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edporch
join:2011-06-25
Indianapolis, IN

edporch to pflog

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Re: [Speed] Suddenly download slow, upload 6X what my plan is!

Ever since it was put in bridge mode for my 5 static IP's, I'm unable to access the modem.

NetFixer
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1 edit

NetFixer

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said by edporch:

Ever since it was put in bridge mode for my 5 static IP's, I'm unable to access the modem.

That makes no sense at all, because Comcast will not assign a static IP block to a standard bridge modem or to one of their gateways that has been put into bridge mode. It is physically impossible due to the way that Comcast assigns the static IP blocks.

If you truly are using a Comcast static IP block, and are unable to get to the admin pages on your gateway, then that is one of the symptoms of your problem, and it has nothing to do with being in "bridge" mode. I put "bridge" in quotes because some uneducated Comcast CSRs incorrectly refer to having a static IP account as being in "bridge" mode (and it most definitely is not bridge mode, and it in now way keeps the customer from having access to the admin pages in the gateway).

You need to have a knowledgeable business class CSR reset and reprovision your gateway; that should allow you to once again get access to the admin pages (if not, then you have a borked gateway). It may or may not also fix the unbalanced speed symptom you are seeing (that could be from a modem problem, or a line problem, or perhaps just some maintenance that is happening in your area).

ropeguru
Premium Member
join:2001-01-25
Mechanicsville, VA

ropeguru

Premium Member

Me wonders if he got the new firmware and is having an issue.

NetFixer
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NetFixer

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said by ropeguru:

Me wonders if he got the new firmware and is having an issue.

That thought occurred to me as well. Getting Comcast to reset and reprovision the gateway should take care of at least part of the problem (unless the firmware upgrade borked the modem, and Comcast can't access it to do the reset and reprovision).

ropeguru
Premium Member
join:2001-01-25
Mechanicsville, VA

ropeguru

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I just remember that the initial release of the firmware was causing download speed issues. Cannot remember if there were upload issues as well.
edporch
join:2011-06-25
Indianapolis, IN

edporch to NetFixer

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NetFixer,
When the installer first came by in 12/11 to install my service, I could log into my modem/router but only had one IP address of the 5 I was assigned.

I had to call the tech support at the Business Class people for them to hit my modem to allow it to go into bridge mode for my 5 IPs.

From then on, I was unable to log into my modem, and was told that it was because I was in bridge mode.

My own router, which is an OpenBSD based computer handles all of the actual router duties.

NetFixer
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NetFixer to ropeguru

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to ropeguru
said by ropeguru:

I just remember that the initial release of the firmware was causing download speed issues. Cannot remember if there were upload issues as well.

I think that we are responding to different symptoms. I was primarily responding to the "being in bridge mode because of having a static IP block, and can't access the gateway's admin pages" symptom. Putting aside the impossibility of that situation, last years first attempt to allow IPv6 on the SMC gateway produced a symptom similar to that, and it required a reset and reprovision if you were a static IP customer.

I suspect that the unbalanced speed symptom will go away when Comcast finishes whatever maintenance is going on in the OP's location. I have seen that happen multiple times.

In fact, while my downstream speed is not currently slower than my speed tier, my upstream speed frequently shows up as 7X (or greater) my tier's 3 mbps value (as shown in the test result shown below that I just did), so the 6X upstream speed reported by the OP may in fact be normal.


NetFixer

NetFixer to edporch

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to edporch
said by edporch:

NetFixer,
When the installer first came by in 12/11 to install my service, I could log into my modem/router but only had one IP address of the 5 I was assigned.

I had to call the tech support at the Business Class people for them to hit my modem to allow it to go into bridge mode for my 5 IPs.

From then on, I was unable to log into my modem, and was told that it was because I was in bridge mode.

My own router, which is an OpenBSD based computer handles all of the actual router duties.

Using the five dynamic IP addresses that are allowed for a business class account is not the same as having a /29 static IP account with Comcast as you originally implied. If you are paying Comcast for a /29 static IP block, you are throwing away $19.95 each month. Those five dynamic IP addresses (even though they might not change very often), are definitely not static IP assignments. I am currently using four of my five allowed dynamic public IP addresses, but due to Comcast changing their network infrastructure (and my changing the routers I use), those IP addresses have changed several times.

