New Cable Modem is faster.

gismo

gismo

Touchdown! Greaser!
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iGismo
Several months ago I bought a Docsis 3.0 Cable Modem to replace my ancient but relatively faithful RCA DCR245 but I didn't get around to installing it until today. But if I'd known how much it would increase my download bit rate I would have gotten that round tuit a lot sooner. On the old modem I would occasionally see 8-9 MBps but 5-6 was more typical and sometimes it would drop to about half of that. The new Surfboard SB6121 is using three "bonded" channels for downloads and the lowest speed I've seen so far (using SpeedTest.net) is 17MBps and on one test it peaked at over 25MBps. I guess it's not surprising that three channels is about 3 times faster than one. Hopefully this modem won't be so fond of getting hung up and needing a weekly reboot as well.

The modem also supports a fairly detailed web interface showing signal levels and other stuff.

There is one thing that puzzles me although this isn't about this modem specifically: Why does my router (Belkin N600 dual band) show the Modem's IP (e.g. 173.31.220.nnn) on the main status page rather than the IP given to the router by the modem's DHCP (e.g. 192.168.100.11). Access to the modem's GUI is at 192.168.100.1. Also (probably related) when I connect to what the router says is the WAN IP (that 173.31... address) I get a second copy of the router GUI that's normally accessed from the router's LAN IP of 192.168.24.1, what's with that? I'm wondering if this means my router's configuration page is visible from the internet?
 
192.168.x.x is unroutable through the Internet. I am curious about the modem IP though.
 
gismo said:
There is one thing that puzzles me although this isn't about this modem specifically: Why does my router (Belkin N600 dual band) show the Modem's IP (e.g. 173.31.220.nnn) on the main status page rather than the IP given to the router by the modem's DHCP (e.g. 192.168.100.11). Access to the modem's GUI is at 192.168.100.1. Also (probably related) when I connect to what the router says is the WAN IP (that 173.31... address) I get a second copy of the router GUI that's normally accessed from the router's LAN IP of 192.168.24.1, what's with that? I'm wondering if this means my router's configuration page is visible from the internet?
Click to expand...

For the last question: DSL reports used to have a tool to check your IP for any "visibility" on the net. Basically it tested common ports to see if it got a response. I doubt the modem will be visible since that's an option that has to be selected (default is off).

Dunno what's up on the previous question except the apparently the modem doesn't do NAT. Might be a good thing since it's one less layer of processing for every packet...
 
1 - http://www.whatismyip.com/
2 - Your modem has two interfaces - one for the internal network (the ethernet side) and one for the external network (the cable side). This may even be different than the IP assigned to you to route publicly (which step 1 will show). Your internal network is almost certainly NATted (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_address_translation), and possibly your external network as well. NATted addresses are not visible / routable outside of the network in which they exist unless specifically configured to do so (and then they're only routable within the private network).
 
Docis 3.0 modems are faster since they use channel bonding.

AKA they use multiple down streams and up streams to distribute the data , rather than one downstream and upstream.


You should be able to log onto the modem by typing in

192.168.100.1
( never mind, I see you found that) But 99% of all cable modems use the same IP to see signal levels , ip's and bootloader file.



You will still be capped by your ISP , but you should see a dramatic increase in speeds vs your old modem.


You may also want to double check that that 6121 has the latest firmware. We had a few problems with the newer 3.0's and Motorola sent out a firmware update our company can push over the network.
 
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I bought the same new Motorola modem a week ago after the Derechio (sp?) mostly fried the old one. it worked for a couple days at really reduced speed and then quit on me. Thought it was the cable company but tried a new modem and it worked.

I got a 3mbps increase in speed to the cable company's advertised 10mbps rate from 7. I am mo' happy. Getting what I am paying for more or less now.

David
 
So I'll explain...

- Comcast requires you have "Business Class" service if you have static IP addresses.

- Comcast will not provide any technical changes to Business Class accounts on weekends that require a change to the account.

- Changing a modem requires an account change to associate the modem with the account and drop the recurring charges for leasing the ten year old modem you used to get for free.

See where this is going? It gets better.

- Comcast used to accept a couple of different DOCSIS 3 modems for "Business Class" installs. There are hundred of installed modems and customers.

- Comcast then realized that if static IPs are utilized, these modems are put in Bridged mode. The modems do not have enough intelligence to handle Proxy ARP techniques.

