08. 07.2018

Blog of Dmitry Vassiyarov.

Dial-up Internet is still in demand nowadays

I am glad to welcome you again, my dear readers. I suggest that you familiarize yourself with such a method of Internet connection as Dial-up. I feel how some of you are smiling nostalgically, remembering with warmth the 90s of the last century, when this “ancient” technology was the only way to connect to the global network.

How did it all start?

Let's deal with the name first. Dial-up means "to dial a number", and this phrase was most often used in relation to a rotary telephone.

It becomes clear that the connection to the Internet is connected in a certain way with telephony. But for this, technologies have gone their own way of development, and some of its stages have become key:

• In 1950, military experts in the United States combined a number of air defense facilities into a single network. Where, to transmit information, the signal was modified using modulation. Subsequently, this principle of operation became the main one for digital-to-analog converters, and vice versa.
• A turning point in 1969. The possibility of communication between individual computers has been demonstrated for the first time. This was carried out as part of the ARPANET defense project, and telephone lines specially leased from AT&T were used as a network. Actually this event is considered the birthday of the Internet.

• Subsequently, telephone networks were increasingly used to communicate with remote computers, and in 1973 they connected devices in Britain and Norway.

The lines connected to automatic telephone exchanges, laid in all cities and even remote villages, really turned out to be the most suitable for being used in new feature Internet Explorer.

In order for ordinary users to connect computers to the network, appropriate software was developed and commercial devices were created. They modulated the digital pulse stream coming from the computer into an analog signal for transmission over the telephone network. The reverse demodulation at the input to the PC was also performed. Such a device is called "".

Mesmerizing dial-up sounds

In addition to processing the signal, the modem also performed the dialing function, which was accompanied by specific creaking sounds (you can find them on the Internet and listen, for completeness of perception). Many people remember them, but not everyone knows that specific operations were performed at the same time:

• first there was the usual phone tone;
• then comes dual-tone multi-frequency dialing, which is recognized by the remote modem. In this case, binary data is exchanged (V.8bis transaction) in order to establish a communication protocol;
• disabling the noise reduction system for duplex data exchange (another tone is already heard here);
• exchanging signals to determine the choice of one of the supported modulation methods and the same rate;
• coordination of the data scrambling algorithm (formula) before sending for uniform distribution of signal power and adjustment of equalizers in order to optimize the input signal shape;

This ritual was performed on each new connection, or when it was restored after the connection was broken. In fact, the devices found mutual language, negotiating their modes, and therefore this dial-up dial-up procedure was called "handshake" (handshake).

Features of a dial-up connection

Accessing the Internet using a dial-up modem certainly brought joy to the user, who tried not to pay attention to all sorts of unpleasant and annoying moments. But there was something to be indignant about:

• A lengthy connection process, especially with a busy line, could take up to several minutes;
• During the Internet session, the use of the phone was impossible, as well as dialing the subscriber whose modem was working;

• Extremely low data rate. In one of the first models of the 1980 Smartmodem, it reached 300 bps. Of course, technologies have evolved, modulation standards have changed, and as a result, a result of 56 kbps was achieved. In the future, due to the preliminary data compression, it was possible to increase the theoretical speed to 320 kbps. But as you understand, different files are archived in different ways. And the maximum result was achieved only with textual information.
• In fact, the speed and quality of the connection was greatly influenced by the condition of the telephone lines and their length;

Separately, it is worth mentioning the prices. In most cases they were hourly (for the actual time of use) and quite expensive because they loaded the line. As an affordable alternative, it was proposed to work with the network at night. Payment was made to the provider, and for this he issued cards with an access code.

Technology must be accessible

Maybe, modern man Now it's hard to understand how then, with the help of the "most modern" 56k modem, one song in mp3 format was downloaded for several minutes (or even half an hour). There was no question of uploading a film to a disk. But such were the realities of that time and dial-up connections.

Over time, progress offered an alternative as the possibility of connecting a leased line (which was very expensive), then there was a broadband connection standard, twisted pair, optical fiber, mobile communications, 3G modems. With the growth of data transfer speeds, living on the Internet has become better and more fun: it has become possible to watch streaming video in high quality or play dynamic online games.

It seemed that the Internet over telephone lines was irretrievably a thing of the past. But it's not. Dial-up is alive and it shows the financial report of one of the world's largest telephone companies AOL. In 2012, 29% of their income came from dial-up charges. Now in Russia you can find providers providing this service.

There is nothing strange here. The speed of 56 kbps is enough for sending e-mail, watching news and transferring service information. If this is enough for you, then to connect to the Internet, it remains to choose the simplest method, which telephone lines still remain;).

They are laid everywhere, even in a remote village wires stretch along telegraph poles. When there is a ready-made solution, then the need for expensive laying of new communications is eliminated for reasons of expediency.

Such is dial-up's wonderful history. It shows how tenacious and useful technologies are created for certain conditions.

This concludes my story.

See you soon, in discussions of new topics.

…dial-up died on one of the most distant planets in the galaxy. Broadband users alone have been singled out here and there. The users dial-up" but they turned black and merged with the thick mass of darkness that weighed on them. How scary when broadband access is interrupted dial-up" oh when dial-up it even disappears when everything feels 12 o'clock, when the remote provider is sleeping, when the Internet users, the crazy Internet users, alone sing and stay awake! But a lonely user dial-up" but he knows that they will not give a signal and will not understand his misfortune if he is suddenly attacked by viruses and hackers who have jumped out of this dark alley of the Global Network, who have extended their gloomy arms to him ...

