Version 3 VSS Lights (Power - flashing, Internet - off, In Service - orange, In Use - orange)

[Retired-Lee]

This thread has been created to discuss and troubleshoot the version 3 Sure Signal when the light sequence is as follows:

• Power: Flashing
• Internet: Off
• In Service: Solid Orange
• In Use: Solid Orange

Cause

This light sequence indicates the Sure Signal's not active and it has been unable to authenticate on the Vodafone network

Troubleshooting

Please restart your Sure Signal. If the symptoms continue please add the following details to this thread:

• Your speed test results from here
  
• Your ping test results from here
  
• Your external IP address from here
  
• Your Sure Signal serial number
• The results of a traceroute

Traceroute command:

On a PC:

1. Click on Start and select Run
2. Type CMD into the Run box and press enter/click ok
3. A black box will appear
4. In this box type tracert 212.183.133.177 press Enter
5. Paste the output of this command into your reply

On a Mac:

1. Open Terminal (Applications, Utilities)
2. Type 'traceroute 212.183.133.177'
3. Press Enter

This will help us get the quickest possible resolution for you.

Thanks

LeeH

[patrick_keys]

Thanks Sukhi - but if you'd bothered to read my previous messages, you would have seen that I have already followed those steps. This has been an ongoing issue for months now - I suspect that the issue exists within the BT network, but both Vodafone and BT seem to pointing the finger at each other, and not actually talking to each other to try and solve the problem. Ten minutes spent by Vodafone reading its own forum would tell you that you have a product which is not fit for purpose.

What I can tell you is this: based on my own extensive investigation into the issue, BT could fix this problem by consistently applying configuration to their BRAS servers to ensure that large packets from Vodafone are returned with the 'fragmentation required' flag, rather than being dropped on the floor. Equally, Vodafone could fix this problem by simply reducing the MTU setting on their SureSignal servers to ensure that the maximum packet size is able to be transferred by BT.

Now - here's the thing. Both of these configuration changes are trivial, so I ask again: Why is neither organisation able to sort this out? The level of incompetence shown by both Vodafone and BT is inexcusable, and clearly demonstrates the utter contempt that both organisations have for their customers. Stop pointing fingers and start fixing the actual problem.

Now - as I previously asked - can you confirm the current status of my SureSignal unit? I don't have access to this information, as Vodafone deems their users too stupid to understand a simple status web page, so can you please tell me whether my unit is properly connected? If it is, I'll explain what I've changed in my configuration to make it work.

[Sha12]

Just wanted to let you know that I replaced the cable that came with the sure signal with one of my own and the sure signal started working!

[arukDave]

Sha12: (nice!)

Looking at one of those cables, they do not seem to be 4 twisted pairs, but just 8 (very thin) wires, and built like the short lived accessory cables from a certain fruity phone company, that always fall apart in about 5 days.

I don't have a spare cable to disect, but what do you find if you cut your dead cable and "see what's in there"?

The Ethernet cable standards (CAT5, 5e and 6 etc) all have quite stringent spec's on the cables, that these thin things dont seem to conform to, from what little we can see.  Another case of a marketing dept's form over function perhaps?

I have a working VSS, but the office and IT support havent made the needed changes (yet) to allow it to work in the office.  Not only, but including swapping the crappy BT Business Hub router for something sensible.   Maybe I have to take the VSS home again (where it never failed) to kick the account and keep it alive while we wait.

Regards.

Dave Baxter.

(Not a vodafone employee, just a disgruntled user.)

[Sha12]

I have cut the cable and it is 4 twisted pairs of very thin wire. I am not very technical but hope this helps.

[arukDave]

Sha12:

Thanks.   At least it is the 4 twisted pairs, not just 8 wires.

FYI.  Most LAN's (10/100) only use at most 2 pairs (4 wires.)   Gigabit LAN's use all 4 pairs.

But, the way the pairs are wired into the connectors, is not as you might expect.   Lots of info on Wikipedia of course.  Such as (but not only)  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_5_cable

If anyone's remotely interested...

Regards.

Dave Baxter.

[Jenny]

Hi guys,

Patrick – Your Sure Signal last connected to our servers on 5 October. How are you getting on with this now?

If you’re still having problems, try using your Sure Signal at the other location to see if this makes a difference.

SHa12 – I’m pleased to see this is working again now.

Thanks,

Jenny

[patrick_keys]

Well, this is interesting. I managed to make it connect by implementing an Ethernet-over-IP tunnel to my 'working' site, instead of allowing the SureSignal to connect to the internet directly. So instead of this:

SureSignal -> Router -> Internet

I have effectively done this:

SureSignal -> Router -> (Ethernet-over-IP tunnel via Internet) -> Router -> Internet

The Ethernet-over-IP tunnel is equivalent in functionality to a very long piece of Ethernet cable - both routers are in the same internal subnet, at least as far as the SureSignal is concerned. The default gateway is effectively the remote router, and all SureSignal traffic can be observed leaving the local network via the remote router.

