[plug] ADSL: Hardware Gateways vs Linux

[Chris Caston]

On Mon, 2004-07-05 at 13:46, Trevor Phillips wrote:
> I'm preparing to take the ADSL plunge (FINALLY), 

Well done.
> and have started looking at 
> what ADSL Modems and variants thereof are available. In particular, since 
> I'll probably sign up with Westnet, I've been looking at what hardware they 
> offer:
>    http://www.westnet.com.au/products/broadband/adsl/hardware.shtm
> 
> First up - how do these ADSL Hardware routers compare to a Linux Box for 
> firewall & NAT support? I'm guessing that Linux has the advantage of being 
> fully customisable, upgradeable, & patchable, but how much advantage (if any) 
> is that compared to a dedicated hardware solution? 

Well the adsl modem has no hdd, psu or other fans that could fail. If
you use old PC hardware these things will almost certainly fail. It also
requires less power should you let it run off a UPS.

If you go with a PC you will need to buy the adsl modem anyway and run
it in bridged mode.

ADSL modems are getting more and more sophisticated with QoS, IP
throttling, VPN client/server, dns-dyns, more advanced firewalls,
virtual servers etc. 

At the moment the real reason for having a dedicated firewall I could
see if different network segments each feeding from a different nic.

Of course if you want to learn about and use IPtables and use various
Linux monitoring tools and scripts and want something that know know is
opensource and can trust then you will probably need a Linux box.

I look forward to the day when someone releases a Linux powered adsl
modem. 
> I could go with a simple 
> ADSL Modem, whack a second net card in the Linux server (current dial-up 
> server - really needs some maintenance done on config tho), or I could go 
> with one of the ones with 4-port, and demote my Linux server to a file/web 
> server.
> 
You could.
> The other consideration is whether to take the opportunity to take the plunge 
> into Wireless, and get an ADSL Modem which also doubles as a Wireless Access 
> Point. 

Be careful with these. I've been having serious problems with the
wireless component of the Billion 7402w. It may be better to get a
separate access point. When the whole product is the wireless access
point they are going to put more effort into making it good than if the
wireless is just a "feature" of an adsl modem.

> The main concern is if the range will stretch from the study at one 
> end of the house, through multiple walls to the other end of the house. How's 
> the range on these sort of SOHO products?
> 

Much less when going through walls. You may need a repeater or even just
run some cable. It's not that hard. In fact it's far easier to install
sockets than it is to crimp cable. 

> Lastly - what are the Netcomm's like which Westnet offer? (See above link). 
> The PDF brochures all read rather well, but then, not having networking as a 
> specialty field, a lot of the acronyms go over my head. ^_^ (Although the 
> spec sheet for the Netcomm 5580W wireless one reads a lot like a Linux 
> feature-set. Anyone know if it's really an embedded linux device?)
> 

Not sure about Netcomms but try the LINKSYS WRT54G, 802.11G, 11/54Mbps
Wireless-G Router. It runs Linux and you can use it to run a Linux of
your choice providing it has a small footprint.

> Any other gotcha's or advice on hardware and configuration?