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Comcast Bandwidth Meter Still A No Show
Company 'making some refinements' before launch...
Last year around this time, Comcast implemented a 250 GB cap for all of their users, which was a welcome change -- given they'd been expecting customers to guess what constituted "excessive use" for much of the decade. Last year, the company said they'd be providing users with a bandwidth monitoring tool in January of 2009. We're now approaching December, and Houston Chronicle blogger Dwight Silverman notes the tool is still nowhere to be found. According to Comcast, they're still testing the tool among employees, "and making some refinements to the meter." "As you can imagine, we want the tool to be simple to use and accurate before we launch it," says the company, whose consumption FAQ still directs users to get the bandwidth meter offered free by Comcast as part of the McAffee security suite.
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jus10
join:2009-08-04
Gainesville, VA

jus10

Member

It would be nice to have a status update from CC on this

I was asking about it the other day. I track bandwidth on every one of my machines and at the gateway. So I have a general idea (and a 220 Gig available margin of error on a heavy month). While its not terribly difficult, I probably don't have as much legacy equipment as Comcast. I know the hamster powering my local CMTS gets tired at rush hour.

PapaMidnight
join:2009-01-13
Baltimore, MD

PapaMidnight

Member

Re: It would be nice to have a status update from CC on this

said by jus10:

I was asking about it the other day. I track bandwidth on every one of my machines and at the gateway. So I have a general idea (and a 220 Gig available margin of error on a heavy month). While its not terribly difficult, I probably don't have as much legacy equipment as Comcast. I know the hamster powering my local CMTS gets tired at rush hour.
I just do it at the gateway myself. I personally feel it is much more accurate when I'm tracking bandwidth that actually gets passed.

n0xlf
join:2001-03-28
Castle Rock, CO

n0xlf to jus10

Member

to jus10
They are obviously up to something - When I log into my business account, I get a message about the BW meter only being for residential customers (in the same spot that residential customers normally see the DNS opt out under "My devices")..


Harddrive
Proud American and Infidel since 1968.
Premium Member
join:2000-09-20
Fort Worth, TX

Harddrive

Premium Member

How about a meter at my house?

lets see..
i've got a water meter.
i've got an electric meter.
i could even get a natural gas meter.

i've got it! a broadband meter! just tack it up with the rest of the crap on the side of my house.

Michael C
join:2009-06-26
Cedar Park, TX

Michael C

Member

Re: How about a meter at my house?

One benefit to those meters is that they are certified by a weights and measures regulatory body. Will Comcast's meter have the same certification? Doubtful. So how can I trust what the ISPs and the hardware itself is actually counting? I can't.
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88

Member

Re: How about a meter at my house?

said by Michael C:

One benefit to those meters is that they are certified by a weights and measures regulatory body. Will Comcast's meter have the same certification? Doubtful. So how can I trust what the ISPs and the hardware itself is actually counting? I can't.
What about TCPIP headers? Who is responsible for packet fragmentation generating more ACKs, you or Comcast? Who will be paying for the constant 40kbitps of ARP storm?
nasadude
join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD

nasadude to Michael C

Member

to Michael C
said by Michael C:

One benefit to those meters is that they are certified by a weights and measures regulatory body. Will Comcast's meter have the same certification? Doubtful. ....
actually, I would go so far at to say it's a safe bet that the comcast meter WILL NOT have any official certification by an independent entity.
Mordhem
Love it, Hate it.
join:2003-07-10
Baltimore, MD

Mordhem to Harddrive

Member

to Harddrive
hahaha that had me rofl when I read that.
gadgetpig
join:2003-11-11
Chicago, IL

gadgetpig to Harddrive

Member

to Harddrive
i've got a water meter.
i've got an electric meter.
i could even get a natural gas meter.

Hmmm..3 questions...

1.) Since it has a meter, does broadband qualify to be a "utility" yet?

2.) Like all utilities, does it qualify to be monitored by government agency?

3.) Is a utility considered a "right" or is it a "luxury"?

Questions to ponder.......

Bill Neilson
Premium Member
join:2009-07-08
Alexandria, VA

Bill Neilson

Premium Member

Honest question

How hard is it to implement this?

When I first heard about this, I just assumed it would be a simple tool that could be found on everyone's comcast account page.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: Honest question

said by Bill Neilson:

How hard is it to implement this?

When I first heard about this, I just assumed it would be a simple tool that could be found on everyone's comcast account page.
Comcast has been extremely slow on rolling out the promised meter. Either their hardware & SNMP software is incapable of providing accurate info, or Comcast has some marketing motive to NOT roll out the bandwidth meter.
jus10
join:2009-08-04
Gainesville, VA

jus10

Member

Re: Honest question

said by FFH5:

Either their hardware & SNMP software is incapable of providing accurate info, or Comcast has some marketing motive to NOT roll out the bandwidth meter.
Well of course they have a marketing reason. If you have a gauge showing how much you can use, heavy user folks will use right up to the top. If you leave it ambiguous, then the folks will have to leave a little "play" in the amount of traffic they push.

