>Hi all, >I plan to getting one DSL line and one dynamic IP address from an ISP. Also >I will be connecting about 10-15 stations to the DSL line. Equipments that I >will be getting includes:DSL modem, router, and a HUB. DSL is not my field >of expertise. My question is, how to configure a network in which all of the >computers can use the DSL line. Also, what would be the best router's vendor >type can I use considering to minimize costs. I appreciate any expert feed >back on this. Thanks. > >Farhn
First, be careful in all residential broadband, even before you get to the equipment. I went through a long and painful experience with "business grade" DSL, which often was down for a week at a time. My chief problem was that there were far too many players involved, all delaying and fingerpointing. I directly contracted with a DSL-supportive ISP (then CAIS, renamed Ardent, and then renamed something I forget). They contracted with Covad, who ran the actual DSL layer 1 network over facilities leased from Verizon. Even when I had an obvious local loop problem, the reporting had to go from CAIS to Covad to Verizon, which could take 24-48 hours at each stage, after which CAIS and Verizon might wait 3-5 days to dispatch technicians independently. If there was a question of Verizon being at fault, then it was necessary to wait a few more days to schedule both Verizon and Covad technicians to be at my site at the same time. Just to add to the fun, the first-line ISP often had 20-30 minute waits for trouble calls. One interesting sidebar about "business grade" DSL is Verizon has a 4-hour response commitment for T1, fractional T1, and Frame Relay loops, but only 24 hour for DSL. This 24 hour often seemed to be interpreted as 24 business hours. In frustration, I finally gave up on DSL both for technical reasons and the awareness that both Covad and CAIS were in financial trouble. I then went to cable access with Comcast, which contracted with @home for the actual IP connectivity. I have nothing but good things to say about their tech support, although I am now experiencing SEVERE congestion at peak times. Comcast did not offer a business grade service. Of course, @home is now in apparently terminal financial problems, so Comcast is looking elsewhere for connectivity. I'll give Comcast credit for making a major effort to keep their customers operational, in contrast to AT&T. Still, I'm having substantial problems. At this point, as a home-based worker who MUST have connectivity, I'm leaning to getting fractional T1 with dial backup. Anyway, to return to your original question, I had a /29 subnet from the DSL provider, and an Efficient Networks (Cabletron spinoff) router with integral DSL modem supplied by the carrier. It had to be swapped out twice in a year. Now, I have a Netgear router/firewall connected to the cable modem, and it's worked out well so far. I selected that simply because I knew it was compatible with a particular IPsec client I needed to use. My next router will probably be a Cisco 2600 class, depending on my VoIP and crypto requirements. Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=29984&t=29964 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
