Using Shaw 150 mbps down / 15 mbps up / 1 TB data plan on 100 mpbs ports and hardware
I'm sure everyone here is well aware of Shaw's heavily promoted new Internet plan that gives 150 mbps down / 15 mbps up / 1 TB data per month. My big question is, are there any hiccups/hangups when this plan is used on 100 mpbs ports and hardware? A couple of my computers have 100 mbps (not gigabit) ethernet ports, and so does a router or two here. Obviously my download speed will be limited to slightly under 100 mbps, but my big fear is that the requisite stop/start handshaking protocol (if I encounter a server that wants to send/stream at over 100 mbps) could hiccup and hangup things. I don't even know at which layer/level such a protocol would operate. I've definitely had such hangups with stop/start handshaking protocols in the distant past, like with RS-232 serial. Hartmut W Sager - Tel +1-204-339-8331
Nope. IP handles that perfectly well. If you have issues of any kind, it won't be due to that. FYI I have Internet 150 now. So far it's working great. Sent from my iPhone
On Aug 17, 2016, at 03:03, Hartmut W Sager <hwsager@marityme.net> wrote:
I'm sure everyone here is well aware of Shaw's heavily promoted new Internet plan that gives 150 mbps down / 15 mbps up / 1 TB data per month.
My big question is, are there any hiccups/hangups when this plan is used on 100 mpbs ports and hardware? A couple of my computers have 100 mbps (not gigabit) ethernet ports, and so does a router or two here.
Obviously my download speed will be limited to slightly under 100 mbps, but my big fear is that the requisite stop/start handshaking protocol (if I encounter a server that wants to send/stream at over 100 mbps) could hiccup and hangup things. I don't even know at which layer/level such a protocol would operate.
I've definitely had such hangups with stop/start handshaking protocols in the distant past, like with RS-232 serial.
Hartmut W Sager - Tel +1-204-339-8331
_______________________________________________ Roundtable mailing list Roundtable@muug.mb.ca http://www.muug.mb.ca/mailman/listinfo/roundtable
On 2016-08-17 Hartmut W Sager wrote:
My big question is, are there any hiccups/hangups when this plan is used on 100 mpbs ports and hardware? A couple of my computers have 100 mbps (not gigabit) ethernet ports, and so does a router or two
My strong hunch would be "no worries". IP and TCP should handle it well. For years I ran many 100 modems on 10 NICs (a long while back)! Same dilemma, never any problem or speed issue.
Plugging a slower network into a faster one shouldn't inherently cause any issues. But just a heads up for anyone considering this upgrade. Most firewalls will struggle to do 150Mbs, even if they have gigabit ports. If you don't end up getting full speeds it may well be because your own firewall can't handle it. And on a related note; Shaw has 2 modems available for this service, Cisco & Hiltron. We've experienced serious issues with the Cisco modem (almost certainly because it's been miss-configured by Shaw). Even in bridging mode the modem is dropping UDP packet fragments. If you experience any weird "stalls", it may be due to this. Specifically, the Cisco modems do not work with SIP UDP and Shaw only uses the Hiltron modems modems with their own VOIP service. John On Wed, Aug 17, 2016 at 4:24 AM, Trevor Cordes <trevor@tecnopolis.ca> wrote:
On 2016-08-17 Hartmut W Sager wrote:
My big question is, are there any hiccups/hangups when this plan is used on 100 mpbs ports and hardware? A couple of my computers have 100 mbps (not gigabit) ethernet ports, and so does a router or two
My strong hunch would be "no worries". IP and TCP should handle it well. For years I ran many 100 modems on 10 NICs (a long while back)! Same dilemma, never any problem or speed issue. _______________________________________________ Roundtable mailing list Roundtable@muug.mb.ca http://www.muug.mb.ca/mailman/listinfo/roundtable
-- John Lange www.johnlange.ca
Thanks everyone (so far) for your reassuring answers. John, specifically to your comments: I do have the excellent Shaw-supplied Hitron CGNM-2250, which they now offer for free for the Internet 30 plan and upward. The Shaw-supplied (on Internet 5 and 15, and previously on 25, 30, and 60) crappy Cisco DPC3825 (which was designed by a company that Cisco later bought) has indeed caused problems for VoIP customers of mine. Were you referring to the crappy Cisco DPC3825, or to the allegedly much better Cisco DPC3848V that Shaw had been supplying for Internet 30 and upward before they brought in the Hitron CGNM-2250? By the way, the Hitron CGNM-2250 allows configuring 1 or 2 of its 4 ports to be configured for straight IP pass-thru, so no reason to ever kick this modem/router into bridge mode. I've been doing exactly that for the last few months with LAN ports #1 and #2 on my Hitron CGNM-2250 (on the Internet 30 plan) - Shaw was kind enough to give me two extra IP addresses for this purpose. In the meantime, I also just switched to the Internet 150 offer. So far so good - no hangups yet - and I'm getting 8-11 ms ping (as before), 93 mbps down, 16 mbps up, and continuing excellent VoIP, on my retained Hitron CGNM-2250. Hartmut W Sager - Tel +1-204-339-8331 On 17 August 2016 at 08:00, John Lange <john@johnlange.ca> wrote:
Plugging a slower network into a faster one shouldn't inherently cause any issues.
