[Hidden-tech] Suggestions on debugging a DSL/ router issue

[Jan Werner]

Here are some questions to try and isolate your problem:

How many computers are there on your network? If there is only one, the 
problem could be on either side of the router, meaning in the computer 
or cabling.

If there is more than one computer on your network and they have no 
problems communicating between themselves, the fact that the problem 
occurred with different routers pretty much isolates it as happening 
between the router and the outside world.

Try swapping out the cable between the router and the DSL modem. If the 
problem still happens, you've isolated it at the modem or beyond, at 
which point you should start by asking Verizon to give you a new modem.

I have Verizon DSL and found that after I upgrading from 1.5MBS to 
3.0MBS, the PPPOE connection was much more likely to be dropped after 
long periods of inactivity (several hours or more), requiring me to log 
on again, something I had almost never had to do before. My experience 
is also that Verizon tech support never seems to be aware of any kind of 
network problem, even when is being reported on the local news, as was 
the case when a cable was cut in Springfield some time ago.

Jan Werner
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Cheryl Handsaker wrote:
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> Hi all,
>
> I am looking for suggestions as to how I might go about debugging a
> puzzling network connectivity issue that began yesterday. Specifically:
>
> 1. Has anyone else experienced these kinds of problems with a similar
> Verizon DSL configuration?
>
> 2. Does anyone have suggestions about how to approach gathering
> additional information or solving the problem? Things to try or
> questions to ask?
>
> The details - and my apologies in advance for the length of this
> description.
>
> I am a Verizon DSL Business customer and have been since DSL became
> available here in Charlemont in 2004 or 2005 (and before you all dump on
> Verizon as an ISP, please know that it is the only game in town). We
> have a router connected to the DSL modem and have been using the same
> set up for years. While we've had intermittent problems before, most
> have been traced to the quality of the phone line and usually occur in
> the rain or snow. Yesterday was dry and sunny for the most part here. To
> their credit, when a Verizon technician actually comes on site, they
> have been very helpful and knowledgeable. Phone support has been
> sometimes excellent and sometimes dreadful.
>
> Beginning yesterday at about 7AM, we began to experience intermittent
> connectivity problems. We begin to notice a degredation in performance
> that gets steadily worse over a 10-15 minute period until the network
> becomes unusable. This appears to be caused by the network setup
> dropping packets - initially 10% packet loss, then 25%, then 50%. At
> about the 50% mark, we reboot the modem and/or the router and the
> network does not come back up and appears not to be able to sync for at
> least 15-20 minutes.
>
> Our initial call to Verizon indicated that our old but very reliable US
> Robotics router had failed. It appeared that all the packet loss was
> happening at the router.
>
> We happened to have another spare but old router in the closet (a
> Linksys, I think). We configured this and the network came up for a
> while and then connectivity died in the same way as before, with us
> showing packet loss at the router about 10AM.
>
> The Verizon phone support person, a good one, suggested maybe both these
> routers needed a firmware upgrade due to their age.
>
> We decided not to mess with that because the network eventually came
> back up (after a couple of reboots and about 20 minutes of attempting to
> sync).
>
> At 1:30, same pattern of network failure occurred again. Rather than
> upgrade the firmware in the older routers, we happened to have access to
> a brand new router that we had purchased for someone else in the fall
> that was not being used, this time a LinksKey. We replaced the router
> yet again.
>
> At about 7:15, the same pattern of failure occured with the new router.
> Verizon tech support, this time a dreadful rep, said she saw no problems
> on the line and that this third router must be bad. While on the phone,
> the sync completed and the network was again restored.
>
> Thanks for reading this all the way through :-). Any ideas?
>
> Thanks,
> Cheryl
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