(Based on: N.V. Gogol. The lantern was dying)

Some terminology

dial(eng.) - phone dial.

dial up(eng.) - dial a number (by phone, on the keyboard).

dial-up(English) - switched.

dial-up access(English) - dial-up remote access to the Internet (at speeds up to 56 kbps). A service that allows using a modem and telephone network common use, connect to another computer (access server) to initialize a data reception/transmission session.

In addition to the normative pronunciation "dayal A n" common slang - "dial A P".

… without Internet access is like a cart without a horse!..

The creation of the Global Network was based on a brilliant idea: to use a ready-made telephone network to communicate with each other. The rest was a matter of technique. The boom of the Internet began, which was facilitated a lot dial-up.

Until recently, the Russian user had no choice - and now he is already losing his strength - once great, mighty and terrible! – dial-up remote access.

Since 2000, broadband Internet access (BBA, BBA) technology began to crowd out dial-up(Broadband offers access speeds ranging from 100 kbps and up).

Broadband appeared on time (demand creates supply!), because in Lately there is a tendency to increase the speed and volume of the downstream flow (to the subscriber): most of the Internet traffic is consumed by multimedia applications that require high speeds and wide channels.

Some statistics

According to http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm, the number of Internet users in the world is 1,73 billion (end of January 2010).

According to http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm , in Russia - 45.25 million. Internet users (beginning of January 2010).

On average, Russians spend on home Internet 500 rubles per month.

According to Foundation "Public Opinion", at the beginning of 2010, broadband Internet users in Russia accounted for 76% of the total number of Internet users, according to dial-up – 7%.

According to AC&M, V Top 10 Russia's largest broadband operators include: Comstar-UTS, VimpelCom, Volgatelecom, Centertelecom, NWT, ER-Telecom, Akado, Uralsvyazinform, Sibirtelecom and YuTK (occupying a total of almost three quarters of the market in terms of the number of subscribers in the private segment).

According to the company iKS Consulting, in 2009 the number of home users broadband in Russia grew by 36%. In total, in 2009 the number of home users of broadband access in Russia reached 13.2 million, an increase of 3.5 million in absolute terms.

According to a study by the US Federal Communications Commission ( FCC), 93 million Americans are still (!) using dial-up(referring to the too high cost of broadband - ! - and the complexity of the connection).

According to a study by an analytics company ABI Research, the number of broadband subscribers in the world in 2009 increased by 9% to 422 million users (including the number of broadband subscribers via fiber optic cable amounted to 44 million).

Among the 3 broadband access technologies, the most widespread is , through which 65% of broadband users in the world are connected. Cable access accounts for 25% of subscribers, 10% use fiber optic access ( FTTB – fiber-to-the-building, "fiber-to-the-home").

switched remote access(English dial-up) - an already outdated way to connect to the Internet using a dial-up modem and a regular telephone line. The PPP protocol is used to access the Internet.

Benefits of dialup.

The first advantage is that the price of a dial-up modem is very low, currently such a modem costs about 10 dollars.

The second advantage is that dial-up is not limited to one provider, it uses any numbers equipped with a response modem for communication.

The third advantage is that the cost of the dial-up service is low.

Disadvantages of dialup

The first drawback is that by modern standards, dialup is a very slow connection. Although the calculated speed can reach 56 kbps, but in reality this happens extremely rarely and for a short time. To this we can add the fact that at the same time you can either be on the Internet or make a phone call, and you will not be able to do both together.

The second drawback is that the internet connection via dial-up is almost always unstable and comes with a loss of connection. This is especially felt during peak hours, usually in the evening, when many users, having come home from work, unanimously want to go online. At such a time, connecting to the Internet via dial-up is very, very problematic.

The third drawback is that the third advantage is the low cost of the dial-up service, noted above, is not so low. Due to the low speed and instability of the Internet connection, the total traffic will be very small. You can conduct an experiment, try to download any file for an hour and remember the number of downloaded megabytes. After that, download the same number of megabytes using ADSL and compare the cost of services. It may turn out that it will be more profitable, but in any case, from the position of saving time, it is worth choosing ADSL.

The growth rates of the Russian telecommunications market in recent years have exceeded all analysts' expectations. Thus, according to the data of the Ministry of Information and Communications, the volume of domestic and foreign investments in the Russian telecommunications market for the period from 1996 to 2004 increased by 2.3 times (moreover, this year the volume of investments exceeded $4 billion), and the number of mobile communications subscribers only in the last four years has increased from 3 to 63 million people (earlier it was predicted that in 2005 this figure would be only 9 million).

The number of Internet users also exceeded all available forecasts: if in 1997 no more than 1 million people in Russia had access to the Web, now 18.5 million Russians use the World Wide Web. Market information technologies over the past five years has increased 3 times and in 2004 will amount to more than 250 billion rubles. Thus, according to international experts, the Russian telecommunications market is the fastest growing in the world.

Statistical data, as well as information from the overwhelming majority of analysts assessing the situation up to 2007, indicate that the bulk of broadband Internet connections, not only in Moscow, but throughout Russia, will be built on the basis of ADSL technologies over existing analog telephone lines. lines. All other technologies will not be able to compete with ADSL and together will give a minimum number of connections.

