I have a few questions about details of the above service install. Answer only if you are a current or former user of the service or have performed installs for others with the service. I need details, not flames and trolls so I can make an intelligent, informed decision.
Current pricing is $26.95/month (1.5Mbps down) for a one yr commitment with free hardware and self-install. The higher speed (3Mbps down) is avail. for $36.95/month and same free hardware and install.
If you have this service and use Linux, did you have to hook up a Windows PC for the initial install and then move the NIC used for the install to your Linux box or Linux based firewall? I had to do this when I originally signed up for @Home, but this problem went away with the switch to Comcast.net. I noticed this change when setting up friends with Comcast. I have not really dealt with Roadrunner or DSL for anyone. The deal was that your MAC address was used as part of the authentication scheme somehow. I don't really recall more detail than that.
Do they use PPPoE? Not a big deal, but I know it can be a pain in some ways when you try to keep alive your connection for an always on PC.
How is their customer service if you are competent with PCs and networks? Do they try to give you the run-around and have you do stupid things in their support script books or do they listen to you when you tell them you have already tried all that?
Have you had any problems with the service being down frequently like some users here that have RR have experienced? I have not had outage problems with Comcast until I moved to the new address, but I'm looking to save some money and maybe lose the ties to cable. This is probably more dependent on your phone line quality, like cable is on the age and quality of cable wire, than anything else, though DSL is dependent on distance to switch.
Tied to the last question, have you had trouble with email being down? I think they just have most people use Yahoo webmail, which I do now anyway, but with paid service you can do a legal POP download of mail. Again, this is a frequent complaint of RR users, but not a problem with Comcast. If I get this DSL connection I intend to try to have my own mailserver, but the family will probably be on the ISP mailserver.
Any trouble running a home webserver, mailserver and using ssh into said servers? Any blocked ports by default? I've not had a problem with Comcast, but some RR users have had to call CS to get ports unblocked. I'm not planning on running a business or getting 5 nines of service, I just want a playground for server stuff, so don't get yer panties in a bunch over getting a business level DSL connection.
Any other caveats about using their service that you have noticed, any limitations that I haven't thought to ask about?
Brian Kelsay
I started with Telocity which was bought out by DirecTV which folded and switched over to SBC service. When that happened I got a new 2wire DSL modem. I paid $200 for it (a ripoff) but was "reimbursed" by lower monthly bills the first year.
I did setup via a Windows PC but it looked like it was just using a webpage servered up by the modem. I think the address translated to 192.16.0.1 to talk to the modem. After I setup the modem I deleted all of the installed software on the Windows PC. I still talk to the modem via a webpage and can download updates and do all the administration. Of course part of the 150 Megs of crap software they install on the Windows PC is a "monitoring" program for the modem so they can serve me better.
I setup one Gentoo Linux PC by name in the DSL modem and passed the IP address directly through to it and I serve a simple set of webpages on it now. I have an account on http://www.dyndns.org/ but don't have the software installed quite correctly on the Linux box to update the IP address every time it changes. Since I have frequent power blinks at my house it sometimes changes often. I need to UPS the DSL modem in the basement.
I have never noticed an outage. I have never had to call customer service. I use paid Yahoo as my email but see no reason I couldn't setup other servers. I have run SMTP servers on my Windows PC to send mail out on occasion.
I have the $26.95 year contract. The speed of the downloads are often better than here at work.
Oh, the 2wire modem is also a DHCP server and firewall so you just have to hook up a hub and then as many PCs as you wish.
--- Brian Kelsay Brian.Kelsay@kcc.usda.gov wrote:
I have a few questions about details of the above service install. Answer only if you are a current or former user of the service or have performed installs for others with the service. I need details, not flames and trolls so I can make an intelligent, informed decision.
Current pricing is $26.95/month (1.5Mbps down) for a one yr commitment with free hardware and self-install. The higher speed (3Mbps down) is avail. for $36.95/month and same free hardware and install.
If you have this service and use Linux, did you have to hook up a Windows PC for the initial install and then move the NIC used for the install to your Linux box or Linux based firewall? I had to do this when I originally signed up for @Home, but this problem went away with the switch to Comcast.net. I noticed this change when setting up friends with Comcast. I have not really dealt with Roadrunner or DSL for anyone. The deal was that your MAC address was used as part of the authentication scheme somehow. I don't really recall more detail than that.
