Re: modem: internal or external?
dtutty@porchlight.ca writes:
> I'm building a new computer (Etch is installing over dial up now),
> but all my modems are internal ISA. So unless I want to have to fire up
> my 486 just to dial out, I need a new modem.
>
> The MB has a serial port and I have 3 PCI slots, a PCI-E x 16 and 2
> PCI-E x1 free. (Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe AMD AM2, Athlon 3800+, 1GB ram, lvm
> on raid1 dual 80 GB Seagate SATA drives).
>
> What is the current wisdom for a solid reliable modem? Should I go
> external via the serial port or internal? Is USR still the defacto gold
> standard?
US Robotics external modems are reliable. There are "commercial" USR
models, but the USR "Sportster" "Faxmodem V.90 56K" is very common and
has served me well. With the spread of inexpensive ADSL service
($15/month, compared to $10/month for dial-up), a great many people are
switching from dial-up to DSL. So you should be able to pick up a used
external USR modem in good condition for about $20 US.
Check on E-Bay, Salvation Army stores, ham radio swap meets, computer
club meetings.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
If I am not mistaken, you can install the SmoothWall firewall/router
software package on your 486, and SmoothWall can utilize your existing
internal modem to connect to your ISP, providing complete control over
the dial-up.
Your LAN (local area network) connects to the firewall/router machine
via an ethernet cable, and all the logistics of dial-up are hidden from
the LAN. This is a very clean solution for dial-up.
Then, if you ever switch to DSL (even DSL with PPPoE, which is a major
pain), there is no need to change anything in the configuration of the
machines within your LAN; simply reconfigure the SmoothWall machine for
ethernet instead of dial-up.
See www.smoothwall.org ; the system is SmoothWall Express 2.0; it is
GPL.
SmoothWall Express 2.0 can be installed and configured in less than a
half hour, even by a novice; this leaves you with a working, safe
firewall/router installation, with no additional configuration needed.
You could have it running tonight, and avoid the need to purchase
another modem!
RLH
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