Basics of ADSL

telephone communication was originally designed to carry voice conversations between the home and the telephone exchange. When transmitting voice, in fact, the frequency band from 300 to 3400 Hz is used. The regular telephone network is called POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service), and the equipment that serves it is called PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network).

ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) technology provides the possibility of organizing a digital broadband leased line for Internet access over an existing analog telephone line while maintaining the functions of a conventional telephone. However, in order to transmit information ADSL technologies used much more high frequencies than the above speech streak. ADSL systems typically use frequencies from 25 kHz to approximately 1.1 MHz, meaning data transmission should not interfere with parallel voice transmission over the same communication channels.

Telephone wires (or the so-called copper pair) with a certain length of the communication line allow not only to transmit the low-frequency component of the voice, but also to use the frequency range up to 1 MHz for data transmission. ADSL technology is an example of the use of a copper pair of telephone wires for transmission over it using the discrete modulation method DTM (Discrete Multi-Tone) of data presented in digital form, pre-multiplexed by complex algorithms and separated by frequency.

In order to implement ADSL technology, the provider needs to install on your PBX (automatic telephone exchange), in addition to the traditional PSTN system, also special equipment DSLAM multiplexer (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer), and the user should purchase an ADSL modem. After that, all signals coming through the subscriber telephone line will be separated using special splitter filters (Splitter) into ordinary analog speech and digital data. On the telephone exchange side, the analog signal will go to the PSTN equipment of the ATC, the digital signal to the DSLAM multiplexer, and then through the ATM communicator to the ISP. On the subscriber's side, an analog telephone will be connected to the splitter on one side, and an ADSL modem on the other.

More recently, there was an acute problem of compatibility of equipment from different manufacturers, since they produced custom ADSL modems and station DSLAM equipment that were incompatible with each other, that is, a modem from one company did not work with a DSLAM multiplexer from another company. Therefore, the policy of ADSL operators and Internet providers has traditionally been as follows: the client paid for the installation of equipment and received a custom ADSL modem for operation, as if for temporary use, for the duration of the contract between him and the Internet provider. Thus, in the event of termination of the provision of the ADSL service, the user's equipment was dismantled, and in the event of replacement of the DSLAM equipment, it was changed. In such a situation, it made little sense for the user to independently buy an ADSL modem from some other company (in addition to those tested and recommended by the ADSL operator), since no one could guarantee a positive result in the event of such an “amateur”.

At present, the situation has changed significantly for the better both user ADSL modems and station DSLAM equipment have more or less been standardized, so today you can buy virtually any ADSL modem and, if configured correctly, it will work correctly with any equipment operator. However, before buying an ADSL modem, it does not hurt to check its compatibility with the DSLAM equipment of the chosen ADSL provider.

Why splitters / microfilters are needed

When ADSL and PSTN operate simultaneously on the same line, on the one hand, the electronics of a conventional telephone can create problems for high-frequency ADSL signals, and on the other hand, digital signals will be heard in the handset as loud noise that interferes with conversations.

Noise in the handset occurs due to the fact that the telephone electronics is trying to demodulate the high-frequency signal, since it was originally designed for a wide frequency range (that is, with a large margin), because it could not have occurred to anyone many years ago when the first telephones were designed, that digital signals will be transmitted through the same wires.

In addition, interference from analog equipment can cause errors in the digital ADSL signal and, accordingly, reduce the data transfer rate due to the necessary correction of these errors (high capacitance at the telephone input, possible resonances in the telephone set, impedance patches, etc. can interfere).

Therefore, it is necessary to separate the digital and analog components of the signal in the telephone cable even before the telephone and ADSL equipment, thereby protecting them from interference. For this purpose, the so-called splitters splitters / microfilters are used (see sidebar “ADSL POTS Splitter / Filter”).

A custom filter splitter is usually a small plastic box with one input that connects to a telephone jack and two outputs (one for connecting an ADSL modem and the other for a telephone set).

The splitter splits the frequency band into two bands (ordinary telephone signal and high frequency ADSL signal) and sends only the correct frequency band to the corresponding jack. Telephone equipment (telephones, answering machines, fax machines, analog dialup modems, etc.) receives only telephone frequencies (up to 3.4 kHz), while ADSL equipment only receives what is above 25 kHz.

If the apartment has several telephone sockets on the same cable, then the splitter is installed up to the first of them and, accordingly, a separate wire is pulled to the ADSL modem from the ADSL output of the splitter. This, of course, is not always convenient, since it necessitates rerouting (crossing) the telephone line in such a way as to ensure simultaneous operation of the telephone and ADSL.

To simplify the solution of this problem, there are so-called microfilters, that is, filters that have only one input and one output to the telephone set (sometimes they are produced in the form of a special telephone wire with a “knob” or in the form of a special telephone socket, which should replace the usual one) . Such a microfilter is installed in front of each telephone in a common telephone cable if the latter is not immediately divided by a splitter into two separate channels (telephone and digital) at the entrance to the apartment. The microfilter, just like a splitter, protects telephone conversations from high-frequency noise that appears when using ADSL technology, and, conversely, does not pass interference from the telephone set to the cable leading to the ADSL modem.

Which ADSL modem to choose

Essentially, the choice of an ADSL modem depends only on your budget and on the connection scheme (see the sidebar “Options for connecting a home computer using ADSL technology”). As we said above, compatibility issues between user ADSL modems and station DSLAM equipment are gradually becoming a thing of the past. Modern ADSL modems support almost all consumer ADSL standards, that is, they can work with any equipment from any manufacturer and broadband provider.

