Intermittent Comcast outage, Cupertino, CA
Jay
three times (at least) in the last week. Has anybody else had the same
problem? Any ideas about the cause? Any suggestions (polite ones)?
Configuration: Windows 98, SurfBoard SB 3100
Symptoms:
- When in "bad" state (an outage), SB's Power light is on and
Receive light is blinking and other lights are off.
- Can go from good-to-bad or bad-to-good while computer is running
or while computer is off.
- Outage lasts from an hour to half a day.
- Restarting the SB 3100 has no effect.
- Restarting the PC has no effect.
- Below is an SB log observed after service is restored.
_____________________________________
040708142118 | 7-Information | I503.0
Cable Modem is OPERATIONAL
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
040708142116 | 7-Information | F502.1
Bridge Forwarding Enabled.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
040708142116 | 7-Information | F502.3
Bridge Learning Enabled.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
040708142116 | 7-Information | B0.0
Baseline Privacy
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
040708142114 | 7-Information | I500.0
Registration Completed
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
040708142114 | 7-Information | I0.0
REG-RSP Registration Response
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
040708142114 | 7-Information | I0.0
REG-REQ Registration Request
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
040708142114 | 7-Information | D509.0
Retrieved TFTP Config File SUCCESS
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
040708142114 | 4-Error | D503.0
TFTP, Invalid type, CONTINUE
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
040708142114 | 4-Error | D503.0
TFTP, Invalid type, CONTINUE
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
040708142114 | 4-Error | D503.0
TFTP, Invalid type, CONTINUE
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
040708142114 | 4-Error | D503.0
TFTP, Invalid type, CONTINUE
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
040708142114 | 7-Information | D507.0
Retrieved Time....... SUCCESS
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 7-Information | D511.0
Retrieved DHCP .......... SUCCESS
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 5-Warning | D520.2
DHCP Attempt# 1 BkOff: 4s Tot DSC:1 OFF:1 REQ:1 ACK:1
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 7-Information | D0.0
DHCP CM Net Configuration download and Time of Day
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 7-Information | T500.0
Acquired Upstream .......... SUCCESS
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 8-Debug | T503.1
Acquire US with status OK, powerLevel 54, tempSid 3225
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 8-Debug | T505.0
Acquired Upstream with status OK
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 7-Information | T501.0
Acquired Downstream (705000000 Hz)........ SUCCESS
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 8-Debug | T509.0
Acquired DS with status OK, DS Freq 705000000, US Id 1
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 8-Debug | T509.0
Acquired DS with status NO SYNC, DS Freq 699000000, US Id 0
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 8-Debug | T509.0
Acquired DS with status NO SYNC, DS Freq 693000000, US Id 0
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 8-Debug | T509.0
Acquired DS with status NO SYNC, DS Freq 687000000, US Id 0
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 8-Debug | T509.0
Acquired DS with status NO SYNC, DS Freq 681000000, US Id 0
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 8-Debug | T509.0
Acquired DS with status NO SYNC, DS Freq 675000000, US Id 0
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 8-Debug | T509.0
Acquired DS with status NO SYNC, DS Freq 669000000, US Id 0
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
--- <snip> ---
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 8-Debug | T509.0
Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 405000000, US Id 0
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 8-Debug | T509.0
Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 705000000, US Id 0
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 7-Information | I510.0
*** BOOTING *** SB3100-3.2.17-SCM00-NOSHELL
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 7-Information | H501.2
HFC: Shutting Downstream Down
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 8-Debug | T509.0
Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 705000000, US Id 0
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 8-Debug | T509.0
Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 91754500, US Id 0
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 8-Debug | T509.0
Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 97754800, US Id 0
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
************ | 8-Debug | T509.0
Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 103755100, US Id 0
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
--- <snip> ---
DMF
> I'm in Cupertino, CA, and use Comcast. There has been an Internet outage
> three times (at least) in the last week. Has anybody else had the same
> problem? Any ideas about the cause? Any suggestions (polite ones)?
FWIW...
