payasam Posted February 13, 2006 Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 I've been on dial-up all this while because none of the broadband providers in the city had a reputation for being reliable. Dial-up hasn't been perfect, and it has been getting worse (apart from being slow), so I am thinking of changing. The trouble is that the broadband provider I have zeroed in does not know a thing about Linux. I shall need what they call an "Ethernet LAN Card (10/100 Base T) with TCP/IP support". All that the man told me was that this would have to be configured separately for Linux -- which should be obvious, since Win and Lin are on different partitions. He did not have the ghost of an idea how that was to be done. Nor do I. Help appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarecrow Posted February 13, 2006 Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 Any ethernet PCI adapter with TCP/IP support will work in any *nix system right out of the box with very little configuration (or no config at all on DHCP based network). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw1974 Posted February 14, 2006 Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 A lot of these places just support Windows. The fact you run Linux shouldn't be important, but there are a few things that need to be taken into consideration. If it's a broadband service, there are usually two types of devices you can end up with. One is a USB DSL modem, and the other is a DSL router. You're likely to have more problems trying to get the DSL modem working in Linux, than using a DSL router. The DSL router would manage the internet connection on it's own, regardless of what computer operating system you are using. Therefore, operating system in this sense is unimportant. If you have a DSL modem, then this can become much more important. For example, if the modem only works in Windows and not Linux, then you'll have a problem. He suggests using an ethernet network card, which would mean that perhaps they are going to be supplying an ethernet router. Check that this is the case. If so, there is no need to mention you use Linux. Even if you do, they won't support it, but that's no problem. If the router is managing the internet connection, all you need is an IP address to be able to see the router, and to be able to resolve DNS. Then, you'll have internet access. If at any point you have a problem with the internet connection, and it's failing, you can call them, and the router is usually configured with a browser. Therefore, in this instance, operating system is unimportant as well. If you call them for support and mention you use Linux, you'll never get your query fixed. So just say the router isn't connecting when you call, and the rest they never need know about! :P Hope this helps a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
payasam Posted February 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2006 (edited) Scarecrow, thank you. Ianw, they say they will give me a static IP address, and I understand that no USB port will be involved -- so, it seems, no modem problems. There's no mention of a router either: all they speak of is a fibre optic connection. Moderator: I got no notification of these two replies to my query. Moderator: My Netscape.net address was registered here. It has been giving trouble, and I have changed it to a Gmail one. Things should be all right now, and you were not to blame in the first place. Edited February 15, 2006 by payasam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw1974 Posted February 15, 2006 Report Share Posted February 15, 2006 Hmmm, a fibre optic connection makes me think they will be supplying you with fibre optic hardware to deal with the connection. You'd need to find out more about the setup, and how they are looking to present the connection. Are they running a fibre optic cable direct to your house/building? I would have thought that it would require a router to initiate the connection, else you could just plug in and obtain a connection over the fibre without any username/password requirements. Static IP address is good if they are supplying this, since it means you could offer ftp/web services from your machine without any problems. Find out more about their setup, how the connection is presented, what hardware is required to obtain the connection (eg: router, DSL modem, fibre network cards). This is crucial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
payasam Posted February 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2006 Ianw, all I know at this time is: direct fibre optic cable; LAN card; static IP. No other hardware said to be needed. Does it tell you anything that the speed promised is "up to 75 Kbps"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw1974 Posted February 16, 2006 Report Share Posted February 16, 2006 From what you mention it sounds like they are running a fibre direct to your house/building, to attach directly to your network card. This would mean no authentication whatsoever, unless they secure it by mac address, but even this isn't fool-proof. Fibre, from what I remember has a limit on distance of about 2km. At least, I think that's the max distance range of it. Does sound a strange setup to provide an internet connection though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devries Posted February 16, 2006 Report Share Posted February 16, 2006 Impressive. from dialup directly to fibre. And in the meantime I´m stuck with my measly 8MB cable connection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw1974 Posted February 16, 2006 Report Share Posted February 16, 2006 That's much better than my 256Kbps ADSL!! Bummer. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarecrow Posted February 16, 2006 Report Share Posted February 16, 2006 "Measly 8MB cable"? Arghhhh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
payasam Posted February 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2006 No ordinary fibre, Devries: braided horse-tail. Good to see you again. Is it not possible, Ianw, to have hubs each of which covers a 2 km. (or whatever) radius? I'll have to read up on the security part of this business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw1974 Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 Normally what I would expect is some sort of equipment attached to the fibre which is going to provide the authentication for your connection. This being a router, or something along those lines. To be honest, I'm no expert on this, since I've never heard of an internet connection being provided to your house over fibre. I'm just comparing it to using DSL services, which require something to authenticate with username/password, and giving you a DHCP or static IP accordingly. You'd need to speak to the company concerned who will provide this to you and find out more. Ask them how it's supposed to work if all you get is a fibre and network card? How secure is it? With DSL, you can use a router, which at worst has NAT which will protect you to some extent, but isn't as good as a proper firewall. With a fibre direct, I don't see where the security is. If so, definitely have shorewall installed on your machine to protect it. I would want to install some equipment in between the fibre and my PC's to protect my network. A firewall with a fibre connection, or a router with copper and fibre interfaces and then a firewall. This is what I'd recommend you think about before signing up with these guys, it's important to know how this will work and the security protection of your machines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
payasam Posted February 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 Ianw, the person with whom I've been dealing (signed up yesterday) is a sales type who readily admits that his technical understanding is something like nil. He put me in touch with a "technical" guy who seemed to think that installing and configuring meant the same thing. Somewhere else in the city, though, sits the chief of the technical wing of the organisation; and I should get something from him or her. I have never been overly concerned about Net security, since I am off-line when I work on things which need to be secure and put them in a safe place, outside the machine and encrypted, when I go on-line. No encryption is perfect, but mine's pretty good. False scents and all that. I will, though, look into fire-walls as you say I should. What's a "shorewall"? Devries should know if it's a dyke of the kind they have where he lives. With holes for small boys' fingers, perhaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw1974 Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 Shorewall is a firewall on Linux. So if the link doesn't require any routers/firewall hardware, then use this to protect your connection while your machine is online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devries Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 My shorewall has only holes for bittorrent traffic :D. But I agree with Ianw, you ´need´ a NAT router for security (get a cheap Linksys). Not because Linux is unsafe or because the firewall is not good enough but just to be cautious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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