802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi Card

On 5/26/2016 at 6:21:59 PM Paul wrote:

tb wrote:
On 5/26/2016 at 1:49:26 PM Paul wrote:

What flavor USB ports does it have ? USB2 or USB3 ?

You'd want USB3 to cover all possibilities. If the laptop
ports are USB2, you might get little better than you have now.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/802.11ac

And I can see a few different ones for sale. You'd probably want
the router in the same room, to get impressive transfers. I
don't think 5GHz has much penetration capability.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833315123

There is stuff like WiGig on 60GHz band, but that
definitely is same-room, line of sight.

Always check the reviews, to sift out the really
bad stuff.

Paul

Ports are USB3.

While I have your attention, let me ask a follow-up question:
I have ADSL with AT&T and they have provided the modem for
connecting to their network. I know for a fact that the modem
(which also doubles as router) is not IPv6 compliant.

If I purchase an IPv6-compliant router am I wasting my money since
the AT&T modem cannot handle that network standard?


Can you put the AT&T modem in "bridged" mode ?
When in bridged mode, it functions as "plumbing".
It's not allowed to interfere with the packet
stream.

In bridged mode, just the modem is effectively
functioning, and the port you plug into, gets
PPPOE encapsulated ethernet packets. The next
device in the chain, handles PPPOE authentication
and de-capsulating. In the following diagram,
my new VOIP ATA gets the chore of converting
PPPOE into vanilla Ethernet, providing DHCP
addresses and so on.

That's how I run my modem/router. I run it in
"bridged" mode, because the router part on
that box, sucks. This is my network setup.
The modem/router is noted for having a good
ADSL front end, which is why I bought it :-)

modem/router --- VOIP ATA ------- GbE switch ----
bridged decodes PPPOE ----
routes phone ----
to RJ11 ports ----

I used to have another router between the ATA and GbE,
but dumped it recently and retired it. Before the
VOIP ATA was there, a little $39.95 router did
the PPPOE, did the DHCP and so on.

*******

Back in the dialup days, there was PPP too. It stands
for Point to Point Protocol. During the first phase
of connecting to the ISP, it functions in text mode.
If you ran a trace on it, you'd see "USER" and "PASS".
The two ends negotiate encapsulation (whether headers
are compressed or not) and so on. After the negotiation
phase is complete, it switches to binary transport
and the trace would turn to garbage if you tapped
into it then.

Well, the broadband uses the same silly mechanism,
only the byte stream is carried in Ethernet packets.
There is "overhead" added to the stream of
packets from the ISP. When you first "connect" to
the ISP, the traditional "USER" and "PASS" happens,
just like in dialup days. That's why, in the above
diagram, the ATA box has my ISP username and password
stored in it. So the ATA can automatically connect
to the ISP, as soon as the power comes on. And
that allows my phone to work (more or less) 24
hours a day. The phone is connected to a traditional
recorder, for voice mail. I don't use any fancy
digital solution for that.

In addition to PPPOE, there is PPPOA. The size of the
encapsulation changes, the lashed up connection
has a VPI and VCI. These are ATM or Asynchronous Transfer
Mode terminologies (and used because the DSLAM may
actually talk ATM over fiber, to the Central Office).
If you set up the ATT modem in bridged mode, and it
happens to be a PPPOA setup, the web page with the
modem settings may have a box for VPI and VCI.
Typical values are 0 and 35, but you should consult
the little card the ISP gave you, that contains those details.
You are likely to need that, when bridging. Check to
see if the ISP has a FAQ page on "how to bridge".

If you break your home network, and need help,
don't forget that the public library has an
"Express" computer, that can be booked for
15 minute usage periods. Most of the library
machines, you have to book them in advance.
An "express" computer may be available,
for short stints where you need to fill out
a form online or the like. I've used that
before when I was "completely busted" at
home :-) We used to have Freenet here, but
Freenet is no longer free :-) And this basically
means, if you plan on "breaking" your modem
settings, do it M-F 9-5, so the library can
provide your backup Internet service. If I managed
to break mine right now, my phone wouldn't
even work any more. As I moved to VOIP to save
a bundle.

Paul

This is an extract from the instructions for bridging my 2Wire 2701HG
modem:

Bridge Network Settings:
The Bridge Network pane allows you to create a local network that has
broadband-accessible IP addresses.
Bridge Network is a public network in which the local network is an
extension of the broadband network and does not require any special
routing. Computers that are assigned Bridge Network IP addresses
operate without the use of Network Address Translation (NAT). This
feature is typically used in conjunction with broadband service that
provides a range of IP addresses. Once enabled, the bridge network IP
addresses can be assigned to local computers.

So, the bridging can be done. However, I don't understand the part
that states "This feature is typically used in conjunction with
broadband service that provides a range of IP addresses." Would I have
to get this range of IP addresses from AT&T and manually assign an IP
address to everything that connects to the network? If so, that's way
above my skills...

--
tb

tb wrote:
On 5/26/2016 at 6:21:59 PM Paul wrote:

tb wrote:
On 5/26/2016 at 1:49:26 PM Paul wrote:

What flavor USB ports does it have ? USB2 or USB3 ?

You'd want USB3 to cover all possibilities. If the laptop
ports are USB2, you might get little better than you have now.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/802.11ac

And I can see a few different ones for sale. You'd probably want
the router in the same room, to get impressive transfers. I
don't think 5GHz has much penetration capability.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833315123

There is stuff like WiGig on 60GHz band, but that
definitely is same-room, line of sight.

Always check the reviews, to sift out the really
bad stuff.

Paul
Ports are USB3.

