[Wylug-help] ADSL interfaces for Linux

[Ed Coombs]

Nigel Metheringham wrote:
> Looks like I'm going to be moving away from the wonders of NTL cable
> service and to the unimagined horrors of BT ADSL.
>
> Have people got any recommendations - or references to commentries on -
> ADSL connectivity for use with Linux.

Disclaimer/qualifier:) I do embedded system desing, and am hoping to
move all my tools to linux during the next 1-3yrs. Though I did
operating system development under CP/M I'n still a complete linux newbie.

I got an Alcatel Speedtouch modem from BT as they said it was free. This
was before they got told off for not saying that there were alternate
suppliers for ADSL. I had been chasing NTL for two years, but the hadn't
got round to broadband in our area.

I imagine that if my connection goes loopy, then only having one support
team to negotiate with may be an advantage. The Win98 install was easy,
& I've managed to ignore the BtOpenworld CD when fixing Win98 crashes.

The SpeedTouch modem must be mostly soft as it requires a 500k file load
to get it running. This hopefully makes it upgradable. Don't think it's
got an ARM processor though, as it occasionally runs warm, and about
once a month dies during action. Did I hear a rumour about tripping the
USB power.

Using the linux user mode driver I got one of our machines to connect
under RH7.3. This went no further as I hadn't figured how to setup the
DNS links, and most of my energy was used up by trying to install the
kernel mode driver first.

> I specifically require that the Linux box is directly on the internet
> and not NATed off from it - so that means it either needs a USB type
> modem (which ones work reliably?), or a ethernet ADSL box which provides
> a bridged or eoppp type link rather than a NATed network.   Only one box
> needs to connect to the ADSL (since that box is going to be the gateway
> for anything else).

Sorry, probably don't understand this properly.

I saw a hack which claimed to change my BT 'dialup' ADSL connection into
an allways on one, but it didn't seem safe so I ignored it.

The end goal here will be to use SmoothWall, a linux firewall on an old
  386/486 box. This is apparently a tested configuration, details:

   http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/road/xpm78/duncan/smoothwall.html

Hope it goes well. I'll be trying to setup mine again under RH8 soon, so
if there's any (well, preferably non-destructive) testing I can do, let
me know.

Ed Coombs.
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Murray Microft - logical designs in & around chips
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