However, you may now ignore my previous suggestions to get your gateway reset and reprovisioned; that advice was based on a false assumption that you would know if you were paying for a static IP address block from Comcast.
edporch
join:2011-06-25
Indianapolis, IN

edporch

Member

NetFixer,
Those 5 static IP's ARE assigned to me, I pay for them and they haven't changed since 12/11 when installed.

NetFixer
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4 edits

NetFixer

Premium Member

said by edporch:

NetFixer,
Those 5 static IP's ARE assigned to me, I pay for them and they haven't changed since 12/11 when installed.

If your gateway is indeed in bridge mode (and using your own router), the likelihood of your using a static IP block from Comcast is extremely unlikely because that is not officially allowed. And if you are actually paying for a /29 static IP block, you are very likely throwing away $19.95 each month for that reason. Just because the IP addresses you are currently using have not changed, does not mean that they are static IP addresses, it only means that you have not changed the CPE MAC address(es) that you use, and Comcast has not had a need to change the IP infrastructure in your area.

Did Comcast actually assign you a /29 static IP block (they would have provided you with the necessary information, and you would have had to fill out a special ARIN form requesting the static IP assignment, and specifying your reason(s) for needing a static IPv4 assignment)? Here are screen shots of the portion of the business class contract showing that static IP addresses are part of the contract, and the Comcast/ARIN IP justification form:







Even if that happened, are you absolutely certain that you are actually using the IP addresses in that block? Can you actually access your local services from the Internet using IP address(es) in that assigned block (actually from the Internet, not from your LAN)? How about providing the first 3 octets of your static IP block (such as 75.146.8.x/29); that would protect your privacy (if that is a concern for you), and it would allow an analysis to see if it is actually a valid Comcast Business Class static IP address block.

Personally, I am not concerned with posting the current IP addresses (or hostnames) used by the four routers that I currently have connected to my Comcast connection, so here they are (I can't show a CIDR IP address block, because I know that I am not using one since I am using a bridge modem, and my own routers...and Comcast would not allow me to use my old static IP block unless I continued to use the SMC gateway in gateway mode):

C:\>dig gw1.dcsenterprises.net
 
; <<>> DiG 9.9.2 <<>> gw1.dcsenterprises.net
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 3803
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 2, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 1
 
;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION:
; EDNS: version: 0, flags:; udp: 1280
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;gw1.dcsenterprises.net.                IN      A
 
;; ANSWER SECTION:
gw1.dcsenterprises.net. 1800    IN      CNAME   dcs-gw1.dyndns-ip.com.
dcs-gw1.dyndns-ip.com.  60      IN      A       107.3.234.161
 
;; Query time: 109 msec
;; SERVER: 192.168.9.2#53(192.168.9.2)
;; WHEN: Tue Apr 30 09:54:39 2013
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 102
 
C:\>dig gw2.dcsenterprises.net
 
; <<>> DiG 9.9.2 <<>> gw2.dcsenterprises.net
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 31603
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 2, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 1
 
;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION:
; EDNS: version: 0, flags:; udp: 1280
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;gw2.dcsenterprises.net.                IN      A
 
;; ANSWER SECTION:
gw2.dcsenterprises.net. 1800    IN      CNAME   dcs-gw2.dyndns-ip.com.
dcs-gw2.dyndns-ip.com.  60      IN      A       67.177.173.23
 
;; Query time: 156 msec
;; SERVER: 192.168.9.2#53(192.168.9.2)
;; WHEN: Tue Apr 30 09:54:45 2013
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 102
 
C:\>dig gv2.dcsenterprises.net
 
; <<>> DiG 9.9.2 <<>> gv2.dcsenterprises.net
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 6291
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 2, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 1
 
;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION:
; EDNS: version: 0, flags:; udp: 1280
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;gv2.dcsenterprises.net.                IN      A
 
;; ANSWER SECTION:
gv2.dcsenterprises.net. 1800    IN      CNAME   dcs-gv2.dyndns-ip.com.
dcs-gv2.dyndns-ip.com.  60      IN      A       174.49.11.216
 
;; Query time: 140 msec
;; SERVER: 192.168.9.2#53(192.168.9.2)
;; WHEN: Tue Apr 30 09:54:54 2013
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 102
 
