Every so often, a technical tidbit just\u00a0flabbergasts me.<\/p>\n
In the course of\u00a0a client housecall last week, all the software updates I was attempting to download were taking unreasonable times to complete. I asked the client what speed DSL service she was paying for, but she didn’t know offhand (not unusual, as CenturyLink invoices typically\u00a0describe their DSL service levels by\u00a0package\u00a0titles\u00a0instead of actual speeds). I ran a test and measured the download speed at\u00a0about 2.5Mb\/sec, with an\u00a0upload speed\u00a0somewhat faster\u00a0(very unusual).<\/p>\n
After making sure no other devices in her home were leeching\u00a0bandwidth, we got on the phone to CenturyLink, who informed us that the contract speed was 12Mb\/sec. Indeed, the modem showed it had trained in at 15Mb\/sec, but\u00a0was still delivering a mere fraction of that. The business office transferred us to Repairs.<\/p>\n
Lynn, the service agent, ran through her boilerplate and had us check the cabling (requiring the moving and replacing of much heavy\u00a0furniture).<\/p>\n
Next she said something that raised my eyebrows: “I see that this modem has been running continuously for 270 days, so I want you to disconnect the DSL modem from the wall cable, disconnect power from the modem for two full minutes, plug the power back in, wait for the power indicator to go green, then plug the wall cable back in.”<\/p>\n
We did this… and the speed jumped back up to 12Mb\/sec.<\/p>\n
This is the sort of procedure that would have struck\u00a0me as superstitious voodoo had I not witnessed its success myself.<\/p>\n
I said to\u00a0Lynn, “I wouldn’t think continuous uptime of 270 days would be that unusual. Are you telling us we’re supposed to power-cycle our DSL modem every couple months?”<\/p>\n
“Oh, no,” she said\u2014“you need to power-cycle your DSL modem\u00a0every two weeks.”<\/em><\/p>\n Wow. And here I thought that having to change my HVAC air filters every month was burdensome.<\/p>\n I have to say, this maintenance “requirement” was total news to me. I’ve never owned a DSL connection myself, but I’ve installed dozens of them for clients. Not once have I seen any mention in the CenturyLink literature that the customer\u00a0was expected to power-cycle his\u00a0DSL modem twice each month.<\/p>\n I can’t imagine how one could even design equipment that requires this. I have networking equipment out in the field that has operated continuously for years without rebooting, much less power-cycling.<\/p>\n What say you, DSL users\u00a0— were any of you\u00a0out there aware of this?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Every so often, a technical tidbit just\u00a0flabbergasts me. In the course of\u00a0a client housecall last week, all the software updates I was attempting to download were taking unreasonable times to complete. I asked the client what speed DSL service she was paying for, but she didn’t know offhand (not unusual, as CenturyLink invoices typically\u00a0describe their … Continue reading Has your DSL gone stale?<\/span>