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

[Conor Daly]

On Thu, Jun 21, 2007 at 01:02:23PM +0200 or so it is rumoured hereabouts, 
Brian Foster thought:
> 
>  1. What is an “eligible line” (mine apparently is)?
>    The implication seems to be that all I have to do
>    is hook up the (supplied) modem to the existing
>    POTS line, and it “just works”.

This probably means that your line is close enough to an exchange for ADSL
to work.  The modem will come with a line filter which filters out the
high frequency ADSL signal from the ordinary phone.
 
>  2. The supplied modem is a (currently unknown) WiFi
>    unit.  I will be asking for details of this unit
>    (and its Linux compatibility); what should I be
>    looking for, and/or asking?

As mentioned, I would suggest that you confirm that the modem has an
ethernet port.  Then, you only need an ethernet card for the PC (and
almost all of these are supported natively).  
 
>     (I note that, according to the (downloaded) contract,
>    Linux is not (listed as) supported.  That does not
>    worry me (should it?), except if they insist Windross
>    must be used for diagnostics / upgrade / installation
>    or whatever, which is a non-starter:  I *** REFUSE ***
>    to run M$ shiteware.  100% ABSOLUTE REFUSAL!)

For most modern ADSL modems, configuration / diagnostics are done via a
web interface.  Just point your browser at http://192.168.1.1 (or
something similar) and log in to configure.  If your PC ends up with ip
address xxx.yyy.zzz.n, it's likely that the ADSL modem will have ip
address xxx.yyy.zzz.1 .

The other thing you need to know is how to translate the helpdesk windows
based scripts to what you need to do in linux.
 
>  3. I presume I need some sort of a WiFi transceiver
>    connected to the Linux box.  At this point, I am
>    completely lost; I've no idea even exactly what
>    it is I need, other than _something_ since my box
>    has no networking connections of any kind at the
>    present time.  (Yes, it's that old!)

Buy a network card for the PC and insist on a modem with an ethernet port.
 
>  4. I am currently running SUSE 9.1 (for which updates
>    no longer seem to be available  ;-\  ), which has

First download should be the ISOs for Suse 10.2...
 
>  5. One of many obvious Big Differences between dial-up
>    and ADSL/broadband is the “always on” nature of the
>    later.  That clearly means my box will be much more
>    likely to be attacked and/or compromised.  Currently,
>    I am using SUSE's Personal Firewall package(s?), and
>    also do not (intentionally) open up any services to
>    the outside world.

Turn on an iptables firewall with pretty much "maximum" security on.  This
will make your box invisible to the net but will let you out.  I don't
know how to configure this in Suse but it's possible that there's a Yast
module for it.

Enjoy...

Conor
-- 
Conor Daly <conor.daly at cod.homelinux.org>
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