[Sunhelp] DSL question (kinda offtopic)

[Gregory Leblanc]

> Phil Brutsche wrote:
> > 
> > A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far way, someone said...
> 
> > > First, I have a SparcStation Classis (this is the on-topic part) doing
> > > my NAT, so they call that a server and want to charge me for for that,
> > 
> > So don't tell them about the unix box - tell them you have an "internet
> > connection sharing device" like the LinkSys Cable modem/DSL router
> > (http://www.linksys.com/products/group.asp?grid=5)
> 
> Ah, see, that's the distinction they nail you for here - single computer
> versus multi-computer.  There is a 3rd level of business service, but it's
> a true business offering (SDSL at something like 768k both ways w/ all kinds
> of other junk).  The thing is, while the phone company portion stays the same 
> the ISP $$ doubles.
> 
> Never mind the fact that I don't care how much you split up the bandwidth,
> you're still only using the same amount, period.


Hmm, I don't get stuck with this kind of BS here.  I've got Qworst as my
line provider, and Aracnet (www.aracnet.com) as my ISP.  Getting
multiple IPs from them can be a chore, but they're happy to give you a
single static IP and don't care what you have at the other end.  In
fact, they'll even help you get Linux setup and configured, but won't
help you get NAT working.  

> > > Second, I talked to their management and got them to give me a static
> > > IP, just so I can telnet in and grab the occasional file.  They want to
> > > push me up to a business account for that.
> > 
> > Explicitly getting a static IP it what tips them off.  Truthfully
> > speaking, sometimes you don't need to tell them you want a static IP - the
> > IP gets dynamically assigned by DHCP (around here, at least), and is
> > static anyway.
> 
> Static IP is a flat-rate option, and was fairly cheap last I checked (like
> $10 a month or something, maybe less).


You should be able to ask for this on ANY account.  If they don't want
to give it to you, tell them that you're running a Win98 or Win98SE
machine, and that it won't work properly with DHCP, because of the "home
networking" stuff.  (it sounds like BS, but DHCP in Win98 is almost as
broken as in MacOS X)

> > > So, the question is, does anyone have a provider that allows them to use
> > > a unix box as a NAT box, and does anyone have to pay business fees to
> > > get a static IP?
> > 
> > Locally (Omaha, NE, USA), I use "unix" (Linux, actually) boxen for NAT on
> > @Home cable modem connections.  I have no problems, and effectively a
> > static IP.  As far as @Home is concerned, all I have is an "internet
> > connection sharing device".
> > 
> > I'm just careful not to let them know that I'm running a "server" (ssh,
> > *light* email, and the occasional Napster), otherwise they'll start
> > charging the business rate :(
> 
> Here's one good thing about the local ISP - if you do have the multi-computer
> level account, there are no "server" restrictions.  I guess that's kind of
> nice, but I'm not sure if it's worth the extra $$


Still sounds pretty stupid.  Time to find an ISP that is capable of
writing intelligent policy.  There's actually a list of "Linux Friendly"
ISPs (I know, but they should be unix friendly as well) in the
DSL-HOWTO.  http://www.LinuxDoc.org/    It shouldn't be too hard to
find.

> > > I currently pay $50 for a 384k (downstream, not sure upstream), and they
> > > want $300 for a 512k business connection (plus some cheapo useless junk,
> > > like 5 e-mail addresses!)
> > 
> > $300 is awfully expensive, even for a business connection.
> 
> Yeah, that's ridiculous.  
> 
> Then again, here's the price schedule for our area:
>
> Bronze Plus (768k x 128) $32.50 Telco (applicable to either)
>                        $35.00 Single-computer
>                        $60.00 Multi-computer
> 
> Hence, in my situation I'm looking at $92.50 a month just for DSL.  
> Unfortunately, it's hard to justify to my wife, boss, etc. the move
> from $99 6-month dialup to $92.50 per month DSL.


That's pretty impressively bad.  I pay $29.95 per month for my DSL
service, plus < $20 for my ISP.  This gets me 640K down, and 256K
up.  The ISP I used to have was charging about $20 per month, so this
isn't a huge price penalty for me.  Plus, it's WELL worth it, as I can
actually work from home.

> ISDN is always an option, and the price there are much more reasonable,
> but I'm stuck in GTE territory, where we don't get flat-rate ISDN *at all*.


Wow, the cheapest I've seen ISDN was $50 a month for the line, plus ISP
charges, which used to be about the same.

    Greg