Re: [IRCA] (OT) High Speed internet update

[Rick Kunath <k9ao@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Patrick Martin wrote:

> I need to check to make sure the phoneline connections aren't slowing
> things down too.

Yep.

Un-needed loading coils on the line will do that, as will unterminated 
runs to elsewhere both in home and out in the telco POTS plant, 
Paralleled phones in the home can sometimes slow down speeds, as can 
certain telco line protectors and surge suppressors. The paralleled 
phone issue can be eliminated by feeding the phones from the phone 
output of the modem, as this is disconnected during a dial-up call. This 
also eliminates the possibility of a disconnection when someone picks up 
a phone in the home.

And all modems are not created equal either.

Lots of cheaper modems will fail to re-train upwards after a downward 
speed shift. Some get into a spiral of death to slow speeds with time. 
Winmodems in general are poor performers.

The best dial-up or leased-line modem in the known universe is the U.S. 
Robotics Courier. I have lots of them on dial-up access and leased line 
service and there is nothing I have found that will beat them for 
training up after a slowdown or hanging at a high rate under trying line 
conditions. I get better speeds from a Courier handling a connection on 
a leased line halfway around the world than I do with one of the 
Winmodems I have here on a local call. Another good performer is the 
U.S. Robotics Sportster (real and not win-modem model), the full 
controller-based model. Look for Linux compatibility on the box and 
you'll know it's a full controller-based modem. The Sportster is no 
Courier though.

The Couriers show up pretty cheap sometimes, and any of them can be 
flashed to the latest firmware revision.

The other hint to speeding up dial-up is to locally cache DNS lookups 
and locally cache web page elements (and OS and other application 
updates). This has the effect of delivering unchanged content on 
previously visited pages at high speeds, while fetching over dial-up 
only those elements that have changed since the last page view. it can 
make a world of difference on a dial-up connection.

Lastly, the reported dial-up connection speed is only the speed at the 
initial connect. It is not the current speed. Most modem makers bias 
this to a high value to make the user think he is getting a good 
connection. Shortly these train downward and the reported speed is no 
longer valid.

Rick Kunath

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