Line Stats

Your DSL modem continuously monitors the quality of your DSL service. You can obtain line statistical information from your modem to assess the quality of your line and service.

Bell is responsible for the quality of your line and it is worth noting that most of your monthly payment to NCF goes to Bell to provide DSL service on your line.

How to obtain line stats from your modem

SpeedTouch 585 or 516v6

Line stats displayed on a SpeedTouch 585v6 modem interface (Speedtouch 516v6 is similar)

1. Log into the web interface of your modem (how to log in)
2. In the left column, click on 'Broadband Connection'
3. In the left column, click on 'DSL Connection'
4. In the top-right area, click on 'Details'

Depending on your modem model and configuration, the numbers may be displayed with commas and periods in the European manner, which is the reverse of what is common in North America. For example: 1,000.12 for 'one thousand decimal 12' may be displayed as '1.000,12'.

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SpeedTouch 516v5

Line stats displayed on a SpeedTouch 516v5 modem interface

1. Log into the web interface of your modem (how to log in)
2. In the left column, click 'Advanced'
3. Below that click 'Diagnostics'
4. Above click the + sign beside 'Expand All'
5. Scroll down to the section 'Wan' ... 'Dsl'

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TP-Link 8816, 8901G or 8951ND

Line stats displayed on a TP-Link 8901G modem (8816 and 8951ND are similar)

These models of TP-Link modems all have similar interfaces:

1. Log into the web interface of your modem (how to log in)
2. Click on 'Status'
3. Click on 'Device Info'

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TP-Link 8950ND

Line stats displayed on a TP-Link 8950ND modem

1. Log into the web interface of your modem (how to log in)
2. Click on 'Device info'
3. Click on 'Statistics'
4. Click on 'ADSL'

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SmartRG 505n

Line stats displayed on a SmartRG505N modem

1. Log into the web interface of your modem (how to log in)
2. Click on 'Device info'
3. Click on 'Statistics'
4. Click on 'xDSL'

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How to interpret line stats

Speed (Rate)

It is expected that download speed (measured as Mbps, Mb/s, kbps, kb/s) to be faster than upload speed. You can confirm this number by doing a speed test.

Attenuation

Attenuation is a measure (in dB) of how far (cable length, not line-of-sight) you are from the Bell equipment (DSLAM). Note that Lower is better as it indicates a shorter cable length.

Attenuation	Rating
0 - 40	Excellent
40 - 50	Good
50 - 60	Fair
>60	Poor

Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR or Noise Margin)

Signal-to-Noise Ratio is a measure (in dB) of how much electrical noise exists on your line. Too much noise can affect the DSL signal. Higher is better as it means you have more signal than noise.

SNR	Rating
>20	Excellent
20-10	Good
10-6	Fair
6-0	Poor

Errors

The error figures are an indication of how many packets had to be re-transmitted because they contained an error and may be caused by line noise. Error counts are cumulative since the time DSL sync was last obtained. To reset the error counts, do a software restart of your modem, or power cycle your modem, or disconnect your DSL line for a minute or two.

The significance of error counts is unclear and may be meaningless. Some modems may misreport errors and even with errors, your service may be fine.

Line Profile stats reported by Bell

You can see your stats as seen by NCF here. Note the date on that page that says when they were collected.

Line Profile stats reported by Bell

Line Operational Status			613-xxx-xxxx (DSL phone number, may or not be your Bell #)
Line Status:	In Service (preferred) Out of Service (trouble!)	UpTime:	(not a useful field, usually not populated by Bell)
Line Profile Name:	Example: al1_d6016-384_u800-256	Last State Change:	mm/dd hh:mm:ss (last time the Line Profile was provided)
DLM State: (Dynamic Line Manager, a process on the DSLAM)	Active or OPERATIONS (preferred) PENDING (new line activation) Disabled (manual handling) Failed (DLM can’t set a Line Profile) Unstable (DLM is unable to set a LP)	Equipment Type: (DSLAM)	Example: 7330_REM There are many types of DSLAMs deployed by Bell in the field. The above was built by Newbridge/Alcatel-Lucent, today Nokia

 

Operational Status	Speed (Kbs)	Relative Capacity Occupation (%)	Noise Margin (0..31 dB)	Signal Power (0..20 dBm)	Attenuation (0..60 dB)	Block count
UpStream (upload)	Example: 797.0	Lower is better < 85% is the preferred range	Higher is better > 20 dB: Excellent 20 - 10 dB: Good 10 - 6 dB: Fair < 6 dB: Poor	Lower is better Tied to RCO, SNR & Attenuation	Lower is better < 40 dB: Excellent 40 - 50 dB: Good 50 - 60 dB: Fair > 60 dB: Poor	Some number that is not very useful
DownStream (download)	Example: 6014.0

See also

• DSL speed