That said, I don't think that's enough of a reason. I'm guessing they are having a hard time making sure their meter is spot on enough to be defend-able.

Ima Hogg
@comcast.net

Ima Hogg

Anon

Oink Oink

FWIW, Netgear makes a router ( WNDR3700 ) with an integrated bandwidth meter.

PapaMidnight
join:2009-01-13
Baltimore, MD

PapaMidnight

Member

Re: Oink Oink

said by Ima Hogg :

FWIW, Netgear makes a router ( WNDR3700 ) with an integrated bandwidth meter.


I'll see your Netgear router and raise you pfSense :P

Nsane_iceman
Premium Member
join:2001-02-26
North Richland Hills, TX

Nsane_iceman

Premium Member

Re: Oink Oink

said by PapaMidnight:

said by Ima Hogg :

FWIW, Netgear makes a router ( WNDR3700 ) with an integrated bandwidth meter.


I'll see your Netgear router and raise you pfSense :P
I see your pfSense and raise you a Cisco ASA 5550 ~

PapaMidnight
join:2009-01-13
Baltimore, MD

PapaMidnight

Member

Re: Oink Oink

Hey, enterprise routers don't count :P

castsucks
@sbcglobal.net

castsucks to Ima Hogg

Anon

to Ima Hogg
but does that see all arp and other traffic that hits the cable modem but does not get past it but still is counted as part of your cap?

PapaMidnight
join:2009-01-13
Baltimore, MD

PapaMidnight

Member

Re: Oink Oink

said by castsucks :

but does that see all arp and other traffic that hits the cable modem but does not get past it but still is counted as part of your cap?
Of course not, but that's why it's good to have your own traffic counters: to counter any bs that the isp might spin.
Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL

Mr Matt

Member

Can they differentiate between overhead and actual usage?

They might look a little incompetent if they deploy their metering system and customers demonstrate that it is not accurate. I wish Comcast lots of luck in their new enterprise.
bostonkarl1
join:2003-07-09
Arlington, VA

bostonkarl1

Member

Ya, they're being cautious

I'll give 'em the benefit of the doubt this time around. I think they just want to make sure the meters work properly. What a disaster it would be should there be problems.

I am happy that Comcast is being upfront and honest about the caps and also feel that 250GB is reasonable. I am not a fan of metered billing, but also understand the need to ferret out those abusing the system.

jhacker
join:2001-12-11
Peoria, IL

jhacker

Member

It's "McAfee", and it sucks!!

I just removed McAfee from all my computers after I had to help my friend reformat his computer. He had McAfee, and McAfee let 3 viruses/trojan horses through!! So, there's no way I'm installing that crap just to get a bandwidth meter. Heck, as far as I've heard, Comcast doesn't strictly enforce that bandwidth cap unless you're in the top 1% of bandwidth hogs!!

aaronwt
Premium Member
join:2004-11-07
Woodbridge, VA
Asus RT-AX89

aaronwt

Premium Member

Re: It's "McAfee", and it sucks!!

said by jhacker:

I just removed McAfee from all my computers after I had to help my friend reformat his computer. He had McAfee, and McAfee let 3 viruses/trojan horses through!! So, there's no way I'm installing that crap just to get a bandwidth meter. Heck, as far as I've heard, Comcast doesn't strictly enforce that bandwidth cap unless you're in the top 1% of bandwidth hogs!!
No Virus scan program is 100%. although I never had any problems with Mcafee on my six machines. although I did switch them all to MS Security essentials even though I still had ten months left on the six mcafee licenses.

PapaMidnight
join:2009-01-13
Baltimore, MD

PapaMidnight

Member

Re: It's "McAfee", and it sucks!!

said by aaronwt:

said by jhacker:

I just removed McAfee from all my computers after I had to help my friend reformat his computer. He had McAfee, and McAfee let 3 viruses/trojan horses through!! So, there's no way I'm installing that crap just to get a bandwidth meter. Heck, as far as I've heard, Comcast doesn't strictly enforce that bandwidth cap unless you're in the top 1% of bandwidth hogs!!
No Virus scan program is 100%. although I never had any problems with Mcafee on my six machines. although I did switch them all to MS Security essentials even though I still had ten months left on the six mcafee licenses.
I personally have found McAfee to be a resource chomper.
k1ll3rdr4g0n
join:2005-03-19
Homer Glen, IL

k1ll3rdr4g0n to aaronwt

Member

to aaronwt
said by aaronwt:

said by jhacker:

I just removed McAfee from all my computers after I had to help my friend reformat his computer. He had McAfee, and McAfee let 3 viruses/trojan horses through!! So, there's no way I'm installing that crap just to get a bandwidth meter. Heck, as far as I've heard, Comcast doesn't strictly enforce that bandwidth cap unless you're in the top 1% of bandwidth hogs!!
No Virus scan program is 100%. although I never had any problems with Mcafee on my six machines. although I did switch them all to MS Security essentials even though I still had ten months left on the six mcafee licenses.
I think having to pay an annual fee should raise a red flag. Isn't that what the malware AV writers do? Install some bloatware on your computer and make you pay to remove it?
Seems one of the same to me .

