IP Change From 94 to 176....... Odd Findings.

[Fryingpan77]

Since the 40/10 upgrade my line has been spot on. I was syncing at 39999/9646 with out a problem.

Then the other day my line started to play up. I couldn't put my finger on it. It was nothing major, just a bit sluggish and unresponsive.
I did a few speed tests which showed my speed to be about the same, but my ping's started to increase.
I ran JDs speed tester over night and it showed lot's of jitter, more than I've ever had before, on every 10 minute test last night.
Now the other day my IP location changed again to Manchester. Last time that happened, my ping's shot up, but I had no other problems.
This morning I decided to reboot just my router, not my modem.

When looking at my stat's, my IP had changed from 94 to 176. That was my first IP address change since it was installed in April.

My location had changed to Leeds, which is very close to where I live.

My upload had dropped by just under 200kbps, but the jitter and ping's are now much better.

I'm wondering if anybody can explain what just happened?

Do IP addresses suddenly become unstable the longer you have them?

If DLM has kicked in, why did it need a router reboot to stabilize my connection?

I have read the half speed threads and understand that the 176 IP may have been causing problems for some.
I've not had half speed problems myself.

Any thoughts appreciated.

[tomthered]

The only issue I had lately was that my wife was unable to use the internet wirelessly from her laptop. It was connected but no throughput onto the net, even though my hard wired was fine. I was synched at 30600 and when I rebooted the router it changed to 29500. It also changed from a 94 IP address to a 176 IP. This is the first time it has switched to a 176 IP so I have no idea what to expect except what I have read on the forums.

I have left it be since they replaced ny OR modem last monday, so have only had this ECI modem 5 days. before that I temporarily put my Huawei 612 in as the original ECI modem failed. I rang uop Wednesday and got them to reset the DLM as the BT engineer said you are supposed to have the same make of modem as what is in the CAB.

Hopefully this will be the end of any problems but, you never know!

[Isitme]

Do IP addresses suddenly become unstable the longer you have them?

If DLM has kicked in, why did it need a router reboot to stabilize my connection?

IP addresses don't become unstable. IP addresses are given out on a 'lease' basis and could potentially change at any time. Rebooting your router has prompted a change in the IP lease. I doubt if DLM has kicked into training, but it does run all the time. One reboot would not effect it.

For maximum performance you should be connected to the nearest Sky server to your location. This seems to be part of the problem with those who are getting low speeds. If you are now connected to the server nearest you, hope that it stays that way and you should have no problems.

[speedyrite]

<snip>
For maximum performance you should be connected to the nearest Sky server to your location. This seems to be part of the problem with those who are getting low speeds. If you are now connected to the server nearest you, hope that it stays that way and you should have no problems.

Just curious (OK, nosey!) but has anything been discovered about how the network topology is configured for Sky Fibre connections, e.g. how many different servers are there, what's the geographical distribution etc, and how it's different from the network topology for ADSL connections?

[Fryingpan77]

Just curious (OK, nosey!) but has anything been discovered about how the network topology is configured for Sky Fibre connections, e.g. how many different servers are there, what's the geographical distribution etc, and how it's different from the network topology for ADSL connections?

I'm wondering that too.
This is the 4th IP location I've had.
Previous to Leeds, I've been located in London, Manchester twice and Coventry.

Sent from my ST18i

[Isitme]

Just curious (OK, nosey!) but has anything been discovered about how the network topology is configured for Sky Fibre connections, e.g. how many different servers are there, what's the geographical distribution etc, and how it's different from the network topology for ADSL connections?

I don't think there is any difference between the ADSL and fibre connections. I believe they will all go into the same data centres. The only difference with ADSL and fibre is that the ADSL is copper all the way to the exchange, fibre as you know, is fibre from the cabinet to the exchange. When it leaves the exchange it leaves by the same route and joins the network in the same way.

I believe Sky have about 10-12 data centres scattered throughout the country. For security reasons the actual location of these is kept secret. I could be wrong but I think there may be 1 in Scotland with the rest distributed between NE, Midlands and London. Don't take this as gospel, I am only educated guessing.

[Scubbie]

I would agree with Tom here.

I am under the impression that both Sky's ADSL and Fibre connections go through the same kit and travel on the same backhaul.

Members on both ADSL and Fibre are getting IP Addresses starting with 2, 90, 92, 94, 173 and 176.

Of course if someone could confirm or deny this then please step forward.

[kimc]

My IP address is showing as 176 and my location is showing as Newcastle, but I am on the Pontefract exchange. I daren't reboot yet as I am only on day 7 of DLM

[Scubbie]

It should be safe for you to power cycle the BTO Modem the once. Leave it off for more than 30 minutes to ensure that the refresh has been attempted and you should gain a new IP Address when you start it up again.

[speedyrite]

I don't think there is any difference between the ADSL and fibre connections. I believe they will all go into the same data centres. The only difference with ADSL and fibre is that the ADSL is copper all the way to the exchange, fibre as you know, is fibre from the cabinet to the exchange. When it leaves the exchange it leaves by the same route and joins the network in the same way.

I believe Sky have about 10-12 data centres scattered throughout the country. For security reasons the actual location of these is kept secret. I could be wrong but I think there may be 1 in Scotland with the rest distributed between NE, Midlands and London. Don't take this as gospel, I am only educated guessing.

I'm more interested in the technical side of the network from the exchange onwards. There's an interesting series of articles on kitz.co.uk containing a lot of material about how ADSL works:

::. Kitz - How adsl works - 1 .::
::. Kitz - How adsl works - 2 .::
::. Kitz - How adsl works - 3 .::
::. Kitz - Inside the telephone exchange .::
::. Kitz - ADSL Technology & DMT - Bit Allocation + Bit Swapping.::
::. Kitz - BT Centrals .::
::. Kitz - IPStream v Datastream .::

The author had access to BTO and BTW resources (including a visit to an exchange) to compile the articles and it's obviously very much based on BT's infrastructure. I know that the infrastructure of some other ISPs is also fairly openly documented (obviously not the precise location of servers but enough info to get an idea of the scale of the operation, how many points of presence and rough geographical distribution, capacity of inter-connections etc). I'd love to see an article something like that describing the technical side of how the Sky network fits together. If only I knew someone high up enough in BSkyB who would allow an interview or something to gather the material!