[IOML] Slightly OT question

[Dylan Smith]

All,

I am just about at my wits end with Manx Telecom. We just had a business
ADSL connection installed yesterday, with one static IP. When you get a
business ADSL connection, you get supplied with it (and I assume part of
the price includes rent on) a SpeedStream 5861.

The trouble is, MT in their infinite wisdom configure these as routers,
with a private address range for the computer on the other side. But we
need the computer to have the public IP address because it has to do
things like be a mail server, DNS server etc.

Can I get them to reconfigure it as a bridge rather than a router? So far
I've just been fobbed off ('I'll have to speak to my manager to see if we
are allowed to do this'). Unfortunately, MT have these routers locked down
so I can't configure it myself (I have the manual for the standard
Speedstream 5861, so I know how to do it myself. What really hurts is that
the standard unit, unmolested, automatically defaults to being a bridge).
They expect us to pay for 5 IP addresses if we want the computer to have a
public IP address. I'm sorry, but we only need one and we're absolutely
not paying for another 4 (which will be wasted. How irresponsible is this,
considering the pressure on IPv4 address space? If I want more IPs for my
dedicated server, I have to justify each and every one as per ARIN
guidelines, but MT wants to foist extra resources on us that we don't
need!)

Now the question: has anyone found out how to gain control of these
supplied routers? I've found some (dead) links from other LUGs who have
been supplied these things via BT in the UK, but the links are dead. If
anyone has some advice on gaining control of these things so I can set it
up myself in case MT are unwilling?

Expect to see a rant about this in alt.sysadmin.recovery in the near
future :-/

cheers.
-- 
Dylan Smith, Castletown, Isle of Man      | Code fast, crash young and
Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net         | leave a beautiful core.
FFE/Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net |             -- JK (#afe)