C:\>dig ap2.dcsenterprises.net
 
; <<>> DiG 9.9.2 <<>> ap2.dcsenterprises.net
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 7918
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 2, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 1
 
;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION:
; EDNS: version: 0, flags:; udp: 1280
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;ap2.dcsenterprises.net.                IN      A
 
;; ANSWER SECTION:
ap2.dcsenterprises.net. 1800    IN      CNAME   dcs-ap2.dyndns-ip.com.
dcs-ap2.dyndns-ip.com.  60      IN      A       174.49.12.235
 
;; Query time: 156 msec
;; SERVER: 192.168.9.2#53(192.168.9.2)
;; WHEN: Tue Apr 30 09:55:03 2013
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 102
 


FWIW, I do have a fifth router connected, but it is connected to an AT&T circuit:

C:\>dig ap1.dcsenterprises.net
 
; <<>> DiG 9.9.2 <<>> ap1.dcsenterprises.net
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 42163
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 2, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 1
 
;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION:
; EDNS: version: 0, flags:; udp: 1280
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;ap1.dcsenterprises.net.                IN      A
 
;; ANSWER SECTION:
ap1.dcsenterprises.net. 1800    IN      CNAME   dcs-ap1.dyndns-ip.com.
dcs-ap1.dyndns-ip.com.  60      IN      A       99.71.148.69
 
;; Query time: 171 msec
;; SERVER: 192.168.9.2#53(192.168.9.2)
;; WHEN: Tue Apr 30 09:55:12 2013
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 102
 

If you have actually found a way that Comcast will allow you to use a Comcast /29 static IP block with the Comcast gateway in bridge mode, and your router handling the static IP block assignment, I (and many others) would appreciate it very much if you could post the name of the Comcast engineer who authorized that to happen (or the process you used to allow it to happen). There are a lot of Comcast business class customers who would love to be able to do what you claim to be doing.
edporch
join:2011-06-25
Indianapolis, IN

edporch

Member

Comcast just left and I'm back running now.
Seems the problem was my modem needed to be updated from the "Business Class Starter" software to the "Business Class Wideband Starter" software.

As to my 5 static IPs.

Here's all the info Comcast Business Class gave me when I started this account, and I took it from there.

My modem is in bridge mode

Static IP: xx.xx.xxx.73-77

Gateway IP: xx.xx.xxx.78

Primary DNS: 75.75.75.75 (I don't use)

Secondary DNS: 75.75.76.76 (I don't use)

Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.248

This feeds into an OpenBSD based firewall/router/caching name server I built.

The file on my router that defines the interface that connects to the modem contains this:
(NOTE:that with OpenBSD interface config files, the aliases use a 255.255.255.255 netmask no matter the assigned subnet mask)

meenon# cat hostname.em2
inet xx.xx.xxx.73 255.255.255.248 NONE
inet alias xx.xx.xxx.74 255.255.255.255 NONE
inet alias xx.xx.xxx.75 255.255.255.255 NONE
inet alias xx.xx.xxx.76 255.255.255.255 NONE
inet alias xx.xx.xxx.77 255.255.255.255 NONE
-inet6
meenon#

Feel free to call it whatever you want, but I have 5 static IPs and use them all for various purposes.

pflog
Bueller? Bueller?
MVM
join:2001-09-01
El Dorado Hills, CA

pflog

MVM

What is "Business Class Wideband Starter"? What speeds are you getting now? Are you seeing powerboost or no?

NetFixer
From My Cold Dead Hands
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Pace 5268AC
TRENDnet TEW-829DRU

NetFixer

Premium Member

said by pflog:

What is "Business Class Wideband Starter"? What speeds are you getting now? Are you seeing powerboost or no?

The config file to support the 16/3 Business Class Starter tier in my SB6121 is d11_m_sb6121_bciwidebandstarter_c05.cm and I do have a moderate amount of downstream PowerBoost accompanied by a large upstream PowerBoost. See my earlier post in this thread for a typical speed test result: »Re: [Speed] Suddenly download slow, upload 6X what my plan is!
NetFixer

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to edporch
Wow, that is fantastic that Comcast allows you to manage your own public static IP block. I was told by Comcast that I would in no way be allowed to do that with my Cisco router (and I know that other BC customers have been told the same thing). Just to clarify, you are not running the Quagga RIP client on your router, and Comcast did not supply you with their RIP authentication key? Do you operate inbound public services using your static IP addresses? One of the reasons I was told that I would not be allowed to manage my static IP block was that inbound traffic would not be routed unless my router used the Quagga authenticated RIP client (and that Comcast would not provide the key to anyone).

