On Thu, 2004-08-19 at 05:00, Web Developer wrote:

Anyone using BellSouth's DSL or Cable service with Linux? I just saw saw where I can get a decent connection for $5.00/mo more than I'm paying for Earthlink dial-up. But their site says Win/Mac - and nothing about Linux! I understand I'll probably have to hook myself up, but - sheesh! - they could at least mention the requirements for a Linux system.

I hate the dag-blamed marketing hype these companies throw out - always ignoring Lunix users!

It shouldn't be a problem Don. The settings, from what I have found, are not OS specific and are configurable under YAST in the version that you are running, if memory servers. A lot of these things seem to refer to the software that one uses to configure the service, and that tends to be Win/Mac. You'll need some information from the tech support section re: servers, but after that it ought to be easy enough to do. After all you set up a DB didn't you? :) Mike

On Thu, 19 Aug 2004, Web Developer wrote:

Anyone using BellSouth's DSL or Cable service with Linux? I just saw saw where I can get a decent connection for $5.00/mo more than I'm paying for Earthlink dial-up. But their site says Win/Mac - and nothing about Linux! I understand I'll probably have to hook myself up, but - sheesh! - they could at least mention the requirements for a Linux system.

I am using it happily since about a year on a pure linux box. They sent me the WireSpeed (Westell) modem which I could simply put in bridged mode using its web interface and voila I had a broadband connection. Make sure that you use the ethernet link rather than the USB. I believe the latter was not well supported under linux and still might have issues. Best regards, Alex.

** Reply to message from "Web Developer" on Thu, 19 Aug 2004 09:00:48 -0000

Anyone using BellSouth's DSL or Cable service with Linux? I just saw saw where I can get a decent connection for $5.00/mo more than I'm paying for Earthlink dial-up. But their site says Win/Mac - and nothing about Linux! I understand I'll probably have to hook myself up, but - sheesh! - they could at least mention the requirements for a Linux system.

I hate the dag-blamed marketing hype these companies throw out - always ignoring Lunix users! -- Web Developer

I have been on BellSouth DSL for almost 2 years. Here in South Florida we have fibre optic lines, so we connect without a modem. Just plug the CAT-5 line from the outside world directly into the ethernet card (or into a router first and then the ethernet card) and you're connected. That eliminates quite a bit of the hassle. I see you're in North Carolina so I don't know if you're in one of the new BS fibre optic areas. If so, don't worry, it's a simple hook-up. Your only real concern with a fibre optic connection with BS is distance from the connection box out in the street. (More on this below.) Setup of the network services and network devices is pretty much straight forward for SuSE 9.1 PRO. We're using PPPOE. Set your DNS numbers and routing (if running through a router) and you should be able to connect. Nothing really to "tweak." It either works or it doesn't. I'm running 4 computers off a Linksys router set-up. If you're going to have to use a modem then it will be a little more involved, but it should not be all that difficult. I have no experience with DSL modems -- been on fibre optic the entire time. Sorry. Unfortunately BS will provide absolutely NO assistance once they ask you "What version of Windows are you using" and you answer "I'm using Linux." They do not understand and there does not appear to be ANYONE at BS tech support who knows anything about Linux. I've tried and tried to identify someone -- no luck. (As an aside they're also absolutely useless with questions about connecting a handheld unless the handheld uses a Windows OS. So a lot of frustration when I had a Palm, then a Handspring, and now a Zaurus.) As for the $5 extra.... Yes, as another SuSE-lister posted you have to take the entire BS package to get the special rat. But that includes local and long-distance service plus all sorts of other stuff like call waiting to get the lowest rate. I choose not to pay BS any more than the fee for DSL service (which, unfortunatetly is the only one offered in my area). I did pay BS to do their "professional" install. It was expensive, I thought, but there was a lot of grunt work involved running CAT-5 around the house and drilling through walls. However, part of the professional install is supposed to include connection to the computer (or router) AND a thorough check-out of the system. But since I had a Linux box (no Windows OS) the install tech wouldn't touch it. He just plugged it in and said "see ya' later." Fortunately it did work. Our one big issue (and it goes back to an earlier comment) was distance from the box in the street to your computer connection. My home sits equidistant between two BS connection boxes. Unfortunately where the line needs to enter my house and plug into a router is at the farthest point from the street, and is about 150-200 feet over the 500 foot limit from the connection box BS told me it recommends for connection. So we were having some real problems with the quality and stability of the connection. To resolve it we had to find a way to reduce the distance -- get make a connection from BS's line to my system in under 500 feet. Here's how we resolved that. I purchased a Linksys Workgroup Switch. We unplugged the Linksys router and put the Workgroup Switch in its place. All computers were then connected to this switch, and the DSL line from the outside world (modified as described below) also plugged into the Switch. At the other end of the house where the BS feed from the street appeared -- at the 500 foot limit -- a BS tech cut the DSL feed. He then drilled through the wall of my garage and connected the DSL feed to the Linksys router that I had moved into the garage from the other end of the house (the router that had been where the Workgroup Switch now is). The output of the router then fed the CAT-5 cable that wound around the house for that extra 150-200 feet, but because the DSL line was "seeing" the router at 500 feet it was happy, and the router then essentially acted as a "booster" (for lack of a better word) and tricked the DSL signal into thinking it was connecting to my computers in well under 500 feet. Hope that was clear. ;o) The resulting connection has been much better and we have not had service problems since then. Sorry if this has been a little long-winded (and I know it's probably not of much interest to non-BS users), but maybe it will help others too. ;o) Gil

On Thursday 19 August 2004 05:00 am, Web Developer wrote:

Anyone using BellSouth's DSL or Cable service with Linux? I just saw saw where I can get a decent connection for $5.00/mo more than I'm paying for Earthlink dial-up. But their site says Win/Mac - and nothing about Linux! I understand I'll probably have to hook myself up, but - sheesh! - they could at least mention the requirements for a Linux system.

I hate the dag-blamed marketing hype these companies throw out - always ignoring Lunix users! -- Web Developer Matheteuo Christian Fellowship webdev@matheteuo.org http://matheteuo.org/ Running MS Windows + Office = $400 Running Linux + OpenOffice.org = $0 Celebrating as you delete your format your Windows drive = PRICELESS ============

I think the only thing you need concern yourself with here is that the modem is ethernet capable. Many times BellSouth will deliver a USB model only and those are nasty vile creatures! ;o) The rest should be pain free to setup in your Linux with YaST2! Lee -- --- KMail v1.6.82 --- SuSE Linux Pro v9.1 --- Registered Linux User #225206 I do everything my Rice Krispies tell me to do!