My battle with Earthlink

[Derek Trotter]

I guess it's possible that earthlink is imposing some farked up qos 
settings.  Speed tests at earthlink's speed test page and at 
speedtest.net show no problems and the full bandwidth I'm supposed to 
get - 6mbit or higher.  The test at speakeasy.net/speedtest shows the 
pausing that plagues my connection.  Figuring in the bandwidth I do get 
and the pauses, the tests usually end up between .9 mbit and 2.5 or 3 
mbit. AT&T sent a guy out today to test the connection today.  He 
couldn't get into the room where the phone company's wiring box is 
located.  So he said he would come back Monday when there's somebody 
around to let him in.  He also told me he did have someone back  at "the 
office" do a test on the equipment.  He said they found a minor fault in 
one port and fixed it, but the problem is still there.

Even if earthlink is using some qos settings, isn't it a bit extreme to 
throttle a 6 mbit connection down to 1?  Also since the tests show a 
variety in results each time, I wonder if there might be something else 
messed up.  Anyway it can't hurt for me to nag them some more about it.

Thanks for your suggestion.

Derek

On 02/23/2013 05:28 PM, Jason Spatafore wrote:
> This is a classic example of QoS usage.
>
> The VPN connection doesn't experience the problem because the QoS 
> settings for VPN would have a no throttling policy attached. SSH would 
> typically be non-throttled as well.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 02/17/2013 08:02 PM, Derek Trotter wrote:
>> For several weeks I've had a problem with my earthlink dsl service.  
>> Anytime I'm doing something that uses all or most of my downstream 
>> bandwidth, all data coming into or going out of my apartment stops.  
>> At the same time I'm downloading something a series of updates for 
>> kubuntu and listening to streaming audio, both stop.  If I'm using my 
>> windows box to download something else, that too stops.  After a 
>> pause lasting anywhere from a second or two to 15 or 20 seconds, the 
>> downloads resume.  A few seconds later, there's another pause.  This 
>> cycle repeats itself until the download is complete or I give up.
>>
>> Each computer has two nics.  The problem persists no matter which one 
>> either machine is using for it's internet connection.  If I remove 
>> the router, connect the dsl modem directly to either computer, the 
>> problem persists.  I even went to the closet and got the modem when I 
>> had dsl from AT&T.  I set it to work with the earthlink service and 
>> the problem persists.
>>
>> Saturday an AT&T technician was here, checked the line from the cord 
>> that plugs into the dsl modem and says the line is in excellent shape 
>> and noise levels are very low.  This is not surprising since I live 
>> less than 1/4 mile from AT&T's local office where all their equipment is.
>>
>> Since I've tried two computers, 4 nics, two dsl modems and removed 
>> the router, and the problem still persists, I'm guessing the problem 
>> is somewhere at earthlink's end.
>>
>> Tonight at 21:30 EST, an earthlink tech support person from somewhere 
>> in India called to tell me they had fixed the problem.  While he was 
>> on the phone I tried downloading something else and guess what.  The 
>> problem was not fixed.  As near as I can tell, the dsl connection 
>> does not go down.  The earthlink people say it stays up.  The lights 
>> on the modem that are on when the connection is up never go off or blink.
>>
>> The man asks me what dns settings I use.  I tell him 8.8.8.8 and 
>> 8.8.4.4.  He says I should try earthlink's dns servers.  To humor him 
>> I changed the settings on the windows box and guess what.  The 
>> problem did not go  away.
>>
>> Maybe I'm missing something, but it's my understanding that once the 
>> download has begun, that dns has already done it's job and has no 
>> further role to play.  One more thing.  If I use a VPN connection, I 
>> have no problem with it.
>>
>> Any idea what's going on?  If you were to venture a guess, would you 
>> say the problem is at my place, with AT&T or with Earthlink?
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> Derek
>> -- 
>> "I get my copy of the daily paper, look at the obituaries page, and if I’m not there, I carry on as usual."
>>
>> Patrick Moore
>>
>>
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-- 
"I get my copy of the daily paper, look at the obituaries page, and if I’m not there, I carry on as usual."

Patrick Moore

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