8800AXL r2 Line Stability

Discussions for BiPAC 8800 series: 8800NL, 8800NLR2, 8800AXL, 8800AXLR2
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JohnG0GCD
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2019 8:31 am

8800AXL r2 Line Stability

Post by JohnG0GCD »

Having some real problems with TalkTalk FTTC and 8800AXLR2. (Firmware 2.52.d17, line driver version A2pv6F039v.d26q_rc1a)
Currently, I have used the default VDSL2 settings and I get connection reliably. However, at about fortnightly intervals, the 8800 starts dropping the ISP connection, resulting in all my devices becoming upset - and my better half wound up because she is always half way through doing something on a website when it happens. When this sequence starts, the 8800 can reboot four or five times in a couple of hours.
I've not yet caught the sequence on the lights but the router log often shows a complete reboot. Just now, when the TV stopped streaming, I went to the router and saw the DSL light steady but the internet light off, coming back in a minute or so.

My original thought was that this was something triggered by the ISP. I'm syncing at about 33/5Mb with a 6dB SNR (up and down) on a line with 25dB attenuation. The attenuation has remained constant but when I was moved to FTTC in February, I was getting 42/7Mb; now with the frequent reboots I have been pushed down to as low as 25/4.
After all that background, my question is what, if anything, can I do to improve the stability?

I am considering putting the ISP modem router (HG631?) into service in bridging mode to separate the issues between ISP and 8800 but I'm reaching the limit of my experience with that approach.

Thanks for any pointers
John
billion_fan
Posts: 5374
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2011 4:30 pm

Re: 8800AXL r2 Line Stability

Post by billion_fan »

JohnG0GCD wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 1:45 pm Having some real problems with TalkTalk FTTC and 8800AXLR2. (Firmware 2.52.d17, line driver version A2pv6F039v.d26q_rc1a)
Currently, I have used the default VDSL2 settings and I get connection reliably. However, at about fortnightly intervals, the 8800 starts dropping the ISP connection, resulting in all my devices becoming upset - and my better half wound up because she is always half way through doing something on a website when it happens. When this sequence starts, the 8800 can reboot four or five times in a couple of hours.
I've not yet caught the sequence on the lights but the router log often shows a complete reboot. Just now, when the TV stopped streaming, I went to the router and saw the DSL light steady but the internet light off, coming back in a minute or so.

My original thought was that this was something triggered by the ISP. I'm syncing at about 33/5Mb with a 6dB SNR (up and down) on a line with 25dB attenuation. The attenuation has remained constant but when I was moved to FTTC in February, I was getting 42/7Mb; now with the frequent reboots I have been pushed down to as low as 25/4.
After all that background, my question is what, if anything, can I do to improve the stability?

I am considering putting the ISP modem router (HG631?) into service in bridging mode to separate the issues between ISP and 8800 but I'm reaching the limit of my experience with that approach.

Thanks for any pointers
John
Really need to see a copy of the system logs once the issue has occurred so we can see what is happening.

You can put the ISP modem in (in bridging mode) and set the Billion for a Ethernet >> IPoE connection (run through the quick start option to set this on the Billion, and plug your ISP modem to the WAN port on the Billion)
JohnG0GCD
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2019 8:31 am

Re: 8800AXL r2 Line Stability

Post by JohnG0GCD »

Thanks Billion_fan

Happened just after 21:00 local. I believe that the 8800 rebooted the ISP link, as it gave me a new Public IP address and pushed my downlink sync back down by 2MB to 31MB. (Also disconnected everything). That makes five times today.

I haven't had chance to try the modem swap. I have visitors tomorrow, so may get to it on Sunday. Meanwhile, if you could help me decode the log; i.e. what's triggering the issue, I'd be very grateful. (Section from 18:45 to 21:30 extracted and attached).

One thought - the 8800 is installed where the 7800DXL was, within a couple of feet of a DECT phone base station. Although that gave no trouble with the 7800, and it's not having any noticeable effect on the 8800 WiFi, perhaps it's worth turning that off for a while.

Can't seem to source a replacement box with a similar spec to the 8800AXL. The best alternative/upgrade seems to be an 8900AX-2400 but everywhere on the tinkernet seems to be out of stock ! (and I prefer the regular rectangular box used by Billion)

Thanks again
John

PS MAC 00:04:ed:fa:23:20 belongs to the 7800DXL which is on a powerline ethernet extender, providing another dual band AP in another part of the house. It has the same SSIDs and (fixed) WiFi channels as the 8800. Time to turn that off as well?
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JohnG0GCD
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2019 8:31 am

Re: 8800AXL r2 Line Stability

Post by JohnG0GCD »

It's not dropped out once today.
This has to be the ISP messing about with me, hasn't it?
Can they tell that I'm not using 'their' router (because it's only 2.4GHz WiFi) and effectively sabotage my installation by continuously rebooting the line?

By way of comparison, the 7800DXL loved ADSL2+ and stayed stable for months on end.
John
billion_fan
Posts: 5374
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2011 4:30 pm

Re: 8800AXL r2 Line Stability

Post by billion_fan »

JohnG0GCD wrote: Sun Aug 08, 2021 4:38 pm It's not dropped out once today.
This has to be the ISP messing about with me, hasn't it?
Can they tell that I'm not using 'their' router (because it's only 2.4GHz WiFi) and effectively sabotage my installation by continuously rebooting the line?

By way of comparison, the 7800DXL loved ADSL2+ and stayed stable for months on end.
John
From looking at the logs the line was dropping out, (loosing sync) which might be resolved, but you won't know until the DLM recovers the speeds, and see if the line starts to drop again. (as the line gets faster the SNR should drop to reflect this)

They might be able to tell you are not using their router, (if they are using TR-069 like BT) but I don't think they will sabotage your connection.
JohnG0GCD
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2019 8:31 am

Re: 8800AXL r2 Line Stability

Post by JohnG0GCD »

Thanks Billion_fan, That has been a real help.

I have now decoupled a lot of extraneous equipment from the network and simplified it as much as I can. I'm now using a PowerLine pair to get to my far flung sub network, rather than trying to use WiFi extender capabilities. The 8800 is still in modem/router mode; I have not yet installed the ISP modem and bridged it.

The 8800 has remained coupled for 2 days now, the SNR has gone up to 7 and the attainable speed is currently 33Mb, although my sync speed is still at 29M at the moment. We'll see how it goes from here.

I am pleased that it's looking like I won't need to replace the 8800, as I like Billion's ergonomics and also the controlling software design. Other alternatives use a phone app (really?) for configuration or seem to have no capability to set things that I want to have. (Some BT boxes won't let you change the SSID!)

Once again, thanks for your help. We'll watch it from here.

Best wishes
John
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