Superhub Modem mode - what does it fix ?

shiner · 21-12-2011, 16:15

Hi,

I've had the Superhub and 50M service for about 8 months now. Before that I was on the 10M service for years. I've found the Superhub a lot less reliable than my old cable Modem, bearable in general.

Recently, however, either the service has become less stable, or I'm noticing the problems more because I'm working from home. I have 2 main problems : the Superhub will drop the WAN connection, or it will reboot itself. I've never had the situation where the Superhub has locked up - I can nearly always access the admin page (although I have to wait for the reboot to finish of course)

I've kept a log over the last month and it has either rebooted or lost the WAN connection about 15-18 times during that period. The connection normally comes back-up within 5-10 minutes, although sometimes it can take longer with the modem waiting for an IP address. However, each occurrence costs me over 30 minutes by the time I've reset the VPN, reconnected and recovered what I was working on. So it's becoming a real pain

I've posted the details up on the support site (here : http://community.virginmedia.com/t5/...re/td-p/748729) but it can take a while to get a reply on there.

In the meantime, I've been thinking about trying modem mode, but I was under the impression this was mainly for fixing unreliable wireless issues. I use a wired connection mostly and when I do use wireless, I haven't noticed any drop-outs and the range seems fine. Is it worth me looking at modem mode ? Could it help with reboots and dropped WAN connections ? I don't want to go to the expense of a new router just to find it's the modem or my local cable which is the real issue.

Many thanks,

Pete

thenry · 21-12-2011, 16:28

I'm in Crawley mate, my SH isn't rebooting, network was playing up a few weeks back but nothing to cause a reboot.

Have you done a scan using inSSIDer installed/run on a wireless capable device/laptop to see what channels each network within reach of you uses then setting your SH to run using a channel not use? The firmware bug has been fixed but its worth a try if you haven't already. Multiple networks using the same channel would cause issues. The SH is in a league of its own so you need to put your arm round it

Modem mode is fine, should be anyway. If not then your SH is shot and needs replacing as your power levels seem fine. Note power levels seem to increase when in modem mode, if they jump to high and its unstable then you'll need a tech round to fit an attenuator unless you wish to buy one off ebay.

do you max out on speedtests via a wired connection?

shiner · 21-12-2011, 16:55

Funnily enough I used a WiFi analyser on an Android tablet this morning. I was looking to see if I could hook up to the neighbour's WiFi because my broadband failed completely just after midnight and the modem could not get an IP address despite numerous restarts.

I noticed that the 2 strongest signals (the superhub and my Cisco VPN) were sharing the same channel, so I manually moved the SH to a different channel (it was set on auto).

Could that have been causing reboots - is that a known issue ?

kwikbreaks · 21-12-2011, 17:02

JB66 says the Superhub is still prone to reboots if there is much local WiFi interference (including on R30 which fixed a memory leak in the WiFi driver code which would have lead to hangs, reboots,etc.)

I'm wondering how it handles iffy WAN connections too - maybe the reboots are caused by a bad connection - read the power level sticky and post up your stats.

WRT modem mode that just turns off all the WiFi and routing and the Superhub becomes a cable modem. I've not seen anybody report problems with modem mode (other than inability to set things up).

shiner · 21-12-2011, 17:57

Here are the levels. From the little I know, the figures generally seem 'OK' ...

Downstream Channels
Lock Status Modulation Channel ID Max Raw Bit Rate Frequency Power SNR Docsis/EuroDocsis locked
Locked QAM256 21 55616000 Kbits/sec 298750000 Hz 5.6 dBmV 40.1 dB Hybrid
Locked QAM256 22 55616000 Kbits/sec 306750000 Hz 6.0 dBmV 39.9 dB Hybrid
Locked QAM256 23 55616000 Kbits/sec 314750000 Hz 5.9 dBmV 39.5 dB Hybrid
Locked QAM256 24 55616000 Kbits/sec 322750000 Hz 5.4 dBmV 39.9 dB Hybrid
Unlocked Unknown 0 0 Ksym/sec 0 Hz 0.0 dBmV 0.0 dB Unknown
Unlocked Unknown 0 0 Ksym/sec 0 Hz 0.0 dBmV 0.0 dB Unknown
Unlocked Unknown 0 0 Ksym/sec 0 Hz 0.0 dBmV 0.0 dB Unknown
Unlocked Unknown 0 0 Ksym/sec 0 Hz 0.0 dBmV 0.0 dB Unknown

Upstream Channels
Lock Status Modulation Channel ID Max Raw Bit Rate Frequency Power
Locked ATDMA 6 20480 Kbits/sec 35800000 Hz 42.0 dBmV
Unlocked Unknown 0 0 Ksym/sec 0 Hz 0.0 dBmV
Unlocked Unknown 0 0 Ksym/sec 0 Hz 0.0 dBmV
Unlocked Unknown 0 0 Ksym/sec 0 Hz 0.0 dBmV

General Maximus · 21-12-2011, 21:41

power levels are cool. Despite the numer of people who will jump to the shub's defence and state they don't have any problems with it, simply put, the shub isn't designed for hardcore networking and I think if you tax it too much it just falls over.

