DSL vs Cable modem ---what is difference when connecting to internet?

Hi linux guys,

I have been using SBC DSL to connect to the internet via pppoe on my redhat 8.
It worked well with high speed(more than 850 Kbps), but after I moved
to another city 10 days ago, I find the speed is very low(about 214.6 Kbps),
so I want to change high connection from DSL to COMCAST Cable modem.

I want to know what is difference between DSL and Cable modem?
(1)use pppoe for DSL, what protocol for Cable modem?
(2)what kinds of setting files are the same , and what kinds of setting files are the different?
(3)when use DSL, there is no need to know Mac address of NIC, when use cable modem,
is there a need to know Mac address of network card?
(4)....?
(5)....?

Any help(idea,hint etc) will be appreciated greatly!

Thank you so much in advance!!

Robb

Robb wrote:
> Hi linux guys,
>
> I have been using SBC DSL to connect to the internet via pppoe on my redhat 8.
> It worked well with high speed(more than 850 Kbps), but after I moved
> to another city 10 days ago, I find the speed is very low(about 214.6 Kbps),
> so I want to change high connection from DSL to COMCAST Cable modem.
>
> I want to know what is difference between DSL and Cable modem?
> (1)use pppoe for DSL, what protocol for Cable modem?

DHCP, just like the rest of the whole internet.

> (2)what kinds of setting files are the same , and what kinds of setting files are the different?

dont know what you mean? a freash install of win95, xp, linux, anything
can handle cable because it uses the standard protocols that already
exist in the industry and does not install its own. No software
installation or os modification required with Comcast cable.

> (3)when use DSL, there is no need to know Mac address of NIC, when use cable modem,
> is there a need to know Mac address of network card?

sometimes, but they are lax about MAC addresses in my area. PPPOE is
its own protocol, its new overhead which is whooly unnecessary. i fail
to even know why they chose that route but for stupidity.

> (4)....?
switch

> (5)....?

switch now.

>
> Any help(idea,hint etc) will be appreciated greatly!
>
you wont need any. well you need one, get all that pppoe crap off your
computer and any SBC garbage as well. if comcast tries to get you to
install any software, ignore them because its not necessary. if they
give you a cdrom, ignore it.

> Thank you so much in advance!!
>
> Robb
>
>

Comcast kicks SBCs butt. They use simple DHCP and TCP/IP. They dont
shove any technologies onto your computer and corrupt your whole OS just
so they can litter your desktop with icons and invade every inch of your
vision with their evil presense.

I been with comcast about 2 years, i moved 2 months ago and decided to
give sbc a swing. later that same night I packed up the DSL modem,
uninstalled the invasive hardware from all my phone outlets, and
promptly send that shiznit back where it came from with a full refund.

Did I mention the speed of SBC was a joke. Its ADSL and PPPOE for
crying out loud, cable ping times will slaughter that mess.

don't buy into that shared hype either...check broadbandreports.com and
check how sbc and comcast perform in your zipcode.


cl

Before comcast was att was comcast (reselling @Home), I had
to use dhclient from the ISC DHCP package to get it working.

pump and dhcpdc both failed. This is with a RH6.1 install that
I'm still using. Don't know what RH8 or RH9 use as a DHCP client.

Chris

--
Chris Richmond | I don't speak for Intel & vise versa

"Carl" <moc.erawtfosdigir@treblig_tnomal> wrote in message
news:3FFDD1BD.7040501@treblig_tnomal...
>
>
> Robb wrote:
> > Hi linux guys,
> >
> > I have been using SBC DSL to connect to the internet via pppoe on my
redhat 8.
> > It worked well with high speed(more than 850 Kbps), but after I moved
> > to another city 10 days ago, I find the speed is very low(about 214.6
Kbps),
> > so I want to change high connection from DSL to COMCAST Cable modem.
> >
> > I want to know what is difference between DSL and Cable modem?
> > (1)use pppoe for DSL, what protocol for Cable modem?
>
> DHCP, just like the rest of the whole internet.

Nonsense ... so arrogant.


You dont just have a cable modem, you have a firewall/router/modem.

The router in your cable access device is doing the PPP or equivalent.

If that is what the original poster is going to get , tell him that.

