[ILUG] Followup 1: Naive ADSL/WiFi questions (long (sorry!))?

[Timothy Murphy]

On Thu 16 Aug 2007, Brian Foster wrote:

>  about six weeks ago I asked a set of naïve questions
>  about switching from a 56K dialout straw to ADSL for
>  my SUSE 9.1 system.  

>  three followup questions ...
>
>  for assorted reasons, I've only now gotten around to
>  looking into the matter of a network card for my PC.
>  today, locally, I found three different PCI cards,
>  all using the RealTek RTL8139 chip, a chip YaST2
>  lists as supported:  the “Ovsilink EVO 8139 ITX”
>  (a bargin at 10€), and some fairly anonymous units
>  by “Heden” and “Bluestork”.  baring information to
>  the contrary, I'll probably try the “Ovsilink” (all
>  three units to their credit, list Linux as supported).

I never found an ethernet card that did _not_ work with Linux
(unlike WiFi)
I have two RealTek cards that work perfectly.
I think I got them at PC Peripherals on Exchequer Street
for about 10-15 euro each.

Incidentally, don't all computers nowadays have ethernet built-in?

>  2nd, a possibly trickier question:  it's a c.12 metre
>  cable run from the phone socket to the computer.
>  should I go for a 10m cable from socked to ADSL modem
>  (and then a 5m(?) cable to the computer), or visa-versa
>  (5m to the modem and 10m to the computer)?  the latter
>  would position the modem in an inaccessible location,
>  so I'm inclined to go 10m phone-modem and 5m modem-PC.

I'm not an expert at this, but don't you have to put a "splitter"
on the phone line somewhere, to split computer and phone(s)?
In my case, Eircom fitted the splitter box themselves.
The splitter has a line attached to the modem;
which in my case is about 2 metres long.

I don't imagine the distances you are talking about would matter, 
in any case.

>  3rd, my (current) test plan — prior to arrival of the
>  modem — is to use my printer (an HP 6180) as the peer.
>  is there any difference between a cable (cat 5,
>  I presume?) that connects PC-printer to one connecting
>  PC-modem?  

I assume all ethernet cables are equivalent.

Incidentally, some older ADSL modems use PPPoE,
which inolves painful work under Linux.
Hopefully they are extinct.




-- 
Timothy Murphy  
e-mail (<80k only): tim /at/ birdsnest.maths.tcd.ie
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland