Cisco have released a new version of firmware for their ADSL routers and cards to resolve operability issues between British Telecom (BT) DSLAMs. The new firmware is an improvement on 4.0.015 which is now shipped as default with the new 800 series for example, 887.

We have seen various issues relating to ADSL sync and PPP drops.

For the release notes please see http://www.cisco.com/web/software/28282 ... N_0026.txt

I will be testing this firmware on my 877 ASAP as I have an issue I am trying to resolve!

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"Right actions in the future are the best apologies for bad actions in the past."

lol I had this same issue - I think its when the line gets moved to ADSL2+ DSLAMs.

I went another route - purchased a load of belkin routers - these I believe:
Belkin F7D4402UK Play N600 Wireless BT Modem Router

Then placed them in modem only mode then did PPPOE on the cisco box.

Who uses PPPoE in England?

Belkin would never come near any of my networks! o_0

I can never remember what the manufacturers code is for the DSLAMs, but it appears that BT are using a modified standard. BT are such *****, they even use their own "standard" for rj11 sockets and call it BT.

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"Right actions in the future are the best apologies for bad actions in the past."

No one - but they (BT) do use PPPoA

Its PPPoE to the Modem then PPPoA to BT

I dont like Belkin either - but as a modem it does a better job at being compatible then the cisco modem - plus I got a great discount - cost -20%

Why would you do that?

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"Right actions in the future are the best apologies for bad actions in the past."

I must admit, Cisco ADSL's give me more problems than even cheap ZyXELs. The ZyXEL has never given me connection problems, while the Cisco constantly has various compatibility issues with certain BT DSLAMS. Especially up north

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www.mellowd.co.uk/ccie/

You get ADSL2+ most lines went from 4mbit to about 8-10mbit and we didnt have to wait for a firmware upgrade.

We did think about getting adsl2 wics but some of the cpes were too old

Yup me too - getting adsl2+ annex m used to be a real nightmare to get working.

I've been using 4.0.18 for ages which I got off an IE who apparently got it from TAC. It's not available without requesting but it's certainly a lot more stable than the version shipped as standard. PM me if you want a copy, I'll wing it over to you...

They give me grief too, but I need the functionality such as VTI and HSRP plus other things. Like you say, even cruddy "Thomson Speedtouch" don't have the same issues.
We recently found a bug with 15.1.x, VRF and Zone-firewall causes the firewall to not pass TCP packets - how great is that? The whole purpose of the router is defeated. There is a bug ID logged for it, colleage is dealing with. Took Cisco a while to have it escalated though as they kept passing the ticket around blaming the config.

I've never had to use Annexe M, all of the products we use are Annexe A luckily.

Recently, I have been setting my ATM interfaces to "DSL operating mode ADSL2" another issue which really hits us is the training up period and the fact that ISPs aim for a SNR of 2 or 3dB. Setting the mode to just ADSL2 seems to help stability. However after the training period (as they refuse to change it prior) I get them to set the target SNR to 12dB. Speed drops from 23Mbit to 19MBit and is hugely stable in comparison. Financial applications do not fail so the customer is happy. I would not recommend ADSL for business purposes, although the next best thing is thousands of pounds higher in cost which can't be justified. However, if the ISPs did not aim for rediculous download speeds they would be stable from the beginning. It also annoys me that they argue with me (the customer) about making the changes necessary to increase stability.

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"Right actions in the future are the best apologies for bad actions in the past."

We had 4.0.18 which I obtained through the same channels you did. A TAC engineer queried how and why we got it and noted to me that it is buggy and we should not be using it. This is why it is not available from Cisco. 4.0.15 has been on my 877 for at least a year and is good. Although just recently I've been having "ATM down" issues - however I do not use BT's DSLAMs. The 887's come with 4.0.15 embedded in their IOS, however there is either an issue with the IOS itself or the firmware within the IOS as upgrading IOS versions resolves ADSL issues.

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"Right actions in the future are the best apologies for bad actions in the past."

I might have misunderstood this but we too have cisco features we need like HSRP and more importantly for us WCCP.

With the belkin box in front and the cisco box with an interface using PPPOE the public IP is bound to the wan interface on the cisco box - so it almost doesnt know its there.

it's another point of failure, how do you manage the Belkin, externally? - not good design IMO but it may suit your design without trouble.

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"Right actions in the future are the best apologies for bad actions in the past."

yeah its not ideal

Belkins arent managed they are treated as dumb units they even have a cold standby - much like the old kilostream boxes remember these:
http://www.telephonesuk.co.uk/images/sm ... small1.jpg


lol

Haha! Proper Job

Nor mine. Heck, I won't use a Belkin iPod cable. Belkin made my "don't buy" list almost a decade ago with this nonsense. They cemented their position on that list with the product manager's assurance that the hijacking was due to "popular demand".

Wow. I didn't know this. Shocking!

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www.mellowd.co.uk/ccie/

lol fail

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"Right actions in the future are the best apologies for bad actions in the past."

haha - yeah I had seen that another reason why im glad this is in modem only mode - cos thats about all its good for

For adsl in the uk I prefer BE there - they have a supported modem only option via their "bridged" profile option they send the modems with.

Works well as adsl backup.

I use O2 for home use which is part of BE. They dont use authentication which is handy, they dont throttle traffic either. They simply use DHCP for WAN IP addresses. No hassle, great service.

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"Right actions in the future are the best apologies for bad actions in the past."