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3. Regular Cable Modem ISPs

If you think you have the card recognized you have to now look at the entry for your ISP. I have sorted the information according to a provider because setups are mostly ISP specific.

3.1 MediaOne Express

MediaOne Express is a Internet cable service provided by MediaOne. The hardware setup consists of a cable modem produced by LanCity or General Instruments which plugs into an ethernet card using a 10BaseT (UTP-45) cable. Assignment of IP addresses and other networking information is done using DHCP which stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. The only thing you need to do is read the DHCP mini-HOWTO and configure your system appropriately. There is no other necessary configuration. DHCP mini-HOWTO can be found at http://www.cs.unm.edu/~vuksan/linux/DHCP.html

Information about MediaOne Service can be found at http://www.mediaone.com.

3.2 @Home

@Home uses a similar setup to MediaOne. However, there are a few fundamental differences, outlined by contributors. Since @Home spans different geographic locations you might get assigned different kind of equipment and have slightly different kind of setups.

Before you try anything, go to control panel, network, and properties for your network card. Write down all of the information. You will need it later.

TCI, the company that runs @Home issues a Etherlink III 3c509b NIC for all of their customers. What TCI does not tell you is that when they install your ethernet card, it is in PnP mode. Now in Slakware, if you uncomment the proper line for this card, everything will appear to be working fine. There will be no system problems, but the 'PC' light on your CyberSURFR modem will never turn on. If you are using Slakware, and are having this problem, reboot in DOS and skip the next paragraph.

In RedHat 5, your system will have some trouble autodetecting the card. If you try to pass the paramaters manually, the system will hang. This should be obvious that your card is not setup properly. Before wasting anymore time, reboot in DOS (This is a must because as of 12/25/97, there is no utility written for Linux to turn off PnP and turn on ISA.)

TCI does not give out a utility disk for your ethernet card, so you must download the utility from one of 3Com's sites. Here is a link to 3COM's page for driver download.

http://support.3com.com/infodeli/tools/nic/index.htm

Once you have downloaded your driver files you will need to run them and disable the PNP mode of your network card.

What you've now done will make your ethernet card 'broken' in Windows 95. You'll need to go to Control Panel, Network, and remove the network card and the adapter. Reboot your computer, and again go back to control panel. Go to add/remove new hardware, and have it autodetect. It will automatically setup the correct i/o address for you. You will most likely need to reboot again. Now you should be in Windows 95, with the 'PC' light on your cable modem on. You will also notice that none of your internet applications seem to work, you can't ping, and you can't resolve DNS. You now must go back to control panels, network, and click on properties for your network card (not the adapter). Re-enter all the data you wrote down, and reboot.

With a little luck, your ethernet card should be working in Windows 95, and ready to rock in Linux.

If you live Hampton Roads, VA or Phoenix, AZ you should read a little note from Mark Solomon

With the @home service in Hampton Roads, VA, it is absolutly neccessary to run dhcpcd-0.70 (or higher) that supports the "-h" option to specify the hostname of your computer. Without this switch the @home dhcpcd server will not assign addresses.

@Home user from Hampton Roads Scott Stancil sstancil@home.com has provided an RPM that can be used to easily configure @Home connection. Check it out at http://www.linuxforum.com/plug/projects.html

More information on setting up dhcpcd-0.70 and @Home service with Intel Ether Express cards can be found at http://www.monmouth.com/~jay/Linux/

Notes for Baltimore, MD and Colleyville,TX:

In Baltimore subscribers are issued Intel Ether Express Pro 10 nics and a static IP number.

Notes for Milpitas, CA, USA (Joe Byrne byrne@well.com):

@Home service assignes 3Com 509b cards. IP addresses assigned statically.

Notes for Salt Lake City, UT, USA (akaiceman@hotmail.com):

@home (at least in the Salt Lake City, Utah areas, i'm not sure if this is everywhere yet) has started giving out 3com 900B NIC's, unless you ask for a ISA card in particular. 3COM 900B are PCI based ethernet cards which might require kernel recompilation.

Notes from Connecticut, USA (dan@sidhe.org):

The @Home folks are using Motorola cable modems (I know, I got one) in addition to any other brand folks have reported. If it's getting hooked into a hub it needs to either get plugged in with a twisted-pair cross-over cable or go into the 'to other hubs' port if your hub has one. (Which is standard, I expect, for these things, but useful to keep in mid if, like me, you're hooking the thing on to an existing local network) I have a plain Compaq 10/100 ethernet card (I think it's the NC3131, but I'm not 100% sure) in my linux box and it worked without a hitch.