At the same time, the equipment that ADSL operators usually offer when concluding a contract, as well as the settings and connection schemes they offer for these modems, will by no means always be the most convenient and profitable solution for you.

As for the absence of this or that device in the lists of equipment recommended by the ADSL provider, there is nothing to be afraid of. First, it will take quite some time until finally a modern device appears in these usually rather conservative lists. And the equipment offered by the provider itself sometimes costs even a little more than buying it elsewhere (with the exception, of course, of sales under special preferential programs). Secondly, such lists usually include only inexpensive consumer goods, designed to attract the widest possible range of users. And finally, thirdly, devices rarely appear in such lists that require any additional manipulations with computers or other equipment to install: for example, ADSL operators rarely offer internal PCI modems or slightly more complex and expensive integrated devices All -in-one. Which, however, is quite understandable, since an ADSL connection is not an analog dial-up modem for you, which a long time ago filled everyone's teeth with it and where to access the Internet it is enough to drive in only phone numbers of providers, as well as names and passwords. ADSL devices have many more configurable options, and load the service technical support additional problems, no ADSL operator, of course, wants to.

	Among the "experts" there is still an opinion that the use of microfilters on the subscriber's side is permissible only in the case of using ADSL versions with a lower transmission rate of the G.lite type (that is, the option when throughput channel is limited to 1.536 Mbps from the Network to the user and up to 384 Kbps in the opposite direction), and in the case of using a high-speed ADSL connection, it is absolutely necessary to use splitters and strict separation of wires into two channels. Allegedly, the use of microfilters leads to a decrease in the throughput of the line due to an increase in the level of interference. When tested in practice, this statement was not confirmed in fact, no differences were found when connecting phones through a splitter and through microfilters, that is, there was no effect either on the stability of the connection or on the transmission speed even over a high-speed ADSL connection. The use of microfilters when connecting several phones to a cable did not. Moreover, upon closer examination, it turned out that in many modern ADSL modems, high-frequency filters are implemented directly inside, and most splitters have only low-frequency filters for the telephone line, while the ADSL signal passes through them from input to output without any filters. And when we tried to connect an ADSL modem together with phones without a splitter at all (only as an experiment, since it is absolutely impossible to talk without filters), then no loud cries of “kiss-kiss” into the handset (the only semblance of ultrasound that can be extracted from of the human larynx), neither calls nor the operation of a conventional analog dialup modem on the same line had a noticeable effect on the ADSL connection. Of course, we do not urge you to completely abandon such a “penny” piece of equipment as a splitter (especially since it is often included in the delivery package of an ADSL modem, and many cheap modems do not have high-frequency filters at the input), but from a global alteration of home telephone network caution. It will be enough to put microfilters on each telephone socket and / or a splitter as a splitter while simultaneously connecting both a telephone and an ADSL modem to one socket, and it is quite possible to do without a strict separation of wires into two channels using a splitter.

Therefore, in fact, those ADSL modems that a particular ADSL provider offers you, in addition to checking them for compatibility with its DSLAM equipment, differ only in that they are pre-configured in a certain way, and the settings offer you only the way to organize Internet access that your future provider will find the most convenient for him (and for his technical support). Meanwhile, it is absolutely not necessary to use only those devices for connection that are listed in some lists there, nor strictly follow all the recommendations for connecting them, which are declared by the provider.

So, for example, in order to use the home Internet channel "Stream" from the Moscow company "MTU-Intel", you can buy virtually any ADSL modem you like and configure it yourself using the instructions attached to it, as well as the parameters described on the provider's page "Connection conditions" (http://stream.ru/s-requirements) at the end, just after the "List of acceptable types of subscriber equipment" in the section " Basic settings equipment for connecting to the Internet using ADSL technology. In this case, by and large, you will need to take from there the values ​​\u200b\u200bof only two “original” settings VPI (Virtual Path Identifier), which for this provider should be equal to “1”, and VCI (Virtual Circuit Identifier), which for the Internet channel “Stream ” must be set to “50” (everything else can, for example, be saved by default or changed after an in-depth study of the meaning of the actions performed).

Moreover, such modern ADSL modems are already appearing that provide for the possibility of automatic configuration, that is, the user, as in the case of the usual dial-up modem, will only need to enter the name and password given to him by the ADSL provider after the conclusion of the contract, and only the modem will select all the necessary system parameters by itself. There is, in general, nothing surprising if you remember how complex devices were once ordinary analog modems (and how long they had to be configured!) And how simple they seem to us now. Not far, apparently, is the time when there will no longer be a need to configure ADSL modems, however general principles the organization of Internet access via ADSL and the basic settings required in various cases will probably not lose their relevance for some time, since they still differ in some variety.

How to set up an ADSL modem

Probably, you have already understood that the equipment offered by the provider will not always be the most convenient for you, and the proposed method of organizing access is the only possible one.

So, for example, all ADSL modem settings offered by the MTU-Intel provider under the Stream tariff plans (on the website http://stream.ru) concern only the modes of direct connection of the ADSL modem to the computer and, moreover, offer dial-up Internet access, which, of course, is also possible, but does not make sense for ADSL modems that can operate in router mode, and even more so for All-in-one devices with built-in Ethernet switches / hubs and / or a point WLAN (Wi-Fi) access.

