PCA Forums

I have decided to join the world of broadband. After searching through the pcabuser posts about at&t's cable internet offerings, I am still left with a few questions. Perhaps all you nice people can give me your hard-earned opinions:

1) On their website, at&t claims that to use multiple computers, you need to purchase an ip address for each machine. Having worked in many subnetted networks, I would rather use DHCP. What equipment / software would work best (in everyone's opinion) in the cable-modem environment for DHCP? I know this is implemented in a dedicated router here at my work. Although money is an issue, I am primarily weighing speed and flexibility.

2) Where can I find some technical information on the modem itself and typical dl / ul speeds? I haven't been able to find technical specs on the att.com website.

3) Are there dl / ul limits after which you get charged? I am thinking of hosting several websites through a Linux box and probably an ftp server.

4) Something about this at&t service gives me the willies, mostly the complete lack of any technical information on their website. Can someone give me some reassurance here. This is new for my area, but I bet the speed will be real good. And compared to DSL (see 6), the price is nice.

5) I read in a previous post that they will take off $10 / month if you buy the cable modem. Is this still true? What should I expect to pay for this piece of equipment and is it worth buying at all?

6) In my area, Verizon also offers DSL in four packages, three of which I am also considering:

(with $5 / month for fixed IP factored in)
Bronze Plus Up 768k / Down 128k $37.50 / month
Gold Up 768k / Down 768k $75 / month
Platinum Up 1.5M / Down 768k $105 / month

Now the only real big problem with these plans is the expense.

I will probably have a faster connection with the cable modem, but Verizon seems more on top of their technical offerings (doesn't say much for the current state of at&t), listing the speeds and catering to ppl who want to run servers while also suggesting that subnetting is just fine. One negative is that the DSL has a bandwidth cap at 10 GB a month download, which is a lot, but I have been known ...

The at&t stuff is more like "Gollee, gee, you sure can download MP3's real fast, yup yup," and I can't find mention of the acceptibility of servers outside of hosting a small webpage.

7) I will be hooking up at least 4 computers to this connection, and probably more like 6, eventually. (Too many?) How do I go about getting multiple connections to the hub / switch / router that will be connected to the modem, just wiring them all through the house somehow (they are all over the place)? Should I be considering a wireless solution? (It would be sweet, but I'm not sure about time / cost.)

Sorry to just lay it on, but you guys will give me the low-down, not a telcom sales pitch.

basic answers:

you can theridacly get around the speed of a T2 line. the most I hae ever seen on mine was 700+k but they cap your uploads in certain areas like Here in IL outside chicago it is caped at 15k...which is just retarded!

modem will cost you around 100-200 and you do get $10 off a month

dhcp is the way to go....I just use a linksys brodband router/switch combo.

with a 15k upload cap hosting Any website is out of the question

they dont have speeds listed on there site cause it can go up and down.

Greg

Cable connections vary greatly depending on your area. I personally have AT&T Cable and get pretty fast download speeds. I average prob somewhere in the 2Mbit range. But as Nexus said, you have a 95% chance that your upload speed will be capped at 128k(15k/sec). That is completely unusable for any website or FTP site hosting. And besides, its technically against their Terms of Service you must sign to get the service to run servers.

You would probably be better off in this situation with one of those higher speed DSL connections(768k-1.5Mb upload if you're gonna run servers). But be carefull with DSL... depending on who the provider is(Covad or Rythms)... cause Northpoint(the former third DSL Network provider) is already out of business and looks like Covad might be heading that way too. So if Verizon's provider is Covad you might want to give it a second thought(Covad's network is already oversold).

The Cable/DSL routers work good for sharing your connection(Linksys or netgear to name two major ones)... but I'm not sure how that would work if you're gonna be running any web/ftp servers. It might be a chore to setup the servers so they work behind the router. If it is(i'm not sure if it would be or not) you could always run a proxy server on the websever to share the connection. Just a thought anyway. Hope some of that helps.

