Ambit 256 SOCM Event Log

greyhairbadger · 19-09-2011, 13:48

Hi all,

I am new to the forums, apologies if this is posted in the wrong place. May I pick your collective brains please?

I have a LAN consisting of a 192.168.1.1/24. A linux server runs the rsyslog daemon listening on port 514.

My router generates copious amounts of log. In lieu of storing this internally, it squirts the data at my server through UDP. The server fields the data and appends it to a text file on a network share. All pretty standard.

My cable modem also generates an event log, however it only seems to be capable of storing and displaying 32 lines internally. (This is currently full of UCD changes, presumably flirting with QAM16 before dropping back to QPSK.) The cable modem appears to be transparent. The diagnostic pages are available at 192.168.100.1, which is naturally outside of my subnet.

My question is this: Is there any easy way the cable modem can be persuaded to log remotely? And even if it can, is there any way to aim it at my server through the NAT router? The server is not internet-facing, and I prefer it to stay that way.

I welcome any thoughts or insights.

thanks in advance,

Phil.

qasdfdsaq · 19-09-2011, 15:02

You'd have to poll it from another device. They used to allow SNMP but that's been blocked off now.

greyhairbadger · 19-09-2011, 15:20

Quote:

You'd have to poll it from another device. They used to allow SNMP but that's been blocked off now.

Okay, thanks qasdfdsaq. A pity SNMP is blocked. I guess this was for security reasons?

Sephiroth · 20-09-2011, 01:10

That might have been a complacent excuse ( don't remember it said) - but it really was for secrecy reasons. VM prefer to play their cards close to their chest and don't want us digging into the stats present in the CM.

For the Superhub, they've suppressed important diagnostic information like the corrupted data count that was present in the VMNG300 modem.

By the way, I daily dump my modem stats and event log into a Word type file. I've got a running record.

greyhairbadger · 20-09-2011, 02:03

I guess VM are entitled to keep their data to themselves, but that is a little annoying. Access to the data could at the least save a few frustrating calls to India.

I really can't see a valid excuse for suppressing data in the Super Hub. I am sure they work well for a lot of people, but I'm glad I don't own one.

How do you collect your data Sephiroth? Do you have an elaborate polling system in place, or is it just a case of cut and paste?

Phil.

Sephiroth · 20-09-2011, 10:00

You're more generous to VM than they deserve, IMHO. It's not simply their data, seen from the customer side. They just don't want you to know what's going on with your circuit even though the whole thing hangs together very well.

I collect my data the hard way. Actually I have a template into which I copy & paste from the modem's screen display. I couldn't be bothered to write and refine a script, plus I have to look at and digest the stats every time I do it. Which helps me to know a little more from time to time.

greyhairbadger · 20-09-2011, 10:46

Quote:

You're more generous to VM than they deserve, IMHO. It's not simply their data, seen from the customer side. They just don't want you to know what's going on with your circuit even though the whole thing hangs together very well.

My personal experience with the VM network has been largely positive in truth. It has been worlds apart from the dark days of ADSL. When it works, it works well. The periods of not working are growing more frequent though. I confess that I know precious little about DOCSIS and even less about VM's infrastructure. Having said that, I wouldn't mind having a look at a few of their uBR logs. I do fear that they are following the typical ISP business model of over-subscription and under-maintenance. I have seen increasing symptoms of performance degradation lately. Certainly the proportion of ICMP drops during times of peak load seems to be ever increasing.

Cheers for that Sephiroth. It looks like manual data collection is the way forward. It really shouldn't be this awkward. I am annoyed by the brevity of the log too. All I have to record at the moment is a flurry of UCD changes.

Sephiroth · 20-09-2011, 10:56

I can see that you're a kindred spirit. I've seen the odd UBR log or two (you have to know someone to get one). They are interesting as a snapshot because it tells you what the upstream SNR threshold is and what you're currently running at. Also it shows the FEC errors.

It won't tell you about ICMP drops but it will tell you CPU utilisation and details of what your line card is doing.

My experience with the VM network has also been positive (RG41 5) apart from a glitch I'm going through at the moment which can't be diagnosed by the remote techs so it has to go through the torture of an engineer and then calling in Networks to resolve the problem I'm sure I know it is (laser).

greyhairbadger · 20-09-2011, 11:37

I hope your engineer visit passes as painlessly as possible. Again, my last experience was positive. He was a lovely bloke, and all he had to do was swap out the failed cable modem and fit a forward path attenuator. And then panic when he couldn't find the Start Button on my Gnome desktop.

I guess you have an elderly laser that is way past its prime?

My own issue is described as a 'Network Outage', which is strange as I am pretty certain it is an upstream utilisation thing. From what I have managed to infer, I think a major upgrade is planned at the uBR site.