Some history: Moved into new flat around 2 weeks ago. The flat was built 2007 and is close to the exchange:
Distance:-
Direct:
697 metres
(appx)*
By Road:
805 metres
Courtesy of Kitz.
The choice of LLU providers was poor but there was CPW and C&W LLU kit, so I went with Xilo broadband (who so far have been good).
I'm currently using a Zoom ADSL 2/2 5715 full bridge modem connected to a D-Link DIR-615 Rev D router, running DD-WRT. Both pretty poor pieces of kit!
The line has been syncing at 13.5mbps with a pretty consistent 9dB SNR margin (as dictated by C&W; this is the lowest target profile they'll provide exchange-side, as explained by Xilo).
My current problems are two-fold:
1 (and most importantly) - the connection drops fairly regularly. I'm convinced that this is a result of the poor modem. I'm waiting on a Netgear ADSL modem from a friend to see whether this is the case. The info on the Xilo site gives the majority of disconnects as user-request, and the rest as line-error.
I'm not able to re-establish the PPPoE connection via the DD-WRT routers GUI, as the button is unresponsive (this is only once the connection's died). The modems GUI is accessable, and the stats claim it is connected; the ADSL light on the modem is lit but there is no data throughput whatsoever. A reboot of the modem (from GUI or by pulling plug) allows the router to re-establish the PPPoE connection and all is fine.
This happens fairly regularly (say, 1-10hours or so). Sometimes it'll last a day. This reads to me as a flakey modem (expecially as when we first moved in it managed fine for a good 5 days, and has steadily deteriorated)
I don't think it's a line issue, due to the nature of the disconnects, and I don't think its the router dropping the connection (although this is possible), but I'll know more when I get the replacement modem in-line.
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The second thing I think is modem related too tbh but was wondering if anyone had seen this before:
http://twitpic.com/6hfvqc/full
When I connect with "normal" SNR margins the modem stats read 9dB downstream SNR margin and the speed is always 13mbps.
I telnetted into the zoom modem and used the command "adsl configure --snr 50" and as per the picture above the line-stats jumped to 18-21kbps. Brilliant, thought I, a free 5mbps for nowt! This, it turns out was not the case. No combination of router, wireless, wired, PPPoE directly from laptop (as per above picture) can eek more than 13.75mbps from the connection, even when the modem is reportedly syncing at 18mbps!
I'm relatively technically able, but no expert, and all the bits and bobs I've done are cobbled together from forums like this and general problem-solving, but that picture above confounds me. It's like the line goes into the modem at whatever speed, and comes out the other side at 13.7mbps!
Xilo have confirmed that C&W don't cap the connection their end at all, so I've ruled that out.
Anyway, any comments on either of the two bizarre situations are much appreciated!
The last thing really is what I should do going forward; Obviously neither of the devices I'm using are up to scratch (DD-WRT just about rescues the D-Link but it definately has its issues...N won't connect above 72mbps no matter how prodded it gets, due to an inconsistency in the Ralink drivers used)
So, the question really is, what next? If this Netgear modem works well then that's a solution for the Zoom, but as for a router, are there any recommendations? I really want N, ideally I'd like to run 5ghz and 2.4ghz concurrently (due to the fact that I live in an apartment block) although the price of these routers seems prohibitive.
Do people generally think it's better running a seperate modem/router or keeping them in one unit? Other than the Billion 7800N(which everyone seems to love but is £125) are there any lower-priced N router/ADSL combos that have GUIs worth their salt?
Does anyone run a modern decent router with DD-WRT/OpenWRT? Loads of questions I know but hopefully someone can help

Edited by qpop (Fri 09-Sep-11 15:41:14)