 Review by NetFixer 
member for 8.7 years, 4974 visits, last login: a few minutes ago
updated 54 days ago
 Murfreesboro,Rutherford,TN
 $60 per month- (36 month contract)
 about 4 days "Very fast, and the support has been very good" "Initially had Vonage VoIP fax problems, but this has now been resolved." "Much faster and also less expensive than AT&T DSL with slower speeds"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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03/23/2011:
I just got my new Comcast Business 12/2 connection with a /29 static IP block up and running yesterday.
It has only been operational now for two days, so I can't really make an accurate assessment on reliability, but so far I have had no connection problems. In the past, I have had problems with Comcast not being able to survive electrical storms and/or power outages. If at a future date I should see this problem is still present, I will update my review accordingly. For now I am hopeful that with the D3 upgrade, and Comcast now being a telephone company, that they have taken measures to keep their service live during storms and power outages.
The only "problem" I had with getting on-line with the new service was with my Cisco RV082 router, not with the Comcast service itself or their required/supplied SMC router. It seems that when I just changed the router's mode from load balanced dual WAN operation to a single WAN/DMZ mode, that something in the existing config interfered with connectivity (the WAN connection kept bouncing, but the SMC router indicated that there was no problem with the connection. A push button initiated factory default reset on the RV082 followed by entering the new config parameters manually fixed that problem.
Update 03/25/2011:
Well, last night and today I just ran into my first thing that used to work with AT&T DSL, but does not work with Comcast HSI. My Vonage fax line can no longer send faxes (but receiving faxes still seems to work, and voice service still works well). The call connects, and you can see and hear the fax modem attempting to establish a data connection, but it just fails to do so. I swapped the fax modem and I also moved the fax line to another ATA, but nothing helped. Calling either Vonage or Comcast support would have just been a waste of time because past experience told me that they would just each blame the other for the problem. I just signed up for a Ring Central fax service because I am not going to reward AT&T by getting a POTS line, nor am I going to reward Comcast for deliberately interfering with competitive VoIP by getting CDV.
Update 01/01/2012:
Nothing much new to report, but the DSLR update bot is bugging me for a review update.
Overall, the service has been quite reliable, and except for one outage shortly after I started using the service (caused by the install tech not doing his job properly), I have only had a few middle of the night "scheduled maintenance" outages. On a side note, after a recent firmware update in the SMC gateway, I can now send and receive faxes again using a Vonage line, but I am not yet convinced that it will be reliable enough to terminate my RingCentral dedicated fax line.
My only complaint is that the Comcast firmware in the SMC gateway (which I am required to use) does not give me access to its firewall logs, and I can't find anyone at Comcast willing to set it up to send the logs to my syslog daemon (even though that capability is present in the SMC gateway).
Update 08/11/2012:
The DSLR update bot is bugging me for a review update, so here it is:
Not much new to report (except that I have moved my previous Comcast HSI review to this Comcast Business Class review forum because I was not previously aware that this review forum even existed).
The service still works well, and I have no major complaints. The biggest "problem" right now is that Comcast still has not released a workable IPv6 firmware for the SMCD3G-CCR gateway, and AFAIK, still has not decided how they are going to handle IPv6 for their static IP customers.
Update 09/10/2012:
A few days ago I dropped my /29 static IPv4 block and I am now using my SMCD3G-CCR in bridge mode. I can still get five IPv4 addresses, but they are dynamic instead of static. Using the DynDNS service has made that a relatively painless changeover. An added side benefit is that Comcast does not currently support native dual stack IPv4/IPv6 on static IP accounts, but it does support it on dynamic IP accounts (if you are are not using an SMC gateway in gateway mode).
The only problem I have encountered after changing to use dynamic IP addresses is with my SamKnows box that does not seem to like not being behind a NAT router. But I may have resolved that by just putting it behind the Netgear WNR1000v2 router that was supplied by Comcast. The SamKnows box can't monitor my directly connected server boxes in that mode, but it seems to be working OK again now that it is once again behind a NAT router.
My primary reason for doing it was financial. I am both a cheapskate and a retiree living on a relatively limited income, and now that Comcast will either put the SMCD3G into bridge mode or allow the use of an SB612x modem on a business class account, I decided to keep the $20 per month I was paying Comcast for the 5 static IPv4 addresses (and I will probably also buy my own SB6121 modem and pocket the $7 per month modem rental charge as well).