Do they use PPPoE? Not a big deal, but I know it can be a pain in some ways when you try to keep alive your connection for an always on PC.
How is their customer service if you are competent with PCs and networks? Do they try to give you the run-around and have you do stupid things in their support script books or do they listen to you when you tell them you have already tried all that?
Have you had any problems with the service being down frequently like some users here that have RR have experienced? I have not had outage problems with Comcast until I moved to the new address, but I'm looking to save some money and maybe lose the ties to cable. This is probably more dependent on your phone line quality, like cable is on the age and quality of cable wire, than anything else, though DSL is dependent on distance to switch.
Tied to the last question, have you had trouble with email being down? I think they just have most people use Yahoo webmail, which I do now anyway, but with paid service you can do a legal POP download of mail. Again, this is a frequent complaint of RR users, but not a problem with Comcast. If I get this DSL connection I intend to try to have my own mailserver, but the family will probably be on the ISP mailserver.
Any trouble running a home webserver, mailserver and using ssh into said servers? Any blocked ports by default? I've not had a problem with Comcast, but some RR users have had to call CS to get ports unblocked. I'm not planning on running a business or getting 5 nines of service, I just want a playground for server stuff, so don't get yer panties in a bunch over getting a business level DSL connection.
Any other caveats about using their service that you have noticed, any limitations that I haven't thought to ask about?
Brian Kelsay
Kclug mailing list Kclug@kclug.org http://kclug.org/mailman/listinfo/kclug
Thanks to all the guys that responded today. Two were off list and very helpful. I got to deal with their tech support tonight at a friends house after work. Unfortunately the tech support was from India and so my friend couldn't understand them. They also were unable to get her modem provisioned today. They have some Authentication server that the support person figured was down. Doesn't mean it was really down, that was just her scripted response. At least now I know what tech support will be like. Hope I never have to use it. The deal maker will be that I get free equipment and that the cost stays level for a year instead of just a few months like they offered before. This will probably end up saving $20-30 a month and every bit helps.
I will be using IPCop still so using dyndns or a similar service is not a problem. They have built-in clients for handling the updates and built-in PPPoE support to keep the connection alive. As you say James, I may need a Winders PC to run the software the first time. I was looking at my friend's and it looked like the software handled the provisioning of the modem. I may be able to do without it by having tech support provision it, but who knows.
Again, thanks for all the advice.
James Sissel wrote:
I started with Telocity which was bought out by DirecTV which folded and switched over to SBC service. When that happened I got a new 2wire DSL modem. I paid $200 for it (a ripoff) but was "reimbursed" by lower monthly bills the first year.
I did setup via a Windows PC but it looked like it was just using a webpage servered up by the modem. I think the address translated to 192.16.0.1 to talk to the modem. After I setup the modem I deleted all of the installed software on the Windows PC. I still talk to the modem via a webpage and can download updates and do all the administration. Of course part of the 150 Megs of crap software they install on the Windows PC is a "monitoring" program for the modem so they can serve me better.
I setup one Gentoo Linux PC by name in the DSL modem and passed the IP address directly through to it and I serve a simple set of webpages on it now. I have an account on http://www.dyndns.org/ but don't have the software installed quite correctly on the Linux box to update the IP address every time it changes. Since I have frequent power blinks at my house it sometimes changes often. I need to UPS the DSL modem in the basement.
I have never noticed an outage. I have never had to call customer service. I use paid Yahoo as my email but see no reason I couldn't setup other servers. I have run SMTP servers on my Windows PC to send mail out on occasion.
I have the $26.95 year contract. The speed of the downloads are often better than here at work.
Oh, the 2wire modem is also a DHCP server and firewall so you just have to hook up a hub and then as many PCs as you wish.
Not to toot our own horn, but we offer a dedicated line ADSL service for $49.95 per month. This means you can drop SBC as your phone service and get VOIP from Vonage, SunRocket, or Nuvio and save quite a bit of money each month, especially when you look at the hidden taxes and fees of SBC and TimeWarner. Plus with our dedicated line ADSL service you get a static IP and the support is based here in KC not in India, plus we have speeds up to 6MB down and 768K up for under $100 per month.
