Packet loss with Billion 8800NL when PC is on & connected?

Hi all,

Recently purchased an Billion 8800nl r1 on ebay and put in bridge mode and updated it to the stable DH65 firmware. Thing is I'm getting quite a bit of packet loss whenever my PC is on & connected and NOT actively using the internet.

Configuration:

Billion 8800NL R1 bridge ---> Asus RT-AC68U routing/wlan

2 ethernet cables run from Billion modem to Asus router:
- one from Billion LAN1 to Asus WAN port
- one from Billion LAN2 to Asus LAN2 port

PC is directly connected to LAN 1 port on Asus. No other ethernet ports in use.

BQM illustrating a specific example of packet loss:
https://www.thinkbroadband.com/broadband/monitoring/...

Steps taken: Tried DH65 firmware and newest firmware also. Factory reset performed after both upgrades. Eliminated Asus router as cause by using HG612 in lieu of Billion modem - no packet loss at all detected by BQM. Did interface grouping to separate LAN ports etc. Disabled firmware on Billion modem and Asus router. Enabled WAN ping on both.

Absolutely stumped as to what could be causing the issue. For information the Billion is a great modem with higher actual/attainable sync than the HG612 and I am on the verge of selling it on because of this issue.

Would be great if anyone could help me troubleshoot this.

I have to R2 in the black casing, without any packet loss, but running in combo mode. See live BQM links in my sig. AIUI the works are the same as yours, just the new casing.

Any chance you could give us the live link for yours please to see if anyone spots anything from that?

Edited by RobertoS (Fri 19-May-17 20:09:26)

I wonder if either the PC or maybe the monitor are injecting RF into the circuit ?

Do you have any way to physically disconnect (and power off + unplug from mains) the monitor, test and then repeat with the PC .. ... just a thought.

Live link to BQM: was running HG612 before disconnecting and connecting the 8800NL up just now (20:45):

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/broadband/monitoring/...

MyDSLWebStats: fishpan

Wouldn't this also affect the HG612 also? I get no packet loss at all with this modem while keeping every other variable the same.

-Edit: The monitor is a Raspberry Pi (headless aka no mouse/kb) which is connected to the Asus Router's LAN 3 port. Power is provided via USB cable from Asus router's USB 3.0 port to RPi's microUSB port. (I thought this could inject some RF perhaps - but HG612 shows no sign of packet loss at all whereas 8800NL shows huge amounts of packet loss.)

Edited by fishpan (Fri 19-May-17 21:08:25)

Ah yes, good point.....

unless somehow the onboard modem is closer to the source ....

do you achieve a better sync rate when using the Asus ? Maybe the HG is plodding and therefore less sensitive ? (More guesses, I'm afraid)

Billion gets around 1-2 mbps more sync rate (72 vs 70) than the HG612. No discernable differences in error rates FEC/CRC/ES/SES/HEC etc between the two modems. Exact same DSL cable (Tandy twisted pair 0.5m) used between NTE5C/Mk4 and the modems so both same distance/position from socket.

I have a vague idea that the PC is somehow overloading the Billion modem by bombarding with packets at certain times such that the Billion modem just stops responding to certain ping packets from TBB. However, I've observed that the packet loss never occurs when I am actively doing internet stuff on the PC, only when I leave the PC idling and not downloading anything.

That's a weird one for sure. Keep us posted.

As Zarjaz said, that's very strange. Could this be a faulty Billion BiPAC 8800NL?

I found that the Billion BiPAC 8800NL R2 didn't perform that well on my line. It connected at a much lower downstream rate than any other router I've tested except the BT "not so Smart" Hub and the downstream SNR margin would go up and down like a yo-yo constantly.