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ADSL x2 Advice

The PCI cards used for the Linux distro are pretty expensive. I notice that if you install a PPPoE "dial-up" ADSL connection in XP you have a PPP multi-link negotiation check box. So if you install a couple of cheapo USB ADSL modems (using PPPoA) in XP Home, click the dial-up multi-link box for both of them, and enable internet connection sharing, have you got a far cheaper bonding solution ? I suppose if it was that simple it would be common knowledge, maybe an XP/ADSL bonding expert can clarify this ... :nod:
 
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Thanks to all of you for your replys. I think what i'll do is get my Eclipse ADSL (2) transfered there and see if the line will support 2mb, if it does then great if not i'll get them to install at the next best speed then either bond 2 lines or get a second line installed and use independantly.

Thanks again
 
Bob2002 said:
The PCI cards used for the Linux distro are pretty expensive. I notice that if you install a PPPoE "dial-up" ADSL connection in XP you have a PPP multi-link negotiation check box. So if you install a couple of cheapo USB ADSL modems (using PPPoA) in XP Home, click the dial-up multi-link box for both of them, and enable internet connection sharing, have you got a far cheaper bonding solution ? I suppose if it was that simple it would be common knowledge, maybe an XP/ADSL bonding expert can clarify this ... :nod:

Its not that easy Bob I wish it was, for it to work properly you need both lines to be connecting to the same gateway and the gateway to have multilink enabled which if they are on BT equipment in the exchange it is almost garenteed to not allow it, also there is a problem getting them both to auth and pick up the same IP to allow the 2 lines to act as one, I'm sure theres more reasons but they are the main ones that I know off. On a side note I wouldnt recommend a USB modem to any one other than some one who uses the internet once a week to check their email.
 
LeeH said:
Its not that easy Bob I wish it was, for it to work properly you need both lines to be connecting to the same gateway and the gateway to have multilink enabled which if they are on BT equipment in the exchange it is almost garenteed to not allow it, also there is a problem getting them both to auth and pick up the same IP to allow the 2 lines to act as one, I'm sure theres more reasons but they are the main ones that I know off. ...

Perhaps I've got the wrong end of the stick ? Just to be clear, are you talking about the _general_ requirements for bonding ADSL, or are you commenting specifically on the hardware software combination of the post, XP etc. ? The comments about gateways seem(?) to be general comments about the problems of bonding ADSL using PPP multi-link.

What I was interested in was whether the PPP multi-link apparently offered with XP actually _works_ with ADSL lines sold for bonding i.e. if you have a "working" pair of PPP multi-link bonded lines, attached to your Linux box, and replace the box with XP, will the multi-link option in XP actually work ? USB modems were used as an example because of their cost/proof of principle (I assume they typically have a "dial-up" properties page with a multi-link check box), and I believe earlier versions of the Linux bonded ADSL distro did support them -

This document details how to combine two or more ADSL Internet connections using two Alcatel USB Speedtouch ADSL modems on one computer running the Linux operating system and using the multilink PPP protocol. As of the beginning of December 2003 this became possible in the UK thanks to ISP Nildram launching a bonded ADSL service. This service uses multilink PPP to combine two or more Nildram ADSL connections to increase bandwidth with very little overhead. Using the Nildram's bonded service and the software as detailed below I have been running a busy web server (this site) at home since the beginning of Jan 2004 on two ADSL lines with a combined upload speed of around 500Kbs. In Feb 2004 I also setup two Nildram bonded ADSL connections where I work as a network admin.

Nildram only officially support this kind of service by the customer using their recommended Cisco routers which cost over £1000. However, I have been able to take advantage of this service using a PC and two Alcatel Speedtouch USB modems. Linux and all the software used in this guide is freely available on the Internet.

http://www.freestuffjunction.co.uk/bondedadsl.shtml

:hrmph:
 
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LeeH said:
Its not that easy Bob I wish it was, for it to work properly you need both lines to be connecting to the same gateway and the gateway to have multilink enabled which if they are on BT equipment in the exchange it is almost garenteed to not allow it, also there is a problem getting them both to auth and pick up the same IP to allow the 2 lines to act as one, I'm sure theres more reasons but they are the main ones that I know off. On a side note I wouldnt recommend a USB modem to any one other than some one who uses the internet once a week to check their email.

I'd be interested to see what happens using 2 x USB modems for this as we've overcome the problem that occurs when the connections are delivered from separate BRASs.

Not sure what you mean by multilink enabled on the exchange equipment - AFAIK that doesn't come into it...

But likewise I wouldn't recommend USB and I certainly wouldn't want to support it.
 
onephat said:
Thanks for all your help bob. I've also dropped a email to the ISP asking for their prices etc etc.

Out of interest, was it you who emailed earlier today? I know I replied to someone regarding this.
 
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JakePerks said:
Out of interest, was it you who emailed earlier today? I know I replied to someone regarding this.

:nod: yup yup was me. Thanks for your speedy reply.
 
Was a bit of both Bob, and the ST330's dont like multilink enabled on the dslam with a MTU value over 1440, I would still go for the 2 seperate lines as you are going into alot of hassle for a 2meg line.
 
Yes, I'm mainly curious as to whether XP can multi-link ADSL as standard, I appreciate a serious user normally won't be looking at USB (though I've just seen a post by someone who bonded 6 ADSL lines with SpeedTouch modems).

If you're ordering two lines from Entanet (for example) anyway, and if there's no significant price premium, then spending £20 on a couple of SpeedTouch modems on eBay (you can avoid the 330 if necessary ), and downloading the free 1.7b version (last with USB support) of the bonding distro won't break the bank. The software is not any more difficult to use than my NetGear router (and much friendlier than the "tools" Cisco supplied me with). It seems pretty easy, and cheap to do, as far as I can tell. :)
 
I just double checked with a colleague, apparently there's no reason why you couldn't bond n x ADSL with multiple USB modems in a PC using XP's built-in multilink.

But as I said before I wouldn't want to personally vouch for its success :)
 
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