a) the client modem code needs to be upgraded,
b) the server modem code needs to be upgraded,
c) THE PHONE LINES NEED TO BE UPGRADED
Maybe I'm missing something, but the phone lines around here
are so crappy, I hate to report problems because it's probably
the phone lines. For example, my location was about 1 mile from
the CO. I had CT-1's coming into my PM-3. A customer of mine
lived about .5 miles in the other direction. From his home, he
could get no better than a 24K connection. From my office, he
could get a 46.6K connection.
I've had the above described situation happen so many times that
it's not funny. A few could not even get connected from home, but
would connect fine from another location (not necessarily my office).
Then there's the customer who was connecting great at 44K. The
telco did a "fiber optic upgrade" in his area and now he gets no
more than 26.4K.
Then, there are the times when:
User: "All of a sudden, I get disconnected immediately after
I connect. It used to work fine. I didn't change
anything on my end, what is your problem?"
Me: "Did this start when it started raining two days ago?"
User: "Yes."
Me: "Wait till your phone lines dry out."
A few days later when it's dry again...
Me: "Are you still having a problem staying connected?"
User: "No. Guess you were right about the phone lines."
With this many telco related problems, how do I know what to
report to Lucent support, and what to not report. I don't want
to overburden them with useless support calls.
And with only one PM-3, and it being in production, I don't
really WANT to be in the beta program.
Eric Calvert
Caveland Connection
http://www.caveland.net
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-portmaster-modems@livingston.com
> [mailto:owner-portmaster-modems@livingston.com]On Behalf Of Craig Baird
> Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 1999 1:38 PM
> To: portmaster-users@livingston.com; portmaster-modems@livingston.com
> Subject: (PMOD) Lucent support & modem problems
>
>
> I think it's time I chimed in here. I was *extremely* impressed with
> Lucent's attentiveness during the betas. Lucent practically bent over
> backwards to fix some of the modem issues that our users were having.
> We also found an excellent balance with what is now 3.8.2c2.
>
> This brings me to my point: If you're having trouble with a particular
> modem, by all means *report it to support*!!!!! After upgrading to
> 3.8.2, our Cirrus Logic users suddenly could not connect. They worked
> fine with 3.8, but 3.8.2 killed them. I immediately downgraded back to
> 3.8, and e-mailed support. Within a few days, a Lucent engineer was in
> my PM3 running traces.
>
> When Lucent started the beta program, they e-mailed me and asked if I
> wanted to participate. I obviously told them yes! Participating in the
> beta was *a lot* of work--I was constantly asked for trace after trace
> from various modems we were having trouble with, but look at the
> results: *All* of the modem issues that we reported are fixed in
> 3.8.2c2. It makes me wonder if those who are always complaining about
> modem code on the lists have ever informed support about their
> problems. If they participated in the beta, did they give feedback? I
> know that I was told, not long after the beta started, that Lucent had
> cut some of their initial beta sites from the beta program because they
> weren't providing any feedback. We were one of the sites they kept
> because we provided constant feedback on how things were working with
> each new beta revision. We supplied them with traces each time they
> asked for them (I'd say I ran close to 50 traces on various modems
> during the beta). It was time consuming, but guess what!?!?! My modem
> issues are *fixed*. Maybe if more people had reported their problems to
> support, and participated in the beta, and given feedback, more problems
> would be fixed! Maybe there are too many people out there who think that
> Lucent can wave a magic wand and automatically fix all the modem
> problems in ComOS. They need feedback from users through proper support
> channels!
>
> One of the things that frustrate me the most in the ISP business is the
> number of people who go around telling others that they're having such
> and such a problem with their account with us, and that we suck because
> we never fix it. In most cases, these users have *never* previously
> called our support lines to let us know there was a problem. I mean
> really, how can we fix a problem that we don't know about! By the same
> token, how can Lucent fix ComOS without feedback on what's happening???
> Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me that every PM3 owner who has
> complained on the list about 3.8.2 should have participated in the
> beta. If you are one of those, and you didn't participate in the beta,
> why? Is it because you didn't report the issue to Lucent??? I ended up
> in the beta for one reason: I reported problems with Cirrus Logic based
> modems to support. I can only assume that anyone who reported specific
> modem problems to support would have also ended up in the beta. Am I
> wrong?
>
> Obviously, there are a few exceptions to this. For example, the
> European users who are having E1 problems, etc. I can't really speak
> for them because from what I understand, their support process is
> different from that used here in the states. So there may be problems
> or breakdowns there--I don't know. Also, I know that there are some
> people who have stated that they have reported trouble to support
> without any response. If this is the case, then it's wrong. Lucent
> needs to be attentive to the needs of all its customers. Maybe my
> experience was the exception rather than the norm, but I don't think
> so. Anyway, my intent here is not to offend anyone, but to say that I
> think Lucent is doing a great job! Sure there are problems, but they're
> working on it, and from what I've experienced, they're more than willing
> to fix those problems if they have people who are willing to report them
> as well as troubleshoot and help isolate them.
>
> I hope I haven't violated my NDA in talking a little about the beta.
> I'm assuming that since the beta is over, it's okay to talk about it.
> If not, sorry, Lucent!
>
> Okay, I'll climb off my soapbox now... :-)
>
> Craig
> Xpressweb Internet Services
> bairdc@xpressweb.com
> http://www.xpressweb.com
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