[Cialug] Mediacom to boost speeds

Wed Apr 30 11:22:50 CDT 2014

Wanted to add a couple points here as they occurred to me.

1)  I think nearly ALL "routers" that are provided are pretty much under
powered.  I have always seen the best results by getting a good (surfboard
for example) router, and letting it just hand traffic to a pc running
pfsense or ipcop.  Something meant for the routing task in other words.

2)  I still don't think they are over subscribed.  I DO however think they
need to upgrade the equipment that handles neighborhood level connections.
The pipe they provide me at least is consistently screaming.

3)  The technician issue is one of the biggest problems I have with them.
 They either don't have the skills needed, or don't care it seems.  If you
keep pushing matters up the chain to "higher level" techs, most problems
seem to get solved.

On Wed, Apr 30, 2014 at 11:10 AM, David Champion <dchamp1337 at gmail.com>wrote:

> Century Link uses several different modems, mostly Actiontec or Zyxel. It
> kind of pot luck which one you'll get from them. One of the crazy versions
> I've seen is the C2000T "Technicolor" modem that has an option for the
> Prism TV output and stuff. Looks expensive, they sent it for a customer
> that didn't need anything more than a single ethernet output, no WiFi etc.
>
> -dc
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 30, 2014 at 10:58 AM, Jeffrey Ollie <jeff at ocjtech.us> wrote:
>
> > On Wed, Apr 30, 2014 at 10:10 AM, Justin Richeson <neomatrixjr at gmail.com
> >
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > Can't say I care for CL either after just over a year of service.  It
> at
> > > least stays up, but I'm definitely noticing lower speeds.  I have 12Mb
> > with
> > > them (modem actually says it's provisioned for closer to 15) and it
> > rarely
> > > runs close to that.  The upload is atrocious and youtube ALWAYS buffers
> > > (though I found that this is due to the use of content caching servers
> > > instead of direct calls to youtube's main servers).
> >
> > I have a 20M CenturyLink service, but the upload is only 896K.  I
> > don't run "servers" from my house but I use CrashPlan as a cloud
> > backup service and it SUCKS every time I add a new batch of photos
> > from my DSLR.  Never mind when I take videos with my DSLR.
> >
> > > I thought DSL wasn't
> > > supposed to have the overload issues of cable so I don't know what's
> > going
> > > on there.
> >
> > DSL just has *different* over-subscription problems than cable modems.
> >
> > > And not that it's CL's fault but my Actiontec C1000A
> > > modem/AP/Router they *gave* me (free modem from guy at mall kiosk - no
> > > rental fee) is a POS.  It locks up regularly.  I put a server blower
> fan
> > on
> > > it (blows air off top of modem) to keep it running mostly reliably.
> >
> > I have the Zyxel version of the modem and it isn't any better.
> > Unfortunately CenturyLink delivers some of their faster circuits using
> > VDSL2 which is completely different from ADSL.  As far as I can tell
> > there are only two consumer-level modems out there that support VDSL -
> > the CenturyLink-branded ActionTec C1000A and the CenturyLink-branded
> > Zyxel C1000Z.  You can get a Cisco router with a VDSL2 port, but even
> > on eBay they are too expensive for me at this time.
> >
> > What I ended up doing two weeks ago (after dealing with the C1000Z)
> > for over a year is to put the C1000Z in transparent bridging mode and
> > put a Cisco router behind that running PPPoE.  I really should have
> > done that a long time ago but running the C1000Z in transparent
> > bridging mode disables the built-in wireless access point and I didn't
> > want to do that until I could afford a decent wireless access point.
> > I got a nice tax refund this year so I went with a Ubiquiti AP and
> > changed the router over and have to say that I'm extremely happy with
> > the result.  Streaming media from my Plex server seem much much
> > smoother, even over wireless.  My kids are starting to acquire just as
> > much wireless gear as I am so having an "enterprisey" wireless system
> > is much appreciated.
> >
> > > I'd kill for Google fiber or FIOS (if the good things I've heard about
> it
> > > are true).  No, seriously...who has to die for that to happen here in
> the
> > > DSM suburbs?  WTF do rural communities get fiber-TO-THE-HOUSE and the
> > best
> > > I can do is Shittycom and LastCenturyLink?  My Grandma's farm in
> Northern
> > > IA had not one but TWO rural telco's run fiber by her place and both
> > > offered to do the install to the house free if it was done during the
> > > initial lay so they at least got the fiber from the provider they were
> > > already getting slow DSL from.  But I mean, they even have competition!
> > >  FOR THE SAME PRODUCT!  Gotta love the MC/Cable, CL/DSL monopoly
> here....
> >
> > I think that rural telcos still get subsidies from the feds to provide
> > services.  Given the sparseness of the population those telcos have to
> > keep a higher percentage of their customers happy.  Also, Iowa is
> > unusual due to the large number of indpendent telcos that serve rural
> > customers.
> >
> > > I will say one good thing about my CL service.  We had an all-day power
> > > outtage last winter I think.  I was home that day (made for a long day
> > > off).  I was surprised, but our gas fireplace still turned on, so I
> > stayed
> > > home and kept that running to keep the house from freezing up.
>  Luckily I
> > > have a UPS for my PC and one that my modem was on.  I quickly killed
> the
> > PC
> > > to keep some power in that UPS, and between the two of them my limited
> > > network of my modem and my tablet stayed with me all day.  Surprisingly
> > my
> > > CL connection never dropped.  I don't know where the nearest connection
> > > point was, but it still had power.
> >
> > Say what you will about phone companies, but a legacy of providing 911
> > service means that they know how to keep stuff running.  Depending on
> > your situation, there may be nothing between your DSL modem and the
> > central office than bare copper wires.  And the central offices will
> > keep running short of a direct hit by a tornado.  If you are less
> > lucky, your DSL copper terminates in a neighborhood pod that has some
> > electronics and fiber back to the central office.  That pod may have a
> > battery backup for the electronics, but probably only enough to
> > survive short outages.  Unfortunately that's the situation that I'm
> > in.  I'm too far from the central office to get anything faster than a
> > 1.5M DSL without a FTTN (fiber to the node/neighborhood) setup.
> >
> > --
> > Jeff Ollie
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Cialug at cialug.org
> > http://cialug.org/mailman/listinfo/cialug
> >
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