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Automatically fixing packet loss on my connection

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Re: Automatically fixing packet loss on my connection

#21

Post by xnyan »

lrossi wrote: post #10

Basically restart the modem by cutting the power every time the connection is flaky. With a very complicated setup. Cutting power repeatedly a large number of times is a great way of eventually bricking the box. This modem has an admin web interface. The author could have used it to trigger a restart. The whole thing could have been automated with just a pi at 100 times less cost, effort and risks.

>is a great way of eventually bricking the box.

The LAN interface on my ISP mandated box frequently fails along with whatever else is going on with the modem. Even the reset button fails at times, though not as often. Cutting power is literally the only reliable way of addressing the problem

I don't agree that a hard rest is as risky as you are claiming, but even if you are right, who cares? The ISP mandated use of a shiity modem, they made it a black box that can't be troubleshooted and if it breaks then they will just send me a new one at zero cost to me.

Re: Automatically fixing packet loss on my connection

#22

Post by robotmay »

kraftman wrote: post #18

Won't this cause issues with retraining? You'll end up with a high SNR and lower sync speed, which may solve the packet loss problem but isn't ideal. It would be better to either work out whether the router is the issue and replace it or work out if the line is a problem and get an engineer booked out to investigate it.

It’s quite a peculiar issue when it does happen (which is rarely), in that the only way I’ve found of resolving it myself is by dropping the line at that modem. I’m always hesitant to have the line inspected in the UK because there’s every chance OpenReach will come around and balls it up further.

I’ve been doing this manually for the past couple of years without any negative effects that I’ve seen. I’d say it tends to happen maybe once every two to three months, which makes me think it’s more likely an issue further up the chain. A&A are pretty spry at resolving issues but often I just drop the line myself to sort it out quicker.

Re: Automatically fixing packet loss on my connection

#23

Post by robotmay »

thisisnico wrote: post #17
robotmay wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ooh I didn’t know about that Ubiquiti strip. I must admit that I didn’t even look about for existing solutions (honestly I just wanted to finally have a use for these plugs I had lying about).

Working in IT as a Systems Engineer, My thought process is always first -> Existing solution or Tool, if not exist, Patching existing tools together, if not exist, code our own solution.

Hah yes in this case I already had most of the tools lying about. In fact the hardest part was figuring out why the hell the barrel-jack didn’t fit in the modem. Ended up finding an Amazon review with the correct connector size.

Re: Automatically fixing packet loss on my connection

#24

Post by readmodifywrite »

mike_d wrote: post #2

If you are willing to throw a bit of money rather than code at the problem: Ubiquiti has a power strip in beta now that uses statistics from their routers to decide when to power cycle upstream devices. You can also find "Web Power Switches" ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0765NCB2L ) under $200 that are scriptable, so when a ping to a specific site fails it cycles power to a set of devices.

That's kind of ironic, considering they don't provide a scheduled reboot feature for their own gear (which often needs it for IoT usage).

Re: Automatically fixing packet loss on my connection

#25

Post by whoisburbansky »

robotmay wrote: post #7
tamu_nerd wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Typically this is done with something like an Aeotec Z-Stick Gen5.

This is what I’m using. The plugs are also Aeotec and work well, although there is some minor high audio frequency when very close to them. Mine are a few years old though. The Z-Wave integration for Home Assistant is basically plug and play with this stick. I run HA in docker and just pass the device through, works nicely.

Ah, cool, that's good to know. Another piece of kit for the raspberry Pi, glad to hear it's relatively straightforward.

Re: Automatically fixing packet loss on my connection

#26

Post by philjohn »

robotmay wrote: post #22
kraftman wrote: post #18

Won't this cause issues with retraining? You'll end up with a high SNR and lower sync speed, which may solve the packet loss problem but isn't ideal. It would be better to either work out whether the router is the issue and replace it or work out if the line is a problem and get an engineer booked out to investigate it.

It’s quite a peculiar issue when it does happen (which is rarely), in that the only way I’ve found of resolving it myself is by dropping the line at that modem. I’m always hesitant to have the line inspected in the UK because there’s every chance OpenReach will come around and balls it up further. I’ve been doing this manually for the past couple of years without any negative effects that I’ve seen. I’d say it tends…

Have you ruled out the Draytek?

Re: Automatically fixing packet loss on my connection

#27

Post by robotmay »

philjohn wrote: post #26
robotmay wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s quite a peculiar issue when it does happen (which is rarely), in that the only way I’ve found of resolving it myself is by dropping the line at that modem. I’m always hesitant to have the line inspected in the UK because there’s every chance OpenReach will come around and balls it up further. I’ve been doing this manually for the past couple of years without any negative effects that I’ve seen. I’d say it tends…

Have you ruled out the Draytek?

I don’t have anything to swap it out with unfortunately, and due to the infrequent nature of the issue it’d be pretty hard to predict.

Intermittent packet loss is something I’ve experienced everywhere I’ve lived in the UK and with different devices. The only constant has been the BT/OpenReach network on which many of our ISPs are based :|

Re: Automatically fixing packet loss on my connection

#28

Post by sq_ »

dilyevsky wrote: post #8
tareqak wrote: post #4

Why does this packet loss happen, and why does restarting the router fix it?

Because isp modems are almost universally garbage. I just shutdown -r mine at 4am using cronjob+ssh

Even more annoyingly, if you get fed up with their crappy hardware and get your own, any and all future flakiness will be attributed by ISP support to using nonstandard hardware.

Re: Automatically fixing packet loss on my connection

#29

Post by dilyevsky »

sq_ wrote: post #28
dilyevsky wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because isp modems are almost universally garbage. I just shutdown -r mine at 4am using cronjob+ssh

Even more annoyingly, if you get fed up with their crappy hardware and get your own, any and all future flakiness will be attributed by ISP support to using nonstandard hardware.

A lot of us isps straight up won’t allow byo routers so that they can collect $10/mo “equipment fee”. Looking at you att

Re: Automatically fixing packet loss on my connection

#30

Post by Nextgrid »

sq_ wrote: post #28
dilyevsky wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because isp modems are almost universally garbage. I just shutdown -r mine at 4am using cronjob+ssh

Even more annoyingly, if you get fed up with their crappy hardware and get your own, any and all future flakiness will be attributed by ISP support to using nonstandard hardware.

Except his ISP is explicitly not like that and allows people to use whatever equipment they want.
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