Ultra low connection speed - help with interpreting router stats

[#1]

Help please in interpreting the stats from the 2704n router.  I'm assuming that 7 - Data rate, 8 - Maximum data rate, 9 - Noise margin and 10 - Line attenuation are upload followed by download.

Attenuation has been constant at 12.2/22.0.  Noise margin has hovered around 7.1/34.9.  Max data rate is just above to 1300/17000.  Data rate remains constant at 1276/572.

Presumably what I want to see is the data rate to increase significantly while the download noise margin falls to nearer 6. 

I've been told (ticket 160849794) that the line is dropping out frequently but the router's uptime doesn't reflect this.  It currently shows 44 hours.  Will tiny dropouts affect the connection speed without killing the connection completely?

The 'leave it for 3 days to settle down' comment presumably doesn't stop me from disconnecting and swapping to an older router as nothing much seems to be happening after nearly 2 days.  Since last weekend I've isolated the house wiring and swapped the microfilter.  All that's left is the router and the external wiring.

[#2]

The download speed is ridiculously low, first thing to try is to power off the router for a minute or 2 then switch it on again. If you still get the low download speed and high SNR margin then the line may be banded (i.e. fixed) at the low speed possibly caused by the line dropouts. The router uptime may only tell you the time the router has been powered up. Is there a connection uptime value? If it is banded it will not change in 3 days, needs intervention from PlusNet to remove the banding and fix the dropouts if still happening.

[#3]

Please copy and paste all of the stats - it gives us the full picture.

[#4]

Here is a full set of current stats.  I'll probably try a different router tomorrow so might be able to get a different set of stats.

1 - Product name:	Plusnet Router
2 - Serial number:	[Removed]
3 - Firmware version:	7.275.2_F2704N_Plusnet
4 - Board version:	F@ST2704N
5 - Mode	ADSL
6 - Uptime:	2 days 09:07:05
7 - Data rate:	1276/572
8 - Maximum data rate:	1300/17232
9 - Noise margin:	6.5/35.1
10 - Line attenuation:	12.2/22.0
12 - Data sent/received:	140.1M/2.2G
20 - Broadband username:	[Removed]
21 - Wi-Fi network/SSID:	[Removed]
22 - Wi-Fi connections:	Enable(802.11 b/g/n(up to 144 Mb/s))20 MHz WPS disabled
23 - Wi-Fi security:	WPA2
24 - Wi-Fi channel:	Automatic (Smart Wireless)
25 - Firewall:	Default
26 - MAC Address:	[Removed]
27 - Software variant	Version 1.0
28 - Boot loader:	7.275.2

I'm fairly sure the uptime isn't just recording the time since it was last powered up.

PlusNet said they reset the banding last weekend.

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): Personal information removed from a public forum.

[#5]

That is grim.  The DS could be banded, but given you've had Plusnet tech looking at this ... I would have hoped they had eliminated that.  As for uptime, we really need to see a radius (VR) plot from Plusnet.

The uptime refers to the duration of the DLS session.  I am not sure what the Plusnet comment is referring to...

• DSL uptime is the duration for which synch has been maintained
• PPP uptime is the duration that an internet connection has been maintained to Plusnet - this is always less than DSL uptime (if only by a few seconds)
• PPP sessions can drop without dropping the DSL session - but that is not relevant to this issue

Broadband is not going to work well if the "phone" line is not working properly.

Please perform a quiet line test - dial 17070 select option 2 using a corded phone plugged into the test socket behind the face plate of the master socket. It should be silent. A noisy phone line (or no dial tone) will have a marked adverse impact on the performance of broadband.

If the line is noisy or there is no dial tone, then a PHONE LINE fault needs to be raised with your phone provider. If this is PlusNet, you can report a fault on line using the button below.

• Phone Faults

 @Gandalf - can you please cast your magic over this one please?

[#6]

The test on 17070 2 gives a silent line.

The setup is master socket then filtered to router and single phone.  The house wiring is totally isolated.

I have an old Linksys WAG354G which I am trying to configure (offline) to use with routerstats, using the configure RS link from Townman.  Once I'm happy with it I'll swap the routers over.  (I can't see a way of using routerstats with the Plusnet 2704 router.)

[#7]

Hi Alan,

You are correct - the 2704n was the first router out of the BT stable adopted by Plusnet.  The cynic in me believes that BT deliberately made it difficult to monitor line stats as a rouse to stop people knowing how their line is performing against that expected from a clean line.

If you need help with RS setup please ask.  The details will be a bit different for your router to those I provided for a TG582n.

[#8]

I've got RS to work and it confirms the line is a nightmare.  (The time coordinates in the attached graph are inaccurate when the machine wakes up from hibernation.)

Everything within the house has been swapped so the problem must be external.

I'll update the ticket and hope something constructive might happen.

[#9]

Updating the ticket has generated a phone call saying they have 'raised a fault which will be looked in to by our faults team'.

Let's see how this progresses but at least there's some action.

[#10]

There is some possibility that the ragginess of that graph is due to the router not responding to router stats data queries. Also RS has (with some routers) a habit of getting its messages out of synch with the consequences that the graph plots as zero.

You should check the router log to see if there were any resynchs matching the graph drops.