Don't tell him that DHCP is a transmission protocol by *ommitting* to tell
him that
DHCP is just a configuration protocol !


And they might ask him if he wants a modem or a router/modem... so he needs
to know that the he gets a router/modem !

>
> > (3)when use DSL, there is no need to know Mac address of NIC, when use
cable modem,
> > is there a need to know Mac address of network card?
>
> sometimes, but they are lax about MAC addresses in my area. PPPOE is
> its own protocol, its new overhead which is whooly unnecessary. i fail
> to even know why they chose that route but for stupidity.


They use PPPoE because it forms a virtual circuit across the ethernet cable
between PC and the ISP. There are many ISP's on the ADSL network.

The dslam uses ATM to switch the packets through to the ISP and back.
Actually you can use mutliple connections via one ADSL line going at once,
and you can take your username/password to other ADSL line (that is
connected to the same ISP ) and use it there, depending on the setup at the
ISP.




> Comcast kicks SBCs butt. They use simple DHCP and TCP/IP. They dont
> shove any technologies onto your computer and corrupt your whole OS just
> so they can litter your desktop with icons and invade every inch of your
> vision with their evil presense.

An ISP that doesnt use TCP/IP wouldnt have many customers, would it !


Well you can use your own PPPoE clients for SBC, even linux pppoe.

I wouldnt think the SBC's PPPoE client was anything more than just a fancy
front end with a dodgy client... which you seem to have some problem with.



>
> Did I mention the speed of SBC was a joke. Its ADSL and PPPOE for
> crying out loud, cable ping times will slaughter that mess.

Well ADSL will cause all that. upload is lousy, ping times are lousy. Ping
times might be lousy because of the distance between the teclo's dslam and
the ISP's NOC.. so many ATM switches to go through.

"Robb" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:ddkLb.7445$(E-Mail Removed) ...
> Hi linux guys,
>
> I have been using SBC DSL to connect to the internet via pppoe on my
redhat 8.
> It worked well with high speed(more than 850 Kbps), but after I moved
> to another city 10 days ago, I find the speed is very low(about 214.6
Kbps),
> so I want to change high connection from DSL to COMCAST Cable modem.

Too many unemployed people in that city/suburb, flooding the ADSL .
It can even be because of other ISP's (they all share the same ATM network
that connects the ISP's to the Telco's DSLAM )

See

http://compnetworking.about.com/libr...compnetworking

> I want to know what is difference between DSL and Cable modem?

DSL can be had via many ISP's,

Cable is one ISP only.

DSL is modulated at the speed you buy,
Cable is very much higher, but there will be some sort of limit on your
maximums ?

> (1)use pppoe for DSL, what protocol for Cable modem?

Depends on the type of modem you get.

If you get PPPoE modem you can use PPPoE on the PC.

Cable modems are becoming DOCSIS clients - this means that the modem can
support TCP/IP over ethernet at its ethernet interface. Maybe you can switch
them back to PPPoE for working with Firewall/router devices that need PPPoE
modems.




> (2)what kinds of setting files are the same , and what kinds of setting
files are the different?

Well if you get PPPoE cable modem, just the username and password

If you get the IP o E modem, then you need to drop the PPPoE, configure
dhcp client

This is very good proposition

cable is either the same to configure, or its easier.



> (3)when use DSL, there is no need to know Mac address of NIC, when use
cable modem,
> is there a need to know Mac address of network card?

Is that really such an issue ?

Running /sbin/ifconfig will show you the mac address if needed.



> (4)....?

Some cable providers have a keepalive required,
In australia, Telstra is a big user of keepalives, and it pains all its
linux users.

No such report about the cable provider you were going to use.


5. You can get firewall/router devices for PPPoE modems, and
firewall/router/modem for ADSL.

You cant get a firewall/router/modem for cable?
and to get a firewall/router device, you need to check it works with
the ISP you use, and the modem that was provided.

IF the modem supports PPPoE, then all the firewall/router devices will
work with it.

On Thu, 08 Jan 2004 21:46:49 GMT, Robb wrote:
> Hi linux guys,
>
> I have been using SBC DSL to connect to the internet via pppoe on my redhat 8.
> It worked well with high speed(more than 850 Kbps), but after I moved
> to another city 10 days ago, I find the speed is very low(about 214.6 Kbps),
> so I want to change high connection from DSL to COMCAST Cable modem.
>
> I want to know what is difference between DSL and Cable modem?
> (1)use pppoe for DSL, what protocol for Cable modem?

