Paying for some thing that I no longer get

[#1]

Quote from: DaveMcC

Historical information for this exchange: Status Date green 17 Jun 11 green 27 May 11 green 21 May 11 green 13 May 11 green 11 May 11 Please note: This checker is not a generic fault tracker. It is updated weekly when updates are available and reflects a snapshot of speed capacity from each exchange. Results shown here should not lead you to conclusive proof of an issue.

It has been found that the automatic status is NOT definitive: When Plusnet have made enquires, Red VP have been found by BT, even when the automatic result checker has reported green.

[#2]

Quote from: WWWombat

I read the same figures in a very different way... If the speed reductions were caused by many retries on the ADSL portion of the link, then I figure that DLM would have cut in somewhere - and turned interleaving off, and reduced the sync speed (by increasing the target SNR). But the sync speed stays resolutely at 8128 - meaning that DLM has taken no action whatsoever over the time period. DaveMcC has since confirmed that he has a very stable link: 98 hours of uptime. This really doesn't look like a noise/interference problem to me. The more I read, the more it looks like exchange congestion...

That's a solid argument you make, WWWombat.  Could one strengthen this inference by running speed tests at different times of day?  Presumably in the middle of the night when most potential internet users are tucked up in bed then you should get a good result?

[#3]

Can I add a bit to the debate on line speed etc, I a at present trying to do a download OpenSUSE  11.4-DVD-i586.iso
Its downloading very NOT fast 256kbps going up to 4kbps then dropping back, if my line speed was a stable 7100kbps, what download speed would I expect.
Also a mate of mine, who has a slow line, just below  1 000kbps, bought a new computer single core to dual, windows xp pro 1gb ram, to win7 with 2gb of ram, he tells me that the computer is slower, but his line speed is up to 2500kbps, must point out he is with a different provider
Just thought I would add that in?
Dave

[#4]

some download sites are restricted at this time of night
see here http://usergroup.plus.net/prodcomp2.php ; put in your pckage to see the expected speeds

[#5]

Hi there,
I've requested a VP check for you as the usertools exchange checker was last updated on the 17th June. I'll update as soon as this is received, hopefully that'll clear things up.

[#6]

Quote from: ReedRichards

That's a solid argument you make, WWWombat.  Could one strengthen this inference by running speed tests at different times of day?  Presumably in the middle of the night when most potential internet users are tucked up in bed then you should get a good result?

For some reason, the forum system didn't show this as a response, so it took a bit of time for me to see it...
Anyway - the general answer is yes - additional speed tests at different times of day help identify exchange congestion - because the congestion will usually be domestic, and appear between 4pm and midnight (worst seems to be about 9pm). The first steps in tackling the problem are to identify any kind of pattern... In this thread, there was a long list of tests which showed (IIRC) variable speedtests from 450Kbps - 3Mbps in the evening, but 4.5Mbps - 5Mbps in daytime. There were a lot of evening tests that showed bigger problems, but fewer tests that showed the background behaviour during daytime. Some extra daytime tests would have helped show how much the problem was restricted to evenings, or how much the daytime was affected too (the daytime numbers that were given weren't perfect either).
The middle of the night can be a good time, but it isn't always the best. Certainly the network gets a sudden spike shortly after midnight, when delayed downloads kick in - so that might not be a good time. Beyond 1AM is probably OK, and perhaps up to mid-day.
Plusnet used to provide graphs of their network behaviour, over at Broadband Usage and Packet Drops. With those, you could try to match your personal experience against PN's core network and/or individual pipes. However, those graphs haven't been updated for a while (and not since they started to move onto the 10Gb pipes, if I recall correctly). However, even the outdated graphs give an idea of when peak usage is.

[#7]

We've had a reply back:
"The VP for this circuit has been checked and has been found to have breached a trigger threshold instigating congestion relief.  A regrade is scheduled, however, there are delays published preventing this work."
So it is confirmed as exchange contention, and we'll make sure to let you know when we hear anything about upgrades.

[#8]

Quote from: DaveMcC

Can I add a bit to the debate on line speed etc, I a at present trying to do a download OpenSUSE  11.4-DVD-i586.iso Its downloading very NOT fast 256kbps going up to 4kbps then dropping back, if my line speed was a stable 7100kbps, what download speed would I expect.

It depends where you are getting it from. Plusnet classify some websites/servers as either "Download servers" or "Download websites", which get "managed" more than standard browsing. Take a look at the download speeds page, and see the Key at the bottom. The entry for "Download sites & servers - Large file transfers to or from the following sites and sources" has a link that activates a popup.
One location mentioned is the "Kent Mirror Site", which is a common place to source Linux DVDs from. It is at http://www.mirrorservice.org/
If you were downloading from one of those sites/servers, then the speed could have been (after 6pm)  either 256kbps (for sites) or 2Mbps (for servers) on the either product type, although the management rates vary at other times.
If you were getting the disk through P2P methods, the limit would have been even lower.
BUT... Matt's post on exchange congestion shows that you're perhaps more likely to be limited by what other people are doing on your exchange.

[#9]

I get good downloads for Linux on bit torrent if I specify that I only want encrypted connections...

[#10]

Twice now I have had a Linux OpenSuse download die, 1st last night and the 2nd today, both fails, unknown errors? 4.7 and 4.2gb downloads
in fact it got so bad today, that my son who only came home from hospital at 1:30pm decided that he would start his dissatation thing for uni, but could not stay connected.................
I don't know, I noticed that todays download speed was at a stable 650kbps 1/10 of the line speed
I am losing the will to live here, na,,, losing the will to pay for b-band