I have a client who is experiencing a similar problem in Foster City.
He's gone on vacation so I have not had a chance to troubleshoot the
problem. As with your issue, resetting the modem does not help.
Eventually it comes back -- he had his modem replaced last fall but
that was DOA and since then its worked fine until the past week or
so. This seems like a different problem. Comcast tech support claims
no local problems reported, etc, etc.
Regards,
David
yuki
news:Xns9520B0E22282qw...@216.196.97.136...
> I'm in Cupertino, CA, and use Comcast. There has been an Internet outage
> three times (at least) in the last week. Has anybody else had the same
> problem? Any ideas about the cause? Any suggestions (polite ones)?
>
Occasional outage in Sunnyvale, usually lasts 30mins to a few hours, mostly
late at night.
A few times complete outage including the cable TV within the last week.
I usually just go to bed when it happens, so I have not bother to follow up
the cause.
I guess I can't expect 24/7 for $50 a month, but it also has a really
irritating issue with my router/NAT (Netgear FWAG114) that sometimes it will
not renew the dhcp lease automatically. I have to manually do this from the
admin page or power-cycle the cable modem & router. This has not been the
problem with the old attbi service because I always got the same IP address,
but now that Comcast is frequently changing the IP address, it make me think
about getting a DSL servcie with a static IP address.
yuki
Graham Freeman
> I guess I can't expect 24/7 for $50 a month,
Well, not with your current provider, no... But there are many
independent DSL ISPs that have no problem delivering 24h/7d service (with
infrequent hiccups) for $50/mo or less.
-Graham
Jay
Comcast charges me $60 a month for Internet because I don't use their TV
service. DSL service would be cheaper, and even cheaper dial-up is ok for
many people. So for the price I do expect Comcast to be very reliable (not
just fast). I must say that until a week or two ago they were very
reliable; I've used the service for years, ever since it was called
excite@home. Maybe something behind the curtains has changed.
> Well, not with your current provider, no... But there are many
> independent DSL ISPs that have no problem delivering 24h/7d service
> (with infrequent hiccups) for $50/mo or less.
Unfortunately, DSL isn't available in my neighborhood. (I wonder if that
figures into Comcast's prices.)
John Higdon
Jay <itsjay_97plu...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Comcast charges me $60 a month for Internet because I don't use their TV
> service. DSL service would be cheaper, and even cheaper dial-up is ok for
> many people. So for the price I do expect Comcast to be very reliable (not
> just fast). I must say that until a week or two ago they were very
> reliable; I've used the service for years, ever since it was called
> excite@home. Maybe something behind the curtains has changed.
For $60/month, you could get real Internet service from a small
provider, with multiple static addresses, etc. And it would probably be
very reliable. I can't imagine why anyone would pay that kind of money
for surfing-level consumer service.
> Unfortunately, DSL isn't available in my neighborhood. (I wonder if that
> figures into Comcast's prices.)
I don't think so. It is overpriced for everyone.
--
John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS
+1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407
do...@intermitte.usenet.us.com
> For $60/month, you could get real Internet service from a small
> provider, with multiple static addresses, etc. And it would probably be
> very reliable. I can't imagine why anyone would pay that kind of money
> for surfing-level consumer service.
What would the connectivity be?
I pay $55 to Mediacom for Cable Internet because it is the only high speed
connectivity in town.
--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8-122.5
andrew essen
>>>I guess I can't expect 24/7 for $50 a month, ...
>
>
> Comcast charges me $60 a month for Internet because I don't use their TV
> service. DSL service would be cheaper, and even cheaper dial-up is ok for
> many people. So for the price I do expect Comcast to be very reliable (not
> just fast). I must say that until a week or two ago they were very
> reliable; I've used the service for years, ever since it was called
> excite@home. Maybe something behind the curtains has changed.
i don't know how common it is, but i had similar symptoms which
were due to the cable itself corroding. the cable modem would
work great for months and then all of a sudden start disconnecting
increasingly frequently and for longer periods until it became
unusable. comcast would claim nothing is wrong while my cable
modem would be throwing 2 hour tantrums 5 or 6 times per day.
first time they replaced a corroded splitter, second i got a new
cable modem, and the third (& hopefully last) time they spliced in
a new section of cable. if all your neighbors with cable modems
aren't having any troubles, start suspecting your cable itself.
