TG-789 & Buffer-Bloat. What VDSL Modem Router to Replace It with?

Geekomatic on 26/02/2018 - 00:25

Okay- here goes!

We moved last July to a new place which had just had FTTN hooked up as we got there. Prior, we were ADSL2 using a TP-Link Archer D7 modem/router. All's well, & though not overly speedy, you could game & Skype.

We get here on NBN & are initially thrilled at moving from 6mb down to 20+. That died out soon after when we kept getting disconnected from Skype calls (work conference) & even low-end gaming was becoming impossible. What we get is so many pings at about 50-70ms, then one of about 1000+ (or more), then back to the 70-90, back to 1,000+, etc….in a cycle.

What we think is that we're experiencing bufferbloat. This is w/Internode on their supplied TG-789vac v2 VDSL modem/router. My son & I had a wander through it's QoS but not being cluey, didn't want to really goof things up changing what we don't understand. So, thinking "a lot of people must have this, let's see if we can find settings online", were sorely disappointed.

Internode isn't much help. They wanted us to send speedtest results— which don't really "see" what's happening because it's literally ms's of spike.

I've read around until my eyes feel like they'll fall out of my head (I'm also well over mine in lack of knowledge) & I thought I'd ask here. One possibility I found was to implement a Cisco SPA112 ATA & then bridge a different router— using the TG-789 as modem-only. I still have the Archer D7 modem/router but not sure if it could serve that function or if it would help?

Open to ideas from any of the networking gurus here at OB.

Thanks in advance!

:)

Computing Buffer-Bloat Bufferbloat Modem Router SPA112 TG-789

Comments

  • dcep on 26/02/2018 - 01:01

    TG-799

  • [Deactivated] on 26/02/2018 - 01:06

    TG-800

  • c64 on 26/02/2018 - 07:41

    do you experience this right after a modem reboot? your nbn connection may well be congested. you might not achieve anything by replacing the modem except waste your money. i assume the modem is relatively new, still under warranty. you need to hound your isp and get the tio involved if necessary

  • ESEMCE on 26/02/2018 - 08:29

    Should be able to bridge the D7 to the modem.
    The only downside is that you will lose VoIP

    • FoxJump on 26/02/2018 - 09:06

      I went with Mungi because they give you the VOIP config so i can config my android phone to be my "home phone" much more useful than having your "home phone" only at home.

  • akyeeeahdude on 26/02/2018 - 08:46

    I've tested quite a few VDSL modems - including the TG-799 and TG-800.
    If you are chasing as much sync speed as possible, I wouldn't really look at either.
    I've had great results from the Netgear NF17ACV in terms of both the wifi and sync speed on FTTN.

    If money is no object or you can pick up a good deal second hand (I managed to find one at a bargain price), I'd recommend a D-LINK Taipan.
    D-Link Python is cheaper and still syncs quite high but sync speed can vary.

    If you are really hard up for cash, the TG-799 has OK sync speeds but wifi is poor.

  • mskeggs on 26/02/2018 - 09:33
    +1

    Have you posted on whirlpool?
    You’ll get better tech help there, if somewhat supercilious.

    • lxndev on 26/02/2018 - 12:22

      Ha, somewhat.

  • Geekomatic on 26/02/2018 - 15:00
    +1

    Thanks for the input everyone!

    mtg: the modem was assigned to us last July, so yes, within one year. Not sure if pushing for the same model would help or do the same if it's inherent to the modem itself. Much of what I've read says it is. Population-wise, we're not in a hugely built-up area, if that matters re: congestion. What we experience happens all of the time— including after a reboot.

    scubacoles: That's why I suggested the Cisco SPA112 so I could keep the VoIP. I wanted to know if the TP-Link could be used as router-only?

    FoxJump: I have two children at home. The phone is only there for emergencies in the event for some reason their phone is lost or not working, they can still ring out. We don't use it otherwise.

    Alister: thanks for that- I'll have a look. We would appreciate good wifi because my son's room is at the back of the house.

    mskeggs: Yes, I did. And I know that the answers can get pretty "heady"— but at least they answer from the heart (I think). The one-upmanship doesn't worry me- lol.

    PS: there's also a firmware update but according to WP forums, iinet & internode show differing & one of them gets flagged by Windows (I'm on Linux, so it isn't flagged to me). A bit of a worry… My firmware is currently: 16.3.7637-V2-2-1-CRF695

    • c64 on 26/02/2018 - 18:05

      my point is that it might not be the fault of the modem but rather your line or internodes's backend connection. check the sync speeds on the modem. if they are ok then i would suspect congestion (internode's problem). i thinks you are barking up the wrong tree with your "bufferbloat". you would have noticed that from day 1, but you claim it was ok. if the modem is faulty then it will still be under warranty - again internode's problem. you could buy another modem and find that it fixes nothing. tell internode what your problem is (your ping times are sh*t) and get them to investigate.

  • Geekomatic on 26/02/2018 - 21:05

    I asked about the firmware because ours is two behind going by the numbers. Yet- some said one of the downloads was suspicious to Windows— so I mentioned it in the event that anyone here knew something about it. Looking at the changes, v3 talks about up/down transfer fixes.

    The spikes were always there— I said our excitement disappeared because we then discovered this issue. My son has already tried various trouble-shooting w/Internode, resulting in them asking us to go to speedtest.net & keeping a log— which doesn't actually measure ping/spikes. The speed is fine, it's the spikes.

    I've read around & had many people comment that they tried everything & then when they changed ISP's, the spikes went away.

    We're to testing ping again & see what happens, I guess.

    Thanks everyone.

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