Re: Minimum necessary to connect PC to broadband

On Fri, 25 Aug 2006 12:40:22 +0100, Jim Howes
<sewoh.mij@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

MM wrote:
Now that our exchange has finally been converted to ADSL I am looking
at various broadband providers, e.g. Zen Internet. Their new Lite
offering is £17.99 per month with a 2 GB cap, but speeds up to 8 MB
(yes, I know the actual max speed is lower).

You'd be far better off asking ADSL questions in uk.telecom.broadband

Zen keep telling me, and recommending, one of "their" Ethernet/router
boxes (min £39 + VAT), but I have said that I need neither Ethernet
nor routing. I just need an ADSL modem to connect the PC to the phone
socket.

You can get cheaper routers, and cheaper modems.

For example, PC World have the Zoom USB ADSL modem on their shelves
for around £24. Here is same product from another supplier:
http://www.dslsource.co.uk/product_details.asp?idProduct=243

All I need, right?

Depends on what you mean by 'need'. In theory yes, but there are many practical
reasons why a routed connection is less troublesome.

1. A router implementing NAT, as virtually all consumer routers do, is the thing
which logs in to your service provider. It's on, all the time, sitting there
waiting for your machine to talk to the world through it.

But my PC is normally switched OFF most of the time! I switch it on
when I need it and off when I don't.

A USB ADSL device, on
the other hand, behaves like an analogue modem as far as windows network is
concerned.

Well, that's fine the way it works now, but just too slow when I'm
online. I dial up and connect, a matter of a few seconds. Big deal.
The ONLY thing I'm looking for is higher speeds once I'm connected.

It needs to be 'dialled', and requires assorted drivers to be
loaded.

Many bits and pieces in the PC need drivers. A few more aren't going
to hurt much. And since I have to dial right now, what's the big deal
with dialling? I don't actually have to rotate the dial on the front
of a telephone like I once did. I just click a button and Windows
dials for me. I would actually feel more comnfortable knowing that the
PC is NOT normally connected! (I have often thought that this
continuously on aspect of ADSL may be what causes so much grief in
other users with virus attacks.)

Most of this happens AFTER you log in, which means that system services
that like to update themselves at boot time (windows update, AVG, ZoneAlarm,
others), cannot do so, requiring effort on your part to manually start their
update process.

Well, with dial up that I currently have that's the way system
services have to work at the moment. I don't have to manually start
anything, either. AVG connects automatically the moment it detects
that it is online. ZoneAlarm, too, normally sits quiescent in the
system tray, but when I am online it is active. I know this because I
have to acknowledge any attempt by programs to connect to the
internet, including FreeAgent, Eudora, Opera etc. (I have set up ZA so
that only AVG has "allowed" access - everything else is set to Ask).


2. A router connects your NETWORK to the internet, not just your machine.

I have only the one machine. I do not connect any other PCs I might
have to the internet. The other PC I use (an old 486 with an Evergreen
CPU) is for MIDI sequencing only.

If
you only have one machine, this is not an issue for you,

Exactly.

but when you buy that
laptop,

Never. Why on earth would I need a laptop? Horrid keyboard, no proper
mouse, tiny screen, costs a fortune, tempts thieves, batteries catch
fire, house burns down, Neighbourhood Watch has me arrested for smoke
pollution. Why on earth would I need a laptop? Never.

or your friends drop around with their machines to frag you in Quake,

I am 60 years old. I do not understand what "Quake" is. I do not live
in San Fransisco.

they can, simply by being on your local area network, use your internet
connection.

Even if you do not have more than one PC, more devices are coming
onto the market with ethernet connectivity, which you may want to connect up to
your network (items like the KiSS DVD players, for instance)

I play DVDs on my PC or on my DVD player, which cost £49 in
Sainsbury's. There is nothing else I need. Except a faster internet
connection.

3. Security issues. While no replacement for a software firewall (and
antivirus, and antispyware packages) as far as monitoring outgoing traffic goes,
the background noise from your internet connections (virus activity, port scans,
probes for open relays by spammers, etc.) gets bounced by the router, not the
PC. Think of this as similar to having a receptionist answer the telephones and
screening your calls for you.

Why won't ZoneAlarm continue to do that as it does now? (I have
checked my system at www.grc.com on numerous occasions.)

4. System resources. Some USB devices are ridiculously CPU hungry. Add to this
the requirement to run an ATM protocol stack as well as the usual networking
stuff, and all this extra driver load, plus all the bugs they contain, do not
make your internet use any better.

Better? All I need is faster. If it does that, I'm happy.

5. Wiring issues. You can only push a USB cable so far. Many an ADSL
connection dies due to poor wiring inside the house.

The house is new build by a reputable builder with phone sockets in
all major rooms. I do not envisage problems with the wiring.

Your PC may be some
distance from the telephone line it is connecting to.

10 metres.

Put the router near the
phone line, and run CAT5 from there. CAT5 ethernet cabling runs can be 100m
with no data loss. Apply some wireless ethernet kit, and you can connect from
anywhere in range.

I don't want wireless. I don't need Ethernet cabling.

6. Configuration issues. Some ISP's will sell you a router that has already
been configured for your connection. (AAISP for one). All your PC needs is an
ethernet interface (which it probably already has), an IP address, netmask, and
gateway address (which can either be typed in manually, or acquired
automatically from the router via DHCP). Far less setup and installation work
required when you find you have to nuke your windows installation and reinstall
from scratch because you went down with the virus-du-jour.

No wonder ISPs want to sell routers if they are twice the price.

And so far I haven't needed to nuke my Windows 98SE installation under
dial up!

So, summary: Yes, USB modems work. Yes, USB modems suck hard vacuum.

But if they suck FASTER, that's all I need, right?

MM
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Urgent! New router and big disaster
    ... First Page of the Internet Connection Wizard, ... Next I Select a local router device with an ip address. ... You should give your SBS a fixed external address so you can forward ports ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • Re: Slow Internet Connection Sharing
    ... Router between the Modem and Computer. ... Internet Connection Sharing. ... can you log into Hotmail and Messenger? ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support)
  • Re: Router install problem
    ... that's the Internet (the Wide Area ... LAN side of the router is ... "Internet Connection Wizard" are relevant to the way I was trying to ... and 5 buttons on the left (Wizard, Wireless, WAN, LAN, DHCP). ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web)
  • Re: Unable to obtain a server- assigned IP address Try again later or enter an IP address in Net
    ... I can go to Control Panel - Network and Internet Connections - ... If yours is not a subset of your router, ... I have a LINKSYS router (4 port connection) - I have my cable modem ...
    (microsoft.public.pocketpc)
  • Re: Cannot simultaneously share DSL connection
    ... In order to be able to use Internet with both computers at the same time the ... Router has to be the authentication device. ... The Linksys Router provides on the CD an extended manual that would explain ... happens when we try to share the internet connection. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web)