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Broadband: Broadband: Is my cable connection becoming saturated?
- 10/2/09 10:18 AM
news story contains good technical advice
by LloydSchulz - 9/21/09 7:30 AM In reply to: Broadband: Is my cable connection becoming saturated? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Botnets have a serious impact on system performance. This article gives good insight into what can be done about it.
http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=54587&PageMem=1
Modem activity
by krehmke - 9/21/09 9:14 AM In reply to: Broadband: Is my cable connection becoming saturated? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
It is probably pings hitting the modem firewall from all over the internet.
It is the architecture of Cable Modems.
by gfine - 9/21/09 7:50 PM In reply to: Broadband: Is my cable connection becoming saturated? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
First don't confuse Cable modems with DSL (or ADSL) modems.
The way cable modem networks are architected they shared a 'headend' which is basically a network switch with a 'fanout' to each modem connected to it. As more modems share the switch the more saturated the network becomes. Cable networks use a method similar to Ethernet with collision detection and the usual 'wait for the line' methodology. So the more modems talking to the headend the more you wait for the line. Hence that is why you see a slower connection. Unless you pay for a 'special' connection which gives you more access to the headend, you wait. Headends are connected downline to the 'large pipe' which is main carrier of your signals to the net.
ADSL does not suffer from this because it is basically one line that accumulates at the CO (Central Office) and then a massively parallel switch handles the traffic. Unless the 'large pipe' is saturated ADSL is usually unimpeded by the its architecture versus that of a cable modem. The drawback is that ADSL is usually not as fast as Cable, but only by a small margin.
Or so I have been told. I had one of the first hundred Cable Modems in my city and as things slowed down a network expert explained it to me what I have just described. I use ADSL these days.
call your provider
by WARP718 - 9/29/09 2:41 AM In reply to: Broadband: Is my cable connection becoming saturated? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Awhile back my CABLE INTERNET service too, deteriorated.
I just called the cable company and scheduled a free check-up (make sure you get a free checkup-REQUEST IT!)
You pay good $$ I am sure for your access-USE THE SERVICE TO IT'S FULL EXTENT.
As for cause; It could be any number of issues or multiple issues, even. In my case it was cable degradation. Since I rented, the line was split off so many times (to each bedroom HD box {3} by the time it got to my modem the signal was very low-almost unreadable).
The tech's have a device that actually measures signals-VERY HANDY to troubleshoot. (Of course it's "specialized" equipment that only a repair tech would have usually.
CALL YOU PROVIDER YOU PAID FOR THIS SERVICE!
Old Modem?
by mattruhlman - 10/2/09 6:57 PM In reply to: Broadband: Is my cable connection becoming saturated? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Depending on the cable system, people usually expect the provider to inform them of outdated boxes! The cable provider is expecting the customer to call in and have a service call to follow up. The tech should recognize the outdated box. If you have had the cable modem 4-8 years, most likely it can't handle the speed boosts that cable provider adds to service. The cable modem has it's hardware and software limits! If the customer requests a new cable modem, there's no charge for the swap! Reason is that there's a rental on the modem each month. Now if it's customer owned. Is it 4-8 years old - needs replace most likely? The customer fears the service charge of $20-$25 - that's why they don't call the service provider! The newer cable modems in the marketplace now can handle up to 26 MBS;even though, the service provider is supplying lesser speeds.
first things first
by Quanmeg - 10/2/09 7:27 PM In reply to: Broadband: Is my cable connection becoming saturated? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
It seems like everyone is jumping to conclusions about the most ominous things really fast.
The first step to take when your speed seems sluggish is to test the speed.
I use speedtest.net which pings a nearby location and measures the timing of the ping to calculate the speed. Since speed varries at any given moment I usualy do about 6 or 8 tests and average them.
I recently subscribed to a new ISP that was advertising a 6 mb/s speed the technician installed it and tested it and said everything was working fine, but within a day or so it seemed very sluggish. I ran a test only to find that my 6 mb connection was really just barely a 2 mb connection.
Unfortunatly ISPs are in need of some serious regulation. Rarely do you find an ISP that really provides the speed you think you have. Many ISPs say somthing like "lightning speeds up to 6 mb/s" and unfortunatly the only time you can ever approach 6 mb/s is at 4AM on the third sunday morning of the month for a period of about 15 minutes and the rest of the time you are paying for 6mb/s and only receiving 4. My personal opinion is ISP's should have to provide a minimum speed assurance.
Another thing that speedtest.net does is that it shows you the average speed that other people using your ISP have based on their tests. If you are below the average it's time to call customer service. It is amazing the speed you will get from the ISP when you complain about your speed and you have actual data to back up your claims. It only takes them a a minute to reprovision your cable modem so your speed is where it should be and you can test it from your end while you are on the phone with them.
If speedtest.net says you have above average speed for your ISP and your connection still seems sluggish then it is time to start looking for a deeper source of the problem.
A good cleanup with a program like cleanup.exe can is a good place to start and then work toward detection of bot programming etc., but you may just find that all the crap you have installed on your computer over the years is hogging your resources and you are only realizing it when you are online.
Simple easy steps
by djrobsd - 10/2/09 8:23 PM In reply to: Broadband: Is my cable connection becoming saturated? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
#1 - Disconnect your cable modem from your router. Plug directly into your PC. Does this fix issue? The cable company WILL require you to do this if you call them.