So what does this tell us? There is an issue on the BT network, as suspected (please re-read my previous posts on this). My working site uses BT infinity, and my non-working site uses BT ADSL broadband. Someone needs to get BT to fix this - the 'support' staff that customers can talk to don't understand the finer points of networking, so are in no position to help. I can't talk to their proper network technicians, so I can't go any further to fix this. Vodafone needs to find a way to talk to BT's network technicians, collecting the evidence that has been supplied so far, and force them to fix the issue for everyone. The type of router is just a red herring - the issue is most definitely a configuration issue on BT's network.

Of course - Vodafone can also fix this problem very simply: reduce the MTU on your SureSignal remote access servers. Why has this not been investigated yet? People have been suggesting this as a solution on these forums for several years now - and Vodafone hasn't done anything.

Can we please have a sensible conversation with the people who are actually responsible for implementing this system who understand networking? No disrespect to the support staff, but this issue is way, way over your head - you need to get other people involved. I am more than happy to help as a user who has both a working and non-working site for comparison.

[jabwky]

he claim made on Vodafone's web site is that this is a simple 'plug and play' device, and that after registering the SS with the Vodafone servers, it will 'just work'. I agree with patrick_keys: no amount of rebooting, trying the SS on a different network, opening all the ports required etc. etc. is going to get the SS working for ordinary folk who have no recourse to being able to set up tunnels over VPNs … I suspect there are quite a few - if not hundreds - of people from this forum and otherm forums like this who have disconnected their SS and put them back in the box having spent an inordinate amount of time trying to resolve the issue, given up because the SS costs 'only' £100. This is quite clearly unaccpetable, and I think it is time to take them back to Vodafone in droves and ask for our money back. Until Vodafone can sort this out with BT, there should be a warning on the box or at the store at the time of purchase.

[francisbrand]

Hi Sukhi

Thanks for your response.  I have rebooted (powered off) and also reset (pressing reset button on underside for 30secs and releasing).  Still not working.

Thanks,

Francis. 

[francisbrand]

Hi,

I am having problems with my Sure Signal.  The lights are as stated at the start of the forum.  Oddly it has worked fine in the past.  I have moved the room location but it is all on a wired network in the same subnet.

S/N: 40134967377

Speed Test: 53ms / 6.23Mbps / 0.31Mbps

Ping Test: Line quality B  MOS 4.37 / 67ms / Jitter 2ms / Pocket Loss 0%

IP: 217.35.90.88

Trace route:

traceroute to 212.183.133.177 (212.183.133.177), 64 hops max, 52 byte packets

 1  192.168.2.1 (192.168.2.1)  0.509 ms  0.303 ms  0.253 ms

 2  host81-134-96-1.in-addr.btopenworld.com (81.134.96.1)  30.262 ms  31.121 ms  30.524 ms

 3  213.120.182.141 (213.120.182.141)  31.326 ms  108.739 ms  208.670 ms

 4  213.120.161.82 (213.120.161.82)  31.429 ms  31.397 ms  31.334 ms

 5  31.55.164.69 (31.55.164.69)  31.794 ms  31.408 ms  33.390 ms

 6  31.55.164.107 (31.55.164.107)  32.454 ms  31.668 ms  31.063 ms

 7  acc1-10gige-0-5-0-7.bm.21cn-ipp.bt.net (109.159.248.102)  39.188 ms

    109.159.248.59 (109.159.248.59)  36.161 ms

    acc1-10gige-0-5-0-4.bm.21cn-ipp.bt.net (109.159.248.96)  40.436 ms

 8  core1-te0-13-0-4.ealing.ukcore.bt.net (109.159.248.8)  39.946 ms

    core2-te0-3-0-3.ealing.ukcore.bt.net (109.159.248.150)  38.086 ms

    core1-te0-2-5-0.ealing.ukcore.bt.net (109.159.248.0)  43.625 ms

 9  peer1-xe3-1-0.telehouse.ukcore.bt.net (109.159.254.213)  35.631 ms

    peer1-xe3-1-1.telehouse.ukcore.bt.net (109.159.254.217)  36.372 ms

    peer1-xe11-1-0.telehouse.ukcore.bt.net (109.159.254.112)  36.568 ms

10  lndgw2.arcor-ip.net (195.66.224.124)  40.301 ms  42.783 ms  40.390 ms

11  85.205.0.93 (85.205.0.93)  37.934 ms  38.247 ms  37.312 ms

12  * * *

13  * * *

14  * * *

Thanks for your help,

Francis