The Unofficial Netspace Broadband FAQ

Other Related Information

Q. Does Netspace allow multiple logins to the one account?
A. Yes, this applies mainly to the flat-rate plan. You are allowed to have multiple-login's until you reach your limit, then it is dropped down to 1 login.

Q. How do i access my webspace?
A. In your FTP client, use username.customer.netspace.net.au for the host address. Use your account password for the FTP password.

Q. Does Netspace have Free Uploads?
A. Yes!, Netspace now offers free uploads in all HomeADSL and SOHO ADSL packages.

From the Netspace Newsdesk:
"As of today, Friday 6th September 2002, Netspace announces that uploads are now free to HomeADSL and SOHO ADSL customers. This will affect all customer usage from the current billing period - any excess usage calculated from today onwards will only include downloads in that billing period. For any queries, please contact help@netspace.net."

Q. Can i bring my own ADSL modem to Netspace and will it be compatible?
A. Yes you can bring your own ADSL modem to netspace if you have the right technical knowledge and can set it up. Netspace generally accepts any modems that have the AUSTEL approval on them.

But please note, on bringing your own ADSL modem to Netspace, there is no garuntee that you will recieve technical support, if any at all.

Q. I heard Netspace has free Intra-state data transfers? what does this mean?
A. From Netspace Newsdesk:
"Intrastate Peer 2 Peer Traffic
Mon Aug 12 14:41 2002

Netspace is pleased to announce that traffic to and from another Netspace Home ADSL customer in your state is now considered free usage. This only applies to traffic within the state in which you are located. This is also applicable only if your proxy settings are correct (as per all other free traffic sites)."

Q.What does this mean in other words?
A. What this means is that you can download/upload files to anyone in your state and it wont be billed to your account. For e.g - Me downloading a file from Buzurk will be counted as free usage.

Q. This is cool, how can i get started downloading/uploading files with people from within my state?
A. Many Netspace users have started by downloading a Client called Direct Connect or Direct Connect Plus Plus (DC for short) and have joined their States DC hub which has been set up by a user within that state. From there, you download/upload all you like.

What you will need is:

A DC software client, such a Direct Connect or Direct Connect++
The address of your states Hub

For more information, check with users on the IRC Channels: #nshelp and #nstrade.

Q. Who is Netspace anyway?
A. Established in 1993, Netspace is 100% Australian owned and operated and one of the longest established Internet Service Providers in Australia. It is also one of the most decorated, having been awarded the Editor’s Choice from PC Magazine and APC’s highly commended award. We have PoPs in every state capital and most major provincial cities, which combined with our range of flexible Broadband Internet plans provides our customers with the widest possible choice for getting connected.

Q. Whats the maximum speed of my connection?
A. Modem speeds are rated in kilobits per second. The best dial-up modems have download speeds of 56 kbps (kilobits per second). A typical cable modem has a download speed of 512 kbps. It takes 8 bits to code one byte (character), so one might expect 512 kbps to be equivalent to 64 kBytes per second. Things are not that simple.

First, when used in measuring communication speeds in bits per second, the prefix kilo- means 1000. For instance, the maximum download speed of a 56 kbps dial-up modem is 56000 bps. A cable modem download cap of 512 kbps means 512000 bps, not 512 x 1024 bps. In contrast, when used in measuring computer file sizes in bytes, the prefix kilo- is commonly taken to mean 1024 = 210. So you cannot translate from kbps to kBytes per second just by dividing by 8.

Next, the maximum amount of real user data that can be accommodated in one data packet is 1460 bytes. Then there are 20 bytes of TCP overhead, plus 20 bytes of IP overhead, plus 18 bytes of MAC overhead, making 1518 bytes to be transmitted to carry 1460 bytes, a 4% overhead. Then between each packet there will be an inter-packet gap of indeterminate size.

So at a true transmission rate of 512 kbps, the apparent user data rate will be significantly below 64 kBytes per sec, because both the above effects will reduce the equivalent rate in kBytes per sec. The maximum sustained data download rate you can expect is 512 x 1000/1024 x 1460/1518 x 1/8 = 60 kBytes/sec

1.5Mbit - Max Download Rate is 150-160K/Sec**
512K - Max Download Rate is 60K/Sec*
256K - Max Download Rate is 30K/Sec*
128K - Max Download Rate is 15K/Sec*

* - Please note, these are maximum speeds achievable in theory, you may reach these speeds for certain short periods of time.
** - Estimated maximum.

Q. Does Netspace use a Proxy, and is data transfered counted towards my limit?
A. Yes, Netspace do use a transparent proxy and data is counted toward download limits.

Q. I have a problem with an L2TP issue that effects Nortel VPN connection(s)
A. Running the Nortel Extranet VPN Client on a Windows 2000/XP machine (not sure of others), the connection to the VPN gateway connects fine and minimal data transfer is possible, but running Outlook connecting to an Exchange Server exhibits a problem where Outlook will hang totally, not respond for long periods and/or not be able to download emails from the Exchange Server.

This is all due to fragmenting packets, and there are numerous Microsoft Knowledgebase articles around changing MTU settings to match the server etc for previous versions, but changing the MTU of the machine running Outlook, or the MTU of the router/modem does not fix the issue.

Instead, the MTU of the Nortel VPN Client adapter needs to be changed, which is not an easy process. The process to do this is below, and it works.

Do this (thanks to Dave M at Whirlpool who I based this from):

1. Connect your Extranet client to a gateway.
2. Double-click on the Nortel icon in the task bar and note the "Designated IP Address" given to the Extranet client. STAY CONNECTED.
3. Load up regedit and drill down into the following tree

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces

4. Click each interface until you find the one with your Extranet client IP address (from point 2 above). Add a new DWORD value of MTU, enter in 1100 as decimal.

5. Close regedit, disconnect from the VPN and reboot.

(Thanks to Shane L. for contributing this piece of information.)

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