Ok I think Geoffrey answered most of your questions... so just a few comments from my experience:
1) Bezeq saying everything is ok doesn't mean everything is ok. It means the very obvious things are ok. Also in my experience (as someone who is experienced and knows how to configure and diagnose via a linux box) EVERY time there's been a problem, and they've said it was on my side, in the end it would be an issue on their side. Just so you know :) 2) For this and other reasons (which could be ISP issues, but there's only one way to find out) I have HOT doing an installation here on Monday. Another big advantage of course is that with Bezeq in my area, I can only go up to 2.5mbps/250kbps... with HOT I just ordered 6mbps/600kbps :). I'll be happy to let you know how it goes it you want some feedback before making your own decision. Of course, a true opinion requires long testing... I used to be very happy with Bezeq actually. 3) PPPoe on Linux is super easy.. with pptp (yes yes, I had an Alcatel too, those were the days :)) I remember having to patch the source for Bezeq, etc... PPPoe works out the box. As was suggested download all the packages while you still have internet (I don't recall off hand what you'll need but I'm sure there are some good HOW-TO's online - for starters download any packages matching *pppoe* and their dependencies). 4) Yeah, a router handles everything for you, essentially taking the role of your PC doing the routing for your network now... it has a firewall, everything. This might get you some slack from support, but amazingly they still asked me to do stuff through Windows on one of my calls. From my experience with the routers I've used until now, none of them handled high load so well (high load being bittorrent, so probably loads of connections) so I still do my routing through Linux, but you can try find reviews on the net, I'm sure newer routers are better equipped for modern day reality... actually I think my newish ADSL router/modem is running Linux, but I never took the time to test it's routing. Gadi -- Gadi Cohen aka Kinslayer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> www.wastelands.net Freelance admin/coding/design HABONIM DROR linux/fantasy enthusiast KeyID 0x93F26EF5: 256A 1FC7 AA2B 6A8F 1D9B 6A5A 4403 F34B 93F2 6EF5