Also, they are handing out fixed IP addresses, at least in Connecticut, and you can get up to three. (They charge $4.95/mo for each extra IP address they allocate) They make no requirements on the OSes on these extra machines--I've a Vax running VMS and they didn't bat an eye when I signed it up. They did want the initial machine to be something they recognized (I booted over to Win98 for the duration) but they would've handled a linux-only install if really, *really* pressed

Notes from Dallas, TX or anyone using Motorola CyberSurfr:

If you have a Motorola CyberSurfr cable modem you will need to press the reset key on the back of the modem if you switch network cards. The ethernet card hardware address is read by the modem and once it is setup if the card is switched it must be reset.Just press the reset key for 10+ seconds and it will reread.

If you are still not able to get your cable connection going check out mini-HOWTO for cable modems and Cox@Home at http://www.kernel-panic.com/user_files/cox.at.home.html

Information about @Home Service can be found at http://www.home.com/.

3.3 RoadRunner

RoadRunner is an Internet cable service provided by Excalibur Group (Time Warner). The hardware setup consists of a cable modem produced by Motorola and Toshiba which plugs into an ethernet card using a 10BaseT (UTP-45) cable. From what I can gather RR uses DHCP for IP assignment. In order to set up Linux to use DHCP you need to read the DHCP mini-HOWTO http://www.cs.unm.edu/~vuksan/linux/DHCP.html.

If this doesn't work out for you you should check out http://www.math.uakron.edu/RoadRunner/ for Akron, Ohio and http://people.qualcomm.com/karn/rr/index.html for San Diego, California. It might help solve your problem.

Another good site is http://www.vortech.net/rrlinux/.

One more thing that might be worth mentioning: you will need a Windows NT, 95, or 98 or Macintosh PC for the RoadRunner installers to configure the modem. It's not technically necessary, but they will insist, and will not install on a Linux system. It's also best not to mention the IPFW system while they're around.

Information about RoadRunner Service can be found at http://www.rr.com/.

3.4 Rogers Wave

The hardware setup consists of a cable modem produced by LanCity which plugs into an ethernet card using a 10BaseT (UTP-45) cable.

When the cable modem is installed by Rogers Wave technicians you are assigned a static IP address. They should also provide you with information on your subnet mask, router (gateway) numbers and DNS numbers.

Other information about Rogers Wave Service can be found at http://www.rogerswave.ca/.

3.5 Sunflower Cablevision

This information is provided by Andrew Novick:

"I recently saw your cable modem howto and I have an addition. Sunflower Cable is a company stricly in Lawrence KS, however we have a rather large Linux community because of the University of Kansas. On our local LUG mailing list, we are starting to get more and more questions on how to configure their linux machine for the cable modem. It is just regular static addressing, and the modem is made by Zenith."

To configure your Linux box make sure you get all the pertinent information from the Cablevision tech support or use these.

Have all those numbers written down before you proceed. To register, visit

http://www.sunflower.com/

To register in the lawrence.ks.us domain contact Stephen Spencer at

gladiatr@artorius.sunflower.com

Under RedHat use Control Panel and Network Configuration to put in these numbers. Just say Add Interface, Device type=Ethernet, Device name=eth0 (this is zero not O in eth0) then fill out all the fields. Then click activate.

In Slackware type netconfig. When you are finished reboot and you should be up and running.

If this doesn't work make sure you do network card troubleshooting from the beginning of this document.

3.6 Jones Intercable

This information is provided by Bob Kimble:

Jones Internet Cable supplies a Hybrid cable modem that connects to your machine / network via 10BaseT ethernet. They provide you with a static IP address for your machine, and another static IP address for the modem. The modem acts as a gateway to their network. Your IP address and the modem IP address are on the same network and have the same network mask (in my case 255.255.255.0 -- 24 bits). They also provide two DNS IP addresses which you enter into your configuration. I just entered the numbers when I installed Red Hat Linux 5 and it worked like a champ from the beginning. Since then I have configured my Linux machine to enable IP masquerading and domain name services, and it now acts as a router for my entire private network. My other machines are connected via a private network using the addresses 192.168.0.x. They are running Windows 95, Windows NT (Intel and Alpha) and OS/2. My Linux machine has two IP addresses -- the one from the cable company and one from the 192.168.0.x private network. Everything works like a champ. All six machines can browse the web simultaneously. My kids are even able to connect to their favorite game site, "The Realm" from Sierra.

3.7 GTE Worldwind

This information is provided by Mike Hughes:

The information you provided for Rogers Wave works for GTE WorldWind cable modem services also. However, GTE's service is EXTREMELY slow, barely faster than ISDN. more information at

http://www.psilord.com

3.8 SpeedChoice, Phoenix, Arizona

According to Micah mailto:peenchee@asu.edu:

Just thought I'd let you know that in my area (Phoenix, AZ, usa) there is a company called speedchoice that provides cable modem service. The service uses a hybrid cable modem and the set up is almost identical to that of Jones intercable described in the howto. See Jones Cable. For any other issues mail Micah.

