Date: Thu, 4 Jun 2009 23:50:35 -0400 From: itsemu <itsemu@gmail.com> To: Modulok <modulok@gmail.com> Cc: Mark Hartkemeyer <hartkemd@gmail.com>, freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: ISP questions Message-ID: <d8f312d60906042050r4755e4ebn6def06342fcc842b@mail.gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <64c038660906042034v43b340c6jf1e001ac9941f1f6@mail.gmail.com> References: <4096aedd0906040923p6288e319ia083f47c7ccc29e1@mail.gmail.com> <64c038660906042034v43b340c6jf1e001ac9941f1f6@mail.gmail.com>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
if your dealing with a isp such as a cable/dsl company, remember the requirements to work there, they arent trained on anything besides windows.. probably dont really know what a static ip is or have any idea what hardware each different county they are supporting has in there headend because its all different, reverse dns will probably be a waste of ip space because of the way its assigned in classes and i seriously doubt they will do it via a ticket if its not that way. named registration if im catching that right godaddys probably going to be cheaper maybe im wrong who knows.. On Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 11:34 PM, Modulok <modulok@gmail.com> wrote: > On 6/4/09, Mark Hartkemeyer <hartkemd@gmail.com> wrote: > > I'm pretty new to FreeBSD and was reading part of Greg Lehey's The > > Complete FreeBSD 4th Edition. I found the section on ISPs in chapter > > 18 really interesting. I put some of his recommended questions to my > > ISP, Cincinnati Bell's Zoomtown. I think I talked to three or four > > people before I even got some of them answered. > > > > Here are some of the questions and answers: > > > > 1. What speed connections do you offer? > > 5MBps upload/5MBps download (she said bytes, but should it be bits?) > > 768kBps > > > > 2. Can you supply a static IP address? At what cost? > > Yes, $49.95/month for the whole Internet package > > > > 3. How many hops are there to the backbone? > > "It depends on the site you're trying to reach." (I think they > > misunderstood what I meant by "backbone"?) > > > > 4. What kind of hardware and software are you running? > > "Can't provide this, due to security reasons." > > > > 5. Can you supply primary or secondary DNS for me? > > "You need a static IP." > > > > 6. Can you provide name registration? At what cost? > > "Talk to residential services." > > > > 7. Do you give complete access to the Internet, or do you block some > ports? > > "Cannot provide this info, due to security reasons." After > > asking, I was told that I would be able to run a mail server and http > > server on my connection. > > > > 8. Do you have complete reverse DNS? > > (They didn't know.) > > > > I assume this is a pretty typical response from ISPs. Has anyone > > asked their ISP questions like these? If so, what kind of response > > did you get? Does anyone know of a really good ISP, or a good > > resource for finding a good ISP around Cincinnati, OH? > > > > Thanks, > > Mark Hartkemeyer > > While it sounds pretty bad, I think my ISP takes the cake: > > - Regardless of the problem, their solution is to unplug the cable > modem, wait 30 seconds and plug it back in and hope for the best. > > - When faced with questions such as, "Do you guys need advanced notice > if I change my ethernet (MAC) address?" They inform me that my IP > address is static and I should not change it. (I spoofed the MAC > address. It would have taken years on hold for htem to understand.) > > - When I ask them why I have no connection, they go through the > unplug-routine again. I later find out that their service was down for > half the state, but technical support wasn't informed of the outage. > > - One time I called after they had switched to a new phone system. I > could hear technical support, but they couldn't hear me: > > "Technical Support, this is Kathy. How may I help you?" > "Are you guys having trouble on your end? My connection just bit the dust." > "Sir?" > "Yes, what?" > "Sir are you there?" > "Umm...yeah. I'm right here, Kathy. Hello!" > "*click*" > > - I never get the bandwidth I pay for, because they oversold their service. > > - The guys who wired my location took the most illogical approach > possible. There is probably 500 extra feet of cable that just wraps > around the building from one end to the other. > > - When they showed up to install a lighting arrestor, I had to provide > them with tools, because they forgot to bring any. (They forgot to > bring tools!) > > - My service was inexplicably cancelled one day, despite me never > being offline. So when I had problems a week later, I was told I > didn't have an account with them. This took four hours on the > telephone (Four freaking hours! Mostly on hold.) to clear up. I think > signing up for a new account would have been less painful. Perhaps I > should have just not said anything and waited to see if I was still > receiving a bill. > > - They always ask me to 'go to the start menu', despite the fact I'm > running FreeBSD. One support person didn't know what an operating > system was: > > "Sir, I need you to go to the start menu..." > "I'm not on Windows. What is it you're looking for?" > "Sir?" > "I'm not using Windows. I'm using FreeBSD." > "Free what?" > "FreeBSD, it's an operating system." > "What's an operating system?" > "..." *Oh my God* > "Sir are you there?" > "Yeah, I'm there. I'm in the Windows control panel. Please proceed." > > We're pretty rural here, so unless I go with a high latency satellite > connection, they're the only game in town. Maybe I should start my own > ISP. It couldn't be any worse. > > Despite frustrations try to remember, it's not the tech support > people's fault. They're just there 8-5 trying to make rent and pay for > their kids dental. If you want to blame somebody, blame management. > > Best of luck with your troubles. You're not alone! > -Modulok- > _______________________________________________ > freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list > http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions > To unsubscribe, send any mail to " > freebsd-questions-unsubscribe@freebsd.org" >
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?d8f312d60906042050r4755e4ebn6def06342fcc842b>