- The bridged modems are no longer visible to Comcast. They can't actively manage them upstream.

- There's also a legal issue. I own it. I may say, "no you can't log into it".

- Comcast stopped accepting Bring-Your-Own-Device Business Class static IP customers in December but did not put any notice of this on any of their BYOD web pages for selecting modems.

Guess what I bought Sunday to drop their idiotic $7/mo leased modem that was USED the day they brought it to my house and gave it to me free of charge for five years? A nice little Motorola Surfboard 6121.

A co-worker has a 6120 and statics across town. Same network, same gear at the head end.

Guess how many days it took to figure all of the above out?

Their little stories and refusal to offer a way to buy a modem while saying "But you still have options! If you get rid of the static IPs!" when I pressed for any modem certified that would work, was the most sickening tap dance ever heard.

The front line tech, could pull up my signed contract on his screen but couldn't set up static routes to a modem in my hand.

(By the way, he noticed that I did NOT sign the version of the contract that allowed them to start charging for the modem, ironically. But then more tap dancing. "But it does say here that we can change the terms at any time." Yeah bub... Great. I sign for X a month and you think you can add to it with that clause?)

They'll also send you a newer DOCSIS 3 modem they had custom-made so they can manage it. "Can I buy that modem?" No.

I really hate them. I'm seriously considering wasting a day at small claims court just to make their $100/hr lawyer show up.

It may be time to jump back to DSL. I also can't believe the SEC let NBC/Universal own a cable company. Content plus distributor channel. What a deal.
 
Clear is doing a decent job for me Nate. Not great but decent. If they've got an antenna a few blocks away it may work for you. I wouldn't push it very far on distance since signal strength seems to rule all with them.
 
denverpilot said:
I really hate them. I'm seriously considering wasting a day at small claims court just to make their $100/hr lawyer show up.
Click to expand...

I don't know about Colorado, but the time I used small claims court in California (and won) lawyers were not allowed for either party. The guy I sued brought his son (son-in-law?) who was a paralegal and that didn't help them one bit. But, you'll force them to send somebody. Go for it.
 
> I really hate them. I'm seriously considering wasting a day at small claims court
> just to make their $100/hr lawyer show up.

Been there twice w/Comcrap. Satisfaction both times.

My last outage was 2 weeks ago ... they quote eight [8] days before they
could send a tech. Then advised that I had to answer the phone the day
of the appt ... but they provide the phone service ... and it was out too.
They could wrap their heads around that Catch-22, but couldn't find a
path to success.

I faxed yet another SC Court filing to them. Tech was out the next day. He
said that they were actually "slow" and had cut back his hours. Gawd, how
I wish I had an alternative.
 
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Clark1961 said:
Clear is doing a decent job for me Nate. Not great but decent. If they've got an antenna a few blocks away it may work for you. I wouldn't push it very far on distance since signal strength seems to rule all with them.
Click to expand...

Interesting... I doubt they offer static IPs, though...

Craig McCaw... there's a name I haven't seen in a long time. Good ol' McCaw Cellular. And Stanton is playing too, the old VoiceStream dude...

Both of those ventures were "build it fast, make it barely work, and sell it" business models... sad part is, I'm not sure that's what was INTENDED for the business model, but neither guy seems to be able to build anything to rival the big three.

But the world's slightly different now, and Sprint is playing and investing in Clear... which is probably has been contributing to their exceedingly weak business numbers for a while now.

Weird conglomerate. I knew WiMax was very very strange on the business side, but you bringing up Clear made me go look. Be interesting to see if WiMax can really be an ongoing viable thing. Seems like they're still trying to make a go of it.

I get zero 4G service with an up to date Sprint card at home, and I think with the Sprint involvement, they're really the same OTA network. If I put my zip code into their service checker, it says yes... but I have a feeling it's got a common mistake in it...

My zip comes up as Englewood, CO because that's where the servicing main Post Office is, but I'm really in Centennial, CO. I don't think there's any significant WiMax coverage in Centennial yet.

What are you seeing for up/down speeds? They have any hidden bandwidth caps in their contract even though the website says "unlimited"? (Definitely sounds like Craig McCaw's tricks... Sprint has had class action lawsuits for that, as have VZ and AT&T... you'd think no sane service provider would even bother putting the word "unlimited" on their front page of their website anymore... what a racket! Nothing's unlimited...)

