Losing internet connection during large downloads.

Losing internet connection during large downloads.
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Subject Author Date
Losing internet connection during large downloads. Ladlenits 04-26-2007
Posted by Robert Heiling on April 27, 2007, 10:20 am
If you were  Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
Ladlenits wrote:
>
> > Ladlenits wrote:
> >
> > > Greetings everyone,
> >
> > > Ill try to keep this short and sweet. I have Charter as my cable ISP.
> > > I have a Motorola SB5120 cable modem. I have had this setup for almost
> > > 2 years without any problems at all. Recently (about a month ago) I
> > > began losing my internet connection during heavy downloading and then
> > > about 5 minutes after that it would come right back (don't need to
> > > restart the modem or anything just pops back on). I download from
> > > newsgroups so this was when i first noticed this. After about 5
> > > minutes of heavy downloading my connection would completely disappear,
> > > downloads would stop and i could not get anywhere on the internet. The
> > > strange thing was all the lights on my modem were still lit up.
> > > I figured this must be a problem with my router so i replaced that.
> > > Same thing happened. I figured well maybe my network card was bad,
> > > still same thing. At this point i tried everything. I setup a new
> > > account with a different Usenet server same thing, tried downloading
> > > directly from a website with large files, same thing. Tried a laptop
> > > on my network same problem so now im completely confused and ready to
> > > give up and just live with it.
> > > I decide what the hell i guess i could talk to Charter's tech support.
> > > I was transfered to someone who i could tell immediately could not
> > > speak English to well (not trying to knock the guy Ive come to expect
> > > that now, and he works a lot harder than i do to earn a living so i
> > > respect that). I tried explaining my situation to him and didn't get
> > > very far so he transfered me to on of the head techs. We talked for
> > > about 20 minutes while i my connection crashed and came back up and he
> > > could see i was losing my connection but had no answers. He said he
> > > opened a trouble ticket and that they would be working on it and have
> > > it back up. Well that was 2 weeks ago and I haven't heard anything. I
> > > have looked all over to find some similar issues and cant find
> > > anything. I am hoping one of you out there will be my savior. If you
> > > have any suggestions on what i can do to fix this i would realllly
> > > appreciate it. Thanks in advance.
> >
> > I've a hunch that you'll see something interesting in your modem
logs:http://192.168.100.1/logs.htm
> >
> > and your signal levels may tell us something:http://192.168.100.1/signal.htm
> >
> > Bob- Hide quoted text -
> >
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> Thanks for the help Bob.
>
> I checked the logs and here are the problems that seem to show up:
>
> 2007-04-23 19:25:29 5-Warning D03.0 DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field
> invalid in response
> 2007-04-23 19:25:29 5-Warning DHCP: Renew: Missing Syslog server
> 2007-04-20 07:25:29 5-Warning D03.0 DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field
> invalid in response
> 2007-04-20 07:25:29 5-Warning DHCP: Renew: Missing Syslog server
> 2007-04-16 19:25:29 5-Warning D03.0 DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field
> invalid in response
> 2007-04-16 19:25:29 5-Warning DHCP: Renew: Missing Syslog server
> 2007-04-13 07:25:29 5-Warning D03.0 DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field
> invalid in response
> 2007-04-13 07:25:29 5-Warning DHCP: Renew: Missing Syslog server
> 2007-04-09 19:25:29 5-Warning D03.0 DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field
> invalid in response
> 2007-04-09 19:25:29 5-Warning DHCP: Renew: Missing Syslog server
> Here is my signal status:
>
> Downstream
> Value
> Frequency 643750000 Hz
> Signal to Noise Ratio 37 dB
> QAM QAM256
> Network Access Control Object ON
> Power Level 9 dBmV The Downstream
> Power Level reading is a snapshot taken at the time this page was
> requested. Please Reload/Refresh this Page for a new reading
>
> Upstream
> Value
> Channel ID 2
> Frequency 31392000 Hz
> Ranging Service ID 27
> Symbol Rate 2.560 Msym/s
> Power Level 37 dBmV
>
> I'm glad this might mean something to you because it is greek to
> me :). Thanks again Bob.