3.9 Cedar Falls Cybernet, Iowa

This information is provided thanks to Joe Breu mailto:breu@cfu.net

We are an ISP in Cedar Falls, Iowa that uses the Zenith HomeWorks Universal over our own Hybrid Fiber/Coax system. Our system uses no proprietary connection software and is straight TCP/IP connections. We do use DHCP, but will offer static IP addresses to customers requesting them because they cannot use DHCP.

3.10 Telstra Bigpond Advance, Australia

This information is provided by James Mitchell mailto:jm@spikey.echidna.id.au and William Eggers mailto:william@acousola.echidna.id.au:

Disclaimer:

The information contained herein is in no way the responsibility of Big Pond Cable, Telstra Multimedia, Telstra, IBM Global Services Australia or any related company. Any loss or consequential damage associated with the attempted installation of the Big Pond Cable Linux software is the PERSONAL responsibility of whomsoever follows these instructions.

Big Pond Cable does not currently support Linux - so do not report faults to them regarding any aspect of the Linux installation and/or operation.

Big Pond Cable Linux Installation Notes. V 1.2 (17/06/99)

Linux is not officially supported by Big Pond Cable. However, the TMM cable infrastructure does allow Linux to be used - with the appropriate login client. The following installation notes should allow you to install the Linux software without too many difficulties.

Before we begin, you will need a DHCP client. Most Linux distributions will include a client (dhcpcd), but if for some reason your system lacks it, I recommend the dhcp client that comes packaged with the roadrunner linux client.

ftp://ftp.vortech.net/pub/rrlinux/old/rrclientd-1.3.tar.gz

You will also need the bids2login login client binary for Telstra Big Pond Cable.

http://www.interlink.com.au/ltd/unix_client/

Procedure:

Copy the distribution file rrclientd-1.3.tar.gz to your Linux PC. Login as root for all of the following :- Expand the distribution (with gunzip) & then untar it. In the directory rrclientd-1.3/bin you will find it contains the dhcp client executable you will require: rrdhcpcd Copy the rrdhcpcd binary to a suitable location and issue the following command,

./rrdhcpcd eth0

To make sure the DHCP client has assigned your ethernet interface an IP issue the following command,

ifconfig eth0

If all is well, you should see something like the following,



    eth0  Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:40:05:36:BF:59
          inet addr:24.192.47.40  Bcast:24.192.47.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          UP BROADCAST NOTRAILERS RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:4905 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0
          TX packets:3325 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0
          Interrupt:11 Base address:0x6400

Modify your rc files so they configure your ethernet card to use dhcp & restart the system. If the dhcp configuration is ok - an IP address will be assigned - with the details being placed in /etc/dhcpc/hostinfo-eth0 & /etc/dhcpc/resolv.conf. Link /etc/resolv.conf to /etc/dhcpc/resolv.conf.

ln -s /etc/dhcpc/resolv.conf /etc/resolv.conf

Proceed to expand the bids2login client archive (bids2login-1.00-xxx.tar.gz). Create the directory /usr/local/bpc and move the bids2login binary into it. Create the file /usr/local/bpc/passwd.bpc and place your Bigpond password in it. (have an appropriate umask set so nothing can read the files you generate).

Logon to the Bigpond server

> bids2login -a dce-server -l username -f/usr/local/bpc/passwd.bpc

If successful, you should see something like the following,

bids2login: Login at Mon Oct 5 11:28:54 1998 as username successful.

Test your setup,

ping 24.192.2.2 -c3 or ping 24.192.2.3 -c3

Now here's the interesting part. The client will drop-out after 4 minutes. To work around this, write a simple shell script which reloads the client every 2 minutes or use the following,


#!/bin/sh

while true; do
    nohup /usr/local/bpc/bids2login -a dce-server -l username \
    -f /usr/local/bpc/passwd.bpc 2>&1 >/dev/null &
    sleep 120
    nohup killall bids2login 2>/dev/null >/dev/null
    done

Place the appropriate entries in rc.local (to execute the shell script) and voila!

3.11 Fibertel, Buenos Aires, Argentina

This information is provided by Pablo Godel

My name is Pablo Godel and want report that I'm using the cable service of Fibertel in Buenos Aires, Argentina and it works perfectly with Linux.

They gave me a static IP. The brand of the cablemodem is COM21 and the model is ComPort.

I connect it to the nic properly, configured in Linux and it worked perfectly.

