Broadband forum: Broadband: Is my cable connection becoming saturated?

Again, what was the test given for security?
How is the setup?
What release? Is it patched? How are the services run?

You're leaving too much out.


Anyone can su into a Linux installation, provided that:
1) The system is setup insecurely.
2) Some permission such as sudo or a value of 0777/777 is enabled.
3) The password is poorly encrypted.
4) SSH is insecurely installed and setup, along with other security features haphazardly put together.
5) Security hasn't been tested.

Let's not forget physical access to the server. This is more important.
Insecure BIOS, unencrypted partitions, etc.


From honey-pots to virtualization, there are many ways of fooling hackers; but, it goes back to the first step: Any system not secured is a security risk, even the z/Series.

and in my case, the ISP modem was busted, and in other cases the final loop modem was misbehaving. I've seen many scenarios where it was something my ISP, AT&T, or SBC was doing, or going, wrong.

I've been experiencing the same type of degradations over the past 6 months with the Verizon FiOS network in New Jersey. One of the big drivers for me to switch over to them was their speed, versus Comcast's Internet offering.

When I first switched over 2 years ago, Comcast could not touch it, almost doubling their network speed. Since then, Comcast has made great improvements to their network, and it seems that as more and more people switch over to FiOS, Verizon's network is beginning to lag too. Perhaps Comcast is fater here because some of their customers went over to FiOS and freed up demand on their network?

To give some numbers, last year I compared my system to my brother-in-law's Comcast connection. He lives two miles away from me, next to a South Jersey Comcast Central Office. I live about 12 from my FiOS CO. My FiOS was 15 megabits/second while his Comcast's connection was 6-7. Three months ago, when running Speedtest, we both were coming in consistantly at 12-13 megabits per second - a virtual tie. Now, when I run these tests throughout the day and this number ranges from 4.5-10 megabits for me and almost 15 for him. Comcast is now way superior to FiOS.

I've run multiple system scans and performance tests on my machines to fully optimize them, there is no malware or bot code on any of them.

I have to say this though, when I had Comcast, I would have around 5-6 days per year of complete internet outages and additional sporadic network outages. When you call, there has to be reports from 6 people in your neighborhood before they would consider it an important outage, sending someone out the same day. If no one else calls, you have to wait 3-4 days before you would get support. That sucked! One time, I was working from home for the week, took a hit on Monday and was told I would get help on Thursday afternoon. I went door-to-door asking neighbors to call it in. Still the repair wasn't done until Thursday. I had to take off from work using a couple of my comp days.

With FiOS, I had my first outage in two years yesterday, lasting 45 minutes. That's a BIG difference in quality of service. So I will tollerate slightly slower speeds for stability, but at this rate of network degradation - I'm not sure how much longer I can do that!

You are wrong. DSL is direct and Cable is shared bandwidth. Don't take my word on it, take Cisco Systems' word. I believe they have the technical expertise on these issues. It is NOT a myth!

The following is an excerpt from their help page with a product they own called "network magic":

"Cable connections offer a range of speeds, and their top-end potential speed is usually faster than that offered by many DSL broadband packages. "Potential" speed in this case is just that: since cable broadband connections share bandwidth with other neighbors using the same cable broadband, your actual speed can vary quite a bit depending on which of your neighbors are online and what they're doing. To continue the pipe analogy, your pipe to the Internet is shared with your neighbors, so if many of them are busy surfing the Web, they're filling up your shared pipe, potentially leaving you with less room to fill the pipe on your own -- i.e. less bandwidth for you. Cable broadband connections usually have no guaranteed lower limit (they won't promise that your speed won't drop below some threshold).

A DSL broadband connection to the Internet is a pipe of a fixed size directly to the Internet, not shared with anyone else. DSL broadband connections also offer a range of speeds, but the speeds they generally offer are fixed and mostly guaranteed because you're not sharing any bandwidth with your neighbors. As noted above, cable connections are usually potentially faster than DSL connections, but they're also potentially slower at times."*

*http://www1.purenetworks.com/product/speed-test/moreinfo.php

We had a motorola cable modem from 2000. Our internet provider had been upgrading access in the area but we were not seeing any changes. The cable company suggested upgrading the modem and when we did, it tripled our speed.

I am an experienced cable tech. Your ISP offers the BEST support to help you narrow down what the problem is. Contact your Broadband tech support and they can tell you, immediately, if there is a problem with the signal levels. They can also tell you your what your speeds look like (ACCURATELY). If needed, they can dispatch a PROFESSIONAL to troubleshoot and make any necessary repairs no charge (Unless you screwed it up). Once a professional has verified all is good on the cable side, then you can start eliminating other possibilities. Not saying this is you, but I hate when customers fault the ISP when their PCs are crap. On the other hand, there may actually be a cable issue and the customer goes for weeks, even months before they tell us about it and expect a credit. LOL! Hope this helps.
-Andrew-

