Re: USB modem vs. LAN modem for ADSL

From: John-Paul Stewart (jpstewart_at_sympatico.ca)
Date: 02/06/04 

Date: Fri, 06 Feb 2004 16:05:56 -0500

Remi Villatel wrote:
>
> Hi everybody,
>
> My ISP offers me to choose in between an USB and a LAN modem for the ADSL.
>
> Which one is the best? The easier to configure? The one that needs the least
> CPU load?

Ethernet connected USB modems don't require any special drivers. USB
modems do, and Linux drivers may not be available for the one your ISP
offers. Go for the Ethernet one.
 
> I have one Ethernet 100 card which I use sometimes to connect several
> computers in a LAN network and 2 unused USB ports. (I've never used any USB
> devices.)

Get a second network card. Any cheap one will do. Then connect the
modem to it, and leave your existing network card free for its current
use in the LAN. With a little work you can even share your internet
connection with the rest of the LAN.

> According to Kinfocenter, the 2 USB ports allow only 12 Mbits/s which is not
> much compared to the 100 Mbits/s of my ethernet card.
>
> What is the best for an ADSL 512K connection?

The 12Mbits/sec of the USB ports is still a lot compared to the
512Kbits/sec (0.5Mbits/sec) of the ADSL connection. You certainly don't
need the extra bandwidth of the 100Mbit/sec LAN connection, but as I
said before, the ethernet modems "just plain work" whereas the USB ones
can be hit-and-miss for compatability.

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