More information about Fibertel can be found at http://www.fibertel.com.ar

3.12 Videotron (Videon), Canada

I don't have much information about Videotron except the fact that they use DHCP for the assignment of IP addresses and other networking information. Just read the DHCP mini-HOWTO and configure your system appropriately. There is no other necessary configuration. Also important thing to note is that the Ethernet card that Videotron distributes is a NE2000 compatible PCI card for which you need to use

ne2k-pci driver

Additional information from Philip Gwyn (gwynp@artware.qc.ca):

They use Motorola CyberSURFR (sic) modems. This will give you an ethernet NIC when you sign up. They gave me a TMC NE2000 PCI clone, which Linux recognises as a "RealTek RTL-8029". It couldn't configure it propperly however, until I downloaded the manufacturer's driver disk and changed the media type to "auto-config".

While they can't guarantee to get it working with Linux, they will do a bit of hand holding so it works. Many of the tech-support have Linux-clues, as it were, even asking questions like "what kernel are you running?" "do you have the latest version of dhcpcd?". When their DHCP server broke, they even suggested I delete the cache files in /etc/dhcpcd to start over from zero, as it were. This worked.

Additional information from Mihai Petre (mihaip@videotron.ca):

Yes they are using DHCP for the tcp settings. They have also included dhcpcd on their ftp server at ( ftp://ftp.videotron.ca/pub/linux/). You can also try posting your problems on news.powersurfr.com newsgroup videon.linux.

Their only limitation regarding making a server is a 1 Gig upload limit and a 6 Gig download limit.

Information about Videotron can be found at http://www.videotron.ca

3.13 Telekabel (Teleweb), Austria

According to Andreas Kostyrka:

Information about Telekabel can be found at http://www.telekabel.at/

3.14 Tebecai, Netherlands

According to Frodo Looijaard:

Tebecai is yet another provider which uses a LANcity cable modem connected to a 10BaseT ethernet card. DHCP is used for configuration (see the DHCP mini-HOWTO). A step-by-step guide to install the cable modem under Linux can be found at http://huizen.dds.nl/~frodol/

(in dutch), but it is really very straightforward. You must only remember that your IP-address is not visible from the Internet (it is on the private 10.x.y.z subnet), so you can not setup a publicly available server.

Information about Tebecai can be found at http://www.tebenet.nl (in dutch only).

3.15 A2000, Netherlands

This information is provided by Johan List mailto:J.A.List@speed.A2000.nl:

Basically the way to go is the same as with Tebecai. A2000 provides cable internet access by means of a LANCity cable modem, connected to an 10BaseT ethernet card. This also works well for the "Vortex/Boomerang" cards by 3COM (I've got a 3COM Boomerang Fast Etherlink XL 10/100Mb TX Ethernet Adapter), providing you compile the Vortex/Boomerang drivers. (See the Linux Ethernet-HOWTO)

Setting up access can be done with DHCP (See the DHCP-Mini-HOWTO). A Dutch guide to setting up Internet access for A2000 is available at http://agvk.a2000.nl/LINUX/index.html.

Contrary to Tebecai, your IP-number *is* visible from the Internet, so take your precautions regarding security and safety when setting up a Linux machine using A2000 Internet access!!

3.16 Shaw Cable, Canada

According to Peng F. Mok mailto:pmok@shaw.wave.ca:

I recently signed up for a cable modem service from Shaw Cable here in Canada, which they have christened `Shaw Wave'. They also appear to have another service called `Shaw@Home' which they are using in some locations. Shaw has been upgrading their cable network for about a year and a half now, and now offer cable-modem service to a number of locations across Canada. Information about the `Shaw Wave' service can be found at http://www.shaw.wave.ca while information about the `Shaw@Home' service can be found at http://shaw.home.com General information about Shaw Cable can be found at http://www.shaw.ca

I thought I'd just drop you a line to inform you that your DHCP mini-HOWTO, was very useful in helping me set up Linux to work with my cable-modem service, and that you might want to add `Shaw Wave' (and perhaps `Shaw@Home') to your Cable-Modem mini-HOWTO as another entry explaining how to set up Linux with the service. I don't have specific information on the `Shaw@Home' service yet, but from conversations I've had with Shaw technical support it seems that `Shaw@Home' is a partnership with `@Home' and involves the same features and setup procedure as that already described for `@Home' in the Cable-Modem mini-HOWTO document.

In both services Shaw Cable techs will come over and bring you two pieces of hardware -- a Motorola CyberSURFR cable-modem and either a 3Com EtherLink III 16-Bit ISA 3C509B-TPO NIC or an EtherLink XL PCI 3C900-TPO NIC. You have your choice of either an ISA or a PCI card depending on your needs, and these models only have the RJ-45 (UTP) connectors. The ISA cards come with PnP-mode enabled by default, so it may be necessary to boot into DOS, disable PnP operation, and configure the card to some base I/O address and IRQ setting which are available. Once this is done Linux should have no problems detecting the NIC at boot-time. I'm not sure about what needs to be done in the case of a PCI card since I don't currently have a PC which supports either PCI or PnP.