Sometimes it's best not to know how the sausage is getting made, I guess. (See no evil, hear no evil...)
 
It runs about 4 down and about 0.8 up. Speed does vary with system load and I've seen 1.5 up. Latency is about 70.

I have not run into any caps and updating foreflight is not a problem. Much faster on Clear than old DSL.

IP isn't fixed but that isn't a big deal for me.

Works fine with IP telephone.

Bottom line seems to be signal strength and I've got a tower about five blocks away. They had a map page available which shows which towers they're using. Maybe they only gave me access to that page after I'd signed up...but I should be able to check your address. I could loan you my Clear usb dongle to test if you want.
 
Clark1961 said:
It runs about 4 down and about 0.8 up. Speed does vary with system load and I've seen 1.5 up. Latency is about 70.

I have not run into any caps and updating foreflight is not a problem. Much faster on Clear than old DSL.

IP isn't fixed but that isn't a big deal for me.

Works fine with IP telephone.

Bottom line seems to be signal strength and I've got a tower about five blocks away. They had a map page available which shows which towers they're using. Maybe they only gave me access to that page after I'd signed up...but I should be able to check your address. I could loan you my Clear usb dongle to test if you want.
Click to expand...
Is there an option to put a remote receiver/antenna up high and pointed at the nearest cell tower? If that's possible it could make for a huge increase in range. Something else I've seen done is putting up a high power P-P WiFi link to some friend who's in range or has better service and (illegally) sharing his account.
 
gismo said:
Is there an option to put a remote receiver/antenna up high and pointed at the nearest cell tower? If that's possible it could make for a huge increase in range. Something else I've seen done is putting up a high power P-P WiFi link to some friend who's in range or has better service and (illegally) sharing his account.
Click to expand...

FWIW, I think the speed is more a function of terrain and obstructions than distance, per se.

Back when I still did stationery wireless installs, setting up an out-of-the-box Clear tabletop modem next to a West-facing window with a clear view over the river used to get me d/l speeds in the 9-10 Mb/s neighborhood. But if I moved it away from the window in the same apartment or office, it would drop to 4 - 6 at best. In an apartment or office in the same building but facing East, I might get 3 - 5 tops.

I don't recall whether the Clear modem has an external antenna jack. I don't think it does because I'm sure I would have tried directly-connecting external antennas if it did. But I don't think Clear could stop you from using an antenna, some cable, and a repeater to do essentially the same thing... Nor can I think of a reason why they would care, to tell you the truth.

The repeaters have come down in price dramatically over the past year or two. The repeater alone for Sprint 4G back was upwards of a grand when it first rolled out. Nowadays, you can get a repeater along with a Yagi and cable for half that.

I used to get 40 - 50 dB gain, on average, with a Yagi on the roof and a repeater.

-Rich
 
denverpilot said:
Appreciate the offer, but static IP is a hard requirement here. Thanks Clark.
Click to expand...

I'm just curious -- what could you possibly need a static IP for in the days of big clouds with really cheap VM instances?
 
jesse said:
I'm just curious -- what could you possibly need a static IP for in the days of big clouds with really cheap VM instances?
Click to expand...

- Radio linking gear that can work without but not when you have multiples. (Hard-coded port numbers. Non-dynamic.)
- Home VPN. And outbound nailed up SSH tunnels to stuff. (Can work around it with dyndns and the like, but nailed up SSH tunnels like statics.)
- Various other crap that's simpler knowing the IP. :)
 
rainsux said:
> I really hate them. I'm seriously considering wasting a day at small claims court
> just to make their $100/hr lawyer show up.

Been there twice w/Comcrap. Satisfaction both times.

My last outage was 2 weeks ago ... they quote eight [8] days before they
could send a tech. Then advised that I had to answer the phone the day
of the appt ... but they provide the phone service ... and it was out too.
They could wrap their heads around that Catch-22, but couldn't find a
path to success.

I faxed yet another SC Court filing to them. Tech was out the next day. He
said that they were actually "slow" and had cut back his hours. Gawd, how
I wish I had an alternative.
Click to expand...

They do precall because of the deadbeat appointments who schedule and aren't home or won't get their lazy asses out of bed for appointments.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
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