If you ask for a modem with an ethernet plug, not usb, it will use
tcp/ip no pppoe.

> (2)what kinds of setting files are the same , and what kinds of
> setting files are the different?

cat /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0
DEVICE=eth0
BOOTPROTO=dhcp <============
ONBOOT=yes
NEEDHOSTNAME=no

Cannot remember if pump is on rh 8.
dhcpcd worked for me, running lastest dhcp-client on my Mandrake box.

cat /etc/sysconfig/network
HOSTNAME=fw.home.invalid
NETWORKING=yes
GATEWAYDEV=eth0 <=========


> (3)when use DSL, there is no need to know Mac address of NIC, when use cable modem,
> is there a need to know Mac address of network card?

No, they use the mac of the cable modem.

> (4)....?

You have to disable you pppo interface.

My installer would not touch my box because it was hooked to a hub.
I told him it was running windows make it work.
No way he says. I had to do the typing to set win98
using his instructions.
When I have to call in a problem, I dual boot to the *a supported OS*
to prove that they cannot ping my box.

> (5)....?

Anytime you change the nic connected to a cable modem, power reset the
cable modem for at least 15 seconds by the clock.

> Any help(idea,hint etc) will be appreciated greatly!

If you are going to run a lan, put a nat router or a two nic box
between cable modem and your other hardware,
not a switch or hub.

Ask the installer, what is the address of the modems status page.
Example: http://192.168.100.1

On Fri, 9 Jan 2004 11:34:57 +1100, "Leon."
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>I wouldnt think the SBC's PPPoE client was anything more than just a fancy
>front end with a dodgy client... which you seem to have some problem with.

That's correct. The "client" they try to foist on you is Yahoo. The
ACTUAL client is Enternet 300 (on Windows) which is a relatively
simple to install client with a GUI front end for building connection
profiles a la Windows DUN. When I tried to install the Yahoo crap, it
bombed my Windows 98, so I asked the SBC support tech if I could just
install the client. He said by contract he couldn't walk me through
it but he could tell me how to do it, which is all I needed.

I get a full 1.5Mbps from my SBC DSL because I'm downtown San
Francisco and close to the Central Office. Cable might be faster in
some places, but who knows how many Comcast customers there are in my
building alone. Besides which, they just recently introduced cable
Net access in town. DSL has been here for several years.


--
Richard Steven Hack
"Whatever does not kill me makes me stronger" -
and YOU have not killed me!

>>DHCP, just like the rest of the whole internet.
>
>
> Nonsense ... so arrogant.
>
>
> You dont just have a cable modem, you have a firewall/router/modem.
>
> The router in your cable access device is doing the PPP or equivalent.
>
> If that is what the original poster is going to get , tell him that.
>
> Don't tell him that DHCP is a transmission protocol by *ommitting* to tell
> him that
> DHCP is just a configuration protocol !
>

I'm not really following you.

Cable
Computer (DHCP)(TCP/IP) -> Cable Modem -> Server
ADSL w/PPPoE
Computer (PPPoE) -> ADSL Modem (DHCP)(TCP/IP) -> Server

PPPoE is something extra that is not necessary. I can't think of any
benefit of adding something extra into the picture when the computer
already has all the software it needs.

And yes in fairness Comcast will try to install garbage as well, but its
easier to get a computer working without Comcasts garbage than it is
without SBCs garbage. XP has PPPoE driver of its own I hear.

>
> And they might ask him if he wants a modem or a router/modem... so he needs
> to know that the he gets a router/modem !

The choice of modem or modem/router only has to do with how many
computers he will have on his internal network, and if he can accept NAT
or not.

>
>
>>>(3)when use DSL, there is no need to know Mac address of NIC, when use
>>
> cable modem,
>
>>>is there a need to know Mac address of network card?
>>
>>sometimes, but they are lax about MAC addresses in my area. PPPOE is
>>its own protocol, its new overhead which is whooly unnecessary. i fail
>>to even know why they chose that route but for stupidity.
>
>
>
> They use PPPoE because it forms a virtual circuit across the ethernet cable
> between PC and the ISP. There are many ISP's on the ADSL network.

