[lug] Linux with ISDN

[Michael Deck]

At 08:48 AM 4/27/00 -0600, you wrote:

>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Rob Riggs" <rob at pangalactic.org>
>
> > Subba Rao wrote:
> > >
> > > I have been hearing a lot about the availability of ISDN solution
> > > for Linux, but I haven't found a decent FAQ or HOWTO document that
> > > talks about the setup or issues with ISDN/Linux.
> > >
> > > What ISDN hardware is supported on Linux?
> > >
> > I would recommend not bothering with any of the internal
> > ISDN cards that require kernel support and just get yourself
> > an inexpensive ISDN router.
>
>I'd go a step further and make see if there is an alternative.  ISDN
>is expensive and slow compared to xDSL, and from what I recall
>the line restrictions are similar, so that almost any place you can get
>ISDN you should be able to get DSL.

My place (unincorporated county near 76th & S. Boulder Rd) is an
example of the "almost" any place. I have ISDN but have not been
able to find an xDSL provider who qualifies me.

I am using an external ISDN router because I had it left over from
when I had an exclusively Win32 network. Now I only use it as a
terminal adapter, doing all my routing and NAT (IP Masquerading)
with a Linux box. All the router does for me is bring the connection
up whenever it drops. I have a Pipeline 75 (formerly Ascend now Lucent)
which really sux: it's never done all the things it was supposed to
do and I'm very happy I don't have to rely on it to do very much
of anything anymore. Because it is a "real" box, I can Telnet into
it to modify configuration etc., and all of that is independent of
my Linux router.

In general, I like having external rather than internal whenever I
have a choice. There are more options then for placing the
hardware, servicing independently, and not having to keep up with
driver issues. I also have an external modem which I connect to
the analog POTS ports of the router to give me dialin PPP service
into my network. I always think external provides more flexibility
than internal especially if you're like me constantly changing your
mind about which machine is currently best-suited for which task.

-Mike

Michael Deck
Cleanroom Software Engineering, Inc.   
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