Update 10/09/2012:
Last week, I installed a purchased Motorola SB6121 and turned in my leased SMCD3G-CCR. I did so partly to save the $7.65 monthly modem rental fee, and also because some Comcast CSRs were causing problems for me by resetting my SMCD3G-CCR and taking it out of bridge mode (which would disable my entire network). I was able to do a self install and on-line activation (which surprised me because I thought that Comcast Business Class required a tech visit for a modem swap), and there were no problems with the changeover. After discovering that Comcast Business Class allowed modem self installs and activations, I experimented and found that I could also activate my old DOCSIS 2 D-Link DCM202, and it also worked on the business class service (even though Comcast says only the SMC gateways and the SB612x modems are officially allowed). So I now have a hot swap spare already activated for emergency use just in case my new SB6121 goes up in smoke (the DCM202 doesn't support native IPv6, but it would keep my connection up until a replacement SB6121 was available).
SamKnows, Vonage, and IPv6 Update 01/14/2013:
SamKnows Update: I continued to have problems with the SamKnows TL-WR1043ND box intermittently locking up my entire network, so I contacted SamKnows, and terminated my participation in that program about a month ago. The box apparently just could not handle my multiple public IP address connection.
Vonage Update: I was recently able to once again start using Vonage to send and receive faxes over my Comcast connection. For details on how I did this, see my review update comment at: »Update on solution for using Vonage for VoIP faxing (this should also be visible in the "comments" section at the end of this review).
IPv6 Update: I have been using Comcast's native dual IPv4/IPv6 implementation since I changed from a static IPv4 account to a dynamic IP account back in September, and Comcast's IPv6 implementation has been working as advertised. I even invested in a new IPv6 compatible D-Link DIR655 router because it had the capability of syncing multiple IPv6 devices with the DynDNS service (and that also seems to be working OK).
However, since I have been using Comcast's native dual IPv4/IPv6 stack I have started noticing that many mainstream sites (who are now starting to use IPv6) would often be very slow in loading, and sometimes would just time out altogether until I did multiple refresh/reloads of the balky URL (and even that did not always work). I found that usually when this happened, a site would be attempting to use a CDN or round-robin DNS selected server that was using an IPv6 address. and that server would be either very slow in responding, or would simply appear to be dead. In such cases, if I simply disabled IPv6 in the PC that was trying to access the balky site(s), the site(s) would work with no problems with only IPv4 active.
I have posted an example of this IPv6 vs IPv4 symptom in a review comment at »IPv6 vs IPv4 reliability through my Comcast connection because I needed to use imbedded code and the review update script does not allow imbedded code.
This problem had kind of slowly crept up on me, and I had almost forgotten how fast my Comcast connection used to be. I have therefore reluctantly reverted to using Comcast's 6to4 IPv6 tunnel in both my primary and guest routers, and my network is now using IPv4 as the primary protocol stack once again (but the 6to4 tunnel will still allow me to access IPv6 sites if needed). I will occasionally (and temporarily) enable Comcast's native dual IPv4/IPv6 stack in my (isolated) guest router to see if the rest of the Internet has caught up with Comcast before I permanently turn native IPv6 back on again.
Sometimes the leading edge is also the bleeding edge.
IPv6 problem update 02/12/2013:
It is possible that the IPv6 problems I was seeing have been (at least temporarily) fixed. The problem may have been related to my DIR655 sometimes getting a "/60" and sometimes getting a "/64" PD prefix assignment combined with a CMTS bug. See NetDog]'s post »Re: [IPv6] Comcast IPv6 Address Assignment/Delegation for details. Since that announcement, I have only been getting the "/64" PD prefix assignments, and I do not currently see the problem with CDN and round robin IPv6 servers frequently not responding.
Comments:
 | NetFixerFrom my cold dead handsPremium
join:2004-06-24
The Boro Reviews:
 ·Comcast Business..
 ·Vonage
 ·Cingular Wireless
·Comcast
1 edit | IPv6 vs IPv4 reliability through my Comcast connectionI am posting this example of the IPv6 vs IPv4 reliability on my Comcast connection as a comment because the official review update will not allow imbedded code (which is needed to illustrate my point).
