Interleaving - apparently turned off?

[#1]

Hi guys - called support on 01/05/10 to request interleaving to be turned off on my line. I was told then that the order would complete on 04/05/10.
Called up yesterday and was told interleaving was turned off on the 1st. Not according to my pings / router, though:
Pinging www.bbc.net.uk [212.58.246.159] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 212.58.246.159: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=56
Reply from 212.58.246.159: bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=56
Reply from 212.58.246.159: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=56
Reply from 212.58.246.159: bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=56
Ping statistics for 212.58.246.159:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 32ms, Maximum = 33ms, Average = 32ms
Pinging www-tmmdi.l.google.com [216.239.59.105] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 216.239.59.105: bytes=32 time=47ms TTL=52
Reply from 216.239.59.105: bytes=32 time=46ms TTL=52
Reply from 216.239.59.105: bytes=32 time=46ms TTL=52
Reply from 216.239.59.105: bytes=32 time=47ms TTL=52
Ping statistics for 216.239.59.105:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 46ms, Maximum = 47ms, Average = 46ms
Also my router is saying:
Parameters
DSP Firmware Version E.25.41.55 A 
Connected true
Operational Mode G.Dmt.BisPlus
Annex Type AnnexA
Upstream 450000
Downstream 11242700
Elapsed Time 0 day 2 hr 13 min 20 sec
SNR Margin(Upstream) 18.5 dB
SNR Margin(Downstream) 13.50 dB
Line Attenuation(Upstream) 28.0 dB 
Line Attenuation(Downstream) 31.0 dB 
CRC Errors(Upstream) 0 
CRC Errors(Downstream) 0 
Latency(Upstream) Interleave 
Latency(Downstream) Interleave 

I've disconnected and reconnected a bunch as I've been playing with settings trying to squeeze some more juice out of the line. So it should have picked up any changes if that was what was needed. Would you agree interleaving is still on? I have a 'My question' logged but I thought I'd float it here as the responses here seem unusually relevant and focussed for an internet forum. 

[#2]

What part of the country are you from?  As plusnet's gateways are in london (i think).  I get a ping of around 26 with interleaving off  , it was around 50 on

[#3]

South West - Dorset.
Here some recent pings (just now - 21:48):
>ping www.theregister.co.uk
Pinging www.theregister.co.uk [212.100.234.54] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 212.100.234.54: bytes=32 time=81ms TTL=56
Reply from 212.100.234.54: bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=56
Reply from 212.100.234.54: bytes=32 time=41ms TTL=56
Reply from 212.100.234.54: bytes=32 time=40ms TTL=56
Ping statistics for 212.100.234.54:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 33ms, Maximum = 81ms, Average = 48ms
>ping www.bbc.co.uk
Pinging www.bbc.net.uk [212.58.244.141] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 212.58.244.141: bytes=32 time=69ms TTL=55
Reply from 212.58.244.141: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=55
Reply from 212.58.244.141: bytes=32 time=34ms TTL=55
Reply from 212.58.244.141: bytes=32 time=46ms TTL=55
They can't be right, can they?

[#4]

Seems high to me , I have interleaving switched off , not sure if location has loads to do with it , but I am in the midlands, here's my results from the same sites -
Pinging www.theregister.co.uk [212.100.234.54] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 212.100.234.54: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=56
Reply from 212.100.234.54: bytes=32 time=20ms TTL=56
Reply from 212.100.234.54: bytes=32 time=27ms TTL=56
Reply from 212.100.234.54: bytes=32 time=20ms TTL=56
Ping statistics for 212.100.234.54:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 20ms, Maximum = 27ms, Average = 22ms
Pinging www.bbc.net.uk [212.58.244.141] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 212.58.244.141: bytes=32 time=20ms TTL=55
Reply from 212.58.244.141: bytes=32 time=24ms TTL=55
Reply from 212.58.244.141: bytes=32 time=21ms TTL=55
Reply from 212.58.244.141: bytes=32 time=21ms TTL=55
Ping statistics for 212.58.244.141:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 20ms, Maximum = 24ms, Average = 21ms
Cheers
Paul

[#5]

Your router clearly states interleaving is on (Latency lines) so the order has either not completed yet or was rejected (which BT Wholesale often do). You will have to persist with the ticket system to get it sorted.

[#6]

I thought that couldn't be right. Thanks for the responses guys. I shall persist in my quest for the fastest possible headshots

[#7]

Hi folks - I've been told it's definitely been turned off but it can't be. I've seen forum posts here that suggest issues with the BT reporting system reporting it's on when it's off and vice versa.
I've dug out some detailed stats from my Billion BiPac 7402NX - surely these prove it's on? I've asked for it to be toggled 'on' and back off (ticket 33336679  refers).
There's lots to do with interleaving in there and FEC errors:
I suppose, with all these errors, should I be having it turned off? A MW2 edge is a MW2 edge though...
Latency(Upstream) Interleave
Latency(Downstream) Interleave
LocalFastChannelRxRate = 0
LocalFastChannelTxRate = 0
LocalFastChannelFEC = 0
LocalFastChannelCRC = 0
LocalFastChannelHEC = 0
LocalFastChannelNCD = 0
LocalFastChannelOCD = 0
LocalFastChannelLCD = 0
LocalInterleavedChannelRxRate = 9079400
LocalInterleavedChannelTxRate = 786000
LocalInterleavedChannelFEC = 0
LocalInterleavedChannelCRC = 0
LocalInterleavedChannelHEC = 0
LocalInterleavedChannelNCD = 0
LocalInterleavedChannelOCD = 0
LocalInterleavedChannelLCD = 0
InterleaveDpDn = 64
InterleaveDpUp = 8
LocalMgmtFEC0  = 22966677
LocalMgmtCRC0  = 91

[#8]

Hi r3fl3x,
It's on, without a doubt (BT pages confirm). Do you want to try the connection with it off? I'm not sure we'd be happy just toggling on and off in a 48 hour period to be honest as we get charged for each order.

[#9]

Turn it off Matt, please! I only said toggle it on and off because I was told it was off in the first place..
There's a previous ticket of mine to do with this where an agent has said he's double and triple checked my line and it's definitely off. Don't know what's happened there..
Merci beaucoup!

[#10]

New customer myself, waiting for my broadband to be activated - just out of interest guys, what is 'interleaving' and why having it 'off' will make a difference ?

[#11]

To the best of my knowledge it's a form of error correction which helps maintain a stable line. However that stability comes at a price in that there's an overhead applied to your traffic up and down your line.
This overhead means you won't download at the fastest possible speed because some of your bandwidth is used by the error correcting packets, but more importantly (for gamers) there's an increase in latency (packet speed) because the packets are (excuse the n00bism here) kind of split up into smaller packets before they can be sent or fully received.
Happy to be corrected but that's my understanding of it!
Executive summary: Turning interleaving off (FastPath) can give you more throughput and faster speed, but at the expense of stability.
Edit for typo fixing.

[#12]

Interleaving is a form of error checking on broadband which attempts to maintain data integrity.
The 'downside' is that latency is increased which is not a problem with normal web browsing but is with gaming.
Therefore having it turned off reduces latency (ping times) and can enhance the gaming experience.
Edit: as a footnote to what r3fl3x has said.

[#13]

Turning interleaving off on a longer line that is prone to errors can result in a very significant reduction on sync speed as the DLM will raise the target noise margin to get rid of the errors.

[#14]

Hi r3fl3x,
Order placed and due to complete Monday for you.

[#15]

Fantastic. Thank you Matt. Have a good weekend!
dick:quote