Planttel.net Accelerator

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If you choose Accelerate all connections, connections with potential conflicts are reconfigured to be compatible with Planttel.net Accelerator. This means that the Planttel.net Accelerator proxy settings are substituted for whatever settings may exist for that connection.

Accelerating connections that have proxy conflicts may or may not work. Look at the list of incompatible connections.

• If you are not using any connections identified as having potential conflicts with Planttel.net Accelerator, choose the only accelerate connections without proxy conflicts option.

• If you want to try accelerating connections that have proxy conflicts with Planttel.net Accelerator, choose the Accelerate all connections option. If another software program is using a proxy for acceleration or other such services, substituting the Planttel.net Accelerator proxy settings may allow you to accelerate your Internet experience.
  
  Note: If your Internet connection is dependent on another proxy (such as a firewall), accelerating that particular connection will probably not be successful. (You can restore your Internet Explorer based system to the previous proxy setting by selecting Stop Planttel.net Accelerator from the Windows Start menu.)
  
  Start -> Programs -> { Planttel.net Accelerator program group} -> Stop Planttel.net Accelerator

Resolving Internet Access Difficulties

The following topics can help you if you temporarily lose the ability to browse the Internet after you install Planttel.net Accelerator:

• Checking Your Internet Connection

• Checking Your System

• Checking Diagnostics

• Disabling Planttel.net Accelerator

Checking Your Internet Connection

Planttel.net Accelerator can only work when you are actively connected to the Internet. Here are some basics to consider:

• Is your modem on and ready? (If you are unsure, refer to your modem or system manual.)

• Has your dial-up connection expired?

• Are you connected to your ISP?

• If you are using Netscape, Mozilla, or Opera, is your HTTP proxy set up to work with Planttel.net Accelerator?

• Is your ISP connecting to the Internet?

• Is the particular site you are trying to view available?

Before concluding that you do not have Internet access, try accessing several web sites that you expect are nearly always available. Examples include: google.com, microsoft.com, amazon.com, or yahoo.com. If that is unsuccessful, you may want to disable Planttel.net Accelerator and try accessing these sites again.

Checking Your System

Planttel.net Accelerator may not install if certain minimum requirements are not met. The following table shows suggested and minimum system requirements beyond the basics of a phone line, an analog modem, and an available and active Internet connection. The second column in the table suggests how to check your system. (As noted, many of these values are available from Planttel.net Accelerator Diagnostics.)

Checking Diagnostics

Diagnostics can help you identify problems you may have with accessing the Internet when running Planttel.net Accelerator. When running Diagnostics, make sure that you are not running any other Internet processes (such as downloading a large file), as this will cause erroneous results.

To start Diagnostics, follow these steps:

1.       Click the Planttel.net Accelerator icon (the accelerator icon near the system clock).

2.       Select the Diagnostics menu option.

3.       Click Run.

An eight-part diagnostic test will run. The Diagnostics dialog box displays the results of the tests as they run, along with System Information. In all cases, if a test fails repeatedly and there is no other specific remedy, contact your ISP or reseller for further assistance.

Details of each diagnostic test follow:

1.       Checking system resources. This test reports the amount of available and used disk space and memory (RAM).

For disk space:

o        Pass: Disk space is OK.

o        Fail: Warning: We recommend that you have at least 256 MB free disk space to get the full benefit from Planttel.net Accelerator.

o        Suggested action: Free some disk space on your system or consider obtaining a larger hard disk. (In some cases, defragmenting your hard disk can improve overall performance of applications, including Planttel.net Accelerator.)

For memory (RAM):

o        Pass: RAM space is OK.

o        Fail: Warning: We recommend that you have at least 8 MB free RAM space to get the full benefit from Planttel.net Accelerator.

o        Suggested action: Run fewer programs or add more memory to your system. For optimal results, try running Planttel.net Accelerator with 32 MB or more available (free) RAM.

