Re: television cable internet service
On Tue, 17 Jun 2003 10:58:18 -0700 Derrick Ryalls <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > To make life easy, I had a windows box laying around for the technician > to verify a live line with. Once it was live and he was gone, I > switched to using a BSD router on the connection. That's what I do. If I ever get to the point of having a tech come out (once, and it turned out to be a fried modem) I hook back up to my Windoze box. There's no point in trying to get them to support FreeBSD or even Linux. Just get it working yourself. As someone pointed out, Comcast uses DHCP. I've been running it on my FreeBSD box for over a year with no issues. Their support and tech's will tell you that you have to use specific OS'es, specific mailers, specific browsers, etc. but that's just how they're trained. One important note I learned early: If you have to reset your connection, unplug the modem for a few minutes. Simply turning it off doesn't do the trick. e.g., if you move the connection between a Windows and FreeBSD box when testing, unplug the modem in between. Also, watch out for IP changes. I had DHCP set up and working but my firewall rules had a hardcoded subnet. One day a new DHCP lease put me on a new subnet. If you ante up for their Pro service they will support VPN's, your IP will remain static except for big network changes, and you'll get faster speeds. -- Steve Sapovits [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
Re: television cable internet service
On Tue, Jun 17, 2003 at 10:33:43AM -0700, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Greetings fellow B.S.D. enthusiasts. Recently, I requested installation > of a television cable at my home in Sacramento, California. The cable > operator is Comcast. I requested connection of the television cable to my > computer, which is a service that the operator advertises profusely. The > telephone sales representative assured me that all things are possible, > including both a Unix operating system, and an in-house L.A.N. The > installation technician spent some time installing the cable, then attached > it through a Motorola DOCSYS modem to the NIC board on the computer. The > computer saw the cable network, but the cable refused to accept a logon > request from the computer. The technician said that he believed that > neither B.S.D. nor any other Unix, nor any Microsoft product that could be > programmed to act as a server was acceptable. Has any other person had the > same problem? How did you solve it? If I insist on a B.S.D. connection, > how do I locate a B.S.D. friendly internet service provider in Sacramento? > If I insist on B.S.D., am I confined to a 56 kb Hayes-type telephone modem? > Any comments or advice is appreciated. [EMAIL PROTECTED] You didn't give any hints as to how the service was to be implemented. Did the technician copy your NIC's MAC address and phone it in? Or did he/she expect to access a web page to enable your service? Or was anything said about PPPoE? DHCP? Did they leave the modem installed? Did they provide a URL detailing online how to connect a Mac or Windows system? If so, somebody could interpret it and explain what needs to be done. As for my cablemodem, with both services I have had the tech exclaimed, "Easiest installation I've ever done" as when it was all hooked up and the modem LED's indicated it was talking to its upstream master I typed, "dhclient fxp0" and was online. In both cases the NIC MAC address had to be phoned in. Another site was almost as simple but required an https web browser to initially register with username and password. Then it snagged a copy of my MAC address. And that was all that had to be done. But for the fact I was installing a headless FreeBSD firewall/router/vpn machine. The easiest thing was to plug in my PowerMac G4-400 and register the connection. Then used the "lladdr" feature of ifconfig to change the MAC address of the FreeBSD NIC. Placed it in /etc/start_if.xl0 so as to be run before dhclient runs: ifconfig xl0 lladdr 00:12:34:56:78:90 It was easier than trying to convince tech support to unregister one MAC so that another could be registered. Later went looking and couldn't figure out how to do the same for my Macintosh. As a result I can't connect my Mac to that network because the firewall isn't happy to see somebody else using one of its MAC addresses. All 3 cases above used DHCP and not PPPoE. -- David Kelly N4HHE, [EMAIL PROTECTED] = The human mind ordinarily operates at only ten percent of its capacity -- the rest is overhead for the operating system. ___ [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
Re: television cable internet service
On Tue, 17 Jun 2003 10:33:43 -0700 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Greetings fellow B.S.D. enthusiasts. Recently, I requested installation > of a television cable at my home in Sacramento, California. The cable > operator is Comcast. I requested connection of the television cable to my > computer, which is a service that the operator advertises profusely. The > telephone sales representative assured me that all things are possible, > including both a Unix operating system, and an in-house L.A.N. The > installation technician spent some time installing the cable, then attached > it through a Motorola DOCSYS modem to the NIC board on the computer. The > computer saw the cable network, but the cable refused to accept a logon > request from the computer. The technician said that he believed that > neither B.S.D. nor any other Unix, nor any Microsoft product that could be > programmed to act as a server was acceptable. Has any other person had the > same problem? How did you solve it? If I insist on a B.S.D. connection, Well that all sounds like crap to me. I have comcast in Pgh, Pa. area. All I had to do was enable dhcp client on my laptop and BAM i was online. I have an old pentium pc connected to the same cable modem connect via a hub running as a web server. So it sound more of a tech that wasn't to technical. My brother had a tech come to his house to install his cable modem and his tech could not set it up on Windows 98, they told him to reinstall windows. I too, had a windows pc laying around for the tech to setup on, I think that's the easiest way. I would assume that that's what they are trained on. Rod ___ [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
