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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   2130 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for February 9, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

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Low stakes small scale idle curiosity question for the network engineers here: Why does my router (edit for clarity: ADSL router-modem) take so long to connect to the internet? I don't mean a full reboot of the system, just <disconnect> <reconnect>. It takes about 5 minutes. Feels like I could reboot my phone and connect to wireless internet faster than a simple hang-up-redial cycle on a wired connection.

To my naive mind the process should consist of authentication over what is effectively LAN, and then connection/access to the WAN, like connecting to a network switch but with many more users. My little consumer grade network switch doesn't take 5 minutes to start up, it's been a long time since I rebooted it but if I had to guess I'd say it takes less than 30 seconds from a cold start, and reconnecting after pulling the cable and replugging it takes less time than sitting back down. What processes are actually happening?

If you're referring to a cable modem (possibly integrated into a single device with your router), the protocol to complain about is called DOCSIS. I'm not an expert on that one, but searching suggests connection times on the order of minutes regardless of connection speed.

Yes, integrated router-modem. ADSL/standard wired landline telephone connection to the cabinet though, not coax cable which appears to be what DOCSIS is used for.

My practical and theoretical knowledge of the *DSL family is rusty by many years, but I'm certain that by itself DSL is mostly transparent and instantaneous, and the problem is with whatever happens on the levels above. If you have a desire to experiment, you could try to see if you can make the box into a pure dumb modem, and then if you're able to establish a connection from a full PC.

How does your router connect to the wider internet? It takes my whole router (virtualized on an x64 box) around 5-10 seconds to reboot and reconnect to my ISP and my VPN.

The router is an integrated modem-router, ~20Mbs ADSL, copper to the cabinet then fibre to the exchange.

I realise it's low powered hardware but that should be offset by being specialised to the task, right? Rebooting takes <30 seconds. It's not the best router but it's less than 5 years old, and when it's connected it works without any issues.

It could be a couple of things, but the most likely in my estimation is either:

  1. It is attempting to pull provisioning files that your ISP is, for some reason, failing to provide, resulting in lengthy sequential timeouts, or
  2. Your ISP is for some reason imposing the delay in authentication deliberately, causing the modem to have to repeatedly retry authentication until your ISP finally permits it.

It seems very likely to me that the issue is on the ISP side.

I am super unfamiliar with ADSL, all my providers just wired a twisted pair Ethernet cable into the apartment.

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