Modem mode fixes all the issues because it relieves the shub of it's routing and switching burden and turns it into a modem. This then allows you to use a proper router to do what you need it to do (perhaps a Cisco router to go with your Cisco VPN

)

shiner · 22-12-2011, 09:17

I suppose even though I'm using a wired connection, the kids and Mrs are often on laptops / mobiles elsewhere in the house.

After rummaging through the "retired kit" box I've found the Netgear Pro Safe firewall / switch that I used to use with the old cable modem, and an old Belkin Pre-N Wireless Router which can be configured to operate as a Wireless Acces point. So I should be able to put something together to test if Modem Mode improves stability without opening the wallet (always a bonus !)

It's a shame to go back to a 3 box solution - that simplicity was part of the appeal of the Superhub - but small price to pay if it improves the stability and means I can spend less time at my desk.

Ignitionnet · 22-12-2011, 10:33

It fixes everything, do it. I haven't looked back since I did.

shiner · 22-12-2011, 15:58

Quick question. The internet went down early hours of Weds morning. IT was still down 8am on Weds so I called to report the fault. They confirmed no known faults in my area and could see the link was down so booked an engineer visit for Friday morning. Around lunchtime Weds the internet came back online. I did not cancel the engineer, waiting to see if the connection remained up. It has stayed up today although the connection dropped and then recovered again just now (usual problem)

So - should I cancel the engineer as the original fault (no service) has gone ? will the engineer have been canceled automatically (doubtful ?) Or should I leave the appointment in place and ask him to check the line, equipment etc. to see if he can solve these problems I'm having ?

Chrysalis · 22-12-2011, 16:31

it doesnt fix anything.

instead it provides a bypass around the problems the router side of the superhub has.

So in effect you could call it a fix as for the end user the problems will no longer exist (assuming new router works good). But it doesnt fix allowing the superhub to be used as a router without the problems.

General Maximus · 22-12-2011, 16:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by shiner

Quick question. The internet went down early hours of Weds morning. IT was still down 8am on Weds so I called to report the fault. They confirmed no known faults in my area and could see the link was down so booked an engineer visit for Friday morning. Around lunchtime Weds the internet came back online. I did not cancel the engineer, waiting to see if the connection remained up. It has stayed up today although the connection dropped and then recovered again just now (usual problem)

So - should I cancel the engineer as the original fault (no service) has gone ? will the engineer have been canceled automatically (doubtful ?) Or should I leave the appointment in place and ask him to check the line, equipment etc. to see if he can solve these problems I'm having ?

the engineer will still come but if it is up and running he won't do anything. Engineers are only cancelled when they have been booked in advance, a network fault has been reported and fixed and then the engineers are cancelled, which might have happened in this case and we don't know as they could have detected the area fault after you rang up. I had a problem a couple of years ago when my connection was down for 3 days and they insisted it wasn't an area fault. An engineer came round around lunchtime and said that all the calls he has been to that morning had been for the same thing and there was nothing he could do about it. He made a few phone calls and 4 hours later everything was 100% again.

shiner · 22-12-2011, 18:27

OK thanks - just tried to cancel it on Myvirginmedia.com but it reports that I have no appointments booked - so I guess it must have been canceled already.

morley04 · 23-12-2011, 13:41

Just received my Super Hub and comparing it to my Old VDMG300 its rubbish my ping's have at least doubled why? and its in modem mode really not happy now

djfunkdup · 23-12-2011, 14:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by morley04

Just received my Super Hub and comparing it to my Old VDMG300 its rubbish my ping's have at least doubled why? and its in modem mode really not happy now

log into the super hub and disable 'ip flood detection'

you will find it in the 'services' menu

morley04 · 23-12-2011, 14:51

Its in Modem mode, Web pages take for ever to load now, pings have gone from 12 to 25 overall not very good at the minute