NTL various BB issues

[mr_h]

Hi all,

First post so excuse any errors in this post/missing info.

I have a few issues, I've recently moved to BB connected via a STB (Pace) the connection speed was 150kbs but recently upgraded to 300kbs. I'm located within the SE London area. My issues are as follows:

1) My general browsing is slightly temporamental sometime OK other time page not founds and generally quite sluggish, I do not seem to notice much of a difference from which I was using my 56kbs modem.

2) I've got two email account configured using Outlook (Not Outlook express) it's set to check my mailboxes every 10 mins. It seems to perform well for about 30mins then randomly starts reporting that it cannot find the pop servers for one or the other of the accounts. If I manually hit "send/receive" a few times then it usually finds it.

3) My biggest issue is with FTP. I need to FTP to various web servers. I cannot get a reliable service using BB. I can connect to the various servers, upload a few files and then it just stops half way through uploading a file. This happens all the time. I've not yet sucessfully FTP'ed more than a few files to any one webserver. In fact what I've needed to do is disable the BB connection and use my old virgin dial up account and 56k modem to upload any files to any webserver. I've tried different FTP clients which have not helped. I've run various spyware progs and virus checks so all seem OK on that front. I've also just bought a band new laptop plugged that in and the same problem happens. As my old virgin dialup account work then I assume my PC and Laptop are OK as is the S/W etc.

I've run the speed test at
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/speedtest.html?1092868194116 (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/speedtest.html?1092868194116)

and got:
Thu, 19 Aug 2004 07:28:09 UTC

1st 128K took 3535 ms = 37078 Bytes/sec = approx 308 kbits/sec
2nd 128K took 3605 ms = 36358 Bytes/sec = approx 302 kbits/sec
3rd 128K took 3636 ms = 36048 Bytes/sec = approx 300 kbits/sec
4th 128K took 3855 ms = 34001 Bytes/sec = approx 283 kbits/sec

Am I correct in thinking this speed is OK for my specific package?

The week before last I could not get the second green light on the STB, so an engineer came and "did something to the back of the box" so my wife said. This did then give me my connection back but still having the various problems.

Any help most appreciated I've tried call NTL but seem to get the engaged tone after selecting the various options.

Thanks a lot

H

[MatTman]

your speed is normal, BUT your ping is 3ms? which isnt exactly great..

that 3ms latency would cause slow browsing maybe you should call CS to solve that, EMAIL does that to everyone (NTL's Email is terrible)..
heres obvioulsy a Fault with your Connection in terms of latency though which could be leading to Packets dropping and intermittent Connection drops,<< that should be a Priority call to CS.

[mr_h]

Thanks MatTman - would that also explain my complete failure to FTP any files to any server?

Also both my emails are not NTL email but completely seperate POP accounts I do use the NTL SMTP to send though. Is that still a common problem?

Cheers

H

[MatTman]

it sometimes take 2 minutes for me to Send 1 Email with NTL's smtp, its a Big problem with here new Email hardware which they publicly stated as being Fubar, there working on fixing it but thas going to take some time.

[mr_h]

Could we not send through another SMTP? Or do we just need to wait until they resolve there issues? What about FTP do you have any issues with that? The fact I need to disconnect BB and use a old dial up is crazy!

Thanks
H

[MatTman]

FTP works Fine for me because i have a Stable 1mb connection wih a low latency and 0 Packet drops.

try this BB speed test.

http://www.vantage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/downloads/bbst30316.exe

Email has always been slow and Sometimes non-existant until recently its gotten abit better but its still flaky. :td:

[Kneebs]

Have you got any FTP software where you can limit your upload speed to a few K less than your max eg if you're on 300K, upload should be about 16KB/s - try setting it to 10 to see if your problem persists

MatTman, am I missing something in his post - where does it say his ping is 3ms, and if it was 3ms, then that wouldnt be a problem - that would be superb - I wish my pings were 3ms ;)

Kneebs

[mr_h]

Hi Kneebs,

I'll take a look at my FTP S/W when I get home but I can sucessfully upload files using exactly the same S/W when using my old 56k modem and virgin dial-up account - would this not be slower using a modem and therefore meaning the S/W would need configuring for this also?