I had been expecting to see the remnants of one of those re-boots in the modem
log and the log contents are not consistent with the problem you're describing.
Since I would expect that you would be reporting all this fairly close after one
of the events, I don't expect to see a two week old entry in the log.

My preliminary conclusion is that your modem connection is working just fine,
that's one reason your lights remain normal and these "disconnects" have nothing
to do with your modem connection.

Charter must have some more serious problems or the newsgroup service you use
might be the problem.

Bob

NMFall 20%
Posted by Ladlenits on April 27, 2007, 11:43 am
If you were  Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
> Ladlenits wrote:
>
> > > Ladlenits wrote:
>
> > > > Greetings everyone,
>
> > > > Ill try to keep this short and sweet. I have Charter as my cable ISP.
> > > > I have a Motorola SB5120 cable modem. I have had this setup for almost
> > > > 2 years without any problems at all. Recently (about a month ago) I
> > > > began losing my internet connection during heavy downloading and then
> > > > about 5 minutes after that it would come right back (don't need to
> > > > restart the modem or anything just pops back on). I download from
> > > > newsgroups so this was when i first noticed this. After about 5
> > > > minutes of heavy downloading my connection would completely disappear,
> > > > downloads would stop and i could not get anywhere on the internet. The
> > > > strange thing was all the lights on my modem were still lit up.
> > > > I figured this must be a problem with my router so i replaced that.
> > > > Same thing happened. I figured well maybe my network card was bad,
> > > > still same thing. At this point i tried everything. I setup a new
> > > > account with a different Usenet server same thing, tried downloading
> > > > directly from a website with large files, same thing. Tried a laptop
> > > > on my network same problem so now im completely confused and ready to
> > > > give up and just live with it.
> > > > I decide what the hell i guess i could talk to Charter's tech support.
> > > > I was transfered to someone who i could tell immediately could not
> > > > speak English to well (not trying to knock the guy Ive come to expect
> > > > that now, and he works a lot harder than i do to earn a living so i
> > > > respect that). I tried explaining my situation to him and didn't get
> > > > very far so he transfered me to on of the head techs. We talked for
> > > > about 20 minutes while i my connection crashed and came back up and he
> > > > could see i was losing my connection but had no answers. He said he
> > > > opened a trouble ticket and that they would be working on it and have
> > > > it back up. Well that was 2 weeks ago and I haven't heard anything. I
> > > > have looked all over to find some similar issues and cant find
> > > > anything. I am hoping one of you out there will be my savior. If you
> > > > have any suggestions on what i can do to fix this i would realllly
> > > > appreciate it. Thanks in advance.
>
> > > I've a hunch that you'll see something interesting in your modem
logs:http://192.168.100.1/logs.htm
>
> > > and your signal levels may tell us
something:http://192.168.100.1/signal.htm
>
> > > Bob- Hide quoted text -
>
> > > - Show quoted text -
>
> > Thanks for the help Bob.
>
> > I checked the logs and here are the problems that seem to show up:
>
> > 2007-04-23 19:25:29 5-Warning D03.0 DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field
> > invalid in response
> > 2007-04-23 19:25:29 5-Warning DHCP: Renew: Missing Syslog server
> > 2007-04-20 07:25:29 5-Warning D03.0 DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field
> > invalid in response
> > 2007-04-20 07:25:29 5-Warning DHCP: Renew: Missing Syslog server
> > 2007-04-16 19:25:29 5-Warning D03.0 DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field
> > invalid in response
> > 2007-04-16 19:25:29 5-Warning DHCP: Renew: Missing Syslog server
> > 2007-04-13 07:25:29 5-Warning D03.0 DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field
> > invalid in response
> > 2007-04-13 07:25:29 5-Warning DHCP: Renew: Missing Syslog server
> > 2007-04-09 19:25:29 5-Warning D03.0 DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field
> > invalid in response
> > 2007-04-09 19:25:29 5-Warning DHCP: Renew: Missing Syslog server
> > Here is my signal status:
>
> > Downstream
> > Value
> > Frequency 643750000 Hz
> > Signal to Noise Ratio 37 dB
> > QAM QAM256
> > Network Access Control Object ON
> > Power Level 9 dBmV The Downstream
> > Power Level reading is a snapshot taken at the time this page was
> > requested. Please Reload/Refresh this Page for a new reading
>
> > Upstream
> > Value
> > Channel ID 2
> > Frequency 31392000 Hz
> > Ranging Service ID 27
> > Symbol Rate 2.560 Msym/s
> > Power Level 37 dBmV
>
> > I'm glad this might mean something to you because it is greek to
> > me :). Thanks again Bob.
>
> I had been expecting to see the remnants of one of those re-boots in the modem
> log and the log contents are not consistent with the problem you're describing.
> Since I would expect that you would be reporting all this fairly close after
one
> of the events, I don't expect to see a two week old entry in the log.
>
> My preliminary conclusion is that your modem connection is working just fine,
> that's one reason your lights remain normal and these "disconnects" have
nothing
> to do with your modem connection.
>
> Charter must have some more serious problems or the newsgroup service you use
> might be the problem.
>
> Bob

