[ale] large file downloads & Comcast

[Michael B. Trausch]

Tim Meanor wrote:
> Hi all,
> I have a bunch of different PCs hiding behind a LinkSys wireless  
> router.  Comcast is my ISP.  I've been trying to download the Ubuntu  
> 6.06 PPC ISO.  I have an old Titanium Mac Powerbook on which I'd like  
> to try running Ubuntu.  Problem is, the download gets to 649 MB (out  
> of about 698MB) and it dies.  By "dies" I mean it hangs, no more data  
> comes down, etc.  This happens on Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows.  I've  
> tried downloading via Firefox, IE, Safari, and Curl, but always the  
> same result.  I suspect that Comcast is killing the download once it  
> hits 649MB, but I'm not totally sure this is the problem.  I've had  
> this problem downloading large files before (e.g. trying to download  
> XCode resulted in the same problem).  Has anyone had this problem  
> before?  Anyone have any insights?  Thanks for any ideas.
> 

As a fellow ComCast customer, I can say that it is not ComCast (as a
whole) that is restricting anything.

I regularly download items > 700 MB without a problem, and keep data
streams open for long periods of time without issues (long periods of
time being defined as "longer than it would take me to download two full
DVD-DL sized images").

There may be issues with your node; as I understand it, CC is upgrading
their network piecemeal, and there may be some problem with that.  There
may also be problems with the servers that you are using; have you
attempted from various servers?  It could also be a problem *between*
you and the server; maybe the route that the connection is taking has a
nasty node along the path.

If you have tried all of the above, (using different servers, anyway;
you said that you have attempted different programs, though have you
tried 'wget' with the '-c' option?) then I would wait a day and try
again.  I would say to call ComCast, but I am afraid that I cannot
recommend that as much help; most times, I find that when I call, I get
people that are less-than-adequate in terms of the ability to help the
technically proficient.

	-- Mike

-- 
"Fate: Protects fools, children, and ships called /Enterprise/."
                               -- William T. Riker, ST:TNG, "Contagion"


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