I switched do this myself a few months ago. I had SBC DSL for $26.95 plus their bundled phone service and with taxes and fees I was paying over $100 a month. Now with SunRockets $199 unlimited phone service for a year, plus our dedicated line DSL service, I am saving over $40 per month.
-----Original Message----- From: kclug-bounces@kclug.org [mailto:kclug-bounces@kclug.org] On Behalf Of Brian Kelsay Sent: Thursday, January 06, 2005 6:28 PM To: kclug@kclug.org Subject: Re: anybody using SBC Yahoo DSL?
Thanks to all the guys that responded today. Two were off list and very helpful. I got to deal with their tech support tonight at a friends house after work. Unfortunately the tech support was from India and so my friend couldn't understand them. They also were unable to get her modem provisioned today. They have some Authentication server that the support person figured was down. Doesn't mean it was really down, that was just her scripted response. At least now I know what tech support will be like. Hope I never have to use it. The deal maker will be that I get free equipment and that the cost stays level for a year instead of just a few months like they offered before. This will probably end up saving $20-30 a month and every bit helps.
I will be using IPCop still so using dyndns or a similar service is not a problem. They have built-in clients for handling the updates and built-in PPPoE support to keep the connection alive. As you say James, I may need a Winders PC to run the software the first time. I was looking at my friend's and it looked like the software handled the provisioning of the modem. I may be able to do without it by having tech support provision it, but who knows.
Again, thanks for all the advice.
James Sissel wrote:
I started with Telocity which was bought out by DirecTV which folded and switched over to SBC service. When that happened I got a new 2wire DSL modem. I paid $200 for it (a ripoff) but was "reimbursed" by lower monthly bills the first year.
I did setup via a Windows PC but it looked like it was just using a webpage servered up by the modem. I think the address translated to 192.16.0.1 to talk to the modem. After I setup the modem I deleted all of the installed software on the Windows PC. I still talk to the modem via a webpage and can download updates and do all the administration. Of course part of the 150 Megs of crap software they install on the Windows PC is a "monitoring" program for the modem so they can serve me better.
I setup one Gentoo Linux PC by name in the DSL modem and passed the IP address directly through to it and I serve a simple set of webpages on it now. I have an account on http://www.dyndns.org/ but don't have the software installed quite correctly on the Linux box to update the IP address every time it changes. Since I have frequent power blinks at my house it sometimes changes often. I need to UPS the DSL modem in the basement.
I have never noticed an outage. I have never had to call customer service. I use paid Yahoo as my email but see no reason I couldn't setup other servers. I have run SMTP servers on my Windows PC to send mail out on occasion.
I have the $26.95 year contract. The speed of the downloads are often better than here at work.
Oh, the 2wire modem is also a DHCP server and firewall so you just have to hook up a hub and then as many PCs as you wish.
--
Somewhere there is a village missing an idiot. _______________________________________________ Kclug mailing list Kclug@kclug.org http://kclug.org/mailman/listinfo/kclug
On Thu, January 6, 2005 12:42 pm, Brian Kelsay said:
Current pricing is $26.95/month (1.5Mbps down) for a one yr commitment with free hardware and self-install. The higher speed (3Mbps down) is avail. for $36.95/month and same free hardware and install.
Wow - except for the one-year commitment, that's a pretty good deal - both appear to be cheaper than RoadRunner right now. I think they advertize $39.95, but it bills at just under $45. I wonder what the 3M rate actually bills at?
I have had two experiences with SBC DSL, both from the mid-90's. One location in Westport was an early adopter, and got a very nice, clean 1.5M symetrical connection that was straight ethernet.
The other was in Raytown a couple of years later, and it was below 1.5M, PPPoE, and did have some ports blocked/filtered. I was never able to connect with this system from the outside with any protocol, although the end-user didn't report any problems I could attribute to SBC.
You refer to a lot of problems with RoadRunner service that I've never encountered or heard of. We've had a copuple of people here report "frequent" minor outages, but most of us who've used it have had reliable connections with uptimes (and DHCP leases) measured in years.
It seems like most of the technically savvy people I know use a different host for their email than that provided by their ISP, and/or run a home mail server. It's true that kc.rr.com has had some horrible problems with their servers, but that doesn't bother me because I don't rely on them.
