Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: QuikSanz on May 16, 2003, 10:53:49 PM
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Thinking about switching to dsl. Has anyone had luck using a usb connection on a beefed up A2000?
What are the options :-?
Chris
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HI Chris
Do yourself a favour and use ETHERNET for DSL. USB was not intended for this. Ethernet is - the Internet is one big Network after all and you should use an Amiga network card like Xsurf and others.
magnetic
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you should use an Amiga network card like Xsurf and others.
Or a Mediator and a PCI Ethernet card for a superior surf. (Sounds like a washing powder advert ;-) )
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The reason I ask is that earthlink says the modem they supply is USB. How bout a usb w/ethernet card?
Chris
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Get cable broadband if you have it in your area. It's better and you don't have to piss about with a router to use an ethernet card. You just plug it into the RJ45 point they put on your wall.
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If the ISP says they will only supply a USB modem, they are a crap ISP and you should go elsewhere.
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I have to agre with everyone. Dont use an ISP if it only uses USB. USB SUX for DSL
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USB SUX for DSL
USB sucks for everything.
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Beg for an ethernet modem. If they're your only option, and are uncooperative, hit up DSLReports/BroadbandReports (http://www.broadbandreports.com)'s forums, and find out what ethernettable hardware works.
If they use PPPoE, you may want/need a standalone router (Linksys/D-Link/2Wire box) to handle that side of the equation, or a copy of Miami Deluxe.
All that done, comes the question of how to get ethernet on the Amiga. X-Surf is an obvious possibility. As the owner of some erstwhile 2000s myself, I like the idea of a USB controller (Highway, Thylacine, Algor) and a supported USB ethernet adapter. This gives you a good balance between price (as far as I know, $Thylacine + $USB_ethernet_off_Pricewatch = $X-Surf), performance (pre-Algor, speeds may not reach peak ethernet performance, but should be plenty for DSL), and future expandability- so far as I know, USB is as close as you'll get to PCI on a 2000.
Of course, if you can afford it, the Highway/Algor + Norway is certainly an excellent (and less waiting-for-shipping-from-Australiaey?) product, it just doesn't come out
Not sure exactly what the deal with USB stacks is (no offense to their authors!), so if you go this route, doublecheck the value-propositions in terms of any additional licenses needed.
...sadly, even if you have a USB card, it's quite unlikely that you'll be able to plug in the USB modem directly and play. While the current USB modem hardware might be becoming more standardized (I've no idea, really), free *NIXes have barely caught up, let alone Amigas. Maybe that'll change for OS4, but it's a headache best avoided for now.
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mdma wrote:
Get cable broadband if you have it in your area. It's better and you don't have to piss about with a router to use an ethernet card. You just plug it into the RJ45 point they put on your wall.
That sounds like a uniquely sane British/Europeanism. Just about everything in the US (save the uber-sweet, uber-cancelled Sprint ION service, which everyone would've gotten *if Sprint had said what it was in their ads*...and maybe a few of the mom-and-pop WISPs) works on the "magic box" principle. "Plug this magic box in your phone line!" "Plug this magic box in your cable jack!" ... to the point that they were selling cable modems in major electronics stores before DOCSIS even became a standard.
Wonder how many customers didn't return the hardware when it turned out their neighborhood wasn't active yet... Yes, there are/were plenty of "You mean it costs a monthly fee???" stories out there.
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Thanks to all for great feedback. Part of the problem may be, I spoke to sales. Maybe I need to call tech to get the real story on modem/connection. Time to make another call.
Chris
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@ mdma
Mediator for an A2000. Where? Im looking!
Chris
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QuikSanz wrote:
Thanks to all for great feedback. Part of the problem may be, I spoke to sales. Maybe I need to call tech to get the real story on modem/connection. Time to make another call.
I'm not sure, but Earthlink's support may be outsourced- meaning the techs may have no idea what sales/other departments are up to. At least, my experience trying to request a 'changelog' for their recent i-Opener update (kudos to them for providing it at all, though in absence of the information, I've no way to tell if it 'took' on my grandmother's unit) suggested such.
DSLReports is, as always, the best (and practically only) place to find out what's up. Try to home in on PR 'plants' in the forums if you find any from your provider- excellent way to get issues resolved quickly. ;-)
Edit: Oh, and obviously, when asking anywhere in "real life," don't expect anyone to know much about the current state of the Amiga. Come armed with a list of capabilities: "I *can* use ethernet," "I *can* use PPPoE, but it's a bit of a hassle if I can avoid it," "I *can't* use a USB modem, as there are no drivers and no PPPoA support." Basically, partition it into 'your problem'- getting ethernet on the Amiga- and 'their problem'- providing you with a device that bridges DSL<->ethernet. Using a router to get around any PPPoE and DHCP issues (can it be right that only Miami has a DHCP client??? No personal experience with Amiga stacks...) is sort of a gray area- it's cheap and easy to handle yourself if you need to, but a lot of providers are starting to offer routers as options, or built into 'deluxe' DSL modems, like the 2Wire 1000/1500s.
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Guys stop that "USB sux" crap just tell him that there is no usb ADSL modem support yet for Amiga.
