pipex problems

**cybollox** · 20th October 2002

anyone having problems with their pipex xtreme connection, I keep getting dns errors, it cant load webpages etc, any help or ideas would be appreciated.

**Snak3** · 20th October 2002

working fine here. you checked their support pages/www.adslguide.org for any localised info?

**cybollox** · 21st October 2002

nope, but will do, thanks..

**Kryptonite** · 7th November 2002

I have Pipex ADSL & it`s up & down but when ur connected i can`t fault it !

**cybollox** · 8th November 2002

yer, but its the frustration in getting the connection, its a bit more stable now but not a reliable connection..

**zaa** · 12th November 2002

it's not always pipex! my local exchange is to blame most of the time.

**cybollox** · 12th November 2002

how do you know this, pipex blame BT all of the time for any problems when in fact its their network problems, just ask pegasus, he'll tell yer a story or two about the excuses they have come up with..........

**joshm74** · 12th November 2002

Been having major issues with Pipex for the last 10 days...according to adslguide its not just Pipex but Plusnet and Zen too. The issue seems to be with BT's RAS servers. There is a workaround posted on the adslguide forums - something to do with altering your MTU value. I was gonna give it a go last night but speeds magically seemed to have improved for me since yesterday (lets hope it stays that way!) so I havent tried it...

**Pegasus** · 12th November 2002

You are absolutely right Cybollox, Pipex are fcuking useless and their support drones do not even deserve the accolade of being compared to a PC World technician!!!
I had no end of connectivity issues with them and I simply got fed up of listening to the support drone's bollocks about re-installing drivers (I actually use a router and the thick twat on the other end just could'nt get it through his skull that routers don't require drivers).
Pipex then tried to insist that BT were to blame and sent a BT engineer to check my hardware, as luck would have it the connection dropped while BT were here and they proved there & then that the reason for failing to reconnect was because of a Pipex issue. Even after BT PROVED that Pipex were to blame, they still denied it (tossers).
I finally moved away from Pipex and migrated to another ISP and since then (3 weeks now) my connection has been rock solid. Pipex did admit at one stage to having problems and offered what was nothing less than a piss poor excuse for an apology.
It was taken down the day after it was posted, but for those of you that missed it I have posted it below:

Dear PIPEX Xtreme Customer

The PIPEX Xtreme ADSL service has recently been operating with reliability and stability levels far below what PIPEX consider acceptable. I�m sure that, as a customer, you too are far from happy with the current situation.

Following a week of continuing service interruptions and failures I wanted to write this open letter to explain the situation as it currently stands and to indicate where we go from here.

Firstly, let me introduce myself. My name is Mark Cook and I am PIPEX�s Director of Technology, Systems and Services. My responsibilities to PIPEX, and to you as a customer include providing a stable, reliable and scalable network, dependable services and a high standard of technical support.

As part of our commitment to providing the highest possible standard of ADSL connection at a value for money price, PIPEX laid out a strategy at the beginning of 2002 to deliver a scalable, leading edge ADSL delivery network.

As you may have read at the time, this plan included the purchase of two Redback SMS 10000 units to terminate our BT Central L2TP ADSL links. Redback have been established in this market for many years and have hundreds of ISP customers around the world like PIPEX operating their equipment
satisfactorily. The total investment by PIPEX in this new network has been several million pounds, which we hope demonstrates our commitment to this new service and our desire to retain you as our customer.

Redback and their UK suppliers Telindus provided extensive technical input to help us design a network that could support up to 100,000 ADSL users in its first incarnation. Though there were a few teething troubles initially, as can sometimes happen with deployments of this size, the system settled down and provided generally reliable service up to around the beginning of September.

A series of three major events, which led to prolonged service outages, occurred in the first half of the month. These were of sufficient seriousness that PIPEX engaged with senior management from Telindus, Redback UK and the engineering and development department of Redback USA to try and find the root cause.

We were advised by Redback to upgrade the version of the operating system software being used by the SMS 10000 and this was completed in two overnight planned maintenance windows, the second of these finishing in the early hours of last Thursday, September 26th.

