Aargh! Need info!

We've just signed up for Telewest and I've just realised that after
years on ADSL, I know nothing about cable broadband and Telewest's site
is useless.

We've just had our BT phone bill and let me tell ya, that sucker's
getting switched off, so staying with ADSL isn't an option.

Basically I have two PC's (which may soon become 2 PC's and a laptop):
One dual boots Linux and W2k and the other runs WinME. The ME machine
has a PCI wireless card, as does the Linux machine, but the card doesn't
run under Linux, so it's coming out.

The PC's are networked at the moment, but only Ad Hoc PC to PC and only
when on Windows. I was about to solve that problem with an ADSL,
Wireless/wired router (I had my sights on a cheapo one from Ebuyer - the
one with a built-in print server), so now what do I do?

Telewest asked us if we'd got a spare USB port, which bothers me because
if the cable modem's USB, then we're no better off than we are now with
our Speedtouch USB modem.

I thought cable broadband ran using PPPoE, with an ethernet connection
between cable modem and PC. Am I out of date with this? Do they offer
you a choice of setup options when they install the kit? Are they going
to piss around with my computer?

Panic? me? Nah...

Lithaborn wrote:
> We've just signed up for Telewest and I've just realised that after
> years on ADSL, I know nothing about cable broadband and Telewest's
> site is useless.
>
> We've just had our BT phone bill and let me tell ya, that sucker's
> getting switched off, so staying with ADSL isn't an option.
>
> Basically I have two PC's (which may soon become 2 PC's and a laptop):
> One dual boots Linux and W2k and the other runs WinME. The ME machine
> has a PCI wireless card, as does the Linux machine, but the card
> doesn't run under Linux, so it's coming out.
>
> The PC's are networked at the moment, but only Ad Hoc PC to PC and
> only when on Windows. I was about to solve that problem with an ADSL,
> Wireless/wired router (I had my sights on a cheapo one from Ebuyer -
> the one with a built-in print server), so now what do I do?
>
> Telewest asked us if we'd got a spare USB port, which bothers me
> because if the cable modem's USB, then we're no better off than we
> are now with our Speedtouch USB modem.
>
> I thought cable broadband ran using PPPoE, with an ethernet connection
> between cable modem and PC. Am I out of date with this? Do they offer
> you a choice of setup options when they install the kit? Are they
> going to piss around with my computer?
>
> Panic? me? Nah...

Right.. first things first, I already have Telewest broadband fed to wired
and wireless PCs using the EBuyer SWBRU-54108 cheapie broadband router with
built in print server.... So you can breathe again! (This box doesn't do
ADSL though. But then again you don't need it!)

The cable modem they gave me is a Motorola Surfboard SB5100i - it has USB
(not used) and Ethernet.

I take the Ethernet into one the WAN port, and feed all the PCs from the
wired ports or the aerial. The only difficult thing I had to do was to take
the MAC address of the PC that Telewest tested the cable modem with and
spoof it onto the Router. Telewest register the address of the PC and the
cable modem expects to talk just to that MAC address. Which it now does ;-)

Works a treat. Quick, never stops (but it slows down when all the kids are
home from school for a while...) new PCs just plug in and go, using DHCP and
NAT.

The other nice thing compared to the Speedtouch USB box is that you never
need to dial up after a reboot, and as far as the PCs are concerned they are
all on a LAN with the whole Internet. Watch your firewall settings on the
box!

I do miss having a little green eyed horseshoe crab around the place though!

(E-Mail Removed) declared for all the world to hear...
> The PC's are networked at the moment, but only Ad Hoc PC to PC and only
> when on Windows. I was about to solve that problem with an ADSL,
> Wireless/wired router (I had my sights on a cheapo one from Ebuyer - the
> one with a built-in print server), so now what do I do?

Get a cable modem/router/firewall/wireless. They are basically the same
devices but with a cable input instead of an ADSL input. Or just get a
router/access point, as you will already have a modem. Your network
would then be:

cable line > freebie modem > router/firewall/wireless access point >
computers.

> I thought cable broadband ran using PPPoE, with an ethernet connection
> between cable modem and PC.