Cheers
H

[SMHarman]

<snip>
MatTman, am I missing something in his post - where does it say his ping is 3ms, and if it was 3ms, then that wouldnt be a problem - that would be superb - I wish my pings were 3ms ;)

Kneebs
1st 128K took 3535 ms = 37078 Bytes/sec = approx 308 kbits/sec

MatTman added a "m" to his comment his ping time is in the region of 3.5 seconds :shocked: (1 second = 1 000 milliseconds), most gamers complain when it exceeds 60ms, most users should not have a ping or problems with it being around 250ms

[Kneebs]

I don't know if the software will give you the option of setting a maximum upload speed or not, but if it does, setting it to 10 would still be alot quicker than via dialup.

I think the problem could lie with your STB upstream (ie when uploading) being maxed out - this has caused problems for numerous people in the past.

Have you tried using LeechFTP - this apparantly allows 'throttling' the upload rate to whatever rate you want (I'd suggest 10-12KB/s for your connection).

Kneebs

[Kneebs]

1st 128K took 3535 ms = 37078 Bytes/sec = approx 308 kbits/sec


But that isn't a ping - 3535 ms is the time it took to download a chunk of data 128KB in size, which gives a transfer rate of 308 Kbits per second - absolutely normal for his 300Kbps connection :)

[SMHarman]

But that isn't a ping - 3535 ms is the time it took to download a chunk of data 128KB in size, which gives a transfer rate of 308 Kbits per second - absolutely normal for his 300Kbps connection :)
OK :blush: I have absolutly no idea where he got the info from then.

[mr_h]

Hi All,

I'm a bit confused now have I an issue or is this "just how NTL BB is?".

Should I call NTL TS?

Kneebs - I'm currently using FileZilla and notice that it does have a upload speed so I'll try setting that at 10Kbs - but should I really have to do this?

I must admit I waited for a while to get BB from NTL and I'm quite disappointed as it does not seem much better than dialup.

Cheers

H

[Kneebs]

Hi All,

I'm a bit confused now have I an issue or is this "just how NTL BB is?".

Should I call NTL TS?

Kneebs - I'm currently using FileZilla and notice that it does have a upload speed so I'll try setting that at 10Kbs - but should I really have to do this?

I must admit I waited for a while to get BB from NTL and I'm quite disappointed as it does not seem much better than dialup.

Cheers

H

Try setting the rate to 10KB/s - if thats fine, increase it by 2KB/s at a time, until you hit the problem - the upload rate is 16KB/s, so you might be ok at 15KB/s.

With regard to the slow browsing aspect, it could be a local proxy issue have a read of Robin Walkers site http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/cmtips/trancache.html this shows how to specify a different proxy server, and also lists them all. Its not that difficult, but if you have any doubts, give NTL a call.

Kneebs

[MatTman]

sorry, i added an 'm' when i meant 3.5 seconds.. thanks for correcting me.

3 seconds to the DNS server is BAD!! especially for Cable.

[Kneebs]

sorry, i added an 'm' when i meant 3.5 seconds.. thanks for correcting me.

3 seconds to the DNS server is BAD!! especially for Cable.

Its not though - 3.5 seconds is the time it took to download 128KB of data for the speed test - which shows 308Kbps, which is fine for his connection :)

[MatTman]

oh man, now im confusing this with the other speed test...

so the one in this thread measures the Download time? not the latency?

[Kneebs]

Yes - the speed test he gave the results for were from Robin Walkers site - this measures how long it takes to download 'chunks' of data, and then calculates the current speed of your connection - as he's on 300Kbps, his results are fine (or, they were at the time, anyway ;) )

[mr_h]

Hi all,

Thanks for the help so far, I'm still have FTP upload issues. I'm using FileZilla and restricted the upload speed to 10Kb/s it connect to the FTP host stared to upload the first file and then hung. I left it for an hour as it retries to connect but it did not upload sucessfully. I dropped the NTL BB connect and used my dial up account and all worked successfully. Any ideas?

Thanks
H

[Ignition]

None whatsoever but feel free to PM me your IP address and will investigate.

