My DSL package just arrived

MrBillMrBill Missouri Member
edited March 2007 in Science & Tech
I've been on a satellite internet connection for almost 2 years. I received notice about 6 months ago that DSL is available in my area, so I finally ordered it last week. I ordered the 1.5mb version.

I have not received an email yet providing me with my user id and password or the date it goes into affect (as the instructions I received in the package state). I assume it's not active yet as I don't have any filters on my phone line and the phone works.

This is my first experience with DSL and I hope the installation will be painless. :)

I have a router and I assume I will need to enter my id and password (once I know what they are) somewhere within the router, but I haven't gotten that far yet.

Any tips or things I need to be aware of for networking my DSL connection through a router?

Comments

  • trolltroll Windsor, Nova Scotia Icrontian
    edited February 2007
    Just put your PPPoE info into the router and all should be good to go...

    I had DSL for 5 years and never a problem with it... I had a Paradyne system which the ISP couldn't put a CAP on :) When the DSLAM card at the other end broke they tried to get me to go to PPPoE for less than 1/2 the speed and same price...

    Well, they took their old modem back and Cable came in at 10Mb speed for the same price.

    But before the Cable we were very happy with the 3Mb DSL we had.
  • MrBillMrBill Missouri Member
    edited February 2007
    I called the ISP to find out when they were going to email me the user name, password and the activation date. I got the user name and password, but they couldn't tell me when it is supposed to activated...lol. I had called them this morning to find out if the order even went through and she said something about 3/1 so maybe that's the activation date.

    When changing connection type on the router to PPPoE, I see User Name and Password, but I don't know if I need to put anything in Service Name or if I should use "connect on demand" or "keep alive". I also don't know if I need to put anything in "host name" or "domain name". I'm guessing I won't need anything other than user name and password.

    I'm going out of town for a couple of days so I won't be able to try it until late Thursday night or Friday.
  • trolltroll Windsor, Nova Scotia Icrontian
    edited February 2007
    Usually just a username and password will suffice 99% of the time.

    I usually set them up as keep connection alive if you leave your machines on and doing stuff...

    Dial on demand is good for those who turn the computer on for a few hours a day then shut it off again...

    Always great fun trying to nail the phone company down to a date... :)
  • MrBillMrBill Missouri Member
    edited February 2007
    troll wrote:
    Usually just a username and password will suffice 99% of the time.

    I usually set them up as keep connection alive if you leave your machines on and doing stuff...

    Dial on demand is good for those who turn the computer on for a few hours a day then shut it off again...

    Always great fun trying to nail the phone company down to a date... :)
    Thanks troll.

    In this case, it's not a matter of the phone company coming to my house, I'm just trying to find out what day they are going to activate it. I'll give it a try when I get back in town.
  • MrBillMrBill Missouri Member
    edited March 2007
    Well...it's working! The router would not pull an IP address configured as PPPoE. I think the DSL modem is acting like a router because when the modem was connected directly to my PC, I got a 192.168.x.x IP address. I configured the router with a static IP to match and it's working fine. I may set the router back to Automatic (DHCP) and see if it works okay. I'm betting that it will work fine. Going to try that now....brb (maybe:) ).

    I'm back...it pulled an IP configured as DHCP. So I didn't have to change anything on the router to go from Satellite to DSL. :D
  • MrBillMrBill Missouri Member
    edited March 2007
    Oh...my first test from http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest?flash=1 using SpeakEasy in Cali was 1212 down and 208 up. I've tried it several times with pretty much the same results.

    I think I am going to a new Cat5 phone line from the telco box outside the house to the modem to see if it will increase the speed any, but I'm really not in any hurry as web pages are loading MUCH faster.
  • mtroxmtrox Minnesota
    edited March 2007
    MrBill wrote:
    Oh...my first test from http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest?flash=1 using SpeakEasy in Cali was 1212 down and 208 up.

    If you're getting 1212 on a DSL that's supposed give you 1.5 Meg that might be all you get. You'll never get 1.5 on the nose. That is a "theoretical" speed....meaning you never get it in the real world.

