Comcast XFINITY → Re: What to do about 11 weeks of node/network problems?

Welcome to my fun...

I have an issue that 2-3 times a night my modem reboots, Upstream SNR dips below 29. Downstream SNR great, 42, power levels are good with the use of forward path attenuator.

I have maint sup direct cell phone and he has me on monitoring and sees the drop every night. His direct reports I have they cell phone also and they have seen it and it's the entire node but it is so quick and random on the time (beyond it being at night) they can't figure it out.

Sucks. Something is causing noise but only for a moment every night at a different time.

I feel bad, I am a pain in the butt customer but I am paying for service I want. They are trying but is a crappy situation. When issue is random and happens for a minute tops no way to catch it to track it because it's a different time every day.

AnonMan, that situation is indeed crummy. Due to the highly intermittent nature tracking it down (to a specific cable/area of the node) sounds very difficult and time consuming. On the other hand, if it's happening on the entire node, that means more than just you is impacted -- bringing this up with your LFA may be the next step for you. Node-level issues I think are given more attention than individual customer issues.

Also, I've been told by both the Network Engineering Supervisor as well as the network/maint tech who was out here, that Comcast does have a "history view" for SNR levels on a per-channel basis (including support for bonding), so they should be able to see it there. Meaning, they have something similar to what I provide here (from my own modem) but probably with less granularity (I poll every 2 minutes): »jdc.koitsu.org/snrgraph/ -- I know Comcast having that information doesn't help narrow down where on the cable network/segment the problem lies, but it would act as evidence (for your LFA) that Comcast acknowledges there's a problem affecting multiple people on your node.

Yes, the system is called scout monitor and shows the history and real time data for each STB & modem for every customer. The other system, which I like better, is called Watch Tower. Much more detailed analysis of the relationship between the customer's equipment & the CMTS/Narrowcast. Other nice thing about watch tower is that techs can submit notes when they troubleshoot that node and those notes are visible to anyone troubleshooting your node in the future. Other field tool the techs can use to monitor the signal from your node is Pathtrack which shows a virtual representation of the return signal so they can see a quick visual of noise, carrier problems, etc and take snapshots of any problems at any interval. They can also call in to the headend and have them turn up the return sweep. The techs sweep that node segment and can determine issues. Many, many tools out there, but, all the tools can do is tell the tech there is a problem, not how, where, or why.