Re: ADSL connection qustion

From: Leon. (noemail_at_noemail.noemail.com)
Date: 12/17/03 

Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2003 12:04:50 +1100

"Justin" <yu0123@justin7.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:brlrl5$gpa$1@news6.svr.pol.co.uk...
> Hi everyone!
>
> I am going to build a network to share broadband internet at home, its
going
> to look like:
>
> Internet ----------- ADSL Modem --- Router/Firewall ---Switch --- LAN
> computers
>
>
> (i dono if I should have hardware router or an old 486 linux router yet)

>
> These ADSL providers are saying their connection is always on, so I take
it
> that means static IP etc,

No it might not be a static ip address . They only mean to say that they
dont time your connection, they have no rules saying you must disconnected
after N hours connected or X minutes idle and you can never get locked out
because the server is busy.

> but as i havnt actually got it yet I dont know if
> "always on" actually means that, and if the modem will always
automatically
> maintain the connection by itself and dont need something to tell it to
> connect.

Modems do not maintain connections. Routers do.

> I would like to build the linux router myself, it'll be a very interesting
> task. But I'm worried that if the "always on" connection somehow goes
down,
> how am I going to tell it to connect from one of the LAN computers

Well, if the ISP had problems, the linux system should just keep retrying.
If you have a hardware router, it will just keep retrying to connect.

>(assuming
> the modem doesnt auto reconnect)? I wouldnt be home for weeks at a time to
> type anything in the CLI! My family dont know a thing about linux or
> routers, and in any case the linux router is going to be headless,
> keyboardless etc, I dont want them to blindly mess around in linux.

Same problem with a hardware router,
and same problem for connecting a PC straight to the modem.

If they connect their PC straight to the line and they use Windows - well
windows can get itself messed up much more often and in many more ways than
a linux box.

The hardware router doesnt get "messed up", rebooting it will bring back the
stored configuration.

> given these circumstances is a hardware router going to be a better
choice?

Yeah, you can get cheap combined ADSL modem, router firewall devices.

These can be cheaper than paying for the ISP's modem.

If you ISP "gives" you the modem, then you are paying for it through a long
contract, or something.

Eg my ISP wanted Aus $170 for their modem, but I bought a billion
modem/router/firewall for Aus $190. I bought the expensive model, the
billion 5100 would be Aus $100

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