I personally have been using AVG, and now I am trying out Avast on my Windows 7 laptop.
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88 to jhacker

Member

to jhacker
said by jhacker:

I just removed McAfee from all my computers after I had to help my friend reformat his computer. He had McAfee, and McAfee let 3 viruses/trojan horses through!! So, there's no way I'm installing that crap just to get a bandwidth meter. Heck, as far as I've heard, Comcast doesn't strictly enforce that bandwidth cap unless you're in the top 1% of bandwidth hogs!!
And loose 400 MB of ram to that crap.

canesfan2001
join:2003-02-04
Hialeah, FL

canesfan2001

Member

What do they use!?

If they are somehow determining who reaches the 250GB threshold, how are they tracking that? and why don't they just give us access to that?

PapaMidnight
join:2009-01-13
Baltimore, MD

PapaMidnight

Member

Re: What do they use!?

An ISP that actually is open about it's practices? Impossible!

viking1
@transition.com

viking1

Anon

security

I think folks are forgetting that most people still have problem securing their wifi AP. Not much from stopping my neighbors from stealing grandma's open wifi signal

AlexNYC
join:2001-06-02
Edwards, CO

AlexNYC

Member

Re: security

Ignorance has never been an excuse! That is their problem isn't it?

PapaMidnight
join:2009-01-13
Baltimore, MD

PapaMidnight

Member

Re: security

said by AlexNYC:

Ignorance has never been an excuse! That is their problem isn't it?
It isn't? Could've fooled me.

IPPlanMan
Holy Cable Modem Batman
join:2000-09-20
Washington, DC

IPPlanMan

Member

And the cap prevents what again?

Gosh... it's almost November now....

I still don't understand why a cap is necessary if there is a congestion management system in place to prevent "real time" congestion from occurring and affecting users.

And for that matter, how can a few users, supposedly an almost insignificant amount, affect the "experience" for the rest of the subscriber base?

This 250 GB cap, which hasn't changed in a year now, reeks of Comcast's fear of video competition from Hulu, Netflix Streaming, iTunes/Apple TV, and Vudu....

Don't want us cutting the cord to your premium channels/on demand, do ya Comcast?

Not fooling me....

•••••••••••••
pnolte
join:1999-10-21
Chino, CA

pnolte

Member

accuracy

Who is going to certify the meter. The gas stations don't certify their gas pumps. The butcher doesn't certify the scales. Are we going to have another government agency to certify the accuracy of some broadband meter. Once the meter goes in place does broadband become a public utility? If I have a complaint about the reading and the accuracy of the meter, who do I go to?
wssddc
join:2001-08-21
Bedford, MA

wssddc

Member

Local bandwidth monitoring isn't enough

A bandwidth monitor that runs on your computer is almost useless if you have multiple computers. One month I had over 500 GB of internal traffic as I moved stuff off an old machine. All of that showed up in the statistics of the network monitoring applet I use. My router doesn't have any monitoring capability.
StubbyinKCMO
join:2008-11-15
Kansas City, MO

StubbyinKCMO

Member

Got this from DSLR

Got this a while back, about a year or so, and its pretty good.

Works for the everyday consumer. Not as fancy as your Cisco or PFsense but does the job.

»www.bwmonitor.com/

Little graph by the clock on the taskbar. And you can log how much over time. Just my $.02.
33358088 (banned)
join:2008-09-23

33358088 (banned)

Member

problems

as with all things they are not perfect and every so called monitor has problems and this is why they and all the known solutions are not going to work.
The best your going to get is something that works about 80% of the time and that 20% means your paying big time.

then there is the need for windows software that guess what it literally doesnt exist in the FOSS world for windows so guess what pay for it or pirate

on a home network the cheapest was a pay per cpu OMG thats nastey to us regular folk.......
Mordhem
Love it, Hate it.
join:2003-07-10
Baltimore, MD

Mordhem

Member

I would need to buy more hard drives.

Guess I need to upgrade lol, Guess if I wanted to hit that cap I would need to go buy a new hard drive. Then Download it full of PORN!

duder
@rr.com

duder

Anon

to hell with the cap crap

no one should agree to this cap crap get fios or some thing different next they will want more for a lot less o but you know you people are like drug addicts they get you and that's it get over the net or one day it is going to be just like crap tv

have a nice day suckers

n0xlf
join:2001-03-28
Castle Rock, CO

2 edits

n0xlf

Member

Re: to hell with the cap crap

(deleted)

rrcottin
@comcast.net

rrcottin

Anon

Nice Meter

If you want a nice meter and happen to have a router it will run on, I recommend the Tomato firmware (»www.polarcloud.com/tomato). I swear by older Linksys WRT series routers (except for the marginal Cisco firmware). Tomato give you a nice bandwidth meter by day, week and month.
bassman99
join:2009-04-17

bassman99

Member

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