If Comcast has actually changed their static IP policy, I may investigate using a static IP block again. What I am doing now with five individual dynamic IP addresses is working, but a sequential CIDR block would be much simpler to manage (although that does not appear to be what you are doing). I suspect however, that either someone at Comcast has screwed up with your account, or your area is a limited test area for customer managed static IP blocks, and if I apply for a static IP block, I will once again be told that it can not be done unless I use their gateway box in gateway mode. Would you have any objections if I pointed Comcast engineering to this thread if I am told it can't be done (I don't want to cause you to lose your static IP addresses if Comcast engineering decides that they screwed up with your account, and then "fixes" things)?
edporch
join:2011-06-25
Indianapolis, IN

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pflog,
I saw no increase in speed afterwards, just a restoration of what I had been getting since last Fall sometime until Monday, which was a steady 21.15/4.0 using speedtest.net.
My Business Class tier was 12/2 when I signed up in 12/11 and still is.
In the early months of my service, I got the initial "burst" of 40-70/20-30.
There is no "burst" anymore, and it ended last Fall when it suddenly began doing the steady 21.15/4.0.
I'm more happy with these steady speeds.
edporch

edporch to NetFixer

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to NetFixer
Netfixer,
All I know is pretty much what I already said.
They put my modem in what they call bridge mode, and I just set up my OpenBSD based router's NIC that connects to the modem with the IP's and subnetmask they gave me and it just works.

With the modem in bridge mode, it's now just a "black box" that I can't log into or see any of it's settings like when I first got it before they put it in bridge mode.

NetFixer
From My Cold Dead Hands
Premium Member
join:2004-06-24
The Boro
Netgear CM500
Pace 5268AC
TRENDnet TEW-829DRU

1 edit

NetFixer

Premium Member

said by edporch:

Netfixer,
All I know is pretty much what I already said.
They put my modem in what they call bridge mode, and I just set up my OpenBSD based router's NIC that connects to the modem with the IP's and subnetmask they gave me and it just works.

With the modem in bridge mode, it's now just a "black box" that I can't log into or see any of it's settings like when I first got it before they put it in bridge mode.

Well, I hope that you can continue to be able to use your static IP addresses with your SMC gateway in bridge mode because that is not supposed to work.

And FYI, if you are using your static IP block address+6 as your gateway (as you seem to be doing...I overlooked that fine point when I first looked at your previous post...but I am now back in reality mode), that is exactly how it works when the SMC gateway is in gateway mode with a /29 CIDR block assigned to it. That means that the SMC gateway is still controlling the static IP block, not your router; your router is simply using the payload IP addresses as it would if the SMC gateway were in static IP gateway mode (not bridge mode).

I know that when I had my SMCD3G put into bridge mode so that I could experiment with IPv6, my static IP address block ceased to function (fortunately, I can still do everything I need to do with the five dynamic IP addresses that are standard with a business class account). Perhaps it is possible that a newer version of firmware (which you have, but I did not have) now allows the SMC gateway to continue to control a static IP block even when it is in some kind of pseudo bridge mode. By that I mean in bridge mode from the user's viewpoint, but still functioning internally as a router. Because if it were truly a bridge device, it could not route your static IP address block (and if you are using it as your IP gateway, it is being used as a router, and not a bridge). Try pinging your gateway IP address from your LAN (or internally from your router), I'll bet that it has no different a response time than any other device on your LAN (unless Comcast has disabled ping responses from the gateway). I suspect that what Comcast has done is to simply disable your user interface, and make it appear from your viewpoint to be an invisible bridge (and that is quite easily done if you have root access to the gateway's OS). If you were truly controlling your static IP block with your router (instead of the SMC gateway controlling it), your router would use the static IP base address +6, and its WAN would get an IP address and gateway outside of your assigned IP address block (just as the SMC gateway does in normal static IP gateway mode).

pflog
Bueller? Bueller?
MVM
join:2001-09-01
El Dorado Hills, CA

pflog to NetFixer

MVM

to NetFixer
The "wideband" in the name was throwing me. So it's the upgraded 12/2 profile, got it!