Re: television cable internet service
>To make life easy, I had a windows box laying around for the technician >to verify a live line with. Once it was live and he was gone, I >switched to using a BSD router on the connection. I did the same here. Although to be honest, nothing the tech did here should have made any difference whatsoever. He plugged in the modem, booted the computer ( DHCP ), and went into the browser for a couple of minutes. >Yeah, they are paranoid about servers, but never do anything about them >until it starts to cost them money. If they were really strict on the >no servers policy, they would be able to allow any windows box to >connect to their network. The tech didn't mention anything about servers to me. But in all honesty I haven't bothered to try and see if they're blocking ports or not. I would suspect that they are though. >BSD should work fine with Comcast. I am not sure how comcast in your >area differs from the seattle area, but they should all be BSD friendly. >The big trouble is that initial service with cable/dsl is rather flaky. >It usually takes the ISP a month or so to figure out how a network is to >be expanded or something. My BSD stuff works fine here. And yes, for the first couple of months the service would flake out daily in the early afternoon. Lately it's been solid. Depending on what your needs are, you could also consider a cheap router ( linksys or others ) as they're down to ~50$ or so. That's not much more than a cheap switch at this point, so even if you don't decide to use it as a router you can use it for your network anyway. Much of it is point and click, which may be useful until you learn more about how to fully set up your BSD box's firewalling and such. As the DHCP server and NAT are already built in, this might also be helpful until you get DHCP server set up on your BSD box as well. Hope this helps. -Chris ___ [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
Re: television cable internet service
I am using openbsd on comcast. Like some other, i too had a windows box ready for the technician,with a nic already there, once he was able to get a live connection and left i just switched to my openbsd/pf router. There is some stuff you need to do, such as punching a hole through your filter to allow the router itsealf to broadcast bootp request and accept them from the comcast dhcp server. Change your /etc/resolv.conf to include the comcast dns server or other internet root servers. set the nic going to the cable modem to use dhcp. good luck. On Tue, 17 Jun 2003 10:58:18 -0700 "Derrick Ryalls" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Greetings fellow B.S.D. enthusiasts. Recently, I requested > > installation > > of a television cable at my home in Sacramento, California. > > The cable operator is Comcast. I requested connection of the > > television cable to my computer, which is a service that the > > operator advertises profusely. The telephone sales > > representative assured me that all things are possible, > > including both a Unix operating system, and an in-house > > L.A.N. The installation technician spent some time > > installing the cable, then attached it through a Motorola > > DOCSYS modem to the NIC board on the computer. The computer > > saw the cable network, but the cable refused to accept a > > To make life easy, I had a windows box laying around for the technician > to verify a live line with. Once it was live and he was gone, I > switched to using a BSD router on the connection. > > > logon request from the computer. The technician said that he > > believed that neither B.S.D. nor any other Unix, nor any > > Microsoft product that could be programmed to act as a server > > was acceptable. Has any other person had the same problem? > > Yeah, they are paranoid about servers, but never do anything about them > until it starts to cost them money. If they were really strict on the > no servers policy, they would be able to allow any windows box to > connect to their network. > > > How did you solve it? If I insist on a B.S.D. connection, > > how do I locate a B.S.D. friendly internet service provider > > in Sacramento? If I insist on B.S.D., am I confined to a 56 > > kb Hayes-type telephone modem? Any comments or advice is > > appreciated. [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > BSD should work fine with Comcast. I am not sure how comcast in your > area differs from the seattle area, but they should all be BSD friendly. > The big trouble is that initial service with cable/dsl is rather flaky. > It usually takes the ISP a month or so to figure out how a network is to > be expanded or something. > > In any case, step 1 is to verify connection. Try going to this website: > > http://192.168.100.1 which is commonly cable modem's ips. > > > ___ > [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list > http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions > To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" > ___ [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
RE: television cable internet service
> Greetings fellow B.S.D. enthusiasts. Recently, I requested > installation > of a television cable at my home in Sacramento, California. > The cable operator is Comcast. I requested connection of the > television cable to my computer, which is a service that the > operator advertises profusely. The telephone sales > representative assured me that all things are possible, > including both a Unix operating system, and an in-house > L.A.N. The installation technician spent some time > installing the cable, then attached it through a Motorola > DOCSYS modem to the NIC board on the computer. The computer > saw the cable network, but the cable refused to accept a To make life easy, I had a windows box laying around for the technician to verify a live line with. Once it was live and he was gone, I switched to using a BSD router on the connection. > logon request from the computer. The technician said that he > believed that neither B.S.D. nor any other Unix, nor any > Microsoft product that could be programmed to act as a server > was acceptable. Has any other person had the same problem? Yeah, they are paranoid about servers, but never do anything about them until it starts to cost them money. If they were really strict on the no servers policy, they would be able to allow any windows box to connect to their network. > How did you solve it? If I insist on a B.S.D. connection, > how do I locate a B.S.D. friendly internet service provider > in Sacramento? If I insist on B.S.D., am I confined to a 56 > kb Hayes-type telephone modem? Any comments or advice is > appreciated. [EMAIL PROTECTED] > BSD should work fine with Comcast. I am not sure how comcast in your area differs from the seattle area, but they should all be BSD friendly. The big trouble is that initial service with cable/dsl is rather flaky. It usually takes the ISP a month or so to figure out how a network is to be expanded or something. In any case, step 1 is to verify connection. Try going to this website: http://192.168.100.1 which is commonly cable modem's ips. ___ [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