In principle, almost all modems support two types of connection to an ADSL provider a permanent connection or a dial-up connection (usually on analog dial-up modems). A permanent connection eliminates the need to call the service provider and, of course, is a more convenient means of accessing the Internet (especially if you want to use IP-telephony services). However, a dial-up connection allows you to reduce the cost of paying for the provider's services when charging traffic due to the ability to disconnect from the Internet if it is not necessary. The fact is that on the web everything time is running some traffic regardless of whether you work on the Internet or not. This is the so-called background traffic, which is formed by all kinds of attempts to connect to your modem, virus activity on the Web, etc. For example, if you had a Web server on your computer, then even if you turned it off, then calls to it will not stop instantly, but will gradually disappear over time. If you have a working computer, then quite decent traffic can accumulate when you save calls to a particular service that you previously used (for example, a Web page is constantly dynamically updated). And if you have picked up some kind of “infection” on the Internet, then the traffic can even reach huge values.

We will not dwell on this type of connection in more detail, since, firstly, it is well described by any ADSL provider, secondly, it is used mainly for PCI and USB modems, and thirdly, it does not seem to us “through this samurai" as soon as the question of switching to an ADSL connection arose, then other outdated technologies should give way to more progressive ones.

We note only the most important. In this case, as a rule, modem drivers are installed first (if it is a PCI modem, then the system will need to be rebooted), a new device appears in the list of equipment on your computer, and a new network connection among network adapters (we conditionally call it USB ADSL Modem).

After successful installation of the drivers, when your ADSL line is turned on, some ADSL configuration wizard will start working and you will be able to set all the parameters necessary for communication with a specific provider.

With the driver correctly installed, a connection should be established between the modem and the operator’s DSLAM equipment at the PBX, and in response, the following indication should light up on your ADSL modem: when connected via Ethernet / USB, the LAN / USB indicators and the ADSL indicator should be constantly lit, and others when this may flash. Some indicators, of course, may be absent on your modem, but something like ADSL must be required, otherwise you will not know if you have a connection with the operator or not.

As a rule, the wizard manages to find out the PPPoE (Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet) protocol on its own, but sometimes you may be asked to set it manually.

Well, of course, you should specify two "magic numbers" VPI and VCI (recall that they depend on the provider). Everything else can be left as default or changed after careful study of the actions taken.

The wizard will check the entered data and ask you to save it. Click Save, and this completes the basic ADSL configuration.

Next, you need to configure your computer to connect to the Internet via dial-up. Since the PPPoE protocol is included in the set of standard Windows XP applications, to configure it, you only need to select Create a new Connection and follow all the instructions in this wizard.

Our actions:

1. Select the item Connect to the Internet ("Connect to the Internet").
2. Then select the item Set up my connection manually (“Set up a connection manually”).
3. Next, select the item Connect using a broadband connection that requires a user name and password (“Through a high-speed connection that requests a username and password”).
4. Enter the name of the provider.
5. In the User name field, enter the username given to us by the provider, and in the Password field, we enter the password issued by him. Confirm the password again in the Confirm password field.
6. In the final window of the New Connection Wizard, select the item Add a shortcut to this connection to your desktop (“Add a shortcut to the connection to the desktop”), and an icon for connecting to the Internet appears on the desktop, like good old analog modems.

In the future, Internet connection will be made by clicking the corresponding icon on the desktop, that is, in the Windows XP operating system, the standard PPPoE application will be called, and the ADSL connection for you will be no different from a similar connection via a familiar analog dial-up modem. But in operating systems Windows 98, Me and 2000 there is no built-in support for the PPPoE protocol, so you will need to install a special application from the CD that came with the modem (and in addition, you will need to install the DialUp Networking and Virtual Private Networking tools from the Windows distribution kit).

In general, as you can see, there is nothing complicated here: the modem is connected to the Internet via a dedicated channel, and now you can use any application to work on the Internet.

Do not think that after connecting by dial-up, as described above, you are doomed to access the Internet only from the computer on which the modem and dial-up call are installed.

In order to connect a small home or office network to the Internet, you do not need the services of a qualified system administrator or any special knowledge the latest versions of Microsoft Windows and other operating systems have themselves acquired normal support for Internet sharing.

To establish sharing, you just need to build a so-called bridge, that is, combine the created USB ADSL Modem network connection with the LAN connection of the Ethernet adapter.

An Ethernet network will connect several computers through a switch / hub or two computers with each other using a single network wire recall that to connect two computers directly you will need not an ordinary, but a cross-over, or so-called null-hub cable ( see, for example, http://www.corbina.ru/~gasya/homelan/42.htm). By the way, two computers can be networked not only via Ethernet, but also, for example, via FireWire (1394 Connection).

So, we mark both selected networks and, choosing Bridge from the menu called by the right mouse button, we connect them with a bridge.

If the connection is successful, a new line will appear in the network connections Network Bridge, and all that remains is to call the Network Setup Wizard to prepare and organize a home network with general Internet access (the computer to which you connected the ADSL modem will be “resident”, and the rest are his clients).

