Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 04:15:08 -0800 From: "Ted Mittelstaedt" <tedm@toybox.placo.com> To: "Chris Hodgins" <chodgins@cis.strath.ac.uk> Cc: markzero <mark@darklogik.org> Subject: RE: DSL modem recommendation Message-ID: <LOBBIFDAGNMAMLGJJCKNAEHPFAAA.tedm@toybox.placo.com> In-Reply-To: <421C6E3A.1010402@cis.strath.ac.uk>
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> -----Original Message----- > From: Chris Hodgins [mailto:chodgins@cis.strath.ac.uk] > Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2005 3:51 AM > To: Ted Mittelstaedt > Cc: markzero; freebsd-questions@freebsd.org > Subject: Re: DSL modem recommendation > > > [snip] > > > > STAY AWAY from ANY dsl modem that does NOT have an ethernet > > jack on it!!! Such as the USB speedtouches that Pipex > > was handing out for free!! There's a reason they are free!! > > You can't pay people (who know anything) to take them!!! > > > > Ted > > What is so wrong with USB DSL modems? The USB port was designed for use with joysticks, keyboards, mice, etc. Not ethernet speeds. If you ever have an opportunity to do a side-by-side comparison between an ethernet modem and a USB you will see your CPU utilization much lower on the ethernet. Ethernet controllers are far superior and efficient than USB chipsets. Now of course, DSL is not high bandwidth (compared to Ethernet) so there is that argument that it makes no difference. Another argument is that if you have no need to run a server, USB means you have to waste CPU on translation. Of course the counter to that is that with a modem/router, you can't get a public IP address. And yet another is that if the hardware changes in the future, a day might come when a new motherboard with a new USB chipset is not detected and usable by some version of FreeBSD. Ethernet your pretty much guarenteed will be around forever. But, speaking as an ISP I can tell you the biggest reason we recommend against USB for our customers - most of our customers are windoze users, and if you put a USB modem on their windows boxes, when they connect in, they get a public IP address assigned to their Windows box. And if they aren't currently patched (few 'doze user are ever) within an hour their machine will be compromized by someone's trojan and their machine will then become a menace and a problem on the network. Our network. We do not see the advantage to us to have a couple dozen 'doze users on our 1.5x1M DSL circuits, infected with the latest virus and attempting to reinfect the rest of the Internet. Maybe you do? Certainly the cable Internet providers in the US seem to think there's an advantage, that is why the cable networks all run like dog crap. Ted
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