Good day, people.

I would like to ask for opinions regarding this matter. I am using an
AXESSTEL D800 1xEV-DO fixed cellular modem to access internet. It is
supposed to be a 1 Mbps downloading connection but most of the time it
underperforms like a 256 kbps one.  The modem/router (has a DHCP server
running) is connected trough its 10/100 Mbps Ethernet port to a D-Link
DIR-655 draft-n wifi router (used as an acces point). My desktop is
connected via cable to one of the four gigabit Ethernet ports of the
DIR-655, leaving the wifi use just for the occasional connection of my
wife's laptop.

Because of the lousy internet connection, whenever I need to download
ISO images of the Ubuntu OS new releases I use a p2p protocol
(bittorrent) to get them, with utorrent being the client used (when
under Windows XP) and Transmission if under Ubuntu.

The thing is that in any of them the downloading works great for an
undetermined and variable period of time - sometime hours, sometime
minutes - and then the connection stalls. No p2p, no web browsing. The
modem seems to be connected to the ISP but no data moves around. I try
to soft reset both modem and wifi router but no luck. I then try to hard
reset, no luck either. Only way to get back in business is to unplug
both of the devices, wait a few seconds, replug them and voila!... works
again.

This behaviour is very frustrating because sometimes I have left the
download alive and kicking nicely (120 - 150 kbps, which is very good
for my connection) with an ETA of 30 minutes and when I come back half
an hour later I have found that the download stalled the second I left
the room and only downloaded 10 percent of the iso and the connection is
in the "zombie" status.

As I have not found a solution for this problem, I think I will need to
implement a brute force approach, I would need to develop a software -
hardware solution:

Software:  An always running process which in some way monitors de
downloading speed and if it falls below certain level then it will...
(see below)

Hardware: ... trigger a device that would turn off, wait and turn on the
modem and the wifi router.

At first sight this looks like over killing but I am out of better
ideas. My questions would be:

A)      Is this a bad idea?

B)      If not, should I use USB ports to connect to the external
device? My desktop has a parallel port and it would be easier to
interface to the device this way - done it before - but I am planning on
upgrading my box so there is no guarantee I will have that port later.

C)      Should I use a micro controller? I guess that if I am going to
use the USB ports I would need to use a micro.

D)      If yes, which one would you recommend? I have done some pic
programming before (assembler), mostly in 16F parts.

Sorry for the lengthy post, I hope I made myself clear and thanks in
advance for your help and ideas.

Regards,

*Carlos Marcano*
- Guri, Venezuela -
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