Note from another user:

Shaw now also issues SMC PCI ethernet cards. They give these out without boxes or manuals. I found out that these are the SMC EtherPower PCI RJ45 card (model 8432T). They use the DEC 21041 chip so the tulip ethernet driver is needed for it.

If you need to set up your POP3 mailboxes you can do that at following URL:

https://profile.home.net/Users/menu.htm

and you can login and setup the POP3 mailboxes that way.

Oh, and for the record, Shaw's technical support is horrendous. The best place to go for information is the athome.users-unix newsgroup (which is not even mentioned by any of the documentation) or please consult http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/~pmok/linux/

3.17 Cogeco Cable, Canada

This information is provided thanks to Terry O'Grady togrady@cgocable.net

I have a Cable Modem through a company called Cogeco Cable located in various parts of Canada. They are part of the "Wave" system which includes Rogers Cable and Shaw Cable. The technical setup is different for each provider though. They supplied me with a D-Link ethernet card (the version of that has changed since then but I believe are still using D-Link) and a Zenith modem. The Ip setup is easy since they use DHCP so all I did was install the DHCP daemon and that was that. If you like you can list my e-mail address mailto:togrady@cgocable.net for anyone with questions.

Additional info has been provided Craig Kossowski:

Cogeco seems to be slowly getting themselves sorted out wrt cable modems and is now part of the set of Canadian cable companies that have cooperated on the @Home network. A network card is provided as part of their large (but currently waived) hookup fee; the D-Link 528CT for PCI capable systems, and, I believe, D-Link 220T for ISA systems (and possibly PCI capable computers that will accept the ISA card, they tried it in my roommate's system first, only when that didn't work did they put in the PCI 528CT). I'd recommend asking for the PCI if you have the choice, as I know that setup can work with Linux from my experience.

Both of these are NE2000 boards to the best of my knowledge. I got the PCI D-Link 528CT which uses the RealTek 8029 chipset, and Linux can deal with easily. I just recompiled the kernel, and after a little hiccup due to RedHat 5.2's lilo default not looking for the kernel at /vmlinuz, I was up and running. DHCP (with a 24 hour lease lifetime) is used for IP resolution and everything worked automaticaly (I had selected a DHCP config when I installed Linux, others may need to do slightly more configuration, but it doesn't require anything non-standard). The 528 is supposedly plug & play, but I had no problems using it in my Linux box (2.0.34). Note that you need to compile in (either built in or module, I used built in) the PCI NE2k code, and unlike what is implied in the Ethernet HOWTO, you don't need to also include the ISA NE2000 code to use this chipset. I don't have experience with the ISA D-Link 220T, but I would assume it's just as easy to set up, it's listed as a supported card in the Ethernet HOWTO.

The Cable modem I got was a great heavy thing that looks like a heatsink for a small nuclear reactor. Nearly a square foot in desk space, made by LANcity, and I believe rated for 10Mbps shared bandwidth on the cable subset side of things, it has a reasonably good set of LEDs to show you what it's doing once you figure out what each one is. While throughput will obviously vary, I see transfer rates around 10kB/s (80kbit/s) and up during the day, to 50-60kB/s at night, when presumably thinks are quieter on the backbone. Subjectively, it's very fast, and beats even fast modems hands down. I haven't had it long enough to determine uptime yet, so I can't comment there.

At the time of this writing (Jan 99), Cogeco's service runs $150 for installation, including the card, and $39.99 a month for the service. They're currently waiving the modem rental fee "until they are available for purchase" but the information there is mixed from 15.04/month as of early 1999 (from the web page) to "not for some time" from their phone staff. Included with this is up to five email addresses, and 5MB of Web space. They also say there is a 1GB/month limit, though I'm told (by their tech support people) that this isn't strictly enforced, and is more to discourage ftp sites with high traffic bogging down the subnets, and to provide them with an avenue to prevent such. Although their literature doesn't say so, additional computers are an extra 10.70 a month, though unsupported, and you have to provide the hub, wiring and additional ethercards if you do this, they're basicly charging the extra for the lease of an additional IP as far as I can tell from their information.

3.18 Optimum Online, New York and Connecticut

This information is provided by Seth Greenfield ( mailto:islesfan@nassau.cv.net):

Optimum Online uses DHCP, and rrclientd in Linux, by John Clark. Check out http://www.netaxis.com/~wharris/optimum/index.html for instructions on how to set up your service with Linux.

Tell people who had private ips who have public ips now to change their /etc/resolv.conf to look like this...


domain nassau.cv.net (or optonline.net depenind on the users mood)
nameserver 167.206.112.3
nameserver 167.206.112.4

Other Than that its the same setup procedure note: the rrclientd software will work if you tell it dce-server and you specify the domain as optonline.net

3.19 Singapore Cable Vision, Singapore

This information is provided by Jieyao ( mailto:jieyao@letterbox.com):

SCV provides Motorola Cybersurfer modem connected to the network card via UTP cable. The IP setup is easy since they use DHCP so all you need to do is install the dhcp daemon. If you can't make access the first time, turn the modem off then on again.

