Thank you @Chelsea_2020!
Could you also please perform a ping test as per @RogersAndy instructions and post the results here too?
Regards,
RogersCorey
Good morning @Chelsea_2020!
The final line of this test is missing which shows the overall results. Did that timeout result in a packet drop?
Please PM us @CommunityHelps so that I can run some tests of my own. If you're not familiar with our PMing process, you can find instructions here.
Thanks!
Regards,
RogersCorey
@Kryshome your post brings the following comments to mind:
Please delete the first hop in your IPV6 trace to google as that is the modem's IP address which shouldn't be published in an open forum.
1. Lose the amplifier please. Please remove it completely prior to the technician arriving. The techs have access to modem signal data thru their wireless laptops, so, before he or she arrives at your home, your signal data will already have been reviewed. With the amp in place, the signal levels won't appear as they would normally appear for a failing cable. That undoubtedly clouds the picture, so to speak.
2. The signal data is missing the OFDM Downstream Overview data. Can you repost the entire table, from the Downstream Overview line at the top of the table, all the way down to the OFDM/OFDMA Overview. That data will indicate the presence of the OFDM channel, or lack thereof.
3. Looking at the data, it would appear that its shaped in an upside-down U shape, with high losses at both ends of the U. Its difficult to determine how bad the signal levels are, given the presence of the amplifier.
4. In general, running an amplifier is usually not required unless you're running several digital tv nextboxes, internet modem and possibly a Home Phone modem as well. That type of cable layout can require an amplifier, but, that depends on the original signal levels at the cable entrance to the home. Sometimes a splitter will suffice. Amps are usually not required as the output of the neighbourhood node is ramped up as the downstream signal frequency increases. That counteracts the signal loss in the cable system which also increases with frequency. The end result, at the customer home should be a 0 dBmV signal level across the board. As the external cable ages, the signal losses, which are present from day one, will increase. After several years you might end up in a situation where the cables losses cause a loss of service. I suspect that you're at that point. In that case, its time for a cable reinstall.
5. Cable amplifiers can cause packet loss, which is why Rogers uses Antronix amps which have an unamplified port for VOIP use. That port is also used for internet modem purposes. So, that port has a 3.5 dB drop from the input port, but, it won't cause packet loss which can be seen thru an amplified port. The remaining ports on the Antronix amp are amplified. Amplifiers also hide poor signal conditions, complicating troubleshooting.
6. Running a temporary cable from three houses down might be a little tricky. The best path would probably be to run from the pedestal, all the way to the back of the yard where the pedestal is located, then along the fence line, crossing the middle house yards along the fence line, and then up to the demarcation point at the side of your home. This is a little tricky as the techs don't have permission to traipse thru other yards for this purpose. There is an easement, typically at the front of the home for cable, power, gas systems etc. Taking another path requires the permission of the homeowners, so, a word with your neighbours prior to the techs arrival is probably a good idea. The tech might attempt to run the temp cable thru the front yards, thru trees, over roofs, etc, etc. I don't think this is a great idea based on previous posts where the cables have been taken out by cars and trucks, sometimes resulting in damage to the homes. So, a little recce with the tech is a good idea, along with asking for and receiving permission to run the cable across the neighbours yards. Running along the fence line at the back of the yards will result in a longer cable run, with potential for a signal drop due to the length, but, it might be the least intrusive for the time being. The tech, and yourself will have to come to some conclusion as to what is possible given your distance from the pedestal.
7. If you can remove the amp and repost the signal data, I'd be interested in seeing how bad it really is. Again, please remove the amp so that the tech can see how bad the cable signal levels really are.
8. With the temporary cable in place, please repost the signal data, just to see what the temporary signal levels look like.
9. If you've already had two or more techs out to your home, you can ask for a senior tech (real Rogers tech). If you have problems with this, the moderators can assist in the matter.
As indicated above, please delete the first hop in your IPV6 trace to google as that is the modem's IP address which shouldn't be published in an open forum.