television cable internet service
Greetings fellow B.S.D. enthusiasts. Recently, I requested installation of a television cable at my home in Sacramento, California. The cable operator is Comcast. I requested connection of the television cable to my computer, which is a service that the operator advertises profusely. The telephone sales representative assured me that all things are possible, including both a Unix operating system, and an in-house L.A.N. The installation technician spent some time installing the cable, then attached it through a Motorola DOCSYS modem to the NIC board on the computer. The computer saw the cable network, but the cable refused to accept a logon request from the computer. The technician said that he believed that neither B.S.D. nor any other Unix, nor any Microsoft product that could be programmed to act as a server was acceptable. Has any other person had the same problem? How did you solve it? If I insist on a B.S.D. connection, how do I locate a B.S.D. friendly internet service provider in Sacramento? If I insist on B.S.D., am I confined to a 56 kb Hayes-type telephone modem? Any comments or advice is appreciated. [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
Re: television cable internet service
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Greetings fellow B.S.D. enthusiasts. Recently, I requested installation of a television cable at my home in Sacramento, California. The cable operator is Comcast. I requested connection of the television cable to my computer, which is a service that the operator advertises profusely. The telephone sales representative assured me that all things are possible, including both a Unix operating system, and an in-house L.A.N. The installation technician spent some time installing the cable, then attached it through a Motorola DOCSYS modem to the NIC board on the computer. The computer saw the cable network, but the cable refused to accept a logon request from the computer. The technician said that he believed that neither B.S.D. nor any other Unix, nor any Microsoft product that could be programmed to act as a server was acceptable. This is ridiculous. The requirement that "any product that could be programmed to act as a server" would eliminate EVERY SINGLE operating system. Including all versions of Windows and Macintosh. Hell, even DOS. The technician didn't know what he was talking about and made up an excuse so he didn't have to figure out out. Has any other person had the same problem? Yes, it's called a bad economy. Companies hire incompetent workers because they're cheap, and then the customer pays the price when they're unable to do their job. How did you solve it? Specifically, I hooked up a client with Comcast in my area (western PA) and there was nothing magical that needed done. Comcast in this area supports all the standard auth protocols. However, having experience with cable Internet, I've had multiple occasions where they just hooked things up wrong and tried to blame it on someone else. Often, cable companies sub-contract the work to other companies, and sometimes these other companies don't know their butt from a hole in the ground. You claim "The computer saw the cable network", what evidence do you have of that? Flashing lights do not guarantee a solid network connection. If I insist on a B.S.D. connection, how do I locate a B.S.D. friendly internet service provider in Sacramento? Well, you've taken the first step. You're likely to get emails from BSD- friendly providers who read this list. Another idea is to post to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and ask if anyone on that list offers high-speed residential service in your area. WARNING: a posting like that would technically be off-topic for that list, although I don't think anyone will be too upset. If I insist on B.S.D., am I confined to a 56 kb Hayes-type telephone modem? Heaven's no. I use Adelphia, which is total CRAP Internet service, but I'm still able to make it work (in spite of their lousy technicians). I'm looking to switch to a _real_ provider (city-net in this area is VERY good, but they can't get service to my location) Any comments or advice is appreciated. [EMAIL PROTECTED] I would call Comcast's technical support and ask "What protocol do you use for authentication?" Write down the details. It's probably PPPOE, but there are other possibilites. Once you have those details, post another question to the list and it's likely that someone here can tell you how to set things up (or point you to a web page that explains it). There's also a possibility that someone in your area will read this post and contact you with an explanation of how they got theirs working. -- Bill Moran Potential Technologies http://www.potentialtech.com ___ [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
Re: television cable internet service
> computer saw the cable network, but the cable refused to accept a logon > request from the computer. The technician said that he believed that > neither B.S.D. nor any other Unix, nor any Microsoft product that could be > programmed to act as a server was acceptable. Has any other person had the I don't know about Comcast, but they probably also run a DHCP server. So you need to tell to your NIC to act as a DHCP client. Put the following line in /etc/rc.conf ifconfig_nic0="DHCP" where nic0 is the name of your NIC. (Check the name with # ifconfig -a) You should get some dynamic IP. ___ [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