3.20 Cable Wanadoo, France and Netherlands (formerly Casema)

This information is provided by ( Jerome SAUTRET ) and it applies to Wanadoo's French customers:

I just read your Cable Modem HOWTO. I live in France, and I use Cable Wanadoo, the cable service of France Telecom, which is the main telecom operator in France. It is available in a few cities in France at the moment, like Angers and Metz. This service provides a dynamic IP address via DHCP. It uses a COM 21 modem plugged in a 10BaseT Ethernet card. The IP setup is easy just read the DHCP mini HOWTO.

Information about Netherlands is provided by Costyn van Dongen cvd@casema.net:

The current Casema cable modems operate via the serial port, acting like normal modems, answering AT commands like phone modems. The setup is really very easy, because all the chat script needs to do is dial ATDT4. (this is in ppp-on-dialer). Hence it uses PPP, which is unusual for most cable modems.

Relevant files are included

/etc/ppp/ppp-on


DIALER_SCRIPT=/etc/ppp/ppp-on-dialer
exec /usr/sbin/pppd -detach /dev/ttyS0 115200 connect $DIALER_SCRIPT &  

/etc/ppp/ppp-on-dialer


exec /usr/sbin/chat -e '' AT '' ATDT4 

/etc/ppp/ppp-off


#!/bin/sh
######################################################################
#
# Determine the device to be terminated.
#

sleep 5

if [ "$1" = "" ]; then
        DEVICE=ppp0
else
        DEVICE=$1
fi
#
######################################################################
#
# If the ppp0 pid file is present then the program is running. Stop it.
if [ -r /var/run/$DEVICE.pid ]; then
        kill -INT `cat /var/run/$DEVICE.pid`
#
# If the kill did not work then there is no process running for this
# pid. It may also mean that the lock file will be left. You may wish
# to delete the lock file at the same time.
        if [ ! "$?" = "0" ]; then
                rm -f /var/run/$DEVICE.pid
                echo "ERROR: Removed stale pid file"
                exit 1
        fi
#
# Success. Let pppd clean up its own junk.
        echo "PPP link to $DEVICE terminated."
        exit 0
fi
#
# The ppp process is not running for ppp0
echo "ERROR: PPP link is not active on $DEVICE"
exit 1                    

/etc/ppp/keepalive.sh


#!/bin/sh

# keepalive.sh

# This is a keepalive script for the Casema cable modems. This script was
# lifted from the /usr/doc/HOWTO/unmaintained/mini/Dynamic-IP-Hacks
# document. There should be an entry in your crontab looking like:
# */2 * * * * /etc/ppp/keepalive.sh
# to run this script every 2 minutes to see if your connection is still
# up, if not, gracefully kill the pppd process and remake it.
# Modify paths as necessary.


if [ -f /var/run/ppp0.pid ]; then
 ping -c4 -l3 195.96.96.97 2>&1 | grep "0 packets" > /dev/null && \
 { /etc/ppp/ppp-off > /dev/null 2>&1 ; sleep 2 ; /etc/ppp/ppp-on }
else
 /etc/ppp/ppp-on
fi       

/etc/resolv.conf


search dynip.com
nameserver 195.96.96.97
nameserver 195.96.96.33   

/etc/sysconfig/network (this file applies only to RedHat and Mandrake distributions, adapt accordingly for other distributions)


GATEWAYDEV=ppp0
GATEWAY=195.96.96.97  

I've documented some things in the files themselves. The ppp-on script is called during boot time from /etc/rc.d/init.d/ppp and the ppp-off script during shutdown. The ppp-on-dialer is called from the ppp-on script. The keepalive script for keeping the connection alive as long as the computer is on (might as well, right?) is called from crontab (see the keepalive file for details). The /etc/sysconfig/network file specifies the default gateway for routing. The resolv.conf tells the computer which IP of casema.net to send DNS queries to (this is pretty standard across all unixes, I believe).

I've forgotten to include the /etc/ppp/pap-secrets which should be the same as the ExpressNet, Maryland. There's also the question of the ip-up, ip-down. These however, didn't need to be changed. I've also included the options.ttyS0 file, which should be in /etc/ppp/ppp-on. It is read by the pppd daemon as it logs on. There are a couple options like defaultrouteadd that should be on. ttyS0 is the port where you install your modem mine is on COM1 == ttyS0. Change accordingly.