2.       Testing basic Internet connectivity. This diagnostic tests your connection to the Internet and DNS (Domain Name System).

o        Pass: Internet connectivity has been verified.

o        Possible failure conditions:

-         Test FAILED. Your Internet connection seems to be down. This message indicates an inability to establish a simple connection to any of a set of known good Internet addresses. Suggested action: See Checking Your Internet Connection.

-         Test FAILED. Your Internet connection seems to be blocked from normal Web browsing. Your computer may be unable to access the Web if you are behind a firewall that requires you to access the Internet through a proxy server (sometimes used in corporate or educational firewalls). Suggested actions:

-         If you have an available Internet connection that is not behind a firewall, switch to that connection and retry.

-         If you have a personal firewall, disable it temporarily and retry. If that fixes the problem, you will probably be able to use the firewall in conjunction with Planttel.net Accelerator after identifying Planttel.net Accelerator to the firewall as a service that needs access to the Internet. Some firewalls allow you to enter the product name. See the documentation for the firewall you are using for details regarding allowing local services access to the Internet.

-         Finally, if you are on a local area network (LAN) check your network configuration and/or contact your system administrator.

-         Test FAILED. You may have a DNS problem. Please retry after a few minutes. DNS stands for Domain Name System. DNS allows you to access numeric Internet addresses using alphabetic addresses such as www.propel.com. Since DNS-related problems can be temporary, we suggest that you retry in few minutes.

3.       Testing your Internet connection for packet loss. This test measures packets of data sent to and received by Planttel.net Accelerator in minimum, maximum, and average time (in milliseconds).

o        Pass: Packets: Sent = NN, Received = NN, Lost = NN (NN% loss). An example message is: Sent = 20, Received = 20, Lost = 0 (0% loss). Significant packet loss represents either a problem connecting to your ISP, Internet routing issues, or a modem/phone line problem.

o        Fail: Packet loss test FAILED.

-         1-4 packets lost: It appears that there is occasional packet loss on your Internet connection. This level of packet loss, while not normal or optimal, usually does not have a significant impact to your Internet performance.

-         5-10 packets lost: It appears that there is intermittent packet loss on your Internet connection. This loss can be caused by a poor quality phone line, a bad connection, temporary problems with your ISP, or temporary problems somewhere on the Internet. Try running Diagnostics several times. Lost network packets must be retransmitted and thereby cause degradation of your Internet performance. If the problem persists, try reconnecting to your ISP.

-         10-19 packets lost: It appears that you have a bad connection to the Internet. The preceding comments listed under 5-10 packets lost apply.

-         20 packets lost: The packet loss test is not working properly. Either you have a very bad connection to the Internet or, more likely, your ISP may be blocking the specific type of Internet activity that is used to measure packet loss. If Web browsing seems to be working normally, then you can probably ignore this result. If not, then most likely you have a bad connection and should try reconnecting to your ISP.

o        Further suggestions:

-         Planttel.net Accelerator in general and Diagnostic results in particular can be affected by other running Internet processes such as file downloads, playing Internet radio or video, or file sharing. For maximum acceleration benefits, please consider temporarily eliminating these activities when using Planttel.net Accelerator, especially when running Diagnostics.

-         If your ISP provides more than one dial-up number in your area, try another number. This can often make a significant difference in terms of line quality and connection speed.

4.       Determining current line speed. Planttel.net Accelerator sends some specific data to your system and measures the speed with which it was received. It reports the effective line speed in kilobits per second (Kbps).

o        Pass: Measured speed in NN.NN Kbps. (Example: 33.43 Kbps)

o        Fail: Line speed test FAILED. Note: High-speed connections are not accelerated. If your actual line speed is greater than 200 Kbps (a fast dial-up modem is 56 Kbps; often expressed as 56K), Planttel.net Accelerator will be automatically disabled.

Another reason why the line speed test might repeatedly fail is if content filtering, parental controls, or a privacy manager is in place that restricts access to the Network. See Readme for more information.