BTW a 3 second ping would result in a transfer rate of nothing pretty much due to RWIN and the machine sending the data expecting a response some time this decade.

Also upload on 300kbps service is actually 64kbps so an upload rate of 7 - 7.5kB/s is about right.

[Kneebs]

None whatsoever but feel free to PM me your IP address and will investigate.

BTW a 3 second ping would result in a transfer rate of nothing pretty much due to RWIN and the machine sending the data expecting a response some time this decade.

Also upload on 300kbps service is actually 64kbps so an upload rate of 7 - 7.5kB/s is about right.

the 3 second ping was a misunderstanding ;)

But if the upload on 300 is only 64kbps (you learn something new everyday !!), then you could try setting your max upstream to 5 or 6 in your FTP client, and see if this has any effect.

[MatTman]

actually I think i had his problem when i had my PACE box, if i had my upload anyhing higher than 50% my connection dropped, that was with a PACE 1000, and PACE4000 replacement (both Dropped connections when i tried to Upload on P2P apps)

maybe you need a Cable modem or one of the new Samsung boxes, my Samsung works much better.

[mr_h]

Hi MatTman,

When you say:


if i had my upload anyhing higher than 50% my connection dropped

What do you mean? I do have a PACE STB but not sure of the model. Am I within my rights to ask NTL for a replacement or Cable modem?

Cheers
H

[seaneeboy]

you could do, although I think it's only fair to exhaust all possible over-the-phone things before committing yourself to a new installation...

You can find out which type of box you have by looking at the sticker on the bottom of your box...

it will either say 1000,2000,4000,4001 or something similar. have a check :)

[MatTman]

Hi MatTman,

When you say:


What do you mean? I do have a PACE STB but not sure of the model. Am I within my rights to ask NTL for a replacement or Cable modem?

Cheers
H

Press Page up then Page down then BLUE on your remote i will give you the Hardware information for your Box.

My Upload was terrible with the old boxes, At around 6am every morning it would Cut my connection off if it was uploading atall (EPG update time), then it might intermitantly drop when My upload was in use during the day when i was on Bittorent (i download alot of Concert video's).. id then have to Pull the plug and reboot to get it back again even though the 2nd light was solid.

this has all changed with the new samsung box however, my FTP is working somewhat faster also, i would recommend switching to Cable modem unless you can haggle yourself a Samsung box from NTL.

[Tezcatlipoca]

actually I think i had his problem when i had my PACE box, if i had my upload anyhing higher than 50% my connection dropped, that was with a PACE 1000, and PACE4000 replacement (both Dropped connections when i tried to Upload on P2P apps)

maybe you need a Cable modem or one of the new Samsung boxes, my Samsung works much better.


The Pace STBs (not sure about the Samsung) have problems with P2P uploading etc if the P2P app's upload rate is not capped: they can't handle the number of connections. If the upload setting is too high then the upstream gets completely saturated & the box can lock up.

See here: http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/showthread.php?t=14560

Even if using a cable modem, instead of STB, it's still best to limit the upload rate in any P2P software etc to less than what your actual upload speed is.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/cmtips/p2p.html

[MatTman]

my 1000 Struggled with one BT client open at 5kbs Upload, the TV would suffer from it too. When the 4000 came that one just Locked up at 6am every morning insead.

the samsung hasnt dropped connection once and i have been Running muliple Clients uploading to test it, so far working Fantastic.
NTL need to give us all Samsung box's then they'd probably get less technical Issues to fix.

FYI before i used the samsung box i always Capped my upload to less than 10Kbs.

[mr_h]

Hi all,


I've capped my upload speed from within my FTP S/W to 5Kbs but the same thing happens ie. It connects to ny FTP server begins a upload then just basically hangs, my FTP client reports any upload/download activity and this reports none. I then drop my NTL BB connection and connect using Virgin dialup and all works fine!! This is so annoying!!!

I do not get home until nearly 8pm so always miss calling the TS helpline and when I have got home before 8 I've rang only to go through all the various options and get a engaged tone!!

Can anyone help I need to upload a lot of HTML/Jpegs this weekend to a Webserver and it looks like the issue will remain.

Thanks anyone anywhere that can help!

H