[PLUG] SSH session hangs over WiMAX

[Russell Senior]

>>>>> "Jeff" == Jeff W <Jeff_W> writes:

Jeff> (3rd attempt at posting this; guess mailman is picky) I recently
Jeff> opted to try Clear.com's WiMAX Home service [1] as a replacement
Jeff> for DSL.  The Home service consists of a Motorola CPEi150 [2]
Jeff> bridge(?)  device that connects the Clear's WiMAX transmitter
Jeff> and does NAT and DHCP and some basic firewalling.  It's a
Jeff> dynamically assigned IP unless one shells out an extra $10/month
Jeff> for a static IP.

Jeff> Anyways, while basic web surfing seems to work fine, ssh
Jeff> sessions are either disconnecting or just hanging frequently,
Jeff> usually within 5-10 minutes.  Doesn't seem to matter if I'm
Jeff> actively typing or just running something like top(1).  I tried
Jeff> adding ServerAliveInterval <sec> with various time intervals
Jeff> (180, 240, 300) to my ssh_config file without much improvement.
Jeff> It's pretty annoying and I'm almost to the point of boxing it
Jeff> up.  Anyone have any insight as to what might be the problem?
Jeff> An online chat with Clear's support service wasn't particularly
Jeff> enlightening; the tech thought perhaps packet splitting might be
Jeff> the cause.  My NIC is currently set at MTU=1500 - pretty
Jeff> standard I think.

Jeff> I'm about 5 days into the 7 day evaluation period, after which
Jeff> I'm locked into Clear's two year WiMAX contract, so any timely
Jeff> feedback would be greatly appreciated.  Off-list replies are
Jeff> encouraged as I'm subscribed to the list's digest.

In my very brief test, I had multiple instances where my client device
(a laptop connected by ethernet) had to manually release/renew my dhcp
lease on the LAN side of the WiMax device.  In your shoes my
inclination would be to take it back to Clear and tell them you aren't
satisfied.  Once the evaluation period expires, you have no leverage.
If you are prepared to walk away, you are likely to have their maximum
attention.


-- 
Russell Senior, Secretary
russell at personaltelco.net