Note that some ISPs pre-filter content in a matter which could also cause this test to fail. Generally speaking, in the U.S. pre-filtering is a service you would pay for and be aware of.

o        Suggestion actions:

-         If the test fails because you are on a high-speed connection, try again when you are connected via a slower (less than 200 Kbps) connection.

-         If parental controls are in place, temporarily disable them to see if this is causing the problem.

-         If a privacy manager or local firewall is in place, temporarily remove or disable it to see if this is causing the problem.

5.       Looking for Planttel.net Acceleration Service. This test attempts to locate the Planttel.net Acceleration Service.

o        Pass: Service found at rcluster.propel.com.

o        Test FAILED. Problem locating Planttel.net Acceleration Service at rcluster.propel.com:7797. (Note: Planttel.net Acceleration Service uses port 7797 to access the Internet.) This condition can occur if the Service is unavailable or if a firewall is preventing your computer from accessing the Service.

o        Suggested action: Retry in a few minutes; if problems continue, check (or ask your system administrator to check) to see if your local firewall is blocking Internet access through Port 7797.

6.       Connecting to Planttel.net Acceleration Service. This test verifies that the Planttel.net Acceleration Service can successfully identify and communicate with your machine.

o        Pass: Connecting to Planttel.net Acceleration Service using Client version (number) ee.ff.gg.hh. Connection accepted is reported.

o        Possible failure conditions:

-         The authentication method used by your ISP or reseller has not authenticated this computer to be accelerated. Please contact your ISP or reseller.

7.       Advanced diagnostic tests, for use by your ISP or reseller if needed. This diagnostic performs text and graphics acceleration tests. All the tests involve sending data from the Planttel.net Accelerator Network to your system.

o        Tests A-D send text data (words) to your system. Test A is with Planttel.net Accelerator active, Test B is without Planttel.net Accelerator active. These two tests are then repeated.

o        Tests E-H send graphics data (an image file) to your system. Test E is with Planttel.net Accelerator active, Test F is without Planttel.net Accelerator active. These two tests are then repeated.

The system displays the time it takes to receive each test.

It is unusual for tests 1-6 to succeed and test 7 to fail. If this happens, please run Diagnostics again before contacting your ISP or reseller.

8.       Graphics Acceleration setting: n (1-5)

This test reports the level of graphics acceleration you are currently receiving, with Level 5 representing the maximum. You can adjust the level of graphics acceleration using the Planttel.net Accelerator menu Options command. See Using Planttel.net Accelerator (online reference) for details on adjusting graphics acceleration for individual images, pages, and overall content.

Disabling Planttel.net Accelerator

If the steps above do not restore Internet access, do the following:

1.       Click the Planttel.net Accelerator accelerator icon in the taskbar near the system clock.

2.       Select Disable Planttel.net Accelerator.

When disabled, a red circle will appear over the Planttel.net Accelerator icon.

3.       Using your browser, go to a highly-available site such as google.com, microsoft.com, amazon.com, or yahoo.com.

If you now have Internet access:

o        Open the Planttel.net Accelerator menu by clicking the accelerator icon.

o        Select Enable.

4.    Try accessing another highly-available site. If the problem reappears it is likely due to the presence of Planttel.net Accelerator. In this case, you can activate Planttel.net Accelerator. From the Windows Start menu find the Planttel.net Accelerator program (by default you will find this in your Programs group, under Planttel.net Accelerator). The sequence is:

Start -> Programs -> { Planttel.net Accelerator program group} -> Stop Planttel.net Accelerator

Troubleshooting Guide

This Troubleshooting Guide may help you resolve some of the more common problems that users encounter.

• I downloaded Planttel.net Accelerator but it did not install.
  
  When you clicked the Download Now button, you were prompted to open or save the file. If you saved the file, after the download completed, you need to locate the file Planttel.net Accelerator setup.exe and open it to begin the installation. If you cannot locate the file, download it again. Log into your account and select the link to download Planttel.net Accelerator.
  