/etc/ppp/options.ttyS0


asyncmap 0
crtscts
defaultroute
lock
modem
name cvd     

I received notice from Casema a couple days ago that they will be changing their name to wanadoo.nl. So you might, in your document, refer to both: "wanadoo.nl (formerly casema.net)" This will be happening as of Sept. 20th.

I will be happy to provide you with information and answer any more questions. I my explanations aren't Red Hat only. I haven't used other systems, so I can't judge. I hope this is usefull to you.

3.21 Prime Cable Expressnet, Las Vegas, NV

This information is provided by jedi jedi@penguin.lcvm.com:

They use the Com21 which can either be connected directly to your 10baseT input or inserted into the downlink input on your router. Static IPs are available for $10 per month and the usual address assignment is through DHCP ( http://www.cs.unm.edu/~vuksan/linux/DHCP.html )

More information can be obtained from http://penguin.lvcm.com

3.22 TVD, Belgium

This information is provided by Pierre-Yves Keldermans mailto:pykeldermans@usa.net:

At home, my cable-TV company is "TVD", it is the first company to offer internet on the cable in Belgium.

Hardware : LanCity cable modem & 10-Base-T NIC ( DLink ISA if you buy it from TVD )

Config : DHCP ( http://www.cs.unm.edu/~vuksan/linux/DHCP.html )

Prices :

Speed :

>From TVD's mirror site : up to 250Kbytes/sec, very nice ( and YES, they have some Linux mirrors like redhat ... :-) ) >From internet : variable but rather good if the remote server isn't overloaded.

For more info : http://www.tvd.be and http://www.tvd.net

3.23 Telenet Vlaanderen, Belgium

This information provided by Karel Goderis:

  Operator: Telenet Vlaanderen   - Operatial in flemish speaking (northern) part of Belgium

  Hardware: Motorola CyberSURFR Wave Cable Modem using an RJ-45 Ethernet straight cable to a PC

Software: Standard config is Windoze + Modified Netscape for newbie installations, although Linux i386 support is there under the form of mirrored redhat.com software on the internal ftp servers. A dedicated linux newsgroup is available for support. Most users depend on ipchains/ipfwadm in 2.2.x, or have a "Linux Router"-project implementation.  

IP Setup: DHCP address assignment, single address only. Outgoing : all ports accepted, except mandatory use of Netscape Proxy on port 8080, and thus port 80 blocked. Incoming : ports 0-1024 blocked, but re-allocation of ports on Linux works fine.

  Pricing: one-off installation : BF 10000 (+-$ 250) + BF 3000 ($75) deposit for the cable modem (+$25 for Ethernet NIC if not present in pc) monthly rental       : BF 1500 ($40)

  Services: redhat.com netscape.com mirrors, quake I and II servers, proxy, mail relay and pop account (4 aliases) and the other usual stuff you need to survive on the net.

Caveats: Telenet states that you can download 300Mbytes/month, but this rule is not enforced unless there is a obvious abuse (i.e. you download 300Mbytes/*day* ;-) ). This limit is applied on their network boundary, not on what you transmit on the internal network, so it does not take into account what you download of the mirrors.  

More info at http://www.pandora.be/ or http://www.telenet.be/

3.24 Total-Web, United States

This information is provided by iota:

I work for Convergence.com, a cable internet company who provides the network monitoring, technical support, and advice to cable providers (who, in turn, provide the internet service to their customers). Most of our markets are through Cablevision, one of the more popular cable providers in the eastern US. The service name that they operate their cable internet service under is "Total-Web". Customers are provided with a static IP; simply set this up like you would any other ethernet device under Linux. The modems we use are LanCity LCP's and COM21 ComPort's, but these devices should be transparent to your computer.

Total-Web is available in limited areas, including: Miami Beach, FL; Gwinnett County and Roswell, GA; Cookeville, Lebanon, and Columbia, TN; and many other test markets.

3.25 CyberCable, Paris, France

This information is provided by David Monniaux:

CyberCable gives you an ethernet card if you need one. It is a cheap NE2000 clone, ISA-Pnp or PCI I think. They only know how to set up the stuff for Windows, but reports from other people say that they let you use their access with other systems, provided you do the software setup yourself.

They use DHCP DHCPcd in RedHat worked immediately. In RedHat's netcfg, this means selecting "DHCP configuration". There are still some problems sometimes: DHCP outputs some error messages, but things still work afterwards generally (?). This seems related to rebooting; it looks like the cable system doesn't reallocate the line for one minute after reboot.

CyberCable's web site is at http://www.cybercable.fr.