I've heard the same news about Covad. A couple of other DSL providers are also going under. Qwest is pushing DSL in the Seattle area, but they have a very long and colorful history of being total suck in the telecommunications arena (plus, after buying USWest, they super-jacked a lot of prices).

1) AT&T push individual IP addresses mostly so that they can more easily setup and troubleshoot home networking configs. Once you use a router or proxy software, WE become your tech support. Plus, they make an additional $5 a month, which after you tally up the total cost, really is nothing compared to the cost of DSL.

Another thing to consider is that you can forget about using NetMeeting, as well as many other Internet applications. Most require a unique IP address, and do not work under NAT, ICS, proxy, blah, blah, blah...your machines can call each other with NM, but that's a big waste of time...

2) AT&T doesn't build modems, and they use several different ones, depending on the area of service. Motorola made my Cybersurfer. No idea if the specs are up there, haven't looked. But typical dl/ul speeds are decided by the AT&T, not the modem.

3) There are upload "limits" that raise a red flag at the switching station. Once they suspect you're hosting a web site or FTP server, and then investigate and discover that you are, you will be back on an analog modem in no time flat. Otherwise, I don't think they have a limit.

4) A couple of years ago, TCI had more info available. Once AT&T swooped in and bought them out, we saw that info disappear. Most-likely a marketing decision to reduce confusion upon the technically inept.

5) I don't know, you'll have to call AT&T that services your area. But I've seen modems selling for as low as $100, so they pay for themselves within a year to 18 months, depending on your price.

6) I wouldn't put too much stock into what Verizon sez you'll get for d/l speeds. Every DSL provider lies about speed, since it depends how far out you are on the node. They give you a "best possible scenario", and I haven't met a DSL customer yet that gets the advertised speeds.

7) All of the computers need to go to the hub, then the hub goes to the modem. Or, all the computers go to the hub, the hub goes to the router, the router goes to the modem. But yeah, a wireless solution might be best, since you don't have to run a ton a wires and can move machines on a whim. But go with the 802.x (can't remember the last number) which I believe is capable of 11Mb. Also be aware that regardless of which broadband you choose, these 4-6 machines will be sharing a single pipe...a single logged on machine may download at 768K w/DSL, but using four at the same time: each will get 192K (tho' it's unlikely all four would download massive files all at the same time...but still...)

I have att@home and to the best my knowlege most @home service reguardless of the provider is administered by excite.com and for the most part when you sign up all the literature and manuals you are given are for excite@home. This link may answer more of your questions about att@home, as it is the support link you would use if you were to subscribe: http://home-members.excite.com/ .
I think if you use the att provided modem you get what they have, I was given an external RCA, a friend of mine was given an external 3-com, and still another friend was given a usb 3-com.

Great tips, people. Thanks.

That upload limit will definitely nix my plans of hosting sites from home. I could go with the DSL, which from the promotional material seems geared at small businesses and suggests that web hosting and running servers is okay. But that monthly download cap is somewhat irksome, and people here are suggesting that the providers are shaky right now.

Perhaps I should just go with the cable and pay out-of-pocket for web hosting at a coloc. Anyone know any good ones for someone on a budget?

Nexus and Kakarot covered virtual everything already, but in the investigation I did for DSL in my g/f's neighborhood, one company specifically said that static IPs and running a server were permitted. Check DSL Reports for lists of providers.

Personally, I love my @Home service and have hit 4 Mbits occasionally. I just hooked up with a decent hosting place called West Host that offers good prices for basic hosting. I put the Stunning Amazon site I did and my new web design business (site not finished yet, only a placeholder logo). Other places have good prices and will let you run a FTP, BUT if they catch anything *cough*shady*cough*, they'll shut ya down right quick. (When the BSA calls 'em.)

I don't change my own oil, so why should I buy and maintain a server? Let them worry about keeping it up!