Contention issues

Hey

As I understand it, contention is set at the exchange level rather
than your specific ISP, i.e. the 1:50 could be shared by 50 people
using 50 different ISPs - am I right?

I ask because the first thing I noticed after getting my ADSL
connected was a constant 30k/sec download rate from any site I tried,
which was a little less than the 230k/sec I expected!

In this case, it wouldn't be worth switching ISP would it?

Thanks

Richard

Richard Sobey wrote:
> Hey
>
> As I understand it, contention is set at the exchange level rather
> than your specific ISP, i.e. the 1:50 could be shared by 50 people
> using 50 different ISPs - am I right?

Not exactly, it's controlled by the way that the network operator
(usually BT) fills the virtual ATM pipes that connect to the ISP's BT
Central which is their gateway. Usually these virtual paths are
dedicated to one of the larger ISPs, or may be shared between a few
smaller ones. I expect someone else can comment more on this, I'm
quoting from memory here...

>
> I ask because the first thing I noticed after getting my ADSL
> connected was a constant 30k/sec download rate from any site I tried,
> which was a little less than the 230k/sec I expected!

You have a 2Mbit connection then? If so 30k is slow.

>
> In this case, it wouldn't be worth switching ISP would it?

Have you looked at the Broadband Resource? It will be able to tell you
if there is a planned upgrade to the back haul from your exchange, that
could be the problem. You may also have a lot of bandwidth thirsty types
on your particular VP. Switching ISP might help, but then again it might
not.

--

Brian Morrison

please observe reply-to address

"Richard Sobey" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hey
>
> As I understand it, contention is set at the exchange level rather
> than your specific ISP, i.e. the 1:50 could be shared by 50 people
> using 50 different ISPs - am I right?
>
> I ask because the first thing I noticed after getting my ADSL
> connected was a constant 30k/sec download rate from any site I tried,
> which was a little less than the 230k/sec I expected!
>
> In this case, it wouldn't be worth switching ISP would it?
>
> Thanks
>
> Richard


First go here http://usertools.f9.net.uk/exchanges/ enter your phone number
to
check if your exchange has any problems, mine does right now with a "VP
Capcity"
at red and i am getting about half the speed of my 2mb line

If you dont get any problems on the checker go to
http://www.dslreports.com/tweaks
carry out the checker to make sure you pc is set up to give you 100%
efficiency
if there are problems you can make changes to your tcp-ip settings with a
app called
DrTCP.

On Tue, 08 Feb 2005 09:34:38 +0000, Brian Morrison
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>> I ask because the first thing I noticed after getting my ADSL
>> connected was a constant 30k/sec download rate from any site I tried,
>> which was a little less than the 230k/sec I expected!
>
>You have a 2Mbit connection then? If so 30k is slow.

Yes, 2Mbit. This morning I downloaded MP10 from Microsoft which
clocked in at around 228k/sec. Obviously I will need to do more
testing and give the connection time to prove itself.

>
>>
>> In this case, it wouldn't be worth switching ISP would it?
>
>Have you looked at the Broadband Resource?

No...

>It will be able to tell you
>if there is a planned upgrade to the back haul from your exchange, that
>could be the problem. You may also have a lot of bandwidth thirsty types
>on your particular VP. Switching ISP might help, but then again it might
>not.
Ok, thanks. I'll google for it or you can post a URL, whichever is
quicker

Richard

On Tue, 8 Feb 2005 10:37:38 -0000, "Oliver Gunnell"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

<snip>
>First go here http://usertools.f9.net.uk/exchanges/ enter your phone number
>to
>check if your exchange has any problems, mine does right now with a "VP
>Capcity"
>at red and i am getting about half the speed of my 2mb line

Green for everything

>If you dont get any problems on the checker go to
>http://www.dslreports.com/tweaks
>carry out the checker to make sure you pc is set up to give you 100%
>efficiency
>if there are problems you can make changes to your tcp-ip settings with a
>app called
>DrTCP.

Thanks. Like I said in the followup to Brian's post, I managed
228k/sec this morning which rules out problems with my PC (I should
imagine..) so I think contention is the issue, but I'll monitor it
over the next few weeks.

Thanks both

Richard

Richard Sobey wrote:

> Ok, thanks. I'll google for it or you can post a URL, whichever is
> quicker

http://www.samknows.com/broadband/index.php

--

Brian Morrison

please observe reply-to address

On Tue, 08 Feb 2005 13:29:37 +0000, Richard Sobey <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>Thanks. Like I said in the followup to Brian's post, I managed
>228k/sec this morning which rules out problems with my PC (I should
>imagine..) so I think contention is the issue, but I'll monitor it
>over the next few weeks.

I've got 2 Meg. I do notice that my speed drops at peak times, 7-10pm,
weekends. It doesn't drop significantly, nothing like 30K, but it is
noticeable.