@Kryshome fwiw, if you want to post a long post, type it out in something like Word and when you're ready, just copy and paste into a post. That's the voice of experience speaking, after numerous lost posts.
Your signal levels are a disaster. That cable should have been replaced long ago. It appears that the upstream frequencies below 42 MHz are ok, but, we can't see the signal levels at the CMTS, so, not sure at this point, but, the signal levels on the upstream side aren't out of line for this modem. The downstream levels are the disaster part. They should be at 0 dBmV not down to -20 sBmV. The DOCSIS 3.1 OFDM channel isn't running. That runs between 295 to 500 MHz, so, looking at the DOCSIS 3.0 data, it would appear that the OFDM frequency range is running so poorly that the OFDM Chanel won't or can't run, so, the modem is running on the upper DOCSIS 3.0 channels which aren't in great shape either.
So, the tech has some work to do in order to temporarily resolve the problem.
Lets see how the tech visit goes today and what the results are. If there are further problems when it comes to getting a senior tech out to your home, it will be time to get the moderators involved to make that happen.
Please repost the signal levels after the tech visit.
@Kryshome no need to apologize. After three hours the posts are locked so it requires a moderator to make any changes, if necessary.
So, at least with the ticket number you can call in to see what progress is being made. I'd probably call in once a week just to check on that progress.
Just to note, the modem isn't running the downstream DOCSIS 3.1 OFDM channel, which is primarily used for downstream data. That indicates that the modem can't use the lowest QAM level available which is 64 QAM. So, the modem bails out of the OFDM channel and uses the upper DOCSIS 3.0 channels, which aren't in great shape. Fwiw, with adequate signal levels, the performance of the modem in DOCSIS 3.0 mode is very good, and should match the download rates seen with the OFDM channel running. The typical QAM level for this modem is 1024. Unfortunately that data isn't shown in the user interface, but, tech support has access to the OFDM signal data.
So, you're making headway, but, it looks like its going to be painful until the maintenance crew finds out what is causing the signal drop enroute to the local tap. Sorry to say, there doesn't appear to be any easy solution here. Is the cable replacement and burial still scheduled?
@Kryshome I can't help with the cell phone issue. Thats something that you would have to address with the moderators. You can send them a message at @CommunityHelps. Follow that link and use the link on the next page to "Send this user a private message". That will take you to the message composition page. Fill in the details and subject or title and hit send when complete. When you're logged into the forum, watch for a number overlaying your avatar at the top right hand of the page. That avatar is also a link to your profile and message inbox/outbox. Follow that avatar link down to the message inbox to see any response from the moderators.
Fwiw, just a suggestion, start a notepad file and store it somewhere handy. Whenever you log into the modem for any reason, copy the signal data from the DOCSIS WAN tab, paste that into the Notepad file and add a time and date. Save the file as you add additional data. With that file on hand, you can look back in time to see where those signal levels go, if and when they move. Over time, they should be very stable and running within normal specs.
Point to remember, contract techs will sometimes but not always, leave the hard to solve cases to Rogers, without stating to you that you should be able to call tech support looking for a solution to the problem. That puts customers in a position of having to chase the company for support when a knowledgeable tech, given the impetus, can provide a temporary solution.
When a tech rolls up to your door, he or she is usually driving a van in Rogers corporate logos and colors, when in fact the tech is a contract tech. Customers for the most part don't know that there are contract techs and Rogers techs. So, after no success with the contractor techs, customers are usually peeved by this point, and so, the chase begins. Sorry that its gotten to this point, but, you're not the first and won't be the last 😞
Fwiw, to access the external enclosure, a hex wrench like these will work. Its not an exact fit from what I've seen but it works:
https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=hex+can+wrench
One thing that you can to is check the external ground cable that runs out to the electrical box clamp. That ground cable might need cleaning if its heavily corroded. The techs should have checked that cable both inside the enclosure and outside and cleaned it or cut the ends off to uncover clean copper cabling. Poor cable grounds can also cause issues.