3.26 StjärnTV, Stockholm Sweden

This information is provided by Fredrik Staxaeng ( mailto:fstx@algorithmica.se ) :

StjärnTV sells a Bay Networks Versalar Cable Modem 100, and they include a NetGear ethernet card in the initial fee. Just set your interface to DHCP. Info about their service is available at http://www.starport.se

3.27 GCI.Net, Alaska

This information is provided by GCI Tech Support ( mailto:support@gci.net ) :

GCI provides CableModem services in Alaska, currently in Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks. GCI uses Com21 which can either be connected directly to your 10baseT input or inserted into the downlink input on your router. Static IPs are available for $10 per month and the usual address assignment is through DHCP ( http://www.cs.unm.edu/~vuksan/linux/DHCP.html ) More information can be obtained from http://www.gci.net.

3.28 Saturn Communication NZ Ltd, New Zealand

This information is provided by Nigel Win nigelwin@the.net.nz:

The installation of Saturn Cable Modem connection is simple as installation of a NIC. They will only install and support the Windows Machines but Linux user will have no problem. They provide a static ip address for each connection along with class B Net mask 255.255.0.0 , DNS Servers and Gateway address to use. If you are on a Redhat box, open the control-panel and open network configuration and simply enter the detail information provided by Saturn. For other linux distributions user should read NET-3-HOWTO.

They use Com21 Cable Modem http://www.com21.com and provide free D-Link PCI or ISA network card if you require. The monthly fee already includes Cable Modem rental and they offer 2 connection speed plans ( 512k/128k and 2Mbps/256K ). But they charge you on how much traffic you transfer :). The speed is not bad since I am getting around 90K for download speed at peak time.

More info about Saturn is available at http://www.saturn.co.nz

3.29 Chello, Netherlands

This information is provided by Jan van Vlerken vanvlerken@chello.nl:

'Chello' is another Cable-Provider in the Netherlands and it works the same way as A2000 does. Chello works with a LAN-City modem too, and they use a 3Com EtherLink III network adapter.

More info can be found at http://www.chello.nl/

3.30 Adelphia Powerlink, USA

This information is provided by Kevin Pfohl kspfohl@adelphia.net:

If you have a Adelphia service with a two way modem connection (e.g. you don't need a regular phone modem to dial in) all you have to do is install Linux and use DHCP to get your network connection going. If you have a one-way modem please read info on Adelphia Powerlink hybrid service.

3.31 21st Century Telecom, Chicago, IL, USA

This information is provided by Jens B. Jorgensen jjorgens@bdsinc.com:

21st Century uses a "Regular" cable modem, that is up-stream and down-stream are both over the cable connection. The equipment is made by Zenith. The installer will bring along a NIC with them, (mine was an OEM Intel EtherExpress Pro 10/100) which is connected via a 10-base-T cable (crossover?) directly to the cable modem. All 21st Century customers are assigned a static IP address. Just make sure your kernel is configured to support this card or insmod the module for it a configure the IP. You'll also be provided with a gateway address which you'll need to set the default route to. Be mindful of the netmask (255.255.0.0 for me) on the ether interface. Also note that the cable modem seems to 'learn' the ethernet address of the adapter you're provided with and will only work wit that adapter. I don't know if reseting the cable modem would cause it to relearn the address or not. I didn't feel the need to try the cable modem with another adapter.

3.32 HTVi, Helsinki, Finland

This information is provided by Markku Immonen wired.poet@sci.fi:

HTV is the local cable TV company. Their Internet product is called HTVi. They issue a Motorola CYBERSURFR Wave cable modem for all customers. It plugs into an ethernet card using a 10BaseT (RJ-45) cable. Customers have two options: DHCP or a static IP address. The DHCP (dynamic IP address) option is 50 Finnish marks cheaper; in October 1999 the prices were 245 FIM per month for a dynamic address and 295 FIM for a static one.

I opted for a static IP. Configuration was incredibly easy. They give you a couple of info brochures which contain the necessary IP and networking information.

About speed: it varies but is generally acceptable, from 30 kbytes/sec to 200 kbytes/sec. Your best bet is the early morning hours. The fastest download speed so far was 470 kbytes/sec from a Finnish Linuxberg mirror.

More information about HTVi can be found at http://www.htvi.net/.

3.33 Garden State Cable, New Jersey

This information is provided by Denis Voitenko denis@o3m.com:

In New Jersey Garden State Cable offers @Home. They give you a 3Com CMX series cable modem and a SMC PCI NIC with the DIGITAL chip. It works just perfect with the Tulip driver. They assign static IP addresses.

One more interesting thing. Unlike in most places, upstream speed is not limited to 128kbs.

Garden State cable web pages are located at http://www.gardenstatecable.com/

3.34 Zoom Internet, Butler County, PA

This information is provided by Jim Garrison garrison@olga.net:

Zoom internet http://www.zoominternet.net/ is a cable ISP. They provide a Bay Networks cable modem, which connects to a 10-Base-T ethernet card. The only thing required to set it up is to enable DHCP.

Note: They provide the cable modem, but you must have your ethernet card working properly with DHCP before the installation guys come.


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