[Gllug] UK hit by major ADSL outage

[Richard Cohen]

On Wed, 21 Nov 2001, Rev Simon Rumble wrote:

> Something somewhat related to this is a thing that's nagged me for a
> long time.  Why to ADSL providers insist on having to authenticate
> users before giving them network access?  Surely it would all be a lot
> simpler to just say "you've got the line, here's an IP".  One less
> service, one less thing to go wrong.
>
> I can understand why you'd have it on a shared-network type of system
> like cable modems or wireless but why on a point-to-point system?
> They don't have some special authentication system on your ordinary
> phone line.  If you've got the line and it's connected at the other
> end to an exchange, you can use it.  Surely the same concept should
> work for ADSL?!?!?

As I understand it, I have a line which is an entirely generic BT ADSL line.
When I 'login', I request a connection to a Freeserve server from the other
end of my virtual serial cable, and that is then my Internet connection.  If
I just brought up the 'line' and started PPP on it, the BT ADSL factilies
wouldn't know where to connect my virtual serial line to.  In other words, I
could probably go round to my friends place and put my Freeserve account
details into his Easynet ADSL setup and have a Freeserve connection come up,
with my IP address and all.  I don't think there's much intelligence based
on the source of the 'line'.

They could probably do without passwords, but once they're doing usernames,
they might as well do passwords.  It stops people pretending to be other
people, if nothing else, so if the ISP needs to come after you for anything
(spam, etc.), they know who you are with at last *some* confidence.

Cheers
Richard


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