Thanks for all the feedback, I really appreciate the help. Just for
peace of mind I ordered a new modem yesterday and it should be in
today. One thing I noticed is that if i throttle the speed down to
about 1MBs in my newsgroup software it runs perfect right at 1MBs
without any problems. When i take the speed limiter off my download
speed fluctuates between 100k and a little over 1MBs and will then
drop completely as described in my original post. I have 10Mbs
download speed and its been a while since its been working right but i
think i recall getting near 2MBs download speeds.
I have tried using 3 diffrent usenet service providers and I get the
same problem with all(charter limits my connection speed through their
NNTP servers.) I have an easynews.com account and they have a web
interface to browse their binaries and i get the same issues with that
also.
I live in a Condo complex with about 100 units and im not sure how the
cable company drops their cable to my unit but from what im hearing
above it sounds like that might be the problem. Either that or this is
Karma coming back to get me ;). I will check out the things you guys
mentioned above and hopefully get some answers from charter. Ill let
you know what i come up with. Thanks again everyone.


Posted by Robert Heiling on April 27, 2007, 1:16 pm
If you were  Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
Ladlenits wrote:
>
> > <snip>
>
> Thanks for all the feedback, I really appreciate the help. Just for
> peace of mind I ordered a new modem yesterday and it should be in
> today. One thing I noticed is that if i throttle the speed down to
> about 1MBs in my newsgroup software it runs perfect right at 1MBs
> without any problems.

Your terminology is a bit confusing because you are saying 1 MBs (1 MegaBytes
per second), but the context is of 1 Mbs (1 Megabits per second.

If your download cap speed at Charter is 10 Mbs, then 1 Mbs is pretty bad

> When i take the speed limiter off my download
> speed fluctuates between 100k and a little over 1MBs and will then
> drop completely as described in my original post.

It should be up close to 10 Mega bits per second. There is a problem with
Charter.

> I have 10Mbs
> download speed and its been a while since its been working right but i
> think i recall getting near 2MBs download speeds.

If you're paying for 10, then you should be getting 10.

> I have tried using 3 diffrent usenet service providers and I get the
> same problem with all(charter limits my connection speed through their
> NNTP servers.) I have an easynews.com account and they have a web
> interface to browse their binaries and i get the same issues with that
> also.

Charter is the obviously the problem.