I had a similar problem with my provider, COX cable in Fairfax County, VA. Sometimes I would have no WAN signal at all, it was an intermittent problem. First they told me over the phone after "checking their circuits" and seeing a lot of dropped carrier and modem resets, to get a new cable modem, I did - still had the problem. Then they sent a tech out, he left me a new test modem which they monitored - still had the problem. So, then they sent out a crew, dug up the yard and put in a new, waterproof cable line - that worked fine for about 1 year. Then problem recurred - lost WAN intermittently, slow access, etc. This time, during the discussion, the COX techs told me they had just upgraded the switch I was on - I suggested either there is somebody with heavy volume hogging the switch - it would bog down or drop me everyday around the same time of day - or they must have a bad circuit on their switch, to which they said, maybe we do - so I asked them to remedy the situation or I'd drop their service - but they never fixed it, so I cancelled the HS Internet and got a dedicated DSL service which although in theory was slower than cable, in reality, because it was a dedicated DSL, I had better throughput overall. Now that FiOS has come to my neighborhood, I have dropped all COX cable service and discontinued the DSL. So far, so good - reliable, better through-put and with bundle deal, cheaper overall. Some people in some areas report problems with FiOS, but I have no complaints- yet. BTW, I have an MS in Computers and Electrical Engineering and a law degree. Be skeptical of what your provder tells you - insist they fix it, it's what you pay for, and if they can't fix it and you have an alternative, cancel them!

Cable Broadband is shared bandwidth, unlike DSL. If your router and modem checkout fine I would suggest there is too much traffic on your cable system. Questions to ask: Have more of your neighbors signed up for cable broadband? Do you live in a location where new construction has recently been finished and more people reside and use cable broadband than when you initially got your cable service?

While cable can be much faster than typical DSL, it often is not. Depends on how many are using it at the same time. Ever notice cable tv On Demand works well at the strangest hours? This uses the same broadband your cable internet works on. At times it gets overloaded and can only function in one direction (broadcast only) Just something to consider.

Now that you have further responded, it does sound like a particularly vexing problem. It has been my experience that LinkSys devices are particularly choosey about voltage, and wild behaviors and failures can result from such.

Oddly enough simply powering one with a line conditioner or UPS with line-conditioning has cured some exasperating problems for some of my clients. Some have even had to go to the extreme of putting a cheap inline hub before and after the router, taking care to use linksys hubs so at least that small segment of cable would have the proper voltage.

When the hubs fail it is no big deal, cost wise that way. I know this probably sounds flaky, but in the Denver area this has worked for many people.

Doing a firmware update definitely improved this problem for previous models, but I thought I read your model had the problem whipped already; so perhaps I should digress. The acid test would be to place another brand router there and check performance. However this may seem expreme to you also.

Although DSL may not be the answer, I can attest that my DSL which runs at 5Mbs is more than adequate for everything you can imagine doing on the internet. I don't have a family, but my machine is capable of multi-threading and with a quad-core duo and a lot of RAM, I've been able to have several utilities updating while downloading FTP files and watching high definition video with flashplayer.

In some locals DSL can be cheaper, and therefor an attractive complement or replacement for cable services. In my area there is no difference in throughput or line speed, as both of them are rated at 5Mbs; however even in the rural areas here, we have fiber optic up to the final loop. As soon as the price of optical modems lowers enough, our ISP has already announced we will be getting much more bandwidth with the change over.

In this economy I wouldn't switch either.

I just spent some time on chat with Comcast about swapping out my modem for a new one (can be done - I can have some one come out (don't want that), or I can go to a local office and swap it out. Odds are I 'd get a newer model. (better)

I asked about tiers of service. He said the only other tier available in my area is POWERBOOST, which would cost $10 more for up to 16Mbs. That's around 5.5 times faster than I have now. (ideally)

I may have to try that. It doesn't require a technician to upgrade the service.

I do a lot of high def online, and that would do VERY nicely with the video streaming! I doubt a person would need any buffering at that fantastic speed!

however, I've been very happy in the near past with only 1.5mbs!

I found I had to run AdWatch on Adaware, and use CCleaner to get rid of misbehaving temp files, to be able to run my applications and downloads properly.

MBAM lifetime license for real time protection even better- - -

I do not work for any man or company - I just hate malware to pieces!

The comcast guy said I could swap modems without any qualifiers, like failures or whatever - so that looks like a good thing to do just to get newer technology (if there's a great difference in basic cable modems since I got mine).

Also, my wife wants to spend less money, not more, and I can't fault her on that. She has a habit of calling me back to earth. (good habit, actually.)

Yes. I would say the #1 problem is the broadband connection for service and is there a "filter" at your connection to the servicer? Check it out or have someone else do it for you.
#2: MODEM. Try Motorola SB5120 modem and I was told I should replace my modem every 2 years. This is a fast modem and the best one I've ever used from Comcast. (By the way, Comcast raised the price for modem rental and the service is worse than ever for high speed Internet in my area)
#3: VIRUS
#4: Certain websites have "MEGABYTE ADVERTS!!!" that really slow down the experience. Such sites are overloading the computers. In particular a good site to see this happening is at the Discovery Channel, Dirty Jobs website. On certain webpages when you are watching video clips or playing interactive games, a Toyota MEGABYTE advertisement pops up to the side and you can see the dramatic slow down of action!!!
(It's that Toyota commercial with the "slider bar"). The website seems to run fairly smooth when different adverts are run on the sidebar,etc.
Check these helpful hints.