	NAT (Network Address Translation) The need to use NAT is due to the fact that the Internet provider has a small number of real IP addresses, which, as a rule, it dynamically allocates to its users for access to the global network. Inside the local network (home or office), IP addresses for their own needs can be assigned by companies or users themselves. In order to avoid a barrier between local networks and the Internet, NAT technology is used, which “deceives” applications by converting internal network addresses into external world(Thus, in fact, saving network addresses is achieved, since the same IP address can be used in different local networks). NAT (Network Address Translation Network Address Translation) is an IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force Internet Technology Working Group) standard that allows multiple computers or devices on a private network (with private address ranges such as 10.0.x.x, 192.168 .x.x, 172.x.x.x) can share a single IPv4 address providing access to the WAN. NAT is used in gateway devices that form the boundary between the public Internet environment and a private local area network. When an IP packet from a private network passes through a gateway, NAT translates the private IP address and port number into a public IP address and port number; all this is strictly monitored so that address translations do not affect the progress of individual sessions. NAT is used by both Internet connection sharing tools in Microsoft Windows operating systems and hardware gateways, primarily for connecting to broadband networks, such as through a DSL line or cable modems. However, the use of NAT can "break down" many types of network interactions, such as PC gaming, real-time communication, and other peer-to-peer services that are increasingly common in home and small office networks. Applications of this type will stop working if they use private addresses on the public Internet or access the same port number at the same time. The application must use a public address and a unique port number for each session. UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) technology NAT Traversal (passing through NAT using UPnP) allows you to automatically resolve many problems that arise when NAT interacts with applications, and on this moment Most gateway manufacturers (DSL routers and cable lines) have already implemented UPnP NAT Traversal in their products. Today, most applications and protocols run through NAT; NAT is not demanding on the equipment and does not require special settings on the part of the user. NAT has been included in all versions of Windows released since 1999, first under the name ICS (Internet Connection Sharing), and then under its current name.

A serious inconvenience of this method of organizing Internet access is that the computer to which the ADSL modem is connected (especially if it has a PCI or USB interface) will have to be constantly turned on and dialed from it to the ADSL provider.

However, this inconvenience will not be the only one. So, for example, you will have to independently distribute network addresses to various computers, create a "domain" and somehow "administer" all this. In addition, when the modem is directly connected to the computer, the risk of penetration into your system from the outside (including from the Internet) remains. For protection, you will need to use a firewall (firewall / Firewall) of the Windows operating system or third-party manufacturers, install anti-virus packages on each computer, and establish protection against hacker attacks, Internet address translation, packet filtering and other things using the operating system or additional programs. Agree that this is not very convenient!

So, we move on to the most interesting way to connect an ADSL modem to a permanently established connection (Always-on) in router mode. Moreover, in this case, neither the power of computers nor the operating systems installed on them play any role.

Note that Ethernet modems work in the mode (with rare exceptions), as well as wireless ADSL modems, which are access points for WiFi networks.

The main convenience when using Ethernet modems is that they are not tied to a specific computer and do not require the installation of drivers, but they themselves contain a name and password for accessing the provider and can automatically restore the connection when the connection is interrupted. Such a stand-alone ADSL modem will work around the clock without interrupting the ADSL connection and in a few seconds raise the session so that you don’t even notice it (and the connection can break quite often, for example, once a day, for billing or if there are any problems on ATC).

If the Ethernet modem can operate in router mode and supports NAT (see the sidebar “NAT (Network Address Translation)”) and the DHCP protocol, then it allows you to automatically configure local computers to work both in the local network and in the global network. Thus, in order to access the Internet from any computer, smartphone or communicator, you, in fact, do not need any settings being configured by default, the network connection will receive an IP address from the router via DHCP. In other words, any computer at the first connection to the network will immediately go online without any delay.

In addition, things like a hardware firewall (even a simple modem firewall) and NAT technology will do their own translation of internal network addresses to the outside world and at the same time reliably protect you from uninvited intrusions from the outside.

However, putting modems into router mode may require additional manipulations, since they are usually set to bridge mode by default.

We note right away that the Ethernet modem is usually configured using Telnet commands or using an Internet browser. To get started, you should refer to the "User's Guide" and find out the IP address of the modem, as well as the name (Login) and password required to access the modem settings.

	Protecting networks with a firewall The firewall (aka Firewall and firewall) is used to prevent outsiders from accessing your local network (without cutting wires, which was fun in some Russian banks after the first hacks). Internet Connection Firewall is a security tool that monitors and restricts communications between your computer and an external network (Internet). If someone from the Internet tries to connect to your computer, then the firewall blocks this connection (so-called external request). If you need to run programs such as an instant messaging service (for example, ICQ) or an online multiplayer game that needs to receive data from the Internet, then you will need to allow such a connection (by creating, for example, exceptions to the general rule). Software firewalls are implemented in all latest versions Microsoft Windows, but the hardware is easier and more reliable to use.

For example, in Efficient Networks modems, the default IP address is 192.168.254.254, and the username and password are admin. And in ZyXEL modems, the default IP address is 192.168.1.1, the name is admin, and the password is 1234 (before, do not forget to change the name and password to secure the modem from uninvited intrusion).

Having found out the address and connected the modem to the network, just in case, check the access with the Ping command in Windows Command Prompt or in some other command manager.

If a response is received from the modem, then you can log into it using Telnet or immediately open an Internet browser. By the way, you may not be able to immediately call up the settings in the browser, since the modem's Webserver or port 80, through which the HTTP protocol works, may be closed.

In this case, it will still be necessary to log in via Telnet, activate the Webserver and / or open this port (in principle, the entire configuration can also be performed using Telnet commands, but this is extremely inconvenient and unusual for a modern user).

