Router Woes

[Swiftzn]

Hi Guys

i am having (and have been having) a problem for a while now with my internet
basically it is very unstable and drops a lot

when it drops my router still shows me and connected and i have an external IP and everything
and frankly it's really starting to get on my nerves i have contacted both telkom and my ISP (Webafrica)
and they have tried a few things but nothing has helped

i am starting to think it might be my router (a netgear DG384GUv5) as i have read around the place that these routers aren't very good(but still expensive lol)

if anyone has any ideas on what i can do let me know (this router has been replaced twice)
also i am looking at buying a new router and am open to suggestions though i am looking at buying one that isn't too expensive and has wireless

i was looking at Linksys LS-WRT54GL

any help/thoughts would be great
Thanks guys

 

[Gtx Gaming]

you could have just far away from the exchange ,what is line attenuation and noise ratio?

 

[Swiftzn]

Downstream Upstream
Line Attenuation 48.0 db 25.5 db
Noise Margin 12.0 db 14 db

 

[Pada]

If you have a 4Mbps ADSL connection, then you're most likely just too far from the DSLAM to have a stable 4Mbps connection.
If you change your sync profile to 2Mbps, then it shouldn't drop any more (because the Noise Margin should increase with about 6dB (3dB increase/Mbps decrease)).

The Netgears are one of the worst ADSL modems to use in poor ADSL conditions (where you're far from the DSLAM and sync at high speeds).

Btw: the Linksys WRT54GL is NOT an ADSL modem! It is a broadband (Ethernet) router.

See if you can't borrow a D-Link DSL-2500U and check if the SNR (Noise) Margins aren't better with that.

 

[Swiftzn]

my noise margins aren't bad as far as i can see though and i was dropped to 3mb a while ago but the problem persisted

Does that dlink have port fowarding

 

[Gtx Gaming]

try 2mb yes, that stats is a bit bad

 

[fragtion]

The Dlink 2500U is very well priced, and I've heard good things about it. I'm picking one up tomorrow, and will probably make a post here about my initial experiences with it. I'm on 10Mbps with 37dB attennuation (borderline) and like 5dB noise margin, so it's going to be a great benchmark. I currently have the following DSL modems: Netgear DG834 v4, Netgear DG834GT, VOX ADSLPhone (Thomson TG790), and a Siemens Gigaset SX762. Out of those modems, by far the best is the SX762, so I'm looking forward to seeing how the D-link compares - I'd be very surprised if it beats the Siemens, especially in terms of latency, where the Siemens is simply the best I've used so far (I've also used a Telkom Mega 105WR, Linksys AG241, Telkom Marconi 1 port router, Telkom marconi 4 port premium combo). I'm eager to test out more brands, especially Billion, and maybe TPlink.. I've never touched a Billion router and I've heard many good things about them.
The netgears are very configurable with DGteam firmware, especially the DG834GT - but even with this great firmware, they only really outperform/shine under fairly good line conditions... they aren't very good at achieving max attainable throughput when barely syncing under bad attennuation, as Para pointed out

 

[Swiftzn]

yeah thats what i was reading and i have the V5 netgear which uses the connextant chip which apparently doesn't do will with the bad attenuation and stuff i have just ordered my Dlink 2500U they are very well priced so i though F*** it i will see if that helps and i see it does have port forwarding

are there any firmwares recommended for this router or just stick with "factory Fitted"

 

[Pada]

Stick with the factory defaults when it comes to the D-Link firmware, unless there is something clearly not working correctly.

I have upgraded my D-Link DSL-2500U's firmware, but you have to be VERY careful that you select the CORRECT firmware for the HW Ver that you have. I've seen a couple of people who bricked their routers because they flashed it with another HW Ver's firmware!

 

[Swiftzn]

well thats my noise margin over a period of time

it looks pretty unstable

here is the next pic which shows the DC
http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/241/noisemargin2010nov23185.jpg

the DC happens when the noise margin drops to -2 and the red line is where i restart my router to get my connection back again

 

[Pada]

wow, it is really not suppose to fluctuate that much!

There are already hundreds of posts on this forum section for what you can look at to hopefully fix your instabilities.
Like bypassing the ADSL filters and unplugging everything except for the ADSL modem