[sclug] isp

Sat Oct 25 09:05:54 UTC 2003

The expo is a commercial thing I think, not really appropriate for end
users (I work in IT and got a free invite to it that fell out of a
magazine - a sure sign that it's going to be lots of people trying to
sell stuff rather than anything useful).

For basic web browsing, there should be no need to copy any details
across from XP.  I haven't used SuSE so can't be sure of the exact
details but basically to get your cable modem set up you'll need to :

1. connect the modem to the PC using an ethernet cable (NOT the USB
one).  NTL should have supplied both kinds.  If you don't already know,
the ethernet cable is the one that looks similar to a standard
telephone jack.  I'm assuming you've only got one ethernet socket on
your PC.

2. boot up

3. somewhere you'll have a program to configure your networking.  this
may be linuxconf, may be something that SuSE have written themselves
(in which case there should be an icon for it on the desktop), or (my
own preference) webmin.  To access webmin, if it is running on your
machine, open up a web browser (e.g. Konqueror or Galeon) and type
https://localhost:10000 in the address bar.

4. whatever program you use, it should present you with a list of
network interfaces on your system.  It's likely that you'll only have
the one, called eth0 (if you have others, they'll be called eth1, eth2
etc, and you'll need to employ a bit of trial and error to work out
which one you have set up).  

5.  change the options for eth0 so that DHCP is enabled.

6.  open up the web browser [again] and see if you can access any
internet sites - you should be able to.

7.  Find out whatever firewall application came with SuSE and follow
whatever instructions you can find to configure it, just to be safe.  

If you want to use your ntlworld.com email address under Linux you'll
need to configure whatever mail program you use.  Somewhere buried in
the menus there'll be an option called something like "accounts" where
you can configure outgoing and incoming mail.

For incoming mail you'll need to set the
email address - your ntlworld one e.g. james at ntlworld.com (not my real
address)
server type - as POP3
server address - pop.ntlworld.com
user name - your email address WITHOUT the @ntlworld.com bit e.g. james
password - the password you set when registering

For outgoing mail you merely need to set the server address as
smtp.ntlworld.com

I hope this is enough info to get you up and running; if you run into
problems drop me a line.  I've copied in the rest of the sclug list in
case (a) I've got something wrong, or (b) they have useful suggestions
of websites or books for getting started with Linux - but hey, if
you're still reading this at your library then finding a decent book
shouldn't be a problem :)

Good luck,
James.

 --- Peter Titus <k8ofkind at hotmail.com> wrote: > Recieved a cable modem
yesterday (monday) from ntl. Had problems
> registering 
> so I'm still using the local library for the time being. I assume
> that 
> details from XP can just be copied over to Linux and away I go.? I've
> gone 
> for the 600k £25 per month package as I think this should be
> more than 
> enough for me. I shall try to register today and see if all goes
> well.!
> Very much a beginner regarding computers but I am quite interested to
> see 
> how I fare with Linux (SuSE)
> 
> p.s. there's an expo in london next week do you think this is worth
> going 
> to.?
> 
> 
> >From: James Wyper <jrwyper at yahoo.co.uk>
> >To: sclug at sclug.org.uk
> >CC: k8ofkind at hotmail.com
> >Subject: Re: [sclug] isp
> >Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 13:41:39 +0100 (BST)
> >
> >I have been using NTL's broadband service for a year now.  For the
> past
> >6 months the machine connected to my cable modem has been an old
> Linux
> >box running more or less permanently and acting as firewall / router
> /
> >proxy server.
> >
> >Once NTL have done the necessary installations at your house, you'll
> >need Windows to register your connection (they supply the connection
> >programs on a CD).  After that, you can connect a Linux machine to
> your
> >cable modem and it will work absolutely fine.  The cable modem they
> >supplied (which I think is the standard one) can be connected via
> USB
> >or Ethernet.  I use Ethernet as it uses less system resource and
> last
> >time I checked the USB connection wasn't supported under Linux.
> >
> >I expect you know that you should have firewall software installed. 
> I
> >found the combination of shorewall + webmin to set it up easy to us;
> >it's worth getting the most up-to-date versions of each from the net
> >rather than relying on your distro's version (if any).
> >
> >I have the cheapo 160kbps ?18/month service from NTL.  I've never
> had
> >contention problems that have restricted my bandwidth and apart from
> an
> >intermittent email outage that lasted the best part of a week the
> >technical side of NTL has worked for me.  The billing/customer
> >"service"  side was appalling to begin with: I was quoted free
> >installation, then billed ?25 for it.  When I complained I was told
> >this had been cancelled but I was still receiving final reminder
> >letters and telephone calls from a debt collection agency over two
> >months later.  Eventually it all stopped.  A letter of complaint to
> >head office went unanswered.
> >
> >Whether or not NTL is right for you will depend on whether you want
> to
> >do things on the cheap (how much bandwidth do you really need?) and
> how
> >much potential aggro you're prepared to put up with.  After the
> initial
> >problems I've got no real complaints about the service.
> >
> >James.
> >
> > >
> > > Message: 1
> > > From: "Peter Titus" <k8ofkind at hotmail.com>
> > > To: sclug at sclug.org.uk
> > > Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2003 16:43:35 +0100
> > > Subject: [sclug] isp
> > >
> > > Hello just a general enquiry as I am unsure where to go for
> specific
> > > problems.
> > >
> > > 1.which ISP will be compatible with Linux (SuSE) dial-up and/or
> > > broadband.?
> > > 2. Thinking of buying a shuttle xpc (small form factor) will this
> run
> > >
> > > Linux.?
> > >
> > > I have had a BT and an NTL connection in the past and it would be
> no
> > > problem
> > > to reconnect to either
> > > unless there are other alternatives.!
> > >
> > > These questions are probably asked all the time.! Is there a site
> > > specifically aimed at newbies in Linux.?
> > >
> > >          Thanks in advance
> > >
> > >
> >
>
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