So, access to the modem via the Web interface is open type in the address bar of any Internet browser http://192.168.1.1 for ZyXEL modems, answer the request for a name and password and get into the modem settings. For a modern ZyXEL modem, two configuration options can be offered: the simplest one, using the wizard (Wizard Setup), and the advanced one (Advanced Setup).

In addition to the modem settings, this page also has a Maintenance section, where you can diagnose the DSL line, update the modem software (firmware), find out the type and speed of the ADSL connection, and also view the current addresses of computers on the network issued via DHCP -protocol, statistics of the current session and much more. The modem software can be updated, for example, to support new ADSL standards (ADSL 2, ADSL 2+ or even enhanced RE-ADSL 2). These standards provide higher speed and range, as well as reduced power consumption, while maintaining a constant Always-on ADSL connection. However, you won't be able to take advantage of the increased speed and functionality until the new standards become available from our ADSL service providers.

For an inexperienced user, the Wizard Setup wizard is enough, where he will need to change the Mode parameter from Bridge to Routing (if he wants to work in router mode, not bridge), put Encapsulation PPPoE in the WAN protocol window (moreover, according to the RFC 1483 standard ), as well as set the values ​​​​of the WAN interface VPI / VCI (here, as you remember, you will need values ​​​​from a specific ADSL provider).

	Experience of working on ADSL with the Moscow provider "MTU-Intel" MTU-Intel, an ADSL access provider, is actively operating in the Moscow market today, and its home Internet channel, Stream, recently even became one of the winners of the 2004 Effie Brand of the Year competition in the Internet Projects nomination. From our point of view, a real breakthrough in the field of connecting to ADSL channels began in Moscow after MTU-Intel effectively reduced the prices for its ADSL access as part of the Stream project (http://www.stream.ru /) and announced unlimited (unlimited) Internet access at the Stream Neo tariff (unlimited time and traffic access is available for $24 per month). The reaction of users was not long in coming almost the next day after the announcement of the new Stream Neo+ tariff ($20 if connected before November 1), queues lined up at MTU-Intel offices. Such an influx of people wishing to connect to a home Internet channel immediately gave rise to certain problems, which, we hope, MTU-Intel will gradually solve. For example, while the technical support service does not work very well (you have to call for hours, email they do not answer for 5-10 days, and as a rule, there are not enough competent specialists capable of answering more or less complex questions at all). Also, a lot of criticism is caused by the duration of the user's connection to the Internet after the application is made (in some cases, the process drags on for months). True, users have other complaints about MTU-Intel, but they are often unjustified. So, some, forgetting about the background traffic on the Web, complain about the “overestimation” of the charged traffic, others, losing sight of the fact that the traffic is billed at the end of the session, are perplexed why what they download at the end of one month goes into another, etc. . However, in my personal experience connections to Stream Neo/Neo+ (and I connected on my own and helped several of my friends to connect), there are practically no negative impressions associated with the work of MTU-Intel. Let's start with the fact that I didn’t call anywhere at all and didn’t personally contact MTU-Intel offices, but I did the entire connection process from home via the Internet (so I didn’t stand in any queues and didn’t wait for calls to be answered). We also bought and set up modems ourselves, and paid for the contracts using MTU-Intel plastic cards (which are sold at metro stations, savings banks, etc.) or through Eleksnet self-service terminals (which are available in many stores and on gas stations), and we liked the latter method more, since payments there are credited instantly and without any card extra charges. Moreover, in all our cases, the deadlines for fulfilling the obligation of MTU-Intel to provide Internet access services were observed (now, according to the contract, this is no more than 20 business days from the moment the subscriber subscribed to the service, and earlier it was 10 days). As for the access speed, even for such a “slow” connection method as “Stream Neo” (160 Kbps to the subscriber and 128 Kbps from the subscriber), it seemed to us quite sufficient. Real speed connection usually does not fall below 17.6 Kbytes / s, which is almost equal to the theoretical maximum of 160 / (8 + 1) \u003d 17.8. The response time (Ping) from Russian sites does not exceed 38 ms. Of course, downloading a full-length video in the now fashionable DivX format on such a connection will take about 12 hours (that's about 800 MB!), but, nevertheless, even such an operation is quite real. But with an analog dial-up connection, this would take several days, and the ability to transmit up to 56 Kbps there would only be theoretical and the connection would certainly break more than once for such a long time (not to mention the fact that at an average rate of 0.5 dollars per hour, such a download would cost several tens of dollars, which makes it simply meaningless). If you have a desire to reduce the time of such titanic downloads, then you can always switch to Stream Standard (1024/256 Kbps) or even Stream Super (7500/768 Kbps) tariffs. However, there you will not turn around too much, since the amount of prepaid traffic will be limited. However, in the agreement with MTU-Intel regarding the unlimited Stream Neo tariff, it is said that if the traffic volume exceeds 20 GB within several months, the company reserves the right to reduce the channel speed (that is, the tariff can be considered conditionally unlimited, although, I believe, an ordinary user is unlikely to exceed such a huge volume). And yet the experience developed countries, such as the USA, Canada or South Korea, shows the benefits of unlimited (unlimited) Internet access, even from a purely psychological standpoint. In Germany, for example, Deutsche Telekom from July 1999 to September 2000 tried to develop ADSL without unlimited tariffs, that is, only for paying for traffic. So: in a year they could not scrape together even 100 thousand subscribers, and when in the fall of 2000 they finally gave up and introduced tariffs with unlimited traffic, the annual influx of subscribers exceeded 1 million ADSL channels. Today, Germany has 4.5 million ADSL lines and leads Europe in this type of broadband access. By the way, according to analysts' forecasts, although in absolute terms the number of broadband connections in Moscow and St. Petersburg by 2007-2008 will still exceed the total number of connections in all other cities, the dynamics of regional development should outstrip the capital. Already, in a number of large cities, the number of connections is growing at a much higher rate than in the two capitals. By the way, the cost of an ADSL connection in Russia starts from 500 rubles per month (and about 2 rubles per 1 MB of traffic), that is, no higher than in Moscow (the cheapest Stream Light tariff from MTU-Intel costs 15 dollars per month and $0.05 for each megabyte over 200). By the way, if in previous years we complained about poverty and justified the lack of access to the Internet by the lack of computers, now there are more than 10 million of them, and every year our population purchases more than 2 million PCs. Meanwhile, it is no secret that in the countries of Southeast Asia, a large percentage of those connected to the Internet are people who do not have a home computer at all, but use mobile phones (smartphones and communicators) to access the Network, as well as simple devices such as Set Top Box.

