[NTLUG:Discuss] Linux Friendly DSL

[Fred James]

Thank you for your rely.  It sounds pretty much as I had understood it, 
but I appreciate the confirmation - never sure if I got lost somewhere.

Yes, I have a firewall and it was just as you said: I said Linux and the 
tech made me sign a "User will self install" waiver and walked off 
leaving me a static IP.  And the setup was excessively simple, once I 
understood how the firewall/router's DHCP was meant to work and its 
general limitations.

I don't run servers at this location, so I don't have any contract 
issues, but I am always listening to what is going on there.

And yes, I am concerned about the @Home/AT&T mess and I am wondering how 
the dust will settle.  As I said, being 4000 extra feet from the CO may 
make it all futile, but I am looking at DSL again - we have Verizon here 
as well.
Thanks again for your input.


brian at pongonova.net wrote:

> On Sun, Oct 14, 2001 at 11:49:46AM -0500, Fred James wrote:
> 
>>Has anyone on this list experienced both DSL and Cable hi-speed Internet 
>>service?  Can anyone give me a basic comparison?
>>
> 
> Comparison based on what?  Download capacity?  Upload capacity?  Onerous usage
> restrictions?
> 
> I use AT&T at Home, because I'm about 1000 feet shy of the CO in Garland for DSL, and
> Verizon shows no inclination towards rectifying the situation.  But I've helped
> others get their Linux boxen up and running with DSL, so I'm pretty familiar with
> both.
> 
> I'm also assuming you've done your research as to how cable and DSL differ in terms
> of available capacity, etc.  One thing you might not be aware of is that as @Home
> sinks deeper and deeper into bankruptcy, and AT&T showing no move towards taking on
> the technical details handled by @Home, you may find yourself unable to get cable
> *or* DSL.  My suggestion to you is that if you *know* you can't get DSL, you better
> start working on cable, because @Home has already said they'll stop taking new
> orders.
> 
> Other than that, from the technical side of things, cable is much easier to set up
> than DSL.  The cable modem looks like a hub to your internal network, so you just
> plug your firewall machine (you *do* have one, don't you?) into your cable modem --
> no special setup, no fuss, no muss.  Hint:  If you can convince AT&T to hook you
> up, tell the technician that shows up that you have a multi-node LAN set up in your
> home (do NOT mention Linux!).  They won't touch it, will leave everything for you
> to set up (which is what you want), and provide you with a static IP address.  
> 
> DSL is somewhat more difficult to get going, as most DSL providers force you to use
> PPPoE, which requires a separate PPPoE driver.  Fortunately, these are readily
> available, and are even shipping on the most up-to-date Linux distros.  You'll find
> some more demand on your CPU thanks to this protocol, so if you're on a slow
> machine already, don't expect blazing DSL speeds, regardless of what PR folks (or
> misinformed friends) tell you.
> 
> Finally, remember that @Home's TOC does not permit any type of service to be run in
> conjunction with the cable service.  Surprisingly, AT&T's contract doesn't
> explicitly prohibit servers, and in fact warns you that servers you set up are your
> own responsibility. What contract do you trust?  I look at it this way: If I set up
> a firewall, and am simply routing packets taking off the network to some interior
> network, then I'm not running a service "in conjunction with" the cable service.
> Still, I'm careful to filter out the probes AT&T at Home sends out, looking for
> various open ports.  
> 
> The bottom line here (and I'm sure I'll hear wailing and gnashing of teeth on this
> one) is that both cable and DSL are viable alternatives to run under Linux.  In
> your case, the choice appears pretty simple:  I'd go with cable, since DSL isn't
> available.   
> 
> Hope this helps.
> 
>   --Brian
> _______________________________________________
> http://www.ntlug.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
> 
> 
> 


-- 
...make every program a filter...