    What's your up speed supposed to be? Unless you'r'e uploading a lot of stuff it may not matter that much.
  • trolltroll Windsor, Nova Scotia Icrontian
    edited March 2007
    Good to hear it's working for you MrBill :thumbup
  • MrBillMrBill Missouri Member
    edited March 2007
    mtrox wrote:
    If you're getting 1212 on a DSL that's supposed give you 1.5 Meg that might be all you get. You'll never get 1.5 on the nose. That is a "theoretical" speed....meaning you never get it in the real world.

    What's your up speed supposed to be? Unless you'r'e uploading a lot of stuff it may not matter that much.
    It's supposed to be 1.5mb down and 256kb up. I'm not that concerned about the up speed. I'm okay with 1.2 down, but I already have the Cat5 cable and it won't take long to replace the existing cable so if it doesn't increase the speed, I'm not out anything but a few minutes of my own time. :)
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited March 2007
    That speed is just about right, the DSL modem will negotiate a 1.5Mbps speed, but it won't likely ever get that high.

    The speed will probably get better over a week or so though. Just leave the modem on the entire time. Not sure why, but it helps... kinda like a burn in.

    The difference from DSL and Cable is that the DSL is more of a dedicated connection, so your pings and speed should always remain constant to a certain extent.

    BTW do you have an alarm system or Satalite TV that uses the phone lines for billing or calling an emergency? If so, they should be filtered as well, unless the alarm is on it's own dedicated phone line separate from the rest of the home. Anything and everything BUT the modem should be filtered.
  • MrBillMrBill Missouri Member
    edited March 2007
    Well....running a Cat5 cable did not increase speeds. In fact, they went down, so I put it back on the old line and speeds went back to where they were. :(

    Guess I'll be happy with 1.2.
  • mtroxmtrox Minnesota
    edited March 2007
    Wow. Go figure....
  • MedlockMedlock Miramar, Florida Member
    edited March 2007
    mtrox wrote:
    If you're getting 1212 on a DSL that's supposed give you 1.5 Meg that might be all you get. You'll never get 1.5 on the nose. That is a "theoretical" speed....meaning you never get it in the real world.

    I think it might just vary in different locations and providers... Bellsouth in south Florida advertises 6 megs down for our particular service and we sometimes get upwards of 6.5, never below 6.2.
  • MrBillMrBill Missouri Member
    edited March 2007
    mtrox wrote:
    Wow. Go figure....
    ;D

    But yeah...it didn't cost me anything to try it. :)
  • CryptoCrypto W.Sussex UK Member
    edited March 2007
    MrBill,
    I'm a bit confused as in the UK comms by fibre optic cable is DSL and comms by copper phone lines is ADSL.

    If you are connecting through your ordinary phone line (with a filter for speech) the ultimate speed is goverened by the length of copper between you and your telphone exchange. Don't have the exact figures but that is the limitation with ADSL here in the UK.

    Cable speeds (fibre optic) DSL comms are governed by how much you pay your service provider!
  • MrBillMrBill Missouri Member
    edited March 2007
    Crypto wrote:
    MrBill,
    I'm a bit confused as in the UK comms by fibre optic cable is DSL and comms by copper phone lines is ADSL.

    If you are connecting through your ordinary phone line (with a filter for speech) the ultimate speed is goverened by the length of copper between you and your telphone exchange. Don't have the exact figures but that is the limitation with ADSL here in the UK.

    Cable speeds (fibre optic) DSL comms are governed by how much you pay your service provider!
    Mine is ADSL on copper phone line with a filter for speech. I had two download speed offers available at my location....256k or 1.5mb. They offer a 3.0mb and 6.0mb, but not at my location. I honestly didn't think I would be close enough to a CO(?) since I live in a rural area - 6 or 7 miles to the closest business.

    I only tried the Cat5 as I did some reading on dslreports.com that suggested the type of cable from the telco box to the phone jack "might" have an impact on speeds.

    I'm quite happy with 1.2 down as it's faster and much more consistent than my satellite connection is.
  • CryptoCrypto W.Sussex UK Member
    edited March 2007
    MrBill wrote:
    I'm quite happy with 1.2 down as it's faster and much more consistent than my satellite connection is.

    Exactly. :thumbsup:
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