Specials

Slow Download Problems

If you are not getting the expected speeds from your Exetel ADSL service the reason(s) are almost certainly going to be with some aspect of your modem or computer set up. However if that is not the case then you will need to provide Exetel with some very specific information so that we can help you resolve the problems in the shortest possible time.

In order to obtain vital local conditions with your circuit, please carry out the checks listed below and then, if your speed problems persist, please email Exetel the information specified when you lodge an ADSL Slow Speed fault.

Before carrying out any of these actions please do the elementary checking required to eliminate the most common configuration errors that cause slow or variable speeds.

  1. Ensure you are not uploading/downloading with any applications like p2p and ensure you are not using any software that does rate limiting etc. If you are, then you are saturating your service, hence slow speeds;
  2. Ensure you have the correct Exetel DNS servers of:
    • Primary: 220.233.0.4
    • Secondary: 220.233.0.3
  3. Turn off any firewall you have in operation.

Having done this elementary checking please do the standard isolation test to eliminate any faulty hardware or cabling.

Isolation Test

First remove ALL devices that are connected to the telephone line used by your ADSL modem. The reason this is asked, is to try and eliminate any hardware issues at this stage at your premises that may be interfering with your ADSL line sync/speed You should do this systematically using the following check list:

  1. Power off your ADSL modem and unplug all cables;
  2. Unplug all telephone handsets and cordless phones, remembering the extension in the garage, bedroom etc;
  3. Unplug all fax machines;
  4. Remove all ADSL filters;
  5. Remove all telephone double adapters/splitters;
  6. Remove all telephone extension cables;
  7. Unplug Foxtel/Austar Digital TV connection to the phone line;
  8. Unplug any building alarm. If unable to unplug the telephone line from the alarm, then power off the alarm unit.

When you are certain that all devices that use the telephone line at your premises have been unplugged, proceed to the next step.

  1. Using a short telephone cable, less than 2 meters long, plug into Telephone or Line port of the ADSL modem and then directly into the first telephone point in the premises. Check that the telephone cable is firmly plugged in and not damaged.

    DO NOT place an ADSL filter between the modem and the telephone point on the wall.
  2. Power on the ADSL modem. Identify the light on the modem that tells you when your modem is connected to the ADSL service. Sometimes this is called LINK, LNK, SYNC or WAN, depending on the modem type. In most cases the light will be steady and not flashing when it is connecter

    If the light is not flashing at this point there is a physical link to the exchange.
  3. Plug in each of the devices you unplugged in the first step, ensuring that you have correctly installed an ADSL filter on the telephone line between the device and the telephone wall socket.
  4. Check the light on the ADSL modem that indicates you have a connection after you plug in each device. If the light starts flashing after you plug in a device this indicates the device or filter is faulty. Check that the filter is correctly installed (please see the Hardware Installation Guide to confirm). Replace with another filter.
  5. Repeat this procedure for all telephones, faxes, digital TV, building alarms, remembering to install the filter and check the ADSL modem after adding each device.
  6. Repeat the procedure for all telephone double adapters/splitters and telephone extension cables installed, checking the ADSL modem after each installation.

Having satisfied yourself that you have no mis-configurations in your hardware connections you should check that your computer hasn't picked up a virus. While you may think that you have kept your virus scanner fully up to date and run it frequently there is always the possibility that you may have picked up a virus. Apart from running a full virus scan (which you should do before reporting any slow speed fault) you can use one of the standard Windows tools to visually check on whether your slow speeds are caused by a virus.

To check if that is what is causing your computer or internet access to seem slow, you can determine the network activity of your Windows computer by following the instructions below:

1. Press the Ctl-Alt-Delete keys. This cause the 'Windows Task Manager' window to pop up on your desktop. Then select the 'Networking' tab

Network Task Manager 1

2. Click on 'View' on the top menu bar and select 'Network Adaptor History' and select 'Bytes Sent', 'Bytes Received' and 'Bytes Total' so that they are all checked

Network Task Manager 2

3. You can now see the data traffic being sent and received by your computer

Network Task Manager 3

Notice in this example how the Red line (Bytes sent) is very high, while the Yellow line (Bytes received) is low. This means the computer is sending a lot of traffic to the internet and receiving very little.

If your computer shows this pattern and you aren't running any programs that would account for the traffic, and you know you aren't uploading files to the internet, then there is reasonable chance your computer has a virus and that is affecting your internet speed.

You need to download a new version of your preferred virus scanner and run a complete scan of your computer

Speed Tests

Having done the isolation test and having established that there are no other devices or faulty cables affecting your ADSL connection, reconnect to the ADSL and do the speed tests found described below:

Go to http://www.exetel.com.au/speed/meter.php or http://www.ozspeedtest.com/ and run the speed test.

For ADSL, the optimal speed test results should be (as 15% is used for protocol overheads):

256/64 line speed, between 180-230 kbps
512/128 line speed, between 380-440 kbps
1500/256 line speed, between 1000-1350 kbps

Then do a few PING and TRACERT tests from 2 domestic and 2 international locations.

If this speed test does not give you a result close to the optimum then you will need to email Exetel to get further assistance in solving your speed problems. To enable Exetel to help you we will require you to carry out the following tests:

PING and Traceroute

These two steps do reveal some very vital network conditions from your ADSL service to the Internet. For an experienced network engineer or staff member, this provides clues and/or an initial insight.

First, open up your e-mail program, and create an e-mail. Minimize the e-mail, as we will be using it soon to save our PING and Traceroute text in to.

To do a PING test with Windows XP

To do a trace route test with Windows XP

To cut and paste, from the MS DOS screen

Demonstrating what PING and Traceroute looks like

PING

C:\Documents and Settings\Owner>ping 220.233.0.50

Pinging 220.233.0.50 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 220.233.0.50: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=61
Reply from 220.233.0.50: bytes=32 time=7ms TTL=61
Reply from 220.233.0.50: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=61
Reply from 220.233.0.50: bytes=32 time=7ms TTL=61

Ping statistics for 220.233.0.50:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 6ms, Maximum = 13ms, Average = 8ms

TRACERT

C:\Documents and Settings\Owner>tracert www.telstra.com

Tracing route to www.telstra.com [144.135.19.10]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 1 ms 2 ms 2 ms 192.168.1.254
2 12 ms 7 ms 7 ms 185.33.233.220.exetel.com.au [220.233.33.185]
3 7 ms 7 ms 7 ms 254.0.233.220.exetel.com.au [220.233.0.254]
4 8 ms 8 ms 7 ms Vlan366.O2GSC76F03.optus.net.au [203.202.84.65]
5 8 ms 8 ms 8 ms GE-WAN3-4.un2.optus.net.au [203.202.36.137]
6 8 ms 8 ms 8 ms gigabitethernet4-3.ken12.sydney.telstra.net [139
.130.2.65]
7 8 ms 8 ms 8 ms TenGigabitEthernet8-1.pit1.Sydney.telstra.net [2
03.50.20.39]
8 8 ms 8 ms 8 ms pitt-tcom-r01 [139.130.185.254]
9 9 ms 8 ms 8 ms 144.135.19.84
10 * 9 ms 8 ms 144.135.18.18
11 21 ms 7 ms 7 ms 144.135.19.10

Trace complete.

If, having carried out the checks and having done the isolation test your speeds are not close to the optimums for your line type then please visit the exetel forums for slow speeds:

ADSL 1 Slow Speeds – http://forum.exetel.com.au/viewforum.php?f=294

ADSL 2+ Slow Speeds – http://forum.exetel.com.au/viewforum.php?f=226