Afrihost Business Uncapped Feedback

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I phoned Telkom, and the technician informed me the highest peak on the exchange was Thursday last week at 73%.
Phoned telkom again the support tech also confirmed this.
 
Hmmm ... the 4Mbs Business bundle is looking attractive...

/takes deep breath
/remembers Cybersmart bundle battles with Cybersmart support
/shudders

Afrihost 4Mbs Bundle ... "Cost R797 PM (Incl. VAT)".

/thinks AH CP
/thinks AH is not Cybersmart

Crumbs ... decisions decisions.
 
i.got~issues said:
Hmmm ... the 4Mbs Business bundle is looking attractive...

/takes deep breath
/remembers Cybersmart bundle battles with Cybersmart support
/shudders

Afrihost 4Mbs Bundle ... "Cost R797 PM (Incl. VAT)".

/thinks AH CP
/thinks AH is not Cybersmart

Crumbs ... decisions decisions.
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Something is currently broken at Cybersmart. After punting and loving their 10mb uncapped business account I've put them on ice and am currently using an Afrihost capped account 150gb+150gb for R600 per month (promo available until the end of September 2014).

Uncapped is such a hit and miss affair these days and at R2 per gb, capped, unshaped is a viable alternative...
 
AfriMan, AfriGuy or AfriGirl ... to upgrade from my current 2Mbs Business account to the 4Mbs bundled account, do I have to get the line thingy first and then upgrade or is there an option to upgrade to the 4Mbs bundle in one jump ?

EDIT: Crumbstix ... I fumbled in the control panel, downgraded by mistake to a 4Mbs capped packaged, saw this, then upgraded again to the 2Mbs package it once was.

Have I stuffed up royally here ?
 
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i.got~issues said:
AfriMan, AfriGuy or AfriGirl ... to upgrade from my current 2Mbs Business account to the 4Mbs bundled account, do I have to get the line thingy first and then upgrade or is there an option to upgrade to the 4Mbs bundle in one jump ?

EDIT: Crumbstix ... I fumbled in the control panel, downgraded by mistake to a 4Mbs capped packaged, saw this, then upgraded again to the 2Mbs package it once was.

Have I stuffed up royally here ?
Click to expand...

You can create a bundle as long as the line is signed up (even if it's not yet transferred). We'll just bill you for the data part until the line comes through.

I'm not sure where you'd be sitting now. PM me and I'll have a look at your account.
 
AfriMan said:
You can create a bundle as long as the line is signed up (even if it's not yet transferred). We'll just bill you for the data part until the line comes through.

I'm not sure where you'd be sitting now. PM me and I'll have a look at your account.
Click to expand...

Ta ... PM sent.

EDIT:

Thanks for the assistance AfriMan, appreciate your time.
 
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So I do a speedtest on my line, because my internet feels slow. Turns out my download speed is about 1.32 Mb/s, as opposed to the usual 1.75Mb/s.

I report this, and the following is the mail I get back, after clearly selecting Business ADSL in the selection box, obviously taking out all the unnecessary greetings etc.:
Your line was syncing at 1.5mbps, I have now synced your line properly on 2mbps
please test and advice if this has help with the speed problem.
Click to expand...

Then I reply with:
Thank you for this information. But who changed it from 2Mbps to 1.5Mbps? Surely it doesn't have a mind of its own, where it can change by itself.

This is a bit ridiculous if you ask me.
Click to expand...

Then I get a reply:
Unfortunately no one changes the sync but the system itself.
If the line is faulty then it would drop the sync to a lower stable sync.
Please advise on the current speed.
Click to expand...

So I reply with:
I will only be able to test it at about 9 o'clock. I will advise. Thanks.

Is there any way I can turn this feature off, so that it does not lower the sync rate?
Click to expand...

Afrihost:
Unfortunately there is nothing that can be done to prevent these changes as they are system generated.
When the network gets congested, it lowers speeds so that at the end of teh day everyone gets a stable connection and is able to use the interent.
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Me:
This is exactly why I took a business account - so that this type of thing does NOT happen.

I will escalate this, as your bosses seem to make promises that they cannot keep, and this is bull****. Thank you for your personal helpfulness nonetheless.
Click to expand...

Afrihost:
As an addition to the information I had provided you with - please note that our business accounts are prioritized on our network and not treated/handled as normal uncapped accounts. Business DSL accounts are Guaranteed to be completely unshaped at all times. Business clients may, however, make use of Protocol Prioritisation to ensure that their DSL performance is not negatively affected by Peer-2-Peer traffic. This feature can be activated or deactivated at any time in ClientZone.

Your service is stabilized at 2mbps and will not change unless the change is initiated by us when you upgrade or downgrade.
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The last part which has nothing to do with my problem, since it's a speedtest that gave me the result.

So, how do I find out now what the root cause was, since this was not due to network policy, since it's a business account? How can a line lower its sync rate sommer net by itself?

Also, what's the point of end users filling out the form with regards to Helpdesk, if the consultants ignore the Service Type selection anyway, and treat it as a non-business account regardless?

I would seriously like some feedback on how the line could automatically go lower, because this means it can happen at any time, and I would like to avoid this at all costs.

Thank you for any response.
 
Ho3n3r said:
So I do a speedtest on my line, because my internet feels slow. Turns out my download speed is about 1.32 Mb/s, as opposed to the usual 1.75Mb/s.

<snip>

So, how do I find out now what the root cause was, since this was not due to network policy, since it's a business account? How can a line lower its sync rate sommer net by itself?

Also, what's the point of end users filling out the form with regards to Helpdesk, if the consultants ignore the Service Type selection anyway, and treat it as a non-business account regardless?

I would seriously like some feedback on how the line could automatically go lower, because this means it can happen at any time, and I would like to avoid this at all costs.

Thank you for any response.
Click to expand...

Hmmmm... line sync dropping sommer so... not a very reassuring thing to read after just putting my line in AH's hands.

:cry:
 
i.got~issues said:
Hmmmm... line sync dropping sommer so... not a very reassuring thing to read after just putting my line in AH's hands.

:cry:
Click to expand...

On normal accounts it's pretty normal by the looks of their responses. But my question is, why on earth is it happening on a business account? This is the very reason I actually got this account - so that it does not get downgraded/slowed down, barring IPC/Telkom issues, obviously.

So paying R100 a month extra for nothing? Not on, IMO.
 
Ho3n3r said:
So I do a speedtest on my line, because my internet feels slow. Turns out my download speed is about 1.32 Mb/s, as opposed to the usual 1.75Mb/s.

I report this, and the following is the mail I get back, after clearly selecting Business ADSL in the selection box, obviously taking out all the unnecessary greetings etc.:


Then I reply with:


Then I get a reply:


So I reply with:


Afrihost:


Me:


Afrihost:


The last part which has nothing to do with my problem, since it's a speedtest that gave me the result.

So, how do I find out now what the root cause was, since this was not due to network policy, since it's a business account? How can a line lower its sync rate sommer net by itself?

Also, what's the point of end users filling out the form with regards to Helpdesk, if the consultants ignore the Service Type selection anyway, and treat it as a non-business account regardless?

I would seriously like some feedback on how the line could automatically go lower, because this means it can happen at any time, and I would like to avoid this at all costs.

Thank you for any response.
Click to expand...

Sorry about this conflicting info. In terms of line sync itself changing - this has nothing do with shaping or an account profile. In fact, it has nothing to do with ISP data - it refers to the physical line sync between your router and your exchange (DSLAM). The only two reasons for the line sync to change (other than a fault) are if the Fix My Line tool is run and it determines the sync is more stable on a lower setting, or if Telkom are concerned about congestion in the area and drop all the profiles on an exchange to relieve demand.

It can't really happen automatically, it must be driven either by a tool from ClientZone or by a support or Telkom technician.
 
AfriMan said:
Sorry about this conflicting info. In terms of line sync itself changing - this has nothing do with shaping or an account profile. In fact, it has nothing to do with ISP data - it refers to the physical line sync between your router and your exchange (DSLAM). The only two reasons for the line sync to change (other than a fault) are if the Fix My Line tool is run and it determines the sync is more stable on a lower setting, or if Telkom are concerned about congestion in the area and drop all the profiles on an exchange to relieve demand.

It can't really happen automatically, it must be driven either by a tool from ClientZone or by a support or Telkom technician.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I did indeed run the tool over the weekend. Seems like your consultants weren't informed to tell us that this could cause it. Perhaps you could enlighten them?

Thanks for the more specific info.
 
AfriMan said:
I think you can set your line to sync in increments or 1MB (or 1024kbps) on the exchange. If you're syncing in between profiles, that usually means poor performance and latency/packet loss when you burst at higher speeds.

This is usually mostly influenced by how far you are from the exchange, and also the quality of the copper cabling in your area. I think your best bet is Telkom upgrading to VDSL in your area :(
Click to expand...

How would VDSL work though at higher speeds? It's the same copper to home so distance to the exchange would still impact or not?
 
Ho3n3r said:
Thanks for the reply. I did indeed run the tool over the weekend. Seems like your consultants weren't informed to tell us that this could cause it. Perhaps you could enlighten them?

Thanks for the more specific info.
Click to expand...

At least we know what might have caused it. Also, for the future - you can run the tool again to set your line to maximum sync.
 
Kosmik said:
How would VDSL work though at higher speeds? It's the same copper to home so distance to the exchange would still impact or not?
Click to expand...

It depends on the backhaul from the DP to the MSAN. You may well be in the same boat, but it could improve. When they laid fibre from my DP to the exchange (in preparation for VDSL) my performance improved greatly and I could upgrade to 10Mbps.
 
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