> I live in a Condo complex with about 100 units and im not sure how the
> cable company drops their cable to my unit but from what im hearing
> above it sounds like that might be the problem. Either that or this is
> Karma coming back to get me ;). I will check out the things you guys
> mentioned above and hopefully get some answers from charter. Ill let
> you know what i come up with. Thanks again everyone.

Good luck.

Posted by Ladlenits on April 27, 2007, 3:05 pm
If you were  Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
> Ladlenits wrote:
>
> > > <snip>
>
> > Thanks for all the feedback, I really appreciate the help. Just for
> > peace of mind I ordered a new modem yesterday and it should be in
> > today. One thing I noticed is that if i throttle the speed down to
> > about 1MBs in my newsgroup software it runs perfect right at 1MBs
> > without any problems.
>
> Your terminology is a bit confusing because you are saying 1 MBs (1 MegaBytes
> per second), but the context is of 1 Mbs (1 Megabits per second.
>
> If your download cap speed at Charter is 10 Mbs, then 1 Mbs is pretty bad
>
> > When i take the speed limiter off my download
> > speed fluctuates between 100k and a little over 1MBs and will then
> > drop completely as described in my original post.
>
> It should be up close to 10 Mega bits per second. There is a problem with
> Charter.
>
> > I have 10Mbs
> > download speed and its been a while since its been working right but i
> > think i recall getting near 2MBs download speeds.
>
> If you're paying for 10, then you should be getting 10.
>
> > I have tried using 3 diffrent usenet service providers and I get the
> > same problem with all(charter limits my connection speed through their
> > NNTP servers.) I have an easynews.com account and they have a web
> > interface to browse their binaries and i get the same issues with that
> > also.
>
> Charter is the obviously the problem.
>
> > I live in a Condo complex with about 100 units and im not sure how the
> > cable company drops their cable to my unit but from what im hearing
> > above it sounds like that might be the problem. Either that or this is
> > Karma coming back to get me ;). I will check out the things you guys
> > mentioned above and hopefully get some answers from charter. Ill let
> > you know what i come up with. Thanks again everyone.
>
> Good luck.

I was using my download speed as it is represented when i download.
When downloading from my newsgroup browser it lists it in Mega Bytes/
s . My download speed from charter is 10 Mega Bits/s so my download
speed in my newsgroup software is roughly at 8Mb/s peak (although if
my speed limiter is off it rarely touches that speed). Looking back i
guess saying i WAS getting 2 MB/s was a little over what i could
possibly get with a 10Mb/s download from charter. I know it was more
than the 1MB/s max im getting now though. Im gonna stop talking now
because I am beginning to confuse myself :).


Posted by Bill M. on April 27, 2007, 5:44 pm
If you were  Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options

