Plusnet Gateways & BT IP Profile's

Hi

I have a few questions relating to Plusnet & BT IP Profiles.

I have noticed today a discussion about slow 'gateways' - I'm currently on ptn-ag02. My ping seemed quite high compared to normal so I used the disconnect on the router page of the 582n, which I read should not affect the BT IP profile. However it has, it dropped from 66.21 to 59.41! I switched off both the modem and router and after a minute switched the modem back on. It connected fine & I switched on the router.

1) Firstly when I tried to reconnect to Plusnet via the router page the network would not take my username & password. I left it an hour and then when I rebooted the PC it was connected again. Why is this so? (Is it due to having a dynamic IP?)

2) Does disconnecting the router from the router page affect DLM? (I did disconnect twice within a few minutes)?

3) Once reconnected, my BT IP Profile has gone up to 59.89. Someone on the PN forum said it can take 4 days to get back to the 66 I was on. Is this correct?

4) How do you change the gateways you are connected to or is this done as the dynamic IP is reset?

I think this is the last time I'll play about!!

Many thanks for any replies

Edited by shalom2005 (Sat 09-Feb-13 19:38:42)

In reply to a post by shalom2005:

HiI used the disconnect on the router page of the 582n, which I read should not affect the BT IP profile. However it has, it dropped from 66.21 to 59.41! I switched off both the modem and router and after a minute switched the modem back on. It connected fine & I switched on the router.

That is a little ambiguous. Disconnecting the PPP session using the router button should, so far as we know be safe.

But if having done that disconnect, you then powered down both the router and modem, it is perfectly normal for the IP Profile to change on reconnection. That's because the sync speed between the modem and cabinet depends on the "noise" levels around at the time, just like on ADSLx. The IP Profile on FTTC is 0.9679 of the sync speed.

1) Firstly when I tried to reconnect to Plusnet via the router page the network would not take my username & password. I left it an hour and then when I rebooted the PC it was connected again. Why is this so? (Is it due to having a dynamic IP?)

No idea, sorry.

2) Does disconnecting the router from the router page affect DLM? (I did disconnect twice within a few minutes)?

As above, it shouldn't. There is a special case, where the IP Profile had failed to be reset after an earlier disconnection/reconnection if that completed very quickly. It is the establishment of a PPP session that triggers an IP Profile update if it is wrong due to such as that.

3) Once reconnected, my BT IP Profile has gone up to 59.89. Someone on the PN forum said it can take 4 days to get back to the 66 I was on. Is this correct?

That's not as straightforward as it looks.

If the IP Profile is changing just because of a connection at a different sync speed that should be immediate, with the Plusnet "Current line speed" following within a few hours. If it is due to the sync being capped by banding, then the rules governing that are still being empirically discovered by mere mortals such as we forum posters. But certainly several days.

Is it possible the post you were looking at was to do with ADSL(1), not ADSL2+ or FTTC?

4) How do you change the gateways you are connected to or is this done as the dynamic IP is reset?

The other way round. Disconnecting the PPP session and starting another will probably change your Gateway. If it doesn't, repeating the exercise may. And so on. Every disconnection/reconnection of PPP is likely to give you a new dynamic IP address.

I think this is the last time I'll play about!!

I find it is usually better to do that with third-party help.

Thanks for the reply. I'll wait for hopefully a higher BT IP profile. Will I need to reboot the modem to achieve the higher profile or does it re-synch on it's own?

You're still a bit confused, as we all are at first. It's one of those things that is obvious once it clicks, but gobbdegook until it does .

The IP Profile is calculated from the sync. Therefore, it is necessary for a re-sync to happen in order for the IP Profile to change.

Re-sync's can happen in a few ways, including three main ones:

- you force one by rebooting the modem;

- the ISP forces one for some reason or other;

- a lot of noise occurs on the line causing a loss of sync, normally resulting in a lower sync but occasionally a higher one.

So you will need to reboot the modem at some stage. This should, whenever possible, be done during daylight hours, as the background noise is usually lower then.

Seeing as you have a decent speed I would recommend leaving things as they are for a couple of days to see how stable it is.

It's also possible that your speed drops over time as more users are connected to your cabinet. This is caused by cross-talk between lines. Most lines initially connect well above the original estimate, but over time drift downwards towards it for this reason.

Just don't mess too much, but equally don't be afraid to experiment. Which is why I suggested sitting tight for a couple of days.

I've got a few pages about the various versions of the IP Profile system as it has developed over the years. It might be an idea to read them in order, to make sure you get the whole picture.

Thanks. I'll reboot the modem on at the end of next week during daylight hours as you suggest. My line is always stable with very few disconnections. I know I've only dropped 7 meg, but it's just annoying when I read that disconnecting the 582n router should not alter the BT IP Profile, which it certainly did!

In reply to a post by shalom2005:

I'm currently on ptn-ag02.

How do you determine what gateway you're on ?

http://usertools.plus.net/

Last entry in the Tools menu on the left.

1) Firstly when I tried to reconnect to Plusnet via the router page the network would not take my username & password. I left it an hour and then when I rebooted the PC it was connected again. Why is this so? (Is it due to having a dynamic IP?)

Perhaps the pipe you were trying to connect to was full and had no more available sessions (if this is a valid concept on 21CN). Another possibility is that you had a stale session and the other end thought you were already logged on and active, so declined to let you login again until that session went away.

Yes Yarwell, I think it was the 'stale session', because leaving things an hour allowed a connection without any intervention my end. However, as my profile has now dropped, I've learnt not to bother in the future!

Well I rebooted the modem today after two days. The results are below (as another drop I'll leave the modem now and try again in 14 days or so!)

IP Profile for your line is - 66.27 Mbps (22/01/13)
IP Profile for your line is - 66.21 Mbps (1/02/13)
IP Profile for your line is - 59.41 Mbps (9/02/13) (after router disconnect)
IP Profile for your line is - 59.89 Mbps (9/02/13) (after reboot|)
IP Profile for your line is - 59.84 Mbps (11/02/13) (after reboot)

I wish DLM worked logically. I've not had any disconnects so don't see why I'm not back on 66.27! (Apart from more users joining the cab). Anyone else been through this scenario?

Edited by shalom2005 (Mon 11-Feb-13 15:04:29)