David Cantrell wrote: > On Sun, Oct 06, 2002 at 10:27:09AM +0100, Robert Shiels wrote: > >>I've just about decided to go for ADSL, and Nildram have been recommended >>here, so I go to this page: >> >>https://www.getadsl.co.uk/services_home.htm >> >>and now I'm not really sure what I want. I think the cheapest option will >>probably be fine, but maybe I want a static IP address, I'm not sure. I >>don't need web space. Maybe I should be looking at their secure service >>instead! > > > A static IP is a very useful thing. Even if you don't have one right now > with whatever you use to connect at the moment, once you have one you'll > find all sorts of wonderful things to do with it.
I have plus.net ADSL and I get a static IP for about £23 a month: http://www.plus.net/info2/residential/res_broadband.html I would definatly recommend a static IP. I a colleague at work who has ADSL with zen (http://www.zen.co.uk) and he claims to have 8 IP's. >>I WILL be running this on a Windows PC [1], I will be playing Unreal >>Tournament and downloading MP3 files mostly, and I'd quite like to be able >>to access my home PC remotely to retrieve files when I'm at work. > > Please tell me you won't be turning SMB on or using IIS! In any case, if > you want remote access, a static IP is a must. Yeah yeah, I know about > dyndns and stuff, but a static IP is soooo much better. > >>And of >>course fast surfing. I have 3 or 4 other PCs in my house with wireless cards >>in them from which I'd like to be able to access the internet through the >>ADSL connection too. >> >>Can I do all this for the £22.99 a month, and what hardware will I need to >>buy. > > If this is the "wires only" thing, then you'll need a splitter/faceplate for > the phone line (which I think BT will supply), and a router. I expect > Nildram can supply that, or recommend a supplier. If you decide to shop > around to get a good deal, don't forget that all UK DSL uses PPPoA. > > Oh, and it seems that DSL routers are built down to a chosen cost, not up > to a desired quality. That's one reason I like hiring my router - it means > that when it fails (I've killed two so far) BT replace it for free. I went for an Alcatel SpeedTouch USB (the frog) because it was second hand and really cheap. If I had had to pay full price I would have gone for one of those router things. I got two DSL splitters from dslsource: http://dslsource.co.uk/ for about £11 each. >>[1] this is a definite, so please don't tell me I should be running Linux, I >>already know :-) > > There's nowt wrong with using a Windows desktop. However, with a DSL > connection, you will be connected permanently, and the script kiddies *will* > find you. At least consider using a twenty quid piece of shit running a BSD > or Linux as a firewall and NAT box. I got a free pentium (75 I think) and it is running IPcop (http://www.ipcop.org) quite happily. I am running 4 PC's behind this including 2 desktops (1 win, 1 Linux) and a couple of webservers. It is pretty simple for a firewall but does just about all you could ask for a simple network. Another site you might want to check out is http://www.adslguide.org.uk for reviews and information about service providers. Will