If you use SBC's mail server, you will probably eventually be talking with those folks in India. PPPoE is also the kind of service where you're more likely to have to deal with them than a straight ethernet link.
Looks like a heck of a good price though. Maybe I should call TWC and see what they have to say about it.
I've been running mail, web, DNS, and FTP servers on a SBC aDSL for the last 3 years. I was not here when the install happened, my wife was. As I recall I had left instructions to just have the installer set things up on my box booted into windo$e and took care of everything else when I got home later. I had no trouble getting things working right off the bat.
The only outages I have experienced have been with my servers, nothing due to SBC's equip. Only talked to CS more than a few minutes, once. It was about getting my mail.vaitl.net server to reverse DNS to the proper IP (Roadrunner will not accept mail from a server it can not get a proper reverse DNS answer to the IP address). That was taken care of within 2 business days and not a lick of trouble with it since.
I do know that at the time I had the install, neither RR (had that prior to DSL) or SBC would talk to me once they found out I was not using MSIE and Windo$e. They flat out told me, "We don't support anything else, not even Netscape."
Brian Kelsay wrote:
I have a few questions about details of the above service install. Answer only if you are a current or former user of the service or have performed installs for others with the service. I need details, not flames and trolls so I can make an intelligent, informed decision.
Current pricing is $26.95/month (1.5Mbps down) for a one yr commitment with free hardware and self-install. The higher speed (3Mbps down) is avail. for $36.95/month and same free hardware and install.
If you have this service and use Linux, did you have to hook up a Windows PC for the initial install and then move the NIC used for the install to your Linux box or Linux based firewall? I had to do this when I originally signed up for @Home, but this problem went away with the switch to Comcast.net. I noticed this change when setting up friends with Comcast. I have not really dealt with Roadrunner or DSL for anyone. The deal was that your MAC address was used as part of the authentication scheme somehow. I don't really recall more detail than that.
Do they use PPPoE? Not a big deal, but I know it can be a pain in some ways when you try to keep alive your connection for an always on PC.
How is their customer service if you are competent with PCs and networks? Do they try to give you the run-around and have you do stupid things in their support script books or do they listen to you when you tell them you have already tried all that?
Have you had any problems with the service being down frequently like some users here that have RR have experienced? I have not had outage problems with Comcast until I moved to the new address, but I'm looking to save some money and maybe lose the ties to cable. This is probably more dependent on your phone line quality, like cable is on the age and quality of cable wire, than anything else, though DSL is dependent on distance to switch.
Tied to the last question, have you had trouble with email being down? I think they just have most people use Yahoo webmail, which I do now anyway, but with paid service you can do a legal POP download of mail. Again, this is a frequent complaint of RR users, but not a problem with Comcast. If I get this DSL connection I intend to try to have my own mailserver, but the family will probably be on the ISP mailserver.
Any trouble running a home webserver, mailserver and using ssh into said servers? Any blocked ports by default? I've not had a problem with Comcast, but some RR users have had to call CS to get ports unblocked. I'm not planning on running a business or getting 5 nines of service, I just want a playground for server stuff, so don't get yer panties in a bunch over getting a business level DSL connection.
Any other caveats about using their service that you have noticed, any limitations that I haven't thought to ask about?
Brian Kelsay
On Thu, 06 Jan 2005 20:34:45 -0600 docv consulting@vaitl.net wrote:
I do know that at the time I had the install, neither RR (had that prior to DSL) or SBC would talk to me once they found out I was not using MSIE and Windo$e. They flat out told me, "We don't support anything else, not even Netscape."
I don't understand how people put up with that crap. It's a friggin' ISP and they only support one OS and one browser. What a load of crap.
I do understand and don't mind them not being able to help me diagnose an ethernet driver issue on a Linux box, but the fact that they damn near just hang up on people when they hear they aren't using Windows and IE is just plain unexcuseable. I'm so glad I don't live in KC.
--------------------------------- Frank Wiles frank@wiles.org http://www.wiles.org ---------------------------------
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Brian Kelsay -
Brian Kelsay -
docv -
Frank Wiles -
James Nelson -
James Sissel -
Jonathan Hutchins