My mum recently went for NTL broadband, the modem they give out connects
via USB or ethernet, so I recommended she use ethernet for speed.
--
Regards
Jon

"Jon" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> (E-Mail Removed) declared for all the world to hear...
>> The PC's are networked at the moment, but only Ad Hoc PC to PC and only
>> when on Windows. I was about to solve that problem with an ADSL,
>> Wireless/wired router (I had my sights on a cheapo one from Ebuyer - the
>> one with a built-in print server), so now what do I do?
>
> Get a cable modem/router/firewall/wireless. They are basically the same
> devices but with a cable input instead of an ADSL input. Or just get a
> router/access point, as you will already have a modem. Your network
> would then be:
>
> cable line > freebie modem > router/firewall/wireless access point >
> computers.
>
>> I thought cable broadband ran using PPPoE, with an ethernet connection
>> between cable modem and PC.
>
> My mum recently went for NTL broadband, the modem they give out connects
> via USB or ethernet, so I recommended she use ethernet for speed.

Speed is the same for USB and Ethernet. USB uses a lot more resources
though.

On 23 Aug 2005 09:30, Jon <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Get a cable modem/router/firewall/wireless. They are basically the same
>devices but with a cable input instead of an ADSL input. Or just get a
>router/access point, as you will already have a modem.

Some routers suitable for cable may have a port marked WAN. The "ADSL
input" is the (built-in) ADSL modem.

>Your network would then be:
>cable line > freebie modem > router/firewall/wireless access point >
>computers.

>> I thought cable broadband ran using PPPoE, with an ethernet connection
>> between cable modem and PC.

>My mum recently went for NTL broadband, the modem they give out connects
>via USB or ethernet, so I recommended she use ethernet for speed.

I trust her PC has a firewall - seems like either USB or ethernet from a
cable connection would leave you 'exposed to attack' otherwise. Peter.

--

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us-(E-Mail Removed) declared for all the world to hear...
> I trust her PC has a firewall - seems like either USB or ethernet from a
> cable connection would leave you 'exposed to attack' otherwise. Peter.

Windows XP SP2 firewall and zonealarm.
--
Regards
Jon

Jon wrote:
> (E-Mail Removed) declared for all the world to hear...
>
>>The PC's are networked at the moment, but only Ad Hoc PC to PC and only
>>when on Windows. I was about to solve that problem with an ADSL,
>>Wireless/wired router (I had my sights on a cheapo one from Ebuyer - the
>>one with a built-in print server), so now what do I do?
>
>
> Get a cable modem/router/firewall/wireless. They are basically the same
> devices but with a cable input instead of an ADSL input. Or just get a
> router/access point, as you will already have a modem. Your network
> would then be:
>
> cable line > freebie modem > router/firewall/wireless access point >
> computers.

Does the cable modem have to be connected to a router port marked WAN or
can it be connected to any ethernet port?

>>I thought cable broadband ran using PPPoE, with an ethernet connection
>>between cable modem and PC.
>
>
> My mum recently went for NTL broadband, the modem they give out connects
> via USB or ethernet, so I recommended she use ethernet for speed.

Oh I'll be going for the ethernet in this case, as I don't fancy making
a USB cable modem work on Linux.

Question: Would it be better to have Linux or Windows booted when the
engineer arrives? They're not going to say "Oh we don't support Linux"
and bog off are they?

Jon wrote:
> (E-Mail Removed) declared for all the world to hear...
>
> My mum recently went for NTL broadband, the modem they give out connects
> via USB or ethernet, so I recommended she use ethernet for speed.

AFAIK the fastest ntl cable connection is 3Mbps, USB has a nominal
bandwidth of 12Mbps - even allowing for the crapness of USB I don't
think that speed is going to be an issue.

Lithaborn wrote:
<snip>
>
> Question: Would it be better to have Linux or Windows booted when the
> engineer arrives? They're not going to say "Oh we don't support Linux"
> and bog off are they?

They don't hook up the PC - they put the modem where you want (within
reason), hand you a couple of cables, and leave :-)

(E-Mail Removed) declared for all the world to hear...
> > cable line > freebie modem > router/firewall/wireless access point >
> > computers.

> Does the cable modem have to be connected to a router port marked WAN or
> can it be connected to any ethernet port?

The output from the cable modem would indeed go into a port marked WAN
or INTERNET or UNTRUSTED or similar.

> Question: Would it be better to have Linux or Windows booted when the
> engineer arrives? They're not going to say "Oh we don't support Linux"
> and bog off are they?

I don't think they actually do anything to your PC, they will leave you
with an installation DVD which you will need to run through for the
windows boot. I know nothing about Linux though so I couldn't even begin
to tell you how to do it.

I think you will need to use the widows boot first, as the software does
some initial communication with NTL which says "OK, I'm active, switch
my service on!" I think.


--
Regards
Jon