a lot.
Go to here to get RouterStatsLite. Get the Zipped version and install it in it's own folder on the C drive, and NOT in Program Files. It's a plug and play job you need to define a folder to save graphs to.
I'll go and look up some settings whilst you are doing that. Just set it running with the default settings for now.

[#9]

Hi,
Stats lite is running, I'll leave it on tonight and see what the graphs look like in the morning.
Cheers
SN.

[#10]

OK, I guess you will have sussed out the Router, URL & Login tabs OK.
On the Capture Tab define a folder where you want to save the graphs. Tick the boxes except the Ping plot.
On the Log Tab, type a suitable file name for the log file, say something like RSLite.txt and then click Browse and go to the same folder as the graphs. Tick Enable log, and select Comma separated values.
Nothing to do on the appearance Tab, and on the System Tab tick Minimise to Tray, Prompt before closing, Show Noise margin on tray Icon, Show tooltip hints, Show Ping plotter if you want that. Untick the remaining 3 if any ticked.
On the Graphs Tab, for the Noise Margin Tick the Plot Average value, and in the righthand box, plot every 10 seconds, 720 points per page.

[#11]

I would maximise the Window before minimising it to the tray, this gives the captured graphs the maximum size for good readability.
If you right click a graph you can see various options,Capture should be ticked. You can as you can see do a capture at any time as well.
To attach a graph to a post,if you use the Reply button below the last post, or when you've type in the quick reply box - click Preview, you'll see an Addional Options + click on the +. You can then browse to the folder with the graphs. HTH.
Try a Capture now for the Noise Margin and post one after you done the settings just to see what it looks like.

[#12]

Hi AO,
I didn't see your last post before bailing out last night and like a numpty, didn't tick the save graphs / log boxes 
ah well, attached are the graph of the last 4 hrs and also the log graphed in excel which shows speed and noise on the same graph.
Router diagnostics show the router has not dropped connection for the last 24 hrs, at least that's a good sign.
ATB
SN

[#13]

Ah well, never mind, we can all be numpties   The graphs that will me most interesting in the first instance, are those that go from daylight through dusk and into the night, through the night, and again at dawn to daylight.
It's a shame that the modem/router is only reporting the SNRM in 1dB steps, which means on the attached graph the SNRM may actually just be floating around 6.4 to 6.6dB for example. This is where the average plot comes in more useful as well, it'll give a better idea of where it actually may be. So remember to turn on the Average SNRM plotting on the Graphs Tab.
Edit: when you get the connection drops/resyncs, do they tend to occur at any particular time, or have you noticed them coincide with anything such as the phone being used. I realise that from the stats you'd have to guess a little, based on the current uptime.

[#14]

Quote

Edit: when you get the connection drops/resyncs, do they tend to occur at any particular time, or have you noticed them coincide with anything such as the phone being used. I realise that from the stats you'd have to guess a little, based on the current uptime.

If it's any help, you can get a complete training history from the 2700. Go to http://home/mdc , enter the system password and then select 'Dsl diagnostics' from the Troubleshooting section of the menu on the LHS. It will give a complete history of retrains since the router was last powered up.
BTW

Quote

I can't see a disconnect function in any of the 2 wire menus it's that basic and another reason to get a better route

There is no disconnect for the ppp sesion on the 2700, you can reset it i.e disconnect/reconnect but there's no just disconnect

[#15]

Ah, thanks for that, not had time to wade through the manual, I'd forgotten you were a bit of an expert on those - I should keep notes that could well be very helpful.