I'm forwarding to the list so others can benefit.
>Hi Howard, >Thank you for your good advice. > >I'm getting the DSL line from SOURCEONE-and Iam not sure whom they >are contracting from. Any idea about this company? who is the best >for the DSL business? No idea. Maybe someone else does. > >What type of Netgear router are you currently using and does this >support well if you connect them 10-15 stations same time? I'm not >sure if you tried connecting using more than one computer to the DSL >line. How is throughput when connected to as many as 10 computers? >Thanks again for your time. > >Farhn Haven't tried that many. > > > > > > > >****************************************************************** >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. > > >_________________________________________________________________ >Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp. Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=30032&t=30032 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
