[clue-tech] intermittent connection problems

[Bruce Ediger]

On Sat, 12 Sep 2009, Jason S. Friedman wrote:

> A few weeks back I could not connect to certain websites, like microsoft.com 
> and frii.com, or receive email from certain hosts (I run the Postfix SMTP 
> server), like comcast.net.  I called Qwest, became upset, the problem went 
> away, there were no explanations.

DNS comes to my mind too: Qwest's DNS servers have gone through flaky
periods in the past.  I have all this in my /etc/resolvo.conf file:
# OpenDNS
#nameserver 208.67.222.222
#nameserver 208.67.220.220
# AT&T/Level(3)?
#nameserver 4.2.2.1
#nameserver 4.2.2.2
# Qwest.net
#nameserver 205.171.3.65
#nameserver 205.171.2.65

I live in an older neighborhood of Denver (Baker), and we've got wiring
dating to the 50s, or maybe even 40s.  The box up on the telephone pole
behind my house is wood.  Rainy periods can cause problems.  If you've
got access to the DSL modem, you can maybe see what it's doing.  The voice
quality goes down during rainy periods, too.

In March, I had to switch from "CAP" DSL to "DMT" DSL, which involved
saying "Good bye" to a trusty old Cisco 675 modem, and moving to a
Cisco 678.  The 675 (set up to syslog on a linux box) would end up
dropping the DSL (and hence PPP) connection hundreds of times a day.
It didn't appear to be the 675's fault, but I can't recall why I
believe that.

One of the many service reps I talked to seemed fairly knowledgeable
about DSL, and hinted broadly that I should move to DMT DSL.  That
was a nightmare of lost and auto-cancelled orders - they're not used
to switching any more it seems.

Anyway, DMT has been as reliable as CAP was during good spells.