While I have your attention, let me ask a follow-up question:
I have ADSL with AT&T and they have provided the modem for
connecting to their network. I know for a fact that the modem
(which also doubles as router) is not IPv6 compliant.

If I purchase an IPv6-compliant router am I wasting my money since
the AT&T modem cannot handle that network standard?

Can you put the AT&T modem in "bridged" mode ?
When in bridged mode, it functions as "plumbing".
It's not allowed to interfere with the packet
stream.

In bridged mode, just the modem is effectively
functioning, and the port you plug into, gets
PPPOE encapsulated ethernet packets. The next
device in the chain, handles PPPOE authentication
and de-capsulating. In the following diagram,
my new VOIP ATA gets the chore of converting
PPPOE into vanilla Ethernet, providing DHCP
addresses and so on.

That's how I run my modem/router. I run it in
"bridged" mode, because the router part on
that box, sucks. This is my network setup.
The modem/router is noted for having a good
ADSL front end, which is why I bought it :-)

modem/router --- VOIP ATA ------- GbE switch ----
bridged decodes PPPOE ----
routes phone ----
to RJ11 ports ----

I used to have another router between the ATA and GbE,
but dumped it recently and retired it. Before the
VOIP ATA was there, a little $39.95 router did
the PPPOE, did the DHCP and so on.

*******

Back in the dialup days, there was PPP too. It stands
for Point to Point Protocol. During the first phase
of connecting to the ISP, it functions in text mode.
If you ran a trace on it, you'd see "USER" and "PASS".
The two ends negotiate encapsulation (whether headers
are compressed or not) and so on. After the negotiation
phase is complete, it switches to binary transport
and the trace would turn to garbage if you tapped
into it then.

Well, the broadband uses the same silly mechanism,
only the byte stream is carried in Ethernet packets.
There is "overhead" added to the stream of
packets from the ISP. When you first "connect" to
the ISP, the traditional "USER" and "PASS" happens,
just like in dialup days. That's why, in the above
diagram, the ATA box has my ISP username and password
stored in it. So the ATA can automatically connect
to the ISP, as soon as the power comes on. And
that allows my phone to work (more or less) 24
hours a day. The phone is connected to a traditional
recorder, for voice mail. I don't use any fancy
digital solution for that.

In addition to PPPOE, there is PPPOA. The size of the
encapsulation changes, the lashed up connection
has a VPI and VCI. These are ATM or Asynchronous Transfer
Mode terminologies (and used because the DSLAM may
actually talk ATM over fiber, to the Central Office).
If you set up the ATT modem in bridged mode, and it
happens to be a PPPOA setup, the web page with the
modem settings may have a box for VPI and VCI.
Typical values are 0 and 35, but you should consult
the little card the ISP gave you, that contains those details.
You are likely to need that, when bridging. Check to
see if the ISP has a FAQ page on "how to bridge".

If you break your home network, and need help,
don't forget that the public library has an
"Express" computer, that can be booked for
15 minute usage periods. Most of the library
machines, you have to book them in advance.
An "express" computer may be available,
for short stints where you need to fill out
a form online or the like. I've used that
before when I was "completely busted" at
home :-) We used to have Freenet here, but
Freenet is no longer free :-) And this basically
means, if you plan on "breaking" your modem
settings, do it M-F 9-5, so the library can
provide your backup Internet service. If I managed
to break mine right now, my phone wouldn't
even work any more. As I moved to VOIP to save
a bundle.

Paul

This is an extract from the instructions for bridging my 2Wire 2701HG
modem:

Bridge Network Settings:
The Bridge Network pane allows you to create a local network that has
broadband-accessible IP addresses.
Bridge Network is a public network in which the local network is an
extension of the broadband network and does not require any special
routing. Computers that are assigned Bridge Network IP addresses
operate without the use of Network Address Translation (NAT). This
feature is typically used in conjunction with broadband service that
provides a range of IP addresses. Once enabled, the bridge network IP
addresses can be assigned to local computers.

So, the bridging can be done. However, I don't understand the part
that states "This feature is typically used in conjunction with
broadband service that provides a range of IP addresses." Would I have
to get this range of IP addresses from AT&T and manually assign an IP
address to everything that connects to the network? If so, that's way
above my skills...


That doesn't sound right. That sounds like what I see here
on PDF page 25 (Figure 11).

http://www.2wire.com/pages/pdfs/2701HG_user_guide.pdf

The "DSL and ATM" part appears more or less appropriate.
A defined VPI and VCI.

It's the part below. You don't want it doing the PPPOE
within the 2701HG or doing the DHCP.

And this article makes it sound like it doesn't have the
tick box needed to get it to do that. Instead, this
guy recommends disabling it bit by bit.

http://www.scomputerservicesgta.com/...ograms/op3.php

This gives a similar recipe, only they use some firmware
to "unlock" a telco unit, then do the disablements. If your
unit was locked, you might not have got that far anyway.

http://www.wikihow.com/Set-Your-Bell...to-Bridge-Mode

The 2701HG should not have your PPPOE username and password
in it. It should not be able to log in, or de-capsulate
any PPPOE or PPPOA. That's the job of the next box down
the road. Like, some other router. Or in my case, my
VOIP ATA handles my PPPOE dialing and authentication.

Even your computer can handle PPPOE. You can take
a bridged modem/router, then plug your computer
right into the LAN port. And end up with a Windows PC
with an Internet address. (You still need a PPPOE dialog
on the Windows PC, with the username and password for
dialing PPP.) Anyone who wants to scan you, test the
Windows Firewall, is all set to do so when you connect
that way. And that's why you don't generally want to
do that. I think I was connected that way once for a
couple minutes, but that was enough risk for me. And I
put things back the way they were, with IPV4 and NAT
routing right after the bridged box.

Paul