Do Modems 'learn' your network & work more consistently over time?

[mk313]

I realize this seems like a stupid question, but long story short, Spectrum upgraded our internet to a speed that my current modem no longer could hit, so I had to get a new modem. Spectrum sent me a new one & the results were terribly inconsistent. The tech came out & added a filter to the line because the signal was too clear (or something like that). He said that sometimes modems 'learn' your network & can compensate for issues like this, but that a new modem will show the issues.

I ended up returning their modem and buying a Motorola Modem. I've noticed that the connection has gotten better over time. (I was usually getting the full 300 Mbps download speed with the new modem at first, but it would occasionally dip. Now, a few weeks later, I'm getting a solid 340+ Mbps every time I do a Speedtest, and the upload speed while only rated for 10 Mbps is giving me 11+).

I'm not sure if I'm just lucky, if there is some truth to what the tech told me when he came out, or maybe Spectrum is just getting better recently.

 

[VuvuzelaiPhone]

Sort of. But the line issue wouldn't generally be overcome by the modem.

If you're curious, look into the OSI Model. Your problem was at Layer 1, the physical layer. If things aren't working here, there isn't much that can be done. Beyond Layer 1, there are optimizations that come such as route tables, DNS caching, etc that make things work more consistently over time.


It is complicated, but the tech was talking out of their... behind. They likely understand how to diagnose and tweak parameters, but don't fully understand how it works completely.

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

In general “networking” won’t learn anything but that’s the point. If you had a network that learned overtime similar to a Nest thermostat it could cause huge headaches in large scale environments and troubleshooting. You can obviously setup things like QoS or prioritize specific network traffic and auto adjusting channels but that’s about it.

Best bet is to get a free wifi analyzer to see what your surrounding freq/bands are from others then go somewhere less crowded. Additionally, understanding the equipment and optimizing it for your stuff is equally as important.

 

[jollydogfellow]

Maybe the modem doesn't, but I definitely wouldn't rule out the DSLAM auto-tweaking connection parameters after a while.
Human operators do that all the time.

 

[mk313]

Sort of. But the line issue wouldn't generally be overcome by the modem.

If you're curious, look into the OSI Model. Your problem was at Layer 1, the physical layer. If things aren't working here, there is much that can be done. Beyond this, as you beyond Layer 1, there are optimizations that come such as route tables, DNS caching, etc that make things work more consistently over time.


It is complicated, but the tech was talking out of their... behind. They likely understand how to diagnose and tweak parameters, but don't fully understand how it works completely.

Thanks!! This site is better than google. This is exactly the type of info I was looking for. I tried searching for this, but didn't get any relevant info. Thanks for the link. That's super interesting. I started to read it & have bookmarked it for later.

 

[mk313]

Maybe the modem doesn't, but I definitely wouldn't rule out the DSLAM auto-tweaking connection parameters after a while.
Human operators do that all the time.

Thanks. That sounds like what is probably happening. The modem 'learning' the system seemed odd, but I'm definitely getting more consistent results. This sounds like the type of thing that may be happening. Appreciate the reply.

 

[satcomer]

A modern know want it's connect too! in the home that means your modern knows the ISP server card and thew only device that now your network is the router! because! the best project is keep the old Windows computer as doz homey box this way to keep you Mac and/or linux device safe from hackers!

 

[jollydogfellow]

A modern know want it's connect too! in the home that means your modern knows the ISP server card and thew only device that now your network is the router! because! the best project is keep the old Windows computer as doz homey box this way to keep you Mac and/or linux device safe from hackers!

I literally have no idea what you just said, but I'm not sure it's entirely correct.

 

[mmomega]

A modern know want it's connect too! in the home that means your modern knows the ISP server card and thew only device that now your network is the router! because! the best project is keep the old Windows computer as doz homey box this way to keep you Mac and/or linux device safe from hackers!

hmm...
I consider my PC as my homey box too.

 

[belvdr]

Thanks. That sounds like what is probably happening. The modem 'learning' the system seemed odd, but I'm definitely getting more consistent results. This sounds like the type of thing that may be happening. Appreciate the reply.

Except you said Spectrum, which is cable and doesn't use a DSLAM. I've never known a multiplexer to tune downstream lines automatically, but it's been awhile.