#2 - Now that you've ruled out the router, next step, have a friend with a known good working laptop come over, plug their laptop right into your cable modem. Still slow? Then the problem is not your computer, or your router.
#3 - Replace the cable modem. You can get them for $49-69 at the store now days - just call your cable company and make sure it's an approved list. Once they activate it, still slow? Have a tech come out.
#4 - Tech come out - have the tech test your lines, signal strength, etc. If the tech determines a problem with your wiring, you'll have to pay to have it repaired, but this can go a long way to fixing these type of problems.
#5 - They suck - last but not least you are screwed if your cable company is over-subscribing on your node - you'll want to look at other options such as DSL, wireless through your cell phone provider (usually only 1mbps speed, but still better then a bad cable connection), or... Satellite internet.. Those are the worst options, but if you can't resolve it those are your choices.
Give me a break, if you use Windows, you will have trouble.
by Porch-a-Geese - 10/2/09 10:26 PM In reply to: Broadband: Is my cable connection becoming saturated? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Enough is enough. You're using a crappy OS. You will get viruses. It is unstable by design. The paging file can be read. The passwords can be decrypted. Code will run and execute itself. The kernel can be hacked. You have no real control over any service.
If a person sticks their hand in a fire once or twice, it is a mistake.
If the person does it multiple times, that person is a fool.
You want stability? Use a BSD flavor, use a Linux distro, buy the apple source code and make your own MAc-type release; but, don't expect to be trouble free using windows.
Trojans? Your fault, should do research before you go hopping around the internet on a system known for security holes.
Testing the upload and download speed? Right. Using a tool such as wget will give you a true reading from each site.
Saturated connection? Oh for the love of god. I can run this computer with a virtual machine, the laptop, and another computer and nothing is saturated.
Broadband slowdown? Nope, Again, crappy OS.
Sorry, but you deserve what happened.
I may be coarse but those who use a Unix-type system know that I am telling the truth.
And a load of people in the same boat giving advice makes as much sense as a blind man picking out a color scheme for the bathroom.
Your right, but...
by studmoose - 10/3/09 9:44 AM In reply to: Give me a break, if you use Windows, you will have trouble. by Porch-a-GeeseThe majority of people are running Windows because it offers the most software offerings, it is something they are familiar with, and it shares commonality amongst most offices and homes.
Sure Linux and Unix flavors offer many speed and security benefits, but they are not as system friendly in an Enterprise environment - since they offer very little in the way of capacity planning, security management, internals monitoring, process monitoring, etc. Some of the techies at work(a large milti-national custody firm) can hack themselves into supervisor state in seconds on most Unix Os systems. So they are not the most secure software platforms either. Unix does have other holes too. Plus also, Unix/Linux is not in every school, every home, every store... so only techies run with them.
The question is raised about the ISP speed and this is mainly platform independent - sure Windows has many drawbacks - but that won't change why people are using it.
Unix hacking= unsecure setup
by Porch-a-Geese - 10/3/09 4:54 PM In reply to: Your right, but... by studmooseIf you can hack into a Unix or Linux server, the person didn't install it properly.
Wanna bet?
by studmoose - 10/3/09 5:49 PM In reply to: Unix hacking= unsecure setup by Porch-a-GeeseOne time was during a large software vendor's security class.
The only OS that is close to hack proof and virus proof is the IBM z platform. All the rest pale in comparison in diagnostic/security capabilities. Unix runs faster as its OS does not run in a fully optimized state. Many of the 'faster' systems and databases are fast because they trade referential integity for speed.
Correction...
by studmoose - 10/3/09 5:50 PM In reply to: Wanna bet? by studmooseoptimized state = authorized state
State - State of confusion
by msgale - 10/3/09 7:42 PM In reply to: Wanna bet? by studmooseWhat is authorized state, perhaps you mean Supervisor state? "Unix runs faster as its OS does not run in a fully optimized state" If you mean supervisor/privileged state, that is true, and is by design. Everything running on a computer should run at the lowest possible state, thereby protecting the system.
It's Authorized State, Meaning Restricted Access
by studmoose - 10/4/09 7:56 AM In reply to: State - State of confusion by msgaleYou only want certain programs to run in an authorized state, on some platforms that is also called supervisor state. But this access has to be given out sparingly. Only someone who does not know how their applications operate grant access to everything.
You don't want to give all your programs on your server full system access. If a rogue program gets installed from a non-trusted source, you open your server up to compromise.
If I recall right, OS/2 and early WINNT ran this way - but it slowed the PCs down so much that NT removed many of these checks, thereby making it faster and less secure.
Unix hacking: 2
by Porch-a-Geese - 10/4/09 3:16 AM In reply to: Wanna bet? by studmooseI'll bet with secure levels, wheel, and umask.
Make that two zero two.
Who was this large software vendor and what tests were run?
What was the setup of each system being tested?
Where they made as secure as possible or with the so called "default" configuration?
Security in the BSDs comes from the first listed.
Security in Linux comes from service controls, groups, permissions.
Security from plan9 comes from file directories and user control.
The z platform is an architecture.
The z/OS is what you are referring to; and, by the way, both are developed by IBM.
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