wireless/networking/dsl/wired

[Rmx77]

hello all i am a new one around here and dont know where to really place this. I have been messing around with networking and wireless  and wired. i have found that the phone company dsl modem routers or modems they put out usually aren't the best. I have been thinking of either coming up with a solution either by using a computer as a router or modem or firewall or whatever. i have also been looking for modem only devices but most of what is sold these days for for dsl is mostly combo modem routers only. i am on dhcp bridged mode dsl service and i would want to come up with a better modem solution or come up with some firewall or better equipment then what the phone company puts out which is the netgear 7550 which is a modem router combo. the other reason i want to find each thing individually is because then i can have a better network setup rather then having one device for everything cause even if one part fails on the combo modem router gateway piece of junk the whole thing is toast. what would you guys suggest.

[Halcyon]

If you have a fairly good working knowledge of networking and computer in general, you may want to consider installing pfSense on a machine to act as your router. pfSense is totally free and quite powerful if you need more advanced features. It will run on fairly old hardware just fine.

You'll be hard-pressed finding an ADSL/ADSL2+ "modem only" device these days. I personally use a Thompson ST536 v6 modem/router which has the added advantage of being able to run in "bridged mode" (essentially a "dumb modem"). It just took a little bit of telnet'ing and some commands in the back-end to enable bridge mode. I just connect this to my WAN interface on my pfSense box and the computer takes care of the authentication and routing.

I bought that modem/router off ebay and was originally supplied by Optus (in Australia) but they aren't "locked" to any one carrier or provider. You just need to make sure you have the right PPPoE or PPPoA settings in pfSense to connect to your ISP.

P.S.: Welcome to the forum. However may I suggest you work on your grammar and punctuation a little. Lazy typing indicates a lazy mind. :-)

[Rmx77]

most of the time i just type in shorthand. the dsl service we have from frontier is dhcp routed bridge. frontier doesn't issue ppoe for dsl. i have an old compaq i could use but setting up the software is a pain. mostly what i do know about networking is how to set up a modem to get the modem to talk to the outside incoming dsl signal and how to set up a router to send signals around to other computers. i also find that some people on say youtube or other places don't really explain in detail or easy ways how to do certain things. sometimes all i see is the person showing how to do something and as they are showing you what to do they are also going back and fourth with notepad or wordpad and what they are showing u what to do and some when they type stuff out they delete the last step out just to type in the next step. also some don't do a generic setup or setup for any kind of network they just assume everyone has or needs the same settings as they have and then they show that which i find sad

[Halcyon]

most of the time i just type in shorthand. the dsl service we have from frontier is dhcp routed bridge. frontier doesn't issue ppoe for dsl. i have an old compaq i could use but setting up the software is a pain. mostly what i do know about networking is how to set up a modem to get the modem to talk to the outside incoming dsl signal and how to set up a router to send signals around to other computers. i also find that some people on say youtube or other places don't really explain in detail or easy ways how to do certain things. sometimes all i see is the person showing how to do something and as they are showing you what to do they are also going back and fourth with notepad or wordpad and what they are showing u what to do and some when they type stuff out they delete the last step out just to type in the next step. also some don't do a generic setup or setup for any kind of network they just assume everyone has or needs the same settings as they have and then they show that which i find sad

This is why I recommend you have at least an intermediate knowledge of IT and networking if your going to attempt pfSense. I found it easy straight away... then again I'm a network engineer so I was able to just figure it out myself.

If you feel pfSense is beyond your level of knowledge, then an all-in-one modem/router is best for you (maybe just upgrade to a decent brand, avoid D-Link and NetComm stuff). But it doesn't hurt to install pfSense on a test machine and have a play. At least that way if you break something, you won't take down your entire network.

[Rmx77]

i'm learning networking little by little. i feel the junk the phone company gives out isn't as good as special native hardware. the compaq i have it with 2 gigabit ethernet ports matching cards, video and firewire card. the thing would be knowing how to set up the software since i suck at it. also finding a good modem is hard here in the US since mostly what the phone companies give out anymore are the 3 in 1 combo units where they are modem, wired router and wireless router. the only modem only devices sold are cable modems. the only reason i am stuck with dsl is cause that is what my dad affords to pay for sadly.

[apelly]

I use pfsense and double NAT with my DSL modem. Works well easily for simple stuff. You can make it as comprehensive as you'd want, but you will quickly learn how little you know, from experience.

Be prepared to spend time without internet when you goof things up. And you will.

[Rmx77]

what can u do with pfsense over built in firewalls. is it also a router too or what

[apelly]

https://www.pfsense.org/getting-started/

The pfSense project is a free network firewall distribution, based on the FreeBSD operating system with a custom kernel and including third party free software packages for additional functionality. pfSense software, with the help of the package system, is able to provide the same functionality or more of common commercial firewalls, without any of the artificial limitations. It has successfully replaced every big name commercial firewall you can imagine in numerous installations around the world, including Check Point, Cisco PIX, Cisco ASA, Juniper, Sonicwall, Netgear, Watchguard, Astaro, and more.

pfSense software includes a web interface for the configuration of all included components. There is no need for any UNIX knowledge, no need to use the command line for anything, and no need to ever manually edit any rule sets. Users familiar with commercial firewalls catch on to the web interface quickly, though there can be a learning curve for users not familiar with commercial-grade firewalls.

[Rmx77]

not to brag or bitch or anything but i have found that some people that say make youtube videos some of them that know how to do stuff may show how its done within a few minutes and sometimes when you contact them to ask questions they never respond. it looks like they are only there to gain video views and nothing more. eventually i will have to get the compaq running pfsense hopefully and even making it work right.

[Halcyon]

not to brag or bitch or anything but i have found that some people that say make youtube videos some of them that know how to do stuff may show how its done within a few minutes and sometimes when you contact them to ask questions they never respond. it looks like they are only there to gain video views and nothing more. eventually i will have to get the compaq running pfsense hopefully and even making it work right.

I can understand why. Even in an office of 20 people, I still get bombarded with IT-related questions when it's not my job. I'm happy to help, but could you imagine hundred or thousands of people asking one person for support?

Videos like that are not designed to be a comprehensive guide to a product. But it should encourage you to do a bit more reading and research from different sources, consult the product documentation and try things out for yourself. Don't just rely on one source or one person.

[Rmx77]

i dont try to rely on one person. sometimes i do find that some people go way to fast or dont spend enough time explaining each thing by itself. sometimes they may just go down the line of what is in the menu randomly choose something maybe it is something that they have to work with an focus on that. i just dont want to fuck stuff up is what i am always afraid to do certain things cause of fucking it up or not knowing exactly how to do it. i am more the type that is a show how its done then do it type.