But just a heads up for anyone considering this upgrade. Most firewalls will struggle to do 150Mbs, even if they have gigabit ports. If you don't end up getting full speeds it may well be because your own firewall can't handle it.
And on a related note; Shaw has 2 modems available for this service, Cisco & Hiltron. We've experienced serious issues with the Cisco modem (almost certainly because it's been miss-configured by Shaw). Even in bridging mode the modem is dropping UDP packet fragments. If you experience any weird "stalls", it may be due to this. Specifically, the Cisco modems do not work with SIP UDP and Shaw only uses the Hiltron modems modems with their own VOIP service.
John
On Wed, Aug 17, 2016 at 4:24 AM, Trevor Cordes <trevor@tecnopolis.ca> wrote:
On 2016-08-17 Hartmut W Sager wrote:
My big question is, are there any hiccups/hangups when this plan is used on 100 mpbs ports and hardware? A couple of my computers have 100 mbps (not gigabit) ethernet ports, and so does a router or two
My strong hunch would be "no worries". IP and TCP should handle it well. For years I ran many 100 modems on 10 NICs (a long while back)! Same dilemma, never any problem or speed issue. _______________________________________________ Roundtable mailing list Roundtable@muug.mb.ca http://www.muug.mb.ca/mailman/listinfo/roundtable
-- John Lange www.johnlange.ca
_______________________________________________ Roundtable mailing list Roundtable@muug.mb.ca http://www.muug.mb.ca/mailman/listinfo/roundtable
To be honest, I don't know which model of Cisco modem it was. This was based on the reports of technicians in the field and the model # wasn't given to me. All I know is, in the two cases I'm aware of, when you order the 150 upgrade, the default modem they bring out is a Cisco and it caused us major problems. And after you've wasted a lot of time (and cost), they'll replace it with a Hiltron. They of course will tell you "nothing is wrong" with their solution and it's only when you ask to be downgraded back to the old service that they suddenly "discover" that they have another modem to try which magically fixes everything even "though nothing was wrong" before. We had the good fortune that both customers were upgraded on the same day and had the exact same problems so we knew for certain that Shaw was at fault. That gave us the ammunition to short-circuit the blame game they were trying to play and were able to get the Cisco replaced with Hiltron in about a day (though that was still very expensive and frustrating for the customers). John
On 2016-08-17 John Lange wrote:
But just a heads up for anyone considering this upgrade. Most firewalls will struggle to do 150Mbs, even if they have gigabit ports. If you don't end up getting full speeds it may well be because your own firewall can't handle it.
That's a great argument for always making your own firewall/router out of a Linux or OpenBSD box! Does anyone really trust the security of their never-updated-after-one-year-if-ever Linksys or Belkin jobby?
You mean Shaw actually uses true VoIP internally, as opposed to their own cablesystem phone service (which is an industry-standard cablesystem phone service) that they offer to their Shaw Phone customers? Or are you referring to the long-haul leg of Shaw Phone service once the transmission leaves the Shaw infrastructure? Hartmut W Sager - Tel +1-204-339-8331 On 17 August 2016 at 08:00, John Lange <john@johnlange.ca> wrote:
Specifically, the Cisco modems do not work with SIP UDP and Shaw only uses the Hiltron modems modems with their own VOIP service.
John
I don't know enough about Shaw's service to say. I'm just relaying what a Shaw tech told our tech who told me. So 3rd hand information. I believe Shaw uses a variety of different solutions depending on if it's residential or business, including an Asterisk based system for residential voicemail. But that is totally unverified. On Wed, Aug 17, 2016 at 8:03 PM, Hartmut W Sager <hwsager@marityme.net> wrote:
You mean Shaw actually uses true VoIP internally, as opposed to their own cablesystem phone service (which is an industry-standard cablesystem phone service) that they offer to their Shaw Phone customers? Or are you referring to the long-haul leg of Shaw Phone service once the transmission leaves the Shaw infrastructure?
Hartmut W Sager - Tel +1-204-339-8331
On 17 August 2016 at 08:00, John Lange <john@johnlange.ca> wrote:
Specifically, the Cisco modems do not work with SIP UDP and Shaw only uses the Hiltron modems modems with their own VOIP service.
John
_______________________________________________ Roundtable mailing list Roundtable@muug.mb.ca http://www.muug.mb.ca/mailman/listinfo/roundtable
-- John Lange www.johnlange.ca
participants (4)
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Hartmut W Sager -
John Lange -
Kevin McGregor -
Trevor Cordes