On the next page, you must enter the name and password issued by the provider after the conclusion of the contract. Now they will be stored only here, in the modem, and not in the computer, and it is the modem that will establish the connection itself when it is turned on and pick it up in case of a break.

On the next page, you need to enable the DHCP server, set the names of the DNS servers, as well as the range of internal IP addresses that will be automatically assigned to your computers when entering the local network. Please note that the addresses of your computers are set on the same subnet as the modem itself, so if the modem, for example, has an address of 192.168.1.1, then the base address for other computers (Client IP Pool Starting Address) can only be 192.168.1.2 and higher (only the last digit up to 254 can change). The number of possible connections is limited by the address range (Size of Client IP Pool). That is, in essence, you will not know what your computer's IP address will be until it enters the network and receives an address from the modem via DHCP. If you do not want to change the network address of a device, then you can later go to the advanced settings and set strict matches to the MAC addresses of the network cards (this mode is called Static DHCP). At the same time, by setting blocking filters, you can exclude certain MAC addresses and prevent users of these computers from accessing the Internet.

And finally, after all the settings, the modem will diagnose the connection and you will make sure that the settings are correct. In essence, this is all that needs to be done to continue working in router mode. Everything else can be left by default, however, in the process of more in-depth acquaintance with your modem, you can change the firewall (firewall) settings, fine-tune NAT, change network settings, and even use, for example, built-in anti-virus protection (if, of course, it is ). The built-in firewall, of course, will be able to ensure your security better than many software ones (including the basic one in Windows XP), but for some applications it may require additional settings (for example, open a particular port). By the way, all the problems caused by packet failures are usually visible in the modem protocols.

	ADSL POTS Splitter/Filter is just a series of inductors (chokes) and a capacitor in parallel, so it costs nothing for any radio amateur to assemble such a thing. A diagram of a simple microfilter is shown in fig. 1. However, a decent splitter costs only about $10, and a microfilter about $5 (and they are often bundled with an ADSL modem). The splitter (divider) is connected to a free telephone socket via the “LINE” connector, the modem is connected to the splitter via the “MODEM” connector, and the telephone via the “PHONE” connector. If your apartment has old-style sockets (five-pin), you will need to purchase an adapter for an euro connector (RJ11). If the apartment has telephones connected bypassing the splitter, they must be turned on through microfilters by installing a microfilter in the gap between the telephone socket and the telephone. It is allowed to connect two or three telephone devices after one microfilter (this requires a conventional telephone splitter / tee). Note: usually only the middle two strands of a telephone cable are used - this is the wiring most splitters / microfilters are designed for, so if your phone suddenly does not work, then you need to redo the wiring of telephone jacks. So, it is correct to connect telephones and modems through microfilters / splitters in the order shown in fig. 2. You can read more about filter/splitter technology, their design and schemes, for example, on the ADSL: Wiring and Filters page (http://usertools.plus.net/tutorials/id/13).

All this, of course, is determined already in the Advanced Setup, which for all modems differ much more than the basic ones, so in this article we do not have the opportunity to consider them in detail.

We only add that the only drawback of a permanently established connection (Always-on) accumulation background traffic easy to eliminate with the help of special programs, including those that can interrupt the session at your request (however, for these purposes it is enough to simply turn off the modem). For example, for ZyXEL modem owners, there is free program Zyxmon, designed to monitor the status of an ADSL modem configured in router mode and to manage the router (http://zyxmon.nm.ru). This program, in particular, allows you to measure the current speed of incoming and outgoing traffic, as well as establish and disconnect a PPPoE connection via the SMT protocol (Telnet).

	Options for connecting a home computer using ADSL technology At the moment, there are at least four different options for organizing an Internet connection using ADSL technology: 1. The most budget solution can be implemented on the basis of an internal PCI modem. The obvious advantage in this case is the low cost and the absence of unnecessary wires and power supplies. Disadvantage the impossibility of organizing a home network using such a modem as a router. Shared Internet access can be organized only by means of the operating system in bridge mode. The approximate composition and cost of the recommended communication equipment are given in Table. 1. 2. The most common solution, which for some reