Problems with Billion 5102S

[lewstherin]

OK, first off, I'm running a 5 port switch/hub into which are connected my PC and the above modem/router.
On HomeDSL192, ISP is Imaginet 4GB

Basically the connection was going fine, and then suddenly the ADSL led started flashing (eg. like its trying to resynch), and then it went off. The rest of the front panel lights remained on (PPP, SYS, LAN).
The LAN light was even showing activity when I tried to surf.

From the client machine, basically the router/modem (ie. the gateway) drops off the map - its doesn't show up on pings anymore and obviously browsing to it or anywhere else doesn't work.

The most irritating thing is that the modem/router seems to completely hang after the ADSL led goes dead.
I have to physically switch the power off and back on to get it all working again

To make matters worse, it hasn't happened since about 6:30 this evening - however it was crashing like above every 30-45 mins between 4pm and 6:30pm.

Do I put this down to line issues? Modem issues? ISP issues (unlikely)?

Any ideas/simliar experiences are welcome. I particularly need a way to ensure that the router/modem is more robust about things like this and that it stays up pretty much 24/7.

 

[GU7]

When did this start happening and how long has the unit been running when this started?

Does it only happen in the given time-slot? (4 - 6:30 PM)

It wierd that it should just start if you haven't done any new wireing or changed a few protocols. A crossed wire here or there can caused the line to "unsync" when a call comes in on that pair.

Also make sure all your other terminal equipement's connections have been filtered. A call to an unfiltered fax machine for instance can bring down the line, but I'm not sure about a modem.

Not that I'm the expert, but it also sounds like a type of line contention issue maybe?? (4 - 7PM being peak Internet surfing time)

Have you tried updating your firmware?

 

[lewstherin]

The line is brand new (installed yesterday) and so is the modem/router.

Like all DSL newbies I played around with settings and generally downloaded my ass off yesterday.
The above problem started happening again at about 1am...so I don't think its a peak thing.

I suspect my line is somewhat dodgy, since its always the synch light that flashes.

However the modem/router also seems a bit flaky when this happens - I've noticed it seems that the 5102S kind of goes into "hibernate" (ie. dead) and then wakes up and retries the line sync every minute or so until the connection comes back up...

 

[GU7]

It's highly unlikely for any ADSL modem/router to just loose sync on its own, it must be an unstable line. In what area are you?

Concerning the "hibernate" issue, I know that nearly all modems' HTTP interfaces browse sluggish when the unit is actually trying to sync. Most of the unit's processing power is used for syncing with the line. After the unit has synced the browsing is fine. (This obviously is not a problem if the line syncs quickly, but is your case it can be irritating)

I think to be save, you should start by resetting your unit to factory defaults and redo a basic router setup.

 

[lewstherin]

GU7, thanks for the advice so far...bad news is it hasn't helped

Right now my overall opinion on the Billion 5102S is not very good.
It has been stable for a few days, and suddenly just crashed. The routing and modem functionality was completely buggered - I couldn't ping the router, DHCP via the router wasnt working and the DSL synch light was in cycle of flashing then going out.
Even when I unplugged and plugged it back in, the problem persisted.

Eventually I had to do a master reset and redo all the settings.

VERY irritating, especially since I'm going to be relying on the router for access from remote machines.
I will be contacting the Billion people on Monday to see if there is a firmware upgrade, or something that can be done to get this thing to be reliable and robust.

 

[GU7]

Sorry it didn't help. Billion will sort you out though.

 

[viceroy]

I think there might be a firmware upgrade since one for the 5102 (non S) has just been released