Re: verizon FIOS +linux

On 2006-08-09, Amadeus W. M. <amadeus84@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Wed, 09 Aug 2006 23:41:57 +0000, Jean-David Beyer wrote:

Amadeus W. M. wrote:
Slightly off-topic...

I got an offer in the mail from verizon for a fiber optics internet
...
Before I subscribe, are there any known issues under linux?
Do I have to run some proprietary program in windows first, to
sign-up (as I had to when I installed dsl)?

Sort-of. You must register at their site to activate the service, and their
site stupidly insists on using ActiveX. Stupid because all it asks is
something simple like your name and password.

Now the techie(s) that install the service for you should bring a laptop
with them that runs Windows so that they can do it for you. But mine did
not, claiming the batteries were dead. Luckily my other machine (the one not
directly connected to the Internet) does have a Windows XP license, wo we
temporarily hooked the Verizon stuff to it, booted Windows on it (it is dual
boot), diddled the networking to talk to the Verizon-supplied D-Link router
(DI-624) router and activated the service. Then I had to put it all back.
But it is no big deal if you are allowed to run Windows on your machine(s).
You need do this only on one machine and only once.

Verizon FIOS is also coming to my neighborhood, so I
researched it. (I'd love to get it, but first I have to run
Cat 5 through my attic from one end of the house to the
other.)

I was told by Verizon folks that the installation techs
_WILL_ bring a Windhose laptop, and I _CAN_ count on using
that for the activation step. If not, I'd be stuck, because
my house is Microsoft-free.

Since I posted, I read on a blog though, that

1) It's pppoe, not dhcp. Is that true? Not sure if the guy
who posted that knew the difference. If pppoe, I'd need a phone
line, which I don't have.

The info I have says when they install FIOS they switch your
copper-based phone line over to FIOS, too. I don't know
what they do if you don't have a phone land line. That
would be something you'd want to ask the Verizon folks.

Is PPPOE much more difficult than DHCP to maintain and
troubleshoot on the WAN side of the router?

2) You have to use their d-link router, although there are
reports that other people have replaced it with their own.
Don't know why the d-link would be so special and why another one
would not work.

Reportedly, they want to be able to get into the router from
the WAN side to do troubleshooting. I don't know how badly
they might blow a cork if they found it absent.

Eric at 888-553-1555 (the second-line question number) told
me new service would get an ActionTech (sp?) router rather
than a D-Link.

In any case, if the router Verizon supplies doesn't please
me, I plan to daisy-chain my own non-Verizon D-Link router
as if it was the only host connecting to the
Verizon-supplied router. That would increase LAN-to-WAN
latency a bit but would keep my LAN under _MY_ control.

3) Most importantly, they won't let you run any sort of server.
I absolutely have to have sshd running permanently.
Do they do anything funny in their routers? Do they allow
incoming connections to your computer?

Reportedly, they block some inbound ports but _do_ allow
inbound connections on non-blocked ports. Unfortunately,
they reportedly block BitTorrent's ports. I use Mandriva,
and their installation CD/DVD downloads use BitTorrent, so
I'd be stuck. Rumor has it I can use non-default ports to
work around that problem.

IMHO, the reason they disallow servers is to prevent
excessive use of bandwidth on an ongoing basis, especially
in the upload direction. If you put sshd on a non-default
port, the _might_ never find out and/or care.

--
Robert Riches
spamtrap42@xxxxxxxxxxx
(Yes, that is one of my email addresses.)
.

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