-----Original Message----- From: Graham Trott [mailto:gt@pobox.com]
And yes, it is easy to do. Just plug in and go. Make sure you get an appropriate modem/router, though; avoid the USB models like the plague. Zen
What do you have against the USB modems? I was quite happy with my Alcatel frog running under Linux, I got some very nice uptimes with it and the only reason they weren't longer was due to the electricity having a key meter... I actually prefer the modem terminating on a linux pc rather than through a router as you can see network traffic directly on the DSL interface rather than being abstracted by ethernet.
Adam
Adam Bower wrote:
-----Original Message----- From: Graham Trott [mailto:gt@pobox.com]
And yes, it is easy to do. Just plug in and go. Make sure you get an appropriate modem/router, though; avoid the USB models like the plague. Zen
What do you have against the USB modems? I was quite happy with my Alcatel frog running under Linux, I got some very nice uptimes with it and the only reason they weren't longer was due to the electricity having a key meter... I actually prefer the modem terminating on a linux pc rather than through a router as you can see network traffic directly on the DSL interface rather than being abstracted by ethernet.
One of my customers has just bought a new BT ADSL line, and was supplied with an Intel Anypoint 3240, which is a) USB, and b) completely incompatible (as far as I can find on the net) with Linux. I don't think that BT supply the Alcatel unit any more.
I've found another RJ45 modem/router which is Linux compatible, sold by Scan (amongst others) for £55 inc VAT. It's the MRI ADSL Router + Ethernet, and looks just the job. I'll be fitting it to a standard Linux firewall next week, so we'll see.
I agree, the USB ones, unless there's a (known, good) driver, are the spawn of the devil. Ethernet is just so much easier to set up...
Cheers, Laurie.
main-admin@lists.alug.org.uk wrote on 16 April 2003 13:48:
One of my customers has just bought a new BT ADSL line, and was supplied with an Intel Anypoint 3240, which is a) USB, and b) completely incompatible (as far as I can find on the net) with Linux. I don't think that BT supply the Alcatel unit any more.
I've found another RJ45 modem/router which is Linux compatible, sold by Scan (amongst others) for £55 inc VAT. It's the MRI ADSL Router + Ethernet, and looks just the job. I'll be fitting it to a standard Linux firewall next week, so we'll see.
I agree, the USB ones, unless there's a (known, good) driver, are the spawn of the devil. Ethernet is just so much easier to set up...
The ADSL connections provided by my work come with Intel Anypoint modems and consequently we will be in the process of replacing them with Draytek routers (which also do VPN). They're cheap and they've got a good feature set on them for the price..
Regards,
MArtyn
Martyn Drake wrote:
main-admin@lists.alug.org.uk wrote on 16 April 2003 13:48:
One of my customers has just bought a new BT ADSL line, and was supplied with an Intel Anypoint 3240, which is a) USB, and b) completely incompatible (as far as I can find on the net) with Linux. I don't think that BT supply the Alcatel unit any more.
I've found another RJ45 modem/router which is Linux compatible, sold by Scan (amongst others) for £55 inc VAT. It's the MRI ADSL Router + Ethernet, and looks just the job. I'll be fitting it to a standard Linux firewall next week, so we'll see.
I agree, the USB ones, unless there's a (known, good) driver, are the spawn of the devil. Ethernet is just so much easier to set up...
The ADSL connections provided by my work come with Intel Anypoint modems and consequently we will be in the process of replacing them with Draytek routers (which also do VPN). They're cheap and they've got a good feature set on them for the price..
Those'll be the Draytek Vigor 2600s I suppose. They really look the business, but I still prefer a "real" iptables firewall I can manage and control from afar, so that's what we install.
The main problem I have with the built-in stuff like all these firewall/router/NAT/dhcp/DNS/etc things is vulnerabilities. They rarely come up in bugtraq, and I'm sure it's not because they are so secure. I think it's a reflection of the userbase not being technical or trying to break them. With a standard Linux box running iptables/snort I know where I am, and what I need to do. Just a preference...
Cheers, Laurie.
Laurie Brown wrote on 16 April 2003 14:14:
Those'll be the Draytek Vigor 2600s I suppose. They really look the business, but I still prefer a "real" iptables firewall I can manage and control from afar, so that's what we install.
Yes - both the wireless and non-wired variety. While I agree with you entirely that a proper Linux firewall solution is best, we do not have the luxury of having everybody behind a Linux box at home (particularly the engineering department who are primarily made of Windows XP laptop and Mac users).
The main problem I have with the built-in stuff like all these firewall/router/NAT/dhcp/DNS/etc things is vulnerabilities. They rarely come up in bugtraq, and I'm sure it's not because they are so secure. I think it's a reflection of the userbase not being technical or trying to break them. With a standard Linux box running iptables/snort I know where I am, and what I need to do. Just a preference...
Again, agreed on all points. The firmware on these things isn't open-source either, so you can't simply have a read of the source code to see if anything looks suspect or just plain wrong. However, I've never came across a security flaw yet with these things, but it's only a matter of time, as they say....
Regards,
Martyn
-------------------------------------------
What do you have against the USB modems? I was quite happy with my Alcatel frog running under Linux, I got some very nice uptimes with it and the
only
reason they weren't longer was due to the electricity having a key
meter...
I actually prefer the modem terminating on a linux pc rather than through
a
router as you can see network traffic directly on the DSL interface rather than being abstracted by ethernet.
One of my customers has just bought a new BT ADSL line, and was supplied with an Intel Anypoint 3240, which is a) USB, and b) completely incompatible (as far as I can find on the net) with Linux. I don't think that BT supply the Alcatel unit any more.
I've found another RJ45 modem/router which is Linux compatible, sold by Scan (amongst others) for £55 inc VAT. It's the MRI ADSL Router + Ethernet, and looks just the job. I'll be fitting it to a standard Linux firewall next week, so we'll see.
I agree, the USB ones, unless there's a (known, good) driver, are the spawn of the devil. Ethernet is just so much easier to set up...
Cheers, Laurie. --------------------------------------------------------------------
Well answered. To which I'd add that low-cost modems don't offer a lot of flexibility. They may be fine for dynamic IP but with static you usually want more control than they offer. Such as multiple NAT mixed with fixed IP. I'm no kind of an expert, but I lurked on an ADSL list for a while. Some posts reckon cheap routers make services such as MSN Messenger or VPN impossible to use. Since this was a once-off purchase I decided not to be cheap (for once). The Draytek was easy to set up (there's a remote management mode so the tech guy at Zen did much of it for me on an 0870 call) and has since been very boring indeed. I run a couple of servers behind it on fixed routable addresses, plus a network of Linux, Windows and wi-fi Zaurus mostly with dynamic IP. There's nothing to stop you putting your own firewall on it if you don't like what it offers. The only downside is the documentation is unsuited to novices like me, so it'll take me yonks to make full use of it.
-- GT
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Adam Bower -
Graham Trott -
Laurie Brown -
Martyn Drake