Why? Comcast seems to get along just fine without installing extra
protocols.

>
> The dslam uses ATM to switch the packets through to the ISP and back.
> Actually you can use mutliple connections via one ADSL line going at once,
> and you can take your username/password to other ADSL line (that is
> connected to the same ISP ) and use it there, depending on the setup at the
> ISP.
>
>
>
>
>
>>Comcast kicks SBCs butt. They use simple DHCP and TCP/IP. They dont
>>shove any technologies onto your computer and corrupt your whole OS just
>>so they can litter your desktop with icons and invade every inch of your
>>vision with their evil presense.
>
>
> An ISP that doesnt use TCP/IP wouldnt have many customers, would it !
>
>
> Well you can use your own PPPoE clients for SBC, even linux pppoe.
>
> I wouldnt think the SBC's PPPoE client was anything more than just a fancy
> front end with a dodgy client... which you seem to have some problem with.
>
>
>
>
>>Did I mention the speed of SBC was a joke. Its ADSL and PPPOE for
>>crying out loud, cable ping times will slaughter that mess.
>
>
> Well ADSL will cause all that. upload is lousy, ping times are lousy. Ping
> times might be lousy because of the distance between the teclo's dslam and
> the ISP's NOC.. so many ATM switches to go through.
>
>
>

My first broadband connection was SDSL, and ping times were excellent.
ADSL has a bad name with ping times. I installed and used SBC/yahoo and
have nothing good to say about it. If its just one computer and your
not a gamer, be my guest, it will save a few dollars, else I wouldn't
recommend it.

cl

> 5. You can get firewall/router devices for PPPoE modems, and
> firewall/router/modem for ADSL.
>
> You cant get a firewall/router/modem for cable?
> and to get a firewall/router device, you need to check it works with
> the ISP you use, and the modem that was provided.
>
> IF the modem supports PPPoE, then all the firewall/router devices will
> work with it.
>
>
I have never heard such a strange statement. Their were tcp/ip
firewalls and routers long before pppoe ever existed.

Their are routers that support pppoe, but of course that number is
smaller than the number that support tcp/ip naturally because if you
dont support tcp/ip you are not an internet router.

at the end of the day this is not a ADSL vs Cable question, its an SBC
vs. Comcast question. SBC uses ADSL over PPPoE Comcast uses Cable Modem
with standard internet interfacing. My broadband router supports PPPoe
in addition to DHCP. SMC Barricade.

cl

>>(3)when use DSL, there is no need to know Mac address of NIC, when use cable modem,
>>is there a need to know Mac address of network card?
>
>
> No, they use the mac of the cable modem.
>

depends onthe ISP. DOCSIS can certainly tie you to one NIC, and I
assume DSL providers can as well. They both certainly know the MAC
address of your NIC.

>
>>(4)....?
>
>
> You have to disable you pppo interface.
>
> My installer would not touch my box because it was hooked to a hub.
> I told him it was running windows make it work.
> No way he says. I had to do the typing to set win98
> using his instructions.
> When I have to call in a problem, I dual boot to the *a supported OS*
> to prove that they cannot ping my box.
>

yea, i brought a laptop into the basement to let him connect that since
he wouldn't verify the connection without it. He had the nerve to reset
my homepage the basturd. That was my work computer...

>
>>(5)....?
>
>
> Anytime you change the nic connected to a cable modem, power reset the
> cable modem for at least 15 seconds by the clock.
>
>
>>Any help(idea,hint etc) will be appreciated greatly!
>
>
> If you are going to run a lan, put a nat router or a two nic box
> between cable modem and your other hardware,
> not a switch or hub.
>
> Ask the installer, what is the address of the modems status page.
> Example: http://192.168.100.1

CircuitCity had an awesome deal on cable modems with comcast if you sigh
up with them. just got it in december.

Modem was $75.
got $60 refund from Motorola.
getting $75 refund from Circuit City.
$20/month first 3 months of service.

And I believe their is another $60 from CC after the first 3 months.
But I had to walk in to get the deal. and sign up in the store.

Sick deal.