Shown below is a prime example of the problem. This is of course, not Comcast's fault; it is just an indication of the current state of IPv6 implementation on the Internet (and it does not just occur with Yahoo!):
C:\>ping l.yimg.com
Pinging ds-fo-anyycs-l.ay1.b.yahoodns.net [2001:4998:f00d:1fc::c:1103]
from 2601:5:c80:a1:e291:f5ff:fe95:beac with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 2001:4998:f00d:1fc::c:1103: time=24ms
Reply from 2001:4998:f00d:1fc::c:1103: time=23ms
Reply from 2001:4998:f00d:1fc::c:1103: time=40ms
Reply from 2001:4998:f00d:1fc::c:1103: time=24ms
Ping statistics for 2001:4998:f00d:1fc::c:1103:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 23ms, Maximum = 40ms, Average = 27ms
C:\>ping l.yimg.com
Pinging ds-fo-anyycs-l.ay1.b.yahoodns.net [2001:4998:f00b:1fb::c:1101]
from 2601:5:c80:a1:e291:f5ff:fe95:beac with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 2001:4998:f00b:1fb::c:1101: time=49ms
Reply from 2001:4998:f00b:1fb::c:1101: time=46ms
Reply from 2001:4998:f00b:1fb::c:1101: time=44ms
Reply from 2001:4998:f00b:1fb::c:1101: time=50ms
Ping statistics for 2001:4998:f00b:1fb::c:1101:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 44ms, Maximum = 50ms, Average = 47ms
C:\>ping l.yimg.com
Pinging ds-fo-anyycs-l.ay1.b.yahoodns.net [2001:4998:f00b:1fb::c:1103]
from 2601:5:c80:a1:e291:f5ff:fe95:beac with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Ping statistics for 2001:4998:f00b:1fb::c:1103:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),
An attempt to access http://my.yahoo.com during the above time frame (with native IPv6 active) results in an extremely long delay (like several minutes) in loading the Yahoo! start page, or a browser timeout. And once again I will reiterate that this symptom also happens on sites other than Yahoo!.
Shown below are repeated successfull IPv4 pings to the same host name:
C:\>ping -4 l.yimg.com
Pinging ds-fo-anyycs-l.ay1.b.yahoodns.net [206.190.56.191] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 206.190.56.191: bytes=32 time=34ms TTL=54
Reply from 206.190.56.191: bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=54
Reply from 206.190.56.191: bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=54
Reply from 206.190.56.191: bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=54
Ping statistics for 206.190.56.191:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 33ms, Maximum = 34ms, Average = 33ms
C:\>ping -4 l.yimg.com
Pinging ds-fo-anyycs-l.ay1.b.yahoodns.net [206.190.56.191] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 206.190.56.191: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=54
Reply from 206.190.56.191: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=54
Reply from 206.190.56.191: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=54
Reply from 206.190.56.191: bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=54
Ping statistics for 206.190.56.191:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 32ms, Maximum = 33ms, Average = 32ms
C:\>ping -4 l.yimg.com
Pinging ds-fo-anyycs-l.ay1.b.yahoodns.net [206.190.56.191] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 206.190.56.191: bytes=32 time=31ms TTL=54
Reply from 206.190.56.191: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=54
Reply from 206.190.56.191: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=54
Reply from 206.190.56.191: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=54
Ping statistics for 206.190.56.191:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 31ms, Maximum = 32ms, Average = 31ms
C:\>ping -4 l.yimg.com
Pinging ds-fo-anyycs-l.ay1.b.yahoodns.net [206.190.56.191] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 206.190.56.191: bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=54
Reply from 206.190.56.191: bytes=32 time=35ms TTL=54
Reply from 206.190.56.191: bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=54
Reply from 206.190.56.191: bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=54
Ping statistics for 206.190.56.191:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 33ms, Maximum = 35ms, Average = 33ms
C:\>ping -4 l.yimg.com
Pinging ds-fo-anyycs-l.ay1.b.yahoodns.net [206.190.56.191] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 206.190.56.191: bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=54
Reply from 206.190.56.191: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=54
Reply from 206.190.56.191: bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=54
Reply from 206.190.56.191: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=54
Ping statistics for 206.190.56.191:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 32ms, Maximum = 33ms, Average = 32ms
--
A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
When governments fear people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. | |
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