Monitoring a connection

Due to the problems with disconnections over the last month over Plusnets LLU and having raised this to them as well, i'm in the process of gathering data to prove to them that my connection is unviable over their LLU network.

I have been using a simple ping to several sites/IPs but this was insufficient as it didn't contain the times/date the ping would time out. Then I found Servers Alive www.woodstone.nu/salive/ which has a range of options to write to a log file and creating tailor made alerts. It has been very useful however I would like to get some sort of Syslog to monitor when my router gets disconnected. I have a Draytek Vigor 2600 whereby the Syslog they provide isn't that advanced.

Can anybody recomend one that can monitor a routers connection to the ISP and then write to a log the date/time of down/up time?

How about:

http://l8nc.com/

Welcome to L8NC!

L8NC, pronounced "latency", is a free fault finding tool aimed at technically minded broadband users. L8NC is ideal for monitoring DSL or cable connections. L8NC will see many faults - often before you do! - and can be set to email you when your connection goes offline. Some ISPs are also using L8NC to monitor their servers and Internet connections.
What does L8NC do?

L8NC monitors connections by pinging them once a second (or, if you prefer, once a minute). With the data it gathers, L8NC produces a graph showing the maximum, average, and minimum latency, and packet loss against the time of day. These graphs can be used to highlight faults. L8NC can also be made to email you when your connection goes offline or comes back online

I haven't tried it, but it sounds like it'll do exactly what you want:

You would need to be familiar with Linux, but there are some interesting looking instructions here:-

http://www.flexion.org/site/index.php?gadget=StaticPage&action=Page&id=8

Surely you don't need proof. Your unhappy and that should be enough proof in my opinion.

L8nc will do the trick

I am currently monitoring 6 LLU connections and how interesting it is to notice that they almost always drop and come back at exactly the same time.

I really don't think you need to "prove" it to them, they can just look at your sessions.

Surely PlusNet and Tiscali can work it out, this is horrific service.

The Draytek 2600 is actually pretty damn good when it comes to syslog IMO. You could grab the application 'syslogd' by Kiwi and log plenty to that.

Running syslogd you can create a filter like:

[Match on message text]
Include: "ADSL_Status" "[WEB]" "DSL:" "PPP " "CHAP " "IPCP "
Exclude: "SNR Margin" "PoE" " FDQ "

That'll give you good info about how the connection's running, logging periodic connection status info, and showing clearly when ATM/PPP sessions drop/reconnect.

As well as that you could also configure SNMP monitoring to graph it all. Some useful bits like:
1.3.6.1.2.1.10.94.1.1.3.1.4.4 adslAturCurrSnrMgn
1.3.6.1.2.1.10.94.1.1.3.1.5.4 adslAturCurrAtn
1.3.6.1.2.1.10.94.1.1.3.1.7.4 adslAturCurrOutputPwr
1.3.6.1.2.1.10.94.1.1.3.1.8.4 adslAturCurrAttainableRate
... as well as a load of other OIDs the router supports.

hf

http://www.plus.net/support/download/LluDisconnectionsUpdate.doc explains what PN are doing about the LLU disconnection problems - this was ported on usenet by PN support. It is affecting a lot of LLU connections and the problem, so far, appears to originate from NTL of all people!

So the problem is known about but in Tiscali's hands.

Edited by deleted (Mon 04-Sep-06 07:27:52)