DSL Stories

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Sat May 29, 2004 10:11 pm

Last week, I found a card hanging on my front doorknob announcing that our telco (Qwest) is now offering DSL in my area. (So that's what they've been doing at that bunch of boxes on my property for the last three years!).

Anyway, I'm sore tempted to take them up on their offer.

However...

They inform me that I need to round up my own DSL-capable ISP, that the speed isn't guaranteed and that Federal and State taxes and fees have not been included with the estimate.

A call to a friend of mine with ISDN brought the story that he spends over $150 per month on his setup. Gah!

So what's been your experience with ISDN?

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Sun May 30, 2004 9:46 pm

dopey · Post by **dopey** » Sun May 30, 2004 10:11 pm

cable is I believe 40 a month here, and dsl is the same price, to my knowledge. Atleast it was when we looked to get it.

150$ a month seems very very pricey to me, especially only for dsl?

CJ Krause · Post by **CJ Krause** » Mon May 31, 2004 12:31 am

DonShirer · Post by **DonShirer** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 10:16 pm

Do a google search on DSL service provider and you will find hundreds of companies eager to hook you up for anything from $20 to $40 a month (plus extras).
Verizon, Sprint and Yahoo are all in the business and will even set you up with a wireless access.

Beware the "limted time" low price offers. Make sure you know how long they will last and what the price will go up to when they expire.

Depending on the setup you want, you may have to purchase a special modem or a wireless base station if you wish to service more than one computer.

Since your computer will be connected to the internet 24/7, a good firewall to protect it is a must. (i.e. more $ for software).

Search for DSL hookup or DSL experience on google to find
both help and horror stories about getting in the fast lane.

I'm still too far from a phone center to have DSL, and frankly, I'm still happy with dialup. Of course, I'm not downloading DVD's either.

Joe Baker · Post by **Joe Baker** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 11:15 pm

ISDN and DSL are very different animals -- and IMHO DSL is better. We've had it for a year and a half, and the only problem we ever had was that we had to power it off and back on a couple of times. Our price just dropped from $45 to $26.50.

Like every other tax, the taxes are exhorbitant and they stink; but if I spent the money on something else I'd pay tax on that too, so I suck it up & pay the freight.

The next thing is, if you have more than one computer, you need to get wi-fi to hook up all your computers, so they all have always-on internet. That's also pretty easy and really makes it nice.

You can get a lot of info at http://www.dslreports.com. Good luck!
_____________________________
Joe Baker, who advises shopping around.

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 11:32 pm

My PC's are set up on 100BaseT LAN hooked to a Linux server running IP masquerading and a very good firewall. (Email is sorted using fetchmail and IMAP4 to the outlying WinPCs). It's a lot more flexihble than a simple WiFi hub.

My intent is to keep the current setup, simply connecting the server to the DSL modem, by adding another NIC connected to the modem. It shoiuld work, no?

I live about 9 wire miles from the telco central office and thought that DSL was out of the question. But the temple of steel boxes that the telco has erected on a 20x20 slab of concrete says otherwise. Apparently the feed from the CO is fiber and the setup can handle about 28,000 pairs. The distance from the house to the boxes is about 400 feet, so I should be in pretty good shape, DSL-wise.

I talked to my ISP and they tell me that in about 3 weeks, they'll be offering a DSL bundle, so I won't have to change my email setup nor my web hosting. Pricing not yet determined.

My telco (Qwest) is pushing MSN, but there's no way I'm going to sign with those bozos.

Joe Baker · Post by **Joe Baker** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 12:17 am

Chuck(G) wrote:My PC's are set up on 100BaseT LAN hooked to a Linux server running IP masquerading and a very good firewall. (Email is sorted using fetchmail and IMAP4 to the outlying WinPCs). It's a lot more flexihble than a simple WiFi hub.

My intent is to keep the current setup, simply connecting the server to the DSL modem, by adding another NIC connected to the modem. It shoiuld work, no?

I live about 9 wire miles from the telco central office and thought that DSL was out of the question. But the temple of steel boxes that the telco has erected on a 20x20 slab of concrete says otherwise. Apparently the feed from the CO is fiber and the setup can handle about 28,000 pairs. The distance from the house to the boxes is about 400 feet, so I should be in pretty good shape, DSL-wise.

I talked to my ISP and they tell me that in about 3 weeks, they'll be offering a DSL bundle, so I won't have to change my email setup nor my web hosting. Pricing not yet determined.

My telco (Qwest) is pushing MSN, but there's no way I'm going to sign with those bozos.

MMFmom mfmm -- Oops, sorry, had to get my foot out of my mouth. Wi-fi is awesome, and to me the logistical flexibility (I can carry my laptop to the backyard swing, or type in bed as I'm doing right now) trumps some of the technical flexibility you have; but yes, your setup will work fine. You can just plug your DSL modem directly into your ETHERNET hub/switch.

It's been a long time since I saw anyone with this extensive of a home network that was running on dial-up!
_________________________________
Joe Baker, who keeps saying he's going to set up a Linux system, but never does.

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 12:31 am

Well, I don't care much for the insecurity of WifFi and I like to use my microwave,, but if I ever wanted it, I could easily add it to the server--probably take about 10 minutes tops.

I ran across an article that allows one to configure an XBox to run as a Linux server--total cost about $150.

Joe Baker · Post by **Joe Baker** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 1:25 am

Chuck(G) wrote:Well, I don't care much for the insecurity of WifFi and I like to use my microwave,, but if I ever wanted it, I could easily add it to the server--probably take about 10 minutes tops.

I guess my wi-fi is not all that secure, but there are no other houses close enough to piggy-back or intercept my transmissions. You are correct about the time it takes to get up & running though, if you don't plan to use any security features. Add some time if you want to require a key, but it's still not a major time investment.
__________________________________
Joe Baker, who is much more concerned about security using wi-fi in hotels & coffee-shops -- but does it anyway.

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 2:49 am

andrada wrote:Chuck,

I hadn't seen that one although I know of an article on how to use one as a "thin" Linux client.

Do you have a reference?

I think the "thin client" story was in a Linux World last year.

I ran across a mention in the July DDJ:

http://www.xbox-linux.org/

Kind of interesting, huh?

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Sat Aug 28, 2004 2:02 am

I thought I'd bring folks up to speed on what I wound up doing.

After looking at the various "package deals" offered by the ISP's in my area for DSL service, I decided that some were expensive and others were downright ridiculous (e.g. the one that wants you to sign a statement saying that you will never have more than 2 computers on the line).

I found that my telco offered a "bare-bones" setup--you get an IP address, no email and no webspace. That and the DSL charge comes to $24.95/month. Since I needed webspace and email, I signed up with a service (netfirms.com) for a web site and domain hosting (1GB space and 100 email (plus "catch all") accounts) for $9.95/month.. Which brings the total to just under $35, which is what I was paying my dialup ISP. But I get to jettison the extra phone line ($26 plus taxes), so I'm actually saving a bunch of money by going to DSL.

This weekend, I'll be installing the outside splitter (rather than putting a filter on every phone). I've got a Linux server already set up with 2 NICs that will serve as router with firewall, email, DNS and DHCP services for the other PC's scattered around. (I do have WiFi capability, but I won't have it enabled).

So, unless things go really wrong next week, I'll be online with DSL.

Dylan King · Post by **Dylan King** » Sat Aug 28, 2004 7:17 am

Faster and faster is goes. The mark.