>> Ladlenits wrote:
>>
>> > > Ladlenits wrote:
>>
>> > > > Greetings everyone,
>>
>> > > > Ill try to keep this short and sweet. I have Charter as my cable ISP.
>> > > > I have a Motorola SB5120 cable modem. I have had this setup for almost
>> > > > 2 years without any problems at all. Recently (about a month ago) I
>> > > > began losing my internet connection during heavy downloading and then
>> > > > about 5 minutes after that it would come right back (don't need to
>> > > > restart the modem or anything just pops back on). I download from
>> > > > newsgroups so this was when i first noticed this. After about 5
>> > > > minutes of heavy downloading my connection would completely disappear,
>> > > > downloads would stop and i could not get anywhere on the internet. The
>> > > > strange thing was all the lights on my modem were still lit up.
>> > > > I figured this must be a problem with my router so i replaced that.
>> > > > Same thing happened. I figured well maybe my network card was bad,
>> > > > still same thing. At this point i tried everything. I setup a new
>> > > > account with a different Usenet server same thing, tried downloading
>> > > > directly from a website with large files, same thing. Tried a laptop
>> > > > on my network same problem so now im completely confused and ready to
>> > > > give up and just live with it.
>> > > > I decide what the hell i guess i could talk to Charter's tech support.
>> > > > I was transfered to someone who i could tell immediately could not
>> > > > speak English to well (not trying to knock the guy Ive come to expect
>> > > > that now, and he works a lot harder than i do to earn a living so i
>> > > > respect that). I tried explaining my situation to him and didn't get
>> > > > very far so he transfered me to on of the head techs. We talked for
>> > > > about 20 minutes while i my connection crashed and came back up and he
>> > > > could see i was losing my connection but had no answers. He said he
>> > > > opened a trouble ticket and that they would be working on it and have
>> > > > it back up. Well that was 2 weeks ago and I haven't heard anything. I
>> > > > have looked all over to find some similar issues and cant find
>> > > > anything. I am hoping one of you out there will be my savior. If you
>> > > > have any suggestions on what i can do to fix this i would realllly
>> > > > appreciate it. Thanks in advance.
>>
>> > > I've a hunch that you'll see something interesting in your modem
logs:http://192.168.100.1/logs.htm
>>
>> > > and your signal levels may tell us
something:http://192.168.100.1/signal.htm
>>
>> > Downstream
>> > Value
>> > Frequency 643750000 Hz
>> > Signal to Noise Ratio 37 dB
>> > QAM QAM256
>> > Network Access Control Object ON
>> > Power Level 9 dBmV The Downstream
>> > Power Level reading is a snapshot taken at the time this page was
>> > requested. Please Reload/Refresh this Page for a new reading
>>
>> > Upstream
>> > Value
>> > Channel ID 2
>> > Frequency 31392000 Hz
>> > Ranging Service ID 27
>> > Symbol Rate 2.560 Msym/s
>> > Power Level 37 dBmV
>>
>> > I'm glad this might mean something to you because it is greek to
>> > me :). Thanks again Bob.
>>
>> I had been expecting to see the remnants of one of those re-boots in the modem
>> log and the log contents are not consistent with the problem you're
describing.
>> Since I would expect that you would be reporting all this fairly close after
one
>> of the events, I don't expect to see a two week old entry in the log.
>>
>> My preliminary conclusion is that your modem connection is working just fine,
>> that's one reason your lights remain normal and these "disconnects" have
nothing
>> to do with your modem connection.
>>
>> Charter must have some more serious problems or the newsgroup service you use
>> might be the problem.
>>
>> Bob
>
>Thanks for all the feedback, I really appreciate the help. Just for
>peace of mind I ordered a new modem yesterday and it should be in
>today.

We used to call it "shotgunning" when an element is replaced without
evidence of failure. In other words, without fully troubleshooting the
issue. In this case, I didn't see any indication of a bad modem, but
you may get lucky.

You said you already replaced the router, (more shotgunning?), but
your issue does remind me that certain older Linksys routers were
known to stop passing traffic when subjected to sustained heavy
traffic loads. One cause was an improper MTU setting, which I recall
could be fixed by manually changing the MTU setting or upgrading the
firmware. The other cause that comes to mind was a batch of weak
Linksys power supplies.

You also said you replaced your NIC, which was even more shotgunning
since you didn't mention whether you checked connectivity during an
outage period.

Next time you lose Internet connectivity, see if you can ping your
router. If you can, your NIC and Cat5 cable are good. See if you can
ping your cable modem. If you can, the Cat5 cable between the router
and modem are good, and the LAN side of the cable modem is probably
good. See if you can ping your default gateway (get its IP from your
router's Admin page). If you can, your modem is good. Alternatively or
in addition, ping your assigned DNS servers to help verify
connectivity. Check your modem's signal levels during an outage and
compare them to the levels you posted above.

Bottom line, attack issues such as this as logically as possible.
Resist the urge to replace something unless you have evidence that
it's part of the problem. So far, you probably have a perfectly good
spare modem, router, NIC, and possibly cables in your parts box.

--
Bill

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