Re: I've Always Wondered... (Insert Question Here!
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 7,786
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 7,786 |
To hell with that.
Where can I get a couple of pounds of fairy dust? I asked. They wouldn't tell me. Hey Murph. Even though I like the fairy dust explanation, I really am curious to know how you guys manage this download speed stuff.
Fred
------- Blujays1: Spending Fred's money one bottle at a time, no two... Oh crap!
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Re: I've Always Wondered... (Insert Question Here!
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 5,745 Likes: 17
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 5,745 Likes: 17 |
This is a bit indelicate, but an aggravating battle prompts the question.
Why are plunger heads ROUND while the toilet opening they are intended to seal so you can use the power of compressed air is OVAL?
Do plunger designers not LOOK at the toilet opening?
(Sorry - that's a double "I've Always Wondered..."). I want Ray's question answered.
"Those who preach the myths of audio are ignorant of truth."
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Re: I've Always Wondered... (Insert Question Here!
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 16,441
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 16,441 |
More fiber is ONE answer.
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Re: I've Always Wondered... (Insert Question Here!)
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 6,955
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 6,955 |
No problem Fred. I'll have to summarize a bit though as there are lots of technologies that all work slightly different.
Essentially though, any individual bandwidth setting is all done at an aggregation device somewhere within your ISP. The actual media into your home, be it fiber, DSL, cable, wireless, has a hard top cap that is it's maximum. However anything they want to set below the maximum is usually done at the aggregation device. ISPs can do pretty much anything they want at this point, depending on the technology used.
Basics oversimplified
Access Speed. This is one term often applied to the technical, maximum speed of a solution that enters your house or business.
For instance, a fiber connection to your home might use gear that tops out at, for example, 10 Mb/sec, 100 Mb/sec or 1 Gb/sec. The speed you get can be set at any number lower than the max but an upgrade beyond this maximum throughput normally requires a change in equipment and/or it's settings.
Available Rate (there are many terms for this depending on tech) This is the speed you care about. The speed limit that your ISP has placed on you depending on the service you purchased. It is normally controlled at the aggregation device where your home's connection reaches the ISP. It's generally the point where your connection goes from being an individual circuit to joining 'the cloud.' This point is called a "Port". The port could be physical (your unique fiber plugs into the AG (Aggergation Device) or it could be logical (many customers are already travelling through the same fiber at this point but your network is still assigned a virtual port).
Your Port can be set to control all sorts of things just for you. - Max upload speeds - Max download speeds (up and down are often set differently) - Max download/upload caps (if you push or pull more traffic, the total quantity of data per month irregardless of the speed, then you may start to pay more) - Traffic shaping (some ISPs will give priority to certain types of traffic. For instance, regular web traffic may be given more maximum bandwidth than torrent downloads.) - Blocking traffic (you may recall a certain wireless ISP that refused thier customers the ability to use Facetime unless they paid for a premium service) - lots of other stuff
Generally, when you purchase a particular service you are paying for a certain package deal that states service levels like download speeds, monthly maximums, etc. Often they have profiles for each service level you can buy and they just apply that profile to your port when you sign up. Buy a better or lesser service and they usually just switch your profile. However technically, they can also tweak individual items if they want/need to.
For instance services like DSL have further limitations like distance and cable quality. House A might be 1 km from the ISP's serving office and is set to sync up at a top speed of 7.5 Mb/sec. House B which is 6km away from the serving equipment and maybe has smaller gauge copper cable to work with, might be synced up at only 1.5 Mb/sec to keep it more stable in those conditions. Ideally, they tell you what your house is capable of getting and you pay appropriately for that service level.
Over-provisioned cable can be adversely effected by the number simoultanious users on a loop of cable (dependent on design.) If they can not control individual maximums.
Fiber is usually your best guarantee of getting your purchased maximum but any service type can be reliable for speeds as long as it is designed and provisioned properly. There are just less limiting factors with fiber.
I can't address your individual situation of course but hopefully the above provides an understanding of how it works behind the scenes. People may correct me for technical details based on thier particular type of service, but please remember I was trying to generalize what happens over a very wide variety of services and tech. vendors. It was not meant to be a white paper.
With great power comes Awesome irresponsibility.
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Re: I've Always Wondered... (Insert Question Here!)
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 5,745 Likes: 17
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 5,745 Likes: 17 |
It was not meant to be a white paper. So that makes it a pink paper? Because that's my next question. I've just always wondered.
Last edited by chesseroo; 01/15/13 03:36 PM.
"Those who preach the myths of audio are ignorant of truth."
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Re: I've Always Wondered... (Insert Question Here!)
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 7,786
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 7,786 |
Thanks Murph, that is pretty much what I thought. I presume that the aggregation device is a switch/router of some sort.
From what I was told about my service and the speeds I get, I suspect that my provider is doing some sort of traffic 'shaping' based on system load, as I seem to get considerably higher bandwidth than I pay for at times.
The issue I was having with inconsistent download speeds was with my cable modem and, in the end, required a reboot. Given that I tell my users to do this several times a day, Its a wonder I didn't think to try this before calling my ISP.
Fred
------- Blujays1: Spending Fred's money one bottle at a time, no two... Oh crap!
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Re: I've Always Wondered... (Insert Question Here!
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 3,596 Likes: 1
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 3,596 Likes: 1 |
To hell with that.
Where can I get a couple of pounds of fairy dust? I think I can help you. Email me.
Always call the place you live a house. When you're old, everyone else will call it a home.
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Re: I've Always Wondered... (Insert Question Here!
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 7,786
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 7,786 |
Why does GOD keep fading in and out? Inquiring minds want to know.
Fred
------- Blujays1: Spending Fred's money one bottle at a time, no two... Oh crap!
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Re: I've Always Wondered... (Insert Question Here!
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 10,420
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 10,420 |
It was not meant to be a white paper. So that makes it a pink paper? Because that's my next question. I've just always wondered. Rose colored glasses
Jason M80 v2 VP160 v3 QS8 v2 PB13 Ultra Denon 3808 Samsung 85" Q70
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Re: I've Always Wondered... (Insert Question Here!
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 6,015
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 6,015 |
Why does GOD keep fading in and out? Inquiring minds want to know. Fading in and out of, where?
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