  
• I cannot open the Planttel.net Accelerator file.
  
  If you get an Invalid win32 application error when you try to open the file, you need to delete the file and download it again. The file was not completely downloaded, which caused the file size to be smaller than the original source file.

  If you see a box with a list of applications to open the file, it is possible that the file extension .exe was somehow lost from the Planttel.net Accelerator installation file. You can easily check and add the .exe if needed. Right-click on the file and select rename to add the .exe file extension.
  
  

• I do not see the Accelerator icon in the taskbar
  
  First see if Planttel.net Accelerator was successfully installed. Click Start, then Programs. Do you see Planttel.net Accelerator? If you do not see Planttel.net Accelerator in the menu, it is not installed. Refer back to your download instructions and download the software again.

  If you do see it, you may have some firewall software running that prevents Planttel.net Accelerator from loading until you register Planttel.net Accelerator with the personal firewall software. Click Start, then Programs to see if you have personal firewall software installed on your system. Click Here for firewall configuration instructions.
  
  

• I do not see alternating arrows on the Planttel.net Accelerator icon when I surf.
  
  As part of the acceleration process, Planttel.net Accelerator uses a proxy server on your computer. A proxy server is a local program that manages web traffic to and from your browser. The proxy server is configured in your browser. If the proxy server is not configured correctly in the browser, you may not be able to browse. See the steps that follow to check the configuration.

  Internet Explorer

  1. Click the accelerator icon in the taskbar and select Options. Choose the Advanced tab. Write down the port number. Click Cancel.
  2. From Internet Explorer select Tools, then select Internet Options. Choose the Connections tab and select the connection you are using. Click Settings.
  3. Select the Use a proxy server for this connection check box. Then select the Advanced tab.
  4. Make sure that the proxy address for the HTTP port address is set to localhost and the port is set to the port number found in step one. Click OK. Now test to see if Planttel.net Accelerator is working.
  5. You can verify that Planttel.net Accelerator is working when the accelerator icon near the system clock shows moving arrows when you browse the Internet.

  Netscape

  1. Click the accelerator icon in the taskbar and select Options. Then choose the Advanced tab. Write down the port number. Click Cancel.
  2. Click the Netscape Edit menu and select Preferences.
  3. Double-click the Advanced category.
  4. Click Proxies.
  5. Click View (Netscape 4.7 only)
  6. Select Manual proxy configuration
  .
  7. Click in the HTTP Proxy area and enter the word localhost.
  8. Click in the HTTP Port area and enter the Planttel.net Accelerator port number (by default, the port number is 8080, but you should verify the number as described previously).
  9. Click OK. Try accessing your favorite web sites; your Internet experience should be accelerated.

• Planttel.net Accelerator was working, but the icon disappeared or acceleration stopped.

  This problem may be caused by several factors:

  • You may have personal firewall software installed that is preventing Planttel.net Accelerator from launching or providing acceleration. Click Here for configuration steps.
  • ZoneAlarm can cause partial or incomplete page loads. This issue has been fixed by Zone Labs. If you are using ZoneAlarm, upgrade to ZoneAlarm Pro version 4.5.xxx.xxx or later.
  • Norton Internet Security 2004 will shut down the port associated with Planttel.net Accelerator. Configure Norton Internet Security 2004 to not monitor port 8080. Click Here for steps.

• Graphics appear degraded after I installed Planttel.net Accelerator.

  Planttel.net Accelerator accelerates the downloading of web page images by first pre-compressing the graphics they contain. This is just one of many techniques that Planttel.net Accelerator uses to improve web page load time. By default graphic images are delivered to your web page in slightly compressed form that balances speed of delivery with graphics quality. In some cases you may notice a degraded graphic and want to see the original quality.

• If Diagnostics fail, send e-mail with the results to Customer Support.
• If you want to determine if other software on your PC is compatible with Planttel.net Accelerator, click Here.
• If none of these topics apply, run Diagnostics and send an e-mail with the results to Customer Support.