Almost as soon as this upgrade was completed two major service outages occurred, one on Friday 27th and another on Saturday 28th. The stability of the SMS 10000 did not improve and by Tuesday engineers from Telindus, Redback UK, Redback Amsterdam and development staff from Redback USA were all involved and have been working flat out with us ever since to isolate the problems.

At a crisis meeting it was decided to downgrade the software to the version previously in use with the expectation that stability would be returned to the network. Some hardware was also changed as a precautionary measure. However, none of these measures resolved the problems and, indeed, they have continued, with the most recent being late last night and again for a short time during this morning, Friday 4th October.

During all this time PIPEX engineering have also been working around the clock to monitor network stability and try and minimise the impact of problems as they occur. In addition we have continued to press Redback hard for solutions, while working with their engineers to try and uncover the root cause of the problems.

So where do we go from here? During our overnight session last night a number of further changes and "tweaks" were made to the SMS 10000, which Redback advises us should considerably improve service reliability and reduce the impact of any further failures. Engineers from Telindus are on-site this afternoon once again checking over the hardware and development engineers at Redback USA continue to work round the clock on a full resolution to all the issues we are experiencing.

We understand the upset and frustration that service interruptions can cause and we are all working as hard as we possibly can to return stability to the PIPEX broadband platform. We kindly ask for your patience for just a little longer as we complete the work needed to return to a stable operating condition.

Finally, let me repeat that everyone at PIPEX is committed to delivering you the best possible quality ADSL connection at a value for money price. I have personally worked for PIPEX since it was originally formed 11 years ago and many of the team alongside me have been here for half a decade or more. We all want our service to be the standard against which others are judged and we won�t rest until we have achieved the very best that we can.

Stay tuned for further updates...

Yours sincerely

Mark Cook
Director of Technology, Systems and Services
PIPEX Internet

**cybollox** · 13th November 2002

my thoughts exactly pegasus, I'm gonna migrate if it does'nt pick up by end of the month.... who did you go with ?

**Kryptonite** · 27th November 2002

Hmm further to my thread stating that the service was good these days it`s really bad.

What seems to be a good alternative to Pipex as i`m not on a cabled area ?

**Kudos** · 13th December 2002

how do you know this, pipex blame BT all of the time for any problems when in fact its their network problems, just ask pegasus, he'll tell yer a story or two about the excuses they have come up with..........

I dropped out on my Pipex connection on a Sunday morning recently. By Monday I was getting a bit narked waiting, but then BT contacted me direct saying they had a major fault on the line which would take up to a week to fix. A WEEK!!!

To cut a long story short, it was fixed by Monday evening - but it goes to show that BT can stuff up your connection - although I have experienced many other shorter outages for which I blame Pipex.

**lancsc** · 13th December 2002

Mine's Shite as well, been having trouble since 20th October
speeds slower than a 56K modem.
I've had countless BT engineers out and everyone of them is an expert in his/her own field!
If only there field expanded more than the green or yellow wire, they would possibly find the fault. they come check 1 thing and say they'll have to pass it on to "such a body".
As 1 of the other posts stated the "plumbs" at pipex are Pi$$ poor and the only improvment that has been made to there technical department was to get more "plumbs" to answer phones so at least your not waiting 45 mins now for a usless tosser, they answer straight away.
So... Tell us who you changed to?
Did you get any grief for F'in them off before the 3 months etc?

**EvilBoB** · 24th December 2002

I have had no problems with PIPEX. Been with them since March and it is stable. Sometimes the speed goes a bit off but nothing I can't put up with - and my machine is downloading 100% of the time!

**sbaxter9** · 24th December 2002

been with pipex since june no major probs and im d/l most of the time the connections on for 24hrs and more sometimes

**c0axial** · 26th December 2002

Been with Pipex 6 Months, never had any problem (touch wood) with connection, Speed is as it shoudl be , box is on24/7 anyhow and never lost connection.. (Rascal Pro is handy thou)

So....