I bet most of USB bashers have linux and because their useless OS doesn't have any decent support for this they say these things.
Well I'd prefer to buy a usb board for my amiga and have there a usb adsl modem and some other accessory than buying a second very expensive x-surf. Do you know the minimax law? if not stay with your bloated OS linux, and stop those cliches.
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I haven't used USB to ADSL on my A2000 (nor the webserver A2000 for AmigaU) because I have ethernet cards, and in most cases, I don't know why you'd use USB instead of ethernet, ethernet is faster and in nearly every case, you'd be hard pressed to use even the 10Mbps on a base Amiga ethernet card, let alone 100mbps, because most DSL connections aren't even *1*mbps anyway. More than enough bandwidth for your needs, to be sure.
Yes, I've seen buddies with cable modems that can download faster than I can on DSL, but so what? If you need to run servers, then you can't, plain and simple (unless you want to be changing port#'s and have them shut you down and possibly kick you out if they catch you - yes, the cable companies aren't hacker central and probably won't, but most cable networks only work fast in one direction anyway, for downloading.
If you need USB *and* Ethernet on the same machine, just get a HIGHWAY card with its NORWAY ethernet module, and get the best of both worlds. Then you can get a cheap USB card reader and mess around with digital pics, etc. too in addition to surfing the internet with your ethernet. The X-surf is also a great ethernet card (or a used Ariadne II if you can find one on eBay or similar) but it doesn't have USB, so if you wanted a card reader it would likely have to be IDE.
Good luck, have fun! Note that if you are serious about surfing the internet on your A2000, a graphics card like a CGX64/3D using Picasso96 or CGX4 is probably a must, too, since surfing the internet in 16 colors and having little to no Chip RAM (most A2000's only have 1MB, after all) will shorten your Internet stay very quickly unless you are only retrieving email or newsgroups, IRC.. .
kevin orme
amiga university
www.amigau.com
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Agree with you Dagon.
I have had very minimal problems (ONE duff modem) with USB ADSL on BTinternet and for me, it works excellently. I know at least one other person here that uses USB modems and that is Calen.
I often wonder how many people here have actually used USB modems?
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The_Editor wrote:
Agree with you Dagon.
I have had very minimal problems (ONE duff modem) with USB ADSL on BTinternet and for me, it works excellently. I know at least one other person here that uses USB modems and that is Calen.
I often wonder how many people here have actually used USB modems?
One would really *hope* it works properly on the platform it's intended for. :idea:
There's no problem with the concept, nor perhaps the implementation (a good USB implementation should have no problem with the T-1 speeds most 'broadband' services cluster around). But *without* a clear standard easily supported in that "useless OS," you'll probably be pressed to find a router that can handle them. This is no problem if you don't mind using Windows and ICS, or OS X (if the hardware is supported under it, and at least a few specific USB modems are), but is a practical issue that hands the crown to ethernet for the moment, if you care about such things. The real prize, of course, goes to devices that offer the option of using either standard... and maybe throw in wireless/HPNA/HomePlug and routing/NAT 'for free.'
USB certainly won't eat your children, and once the vendors all settle down and follow standards, it'll no-doubt be about as PnP under *NIX as anywhere else (though this won't help owners of legacy hardware, who'll probably still have to jump through a hoop or two (http://linux-usb.sourceforge.net/SpeedTouch/))... but really guys, there's no need to 'defend' it in the face of a situation where it's already admitted not to work/unlikely to work for a few months at the best. :-?
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Usually you can open the DSL modem to find it's just an ethernet device connected to a USB NIC.
They use USB because they spend less on tech support.
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have you tried NTL? their BB CM's support both ENET and USB. Def reccomend ENET tho
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I'm with NTL, you get a nice cable modem with both ports on. IIRC, most cable modems are actually designed for Ethernet but are shipped with USB adapters.
Why? Supposedly to simplify the installation process for the less technical PC users. It's a really bad compromise to make though, connecting through USB on my PIII-600 slows the whole machine down. And it takes up a useful USB port! :-D
It's a shame they have to keep their users in the dark about this... I wonder how many people feel like they're wading through treacle trying to use their machine, not even aware they can use Ethernet.
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Quite agree! NTL Modems are well good, definatley recomend ENET over USB - usb takes up system resources whereas ENET is hardware - sure you knew that tho :-)
im quite good with cable modems, any questions just ask!
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QuikSanz wrote:
Thinking about switching to dsl. Has anyone had luck using a usb connection on a beefed up A2000?
What are the options :-?
Chris
I know you are not in the UK, but check this out:
http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/commerce/command/ExecMacro/ols-suppliers.d2w/report (http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/commerce/command/ExecMacro/ols-suppliers.d2w/report)
or (the Binatone ADLS2000 ADSL router modem)
http://www.binatonebroadband.com/ (http://www.binatonebroadband.com/)
It supports both Ethernet and USB (you can use both at the same time!!) it also functions as an ADSL routher you can plug it onto your hub and it will DHCP you network for you!!!
It is fully administered via a web interface (at 192.168.1.2).
It's a really nice peice of kit and works great with my Windoze/Linux and Amiga Boxes!!
:-D