--
andrew essen
nos...@tofurama.com (it's a real address)
John Higdon
wrote:
> What would the connectivity be?
> I pay $55 to Mediacom for Cable Internet because it is the only high speed
> connectivity in town.
It would be DSL. I caught the "no DSL available" after I posted.
Fortunately, I was never tempted by cable. DSL was long available in my
area before cable Internet (which I'm still not sure is available). If
you've got DSL, you've got choices and lots of them.
With 6Mbps DSL, you now even have higher speed than cable.
Brad Allen
filters in between those devices and the cable to prevent crap from
coming from the devices into the cable. Since you don't have control
of all of them, test the theory by seeing what happens when no one is
using their cable-connected devices (guess time of day use, including
all cheap people who need TV on to sleep (yes, they exist, and are the
most likely to have really crappy TVs), and those who actually use TV
on a reasonable non-congestion oriented schedule (i.e., diurnal
based)).
If that works (modem has no trouble when everyone else has their cable
connected devices which probably output crap off), then escalate that
concept.
There's related simpler concepts, like reducing path and connections
(eliminating devices, cables, connections, etc.); that could help
diagnose, too, but is more invasive than filters. Cable company
supplies the filters (but only when they learn it's necessary, which
of course, they do, but probably not in their usual cost of delivery
quotes to shareholders).
Don't forget to read their entire terms of service:
* Follow their discount for inoperative use procedures carefully.
It will be a hassle with billing, but after a few months, it will
help make your situation seem more real to them. They may avoid
hitting levels which trigger such terms, but that means it's even
more worth using it when it is proper.
* Read about how to buy better service from them.
* See the terms which may make you want to try harder to get better
terms, via them or some other supplier.
What annoys me is that locally they're installing fiber and promised
interruptions in our service (all we have is NTSC cable), but they
haven't graced us with any yet. Perhaps their full network will take
longer, and we'll get our promised interruptions later. However, I
prefer to think that it's possible they're just being more
professional by avoiding such interruptions when not necessary.
It has been announced that Comcast is spending a lot of money for
fiber. This could cause and/or take away from interruptions and their
being fixed, respectively.
Sorry I haven't been much help; my S/N is existence, but low. I had
very nice support people at Mediacom in West Des Moines, Iowa and
Centennial in Mayag"uez, Puerto Rico; I got a small amount of
experience working with them and their functionaries. Neither service
was as good as my new DSL service supplied from SBC via SBC-ASI via
Sonic.net in Aptos, California (first experience with that; finished
my first ground rod installation to repair ground for demarc and
proper splitter installation recently), and my DSL experience has
still been very consumerish (not a good thing, but expected for the
market approach chosen by the suppliers). However, the level of
quality of my DSL experience has been much better than my cable
experience, and it seems that that ratio is average, common, and
fairly uniform across most suppliers and customers; I can only vaguely
remember a few outages of my DSL link, and the amount of time was
almost (not quite) negligible (a DSL modem freeze (which happened
early and hasn't happened since; I think it's burned in, now), and
other losses of a few seconds, perhaps even some number of minutes
once); cable modem problems (outages, etc.), however, were life
changing in grandeur, and certainly far worse than what I've
experienced with DSL.
I can't recommend 6x10^6 bit/s in & 608x10^3 bit/s out max DSL service
to anyone, since I don't know of its current availability under prices
which would make Comcast still look reasonable (static business
services with better AUPs, TOSs, etc.) if they could deliver.
However, I believe 3x10^6 bit/s in & ~10% of in out DSL is around for
something worth considering. Check availability for yourself. Also
look at radio; it's messier, though. It could be a backup; it seems
less reliable for many than even cable modems!