Inside the enclosure should be the cable end from the local tap, a cable ground block and the start of the cable run which heads inside the home. That's it, so its pretty simple. Basically the techs should ensure that the cable ends are clean copper, that the ground block is in good condition and that the ground block grounding wire is clean at both ends.
Hopefully the tech will run a temporary cable for you. In your neighbourhood do you have back alleys behind the property line, or is it just back yard to back yard, with a dividing fence? For long runs, ISPs use RG-11 cabling instead of RG-6.
https://blog.solidsignal.com/tutorials/better-rg59-rg6-rg11-cable/
Assuming that the tech has RG-11 cabling on the van, that would probably be the better choice if you're looking at a very long run around a couple of neighbours yards.
@Kryshome just to lay this out:
1. The local tap will provide service to 6 or 8 (?) homes in the immediate vicinity of the pedestal.
2. The neighbourhood node, to which the local taps are connected, will service 500, 1000 or 1500 homes from what I understand. I believe that the Rogers target is 500 homes, but, Rogers has been installing equipment further downstream into the neighbourhoods, so that number could be under 500 homes per neighbourhood node.
3. The Cable Modem Termination System will service several neighbourhood nodes. How many? Don't know, but it will be a fairly big number, so each CMTS will service several thousand homes.
The cable path will look something like:
1. Modem to splitter: RG-6 cable
2. Splitter to external Rogers enclosure: RG-6 cable
3. Rogers enclosure to local tap: RG-6 cable
4. Local tap to neighbourhood node: Hard Cable
5. Neighbouhood node to CMTS: Fibre Optic
Fwiw, there is always the possibility of amps and/or equilizers between the local tap and neighbourhood node. Each cable run will be unique in its configuration, just depends on the run length and number of customers.
Typically if there is a problem, that problem is in the external cable run from the external enclosure outside of the home to the local tap. There is always the possibility of an issue between the local tap and the neighbourhood node. That possibility shouldn't be overlooked.
If there was a problem in the cable run from the neighbouhood node to the local tap there would be a great many complaints along your street.
If there was a problem between the neighbourhood node to the CMTS which typically runs via fibre, then your entire neighbourhood would be affected. Rogers would most certainly hear about it.
In order to quantify the losses, you can run a ping test to the CMTS. To do that, bring up a command prompt and type in:
tracert -4 www.google.ca (or any other web site, it doesn't matter what you choose)
When the trace is complete, take note of the second IP address in the list. With the modem in Gateway mode the first IP address will be the modem. The second IP address is the CMTS. With an ethernet connected pc or laptop, ping the CMTS and let it run for several hours.
Here's a ping test for a 1 hour test run. Type in:
ping -n 3600 xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx where xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is that second hop IP address
That will run for 1 hour and terminate. When that is complete, right click on the top title bar of the command prompt, select Edit .... Select All. Right click on the top title bar again and select Edit .... Copy. Paste that into a text editor of some type, and then copy the bottom results. Please paste that into a post, just to see what the typical losses are.
Ignore any high pings that you see. Thats due to an internal modem timing issue that only affect ping times between the modem and the CMTS. There is no affect on a ping test to a target beyond the CMTS.
To run a ping test without any ping limit, use:
ping -t xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
Use Ctrl C to exit the test and show the results.
To run a 24 hour ping test, use:
ping -n 86400 xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
Running ping tests at this point will establish a record that you can use a baseline and it will allow you to compare the pre and post cable install results. Running the same tests after the cable install will help to determine if there are other issues further upstream, beyond the local tap.
If necessary I'll get you to run ping tests to the DNS and possibly run TCP/IP ping tests.
Hello, @Aminamir
Welcome to the Rogers Community Forums!
I know how important it is to have a consistent and fast internet connection especially these days when everyone is working from home due to COVID19.
We'd like to take a closer look at this for you and review the notes on your file and from the technicians to ensure we aren't repeating or missing any important steps. Please send a private message to @CommunityHelps so we can get started.
Not familiar with our private messaging system? No worries, Click Here.
RogersTony
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