A few comments... On Sun, 2004-02-08 at 11:36, Onno Benschop wrote: > * Reports on USB modems in my experience have not been too > favourable, least reason being that they require drivers > installed on the computer to which it is connected. This > generally means that incompatibilities (can and do) exist > between Operating System versions.
I tend to agree there. One nasty surprise can be upgrading one's operating system, only to discover that the drivers no longer work - and the manufacturer has no intention of releasing updated drivers. Usually they will say that the product is unsupported, but if you buy the new .... > * An Ethernet based ADSL modem does not require any drivers, > though some providers require that you connect using PPPoE, > which then (sometimes) requires the installation of some > software on your main (gateway) computer. PPPoE has the advantage of not being device specific. Your PPPoE "drivers" will work fine with any provider who supports PPPoE properly, with any modem. Additionally, most modern OSes support PPPoE out of the box. This means that you're unlikely to be left without a 'net connection because of a hardware or OS upgrade, unlike the USB modem driver case above. > * An Ethernet modem can also be connected to a switch or hub > instead of directly to an Ethernet socket on your workstation, > allowing the connection to be shared. This setup though not > simple to install is the most flexible. You're much better off getting a DSL router than doing this - there are security issues, issues with multiple PPPoE logins, etc. > * There are also ADSL routers available that are completely > stand-alone, you just plug your computer into a spare Ethernet > port. These routers often have a built in switch, so you can just plug all your PCs into the router and they all have 'net connectivity. Alternately, you can plug a DSL router into a separate switch if you (a) already have a network or (b) want better network performance than that which is often provided by router's built in switches. > If it were my money I'd get an ADSL router, then an Ethernet modem and a > switch - I would not go near a USB ADSL modem. I tend to agree there. While my personal preference is to get a basic ethernet-based DSL modem and use a separate Linux firewall, that's just not needed for most purposes. For most people a DSL router is ideal. > On the point of provider. Most (if not all) ADSL services are supplied > by Telstra. In effect, BigPond is a customer of the same department as > Westnet, iiNet and others. > > What this generally means is that the differences between these services > are mostly on price and support. I personally use and recommend > Highway1, and have had good reports about Westnet. I've had no problems > with BigPond and only heard bad things about iiNet. While it's true that the basic connectivity for most ADSL services is provided by Telstra, there's a lot more to the service than that. Important reliability and service quality factors entirely under the control of the individual ISP include proxy, mail and DNS servers, contention ratio (oversubscription), support lines, and supplied ADSL hardware. I understand that these days with most ISPs, Telstra's involvement ends at the ATM link between the ISP and the central exchange. Thankfully. > That may or may not be the case, see my comments above. Not to mention > that adding another Ethernet device to a computer adds a whole new level > of complexity. This is especially true with MacOS pre-X, as they don't understand multiple network interfaces. You're MUCH better off keeping you single network interface and getting an ADSL router to plug in to your network. > Plug and play is a nice marketing term that really means: "If you have a > supported version of the Operating System, the computer, the modem and > the drivers ready to go, it will mostly work." Otherwise known as "plug and pray". > > The best place is <http://whirlpool.net.au/> which is a > > site covering all broadband matters. The discussion forum is a good > > place to get advice about any Bigpond ADSL problems you might > > encounter. In particular, I suggest that you read: http://whirlpool.net.au/survey/results.htm > On Sat, 2004-02-07 at 03:22, Brett Carboni wrote: > > If you *can* get cable you should seriously think about it or at least > > do the exercise (IMHO). > > That is sound advice. > Indeed. I've heard from people who use it that BigPond Cable can be worthwhile. It's only their ADSL services that seem rather poor value. My experience with it was sufficiently bad that when practical I just won't deal with Telstra anymore, but they simply must have improved since then. Craig Ringer
