Optimal Settings

[neoelectronaut]

Well, I JUST got my DSL connection up and running, after 3 days of BS from Bellsouth's tech support. I was wondering, how can I make sure my network settings are, well, "at their best" if there is such a thing?

[revenuee]

Originally posted by neoelectronaut
"at their best" if there is such a thing?

not really ... it's not really dependent on you if I'm not mistaken

[Powerbook G5]

The best thing you can do to make sure your DSL is optimal is to not get BellSouth DSL. They gave us such a run through for two months before my dad said get rid of it and we got cable instead. My friend had it for a year and hated it for most of the time since it was never reliable and usually pretty slow. Unfortunately, our school also just got DSL networked through all the dorms through BellSouth as well, and sure enough, we are lucky to keep a stable connection for more than a few hours at a time.

[neoelectronaut]

Well, I'll see what happens. At the moment DSL Lite is cheap, and I don't necessarily require alot of speed. (Moreso I just require that it doesn't tie up the phoneline)

Remember these results are from DSL LITE...

[revenuee]

Originally posted by Powerbook G5
The best thing you can do to make sure your DSL is optimal is to not get BellSouth DSL. They gave us such a run through for two months before my dad said get rid of it and we got cable instead. My friend had it for a year and hated it for most of the time since it was never reliable and usually pretty slow. Unfortunately, our school also just got DSL networked through all the dorms through BellSouth as well, and sure enough, we are lucky to keep a stable connection for more than a few hours at a time.


My friends dad said it well when describing DSL - "Phone line on steroids"

[bousozoku]

Interesting.

I've had a full speed BellSouth DSL connection and am quite pleased with it. This is absolutely the opposite outcome I had from their dialup service.

I actually had configured the DSL connection without following the instructions and found later that using their included CD-ROM made it much easier. Still, I had the whole thing working within minutes but I've done a fair amount of corporate networking too.

DSL Lite was less of a deal, so I didn't go for it. It's basically 20 percent of the speed for 80 percent of the price, at least, in Orlando.

[Powerbook G5]

Their service in Palm Beach county is horrible. It took two months of pulling teeth to get them to install it when we tried to take advantage of the free install/modem deal and then when they finally said they could, they refused to honor the deal saying that they no longer offer it even though we had ordered it with that agreement. I hadn't had any experience with them since until last year in college when my suitemate had Bellsouth install DSL in his dorm since then we had to get internet access through our own means and it was barely twice the speed of dialup most of the time and it would go down more often than AOL dialup did for me. It seems pretty ridiculous when you have to pay nearly $70/month for the service after tax and everything.

[bousozoku]

I waited a long time before ordering it. However, I trust them more than I trusted Time Warner Cable/BrightHouse Networks. Still, it seems that BellSouth is better able to impress South Americans than it is to impress anyone in their own territory.

I had to pull teeth to find that there was a guaranteed minimum download speed of 256Kbps. That doesn't mean that the source is going to be magically converted, only that their transport mechanism will not impede it further.

I can say that I had a bump in the road with them. They got my account name incorrect and it took several weeks to straighten it out and I didn't have e-mail access through them. They were surprisingly helpful.

[blue&whiteman]

where I live I get a 2mbit cable line for only 35 a month and it has 400kbit upstream. thats amazing for the price.

[Powerbook G5]

We pay $35/month for 6 Mbps down/2 Mbps up through Mediacom here. It's pretty nice and so reliable compared to the network at school.

[blue&whiteman]

wow, thats an amazing price for a connection of that magnitude. awesome!

and I thought I was getting a good deal :(

[Powerbook G5]

Yeah but my parents moved to the middle of nowhere in a small town in Iowa. There are so few people here that it is easy for them to guarantee a high speed. I'd trade a few Mbps' for an Apple store or a mall that is closer than an hour away any day for when I am home.

[neoelectronaut]

Good lord. I wish they had a deal like that around here. I get 256kbs max on DSL lite, and I'm paying the same thing (possibly more) you are for 6MBS....

I guess it's all location.

[Powerbook G5]

With DSL, speed depends on distance from the CO and line degradation more than anything. Cable generally depends on number of subscribers within the network grid.

[neoelectronaut]

Cable wasn't much of a choice for me. With DSL I could install it myself (just plug it in) but with Cable, I'd need to have a line installed to my room here.

However, from what I hear, due to many people around here having cable internet, that it's gotten a little slow.

[Makosuke]

It's all about cable, if you ask me, but then there's only one DSL provider in my area. I get real-world 3.2Mbit downstream for $40/month from Cox (that is, I've seen 400K/s--they don't tell you what the cap is). Upstream is probably 512Kbit.

As for tuning, if you were dealing with extreme high speeds, there might be configuration/cabling changes you could make with the network connection to the modem that could make a difference, but down in that range it's all about what the ISP gives you.

[Powerbook G5]

I've seen various "broadband optimizers" on Version Tracker for Cable/DSL connections, but they all seem to have mixed reviews. Some say they helped double speeds, some say they halved them.