DSL Troubleshooting

As I have said the self installable modems are pretty trouble free but there were two significant speedbumps I have run into.

Currently, the DSL system in the Keys suffers from some high latency, which is a fancy word for delay. Data is sent across the net in packets and each one needs to be verified or it is resent assuming it was lost. There is a setting in Windows called the Receive Window which is just an allocated memory buffer area. Typically for dial up this is set to a very low number like 2.4KB. With DSL speed so high, this buffer is very easily over run, resulting in resent packets and low throughput. I got little more than 56k throughput to begin with because of this. The installation software should reset this parameter, but some may not. For DSL or cable modems this number should be more like 32KB, and being at the end of the road, I found 64KB most effective.

If you run into throughput speed or othe problems I would recommend highly for all kinds of info, tests, ISP reviews, and help the DSL Reports site.
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The other minor problem I had, was the computer sometimes not booting up. For some reason the USB port got tied up. Just unplugging the modem from the port and then rebooting solved the problem. As the USB port is "hot swapable" this is not a real problem or danger to the computer.

Lastly, a recommendation. If your computer has Ethernet, USE IT. If you are going to add a card anyhow; if you think you may want to network again go Ethernet. USB is a good second choice and many newer peripherals are using this interface now. I was originally set up USB, and then found a cheap Ethernet card for my notebook. The difference was almost as significant as 56K to DSL was. This may have just been conflict problems specific to my machine, but as Ethernet is a dedicated network link it tends to be best, especially if you already or will have other USB devices, like a netcam that will need to operate concurrently.

I would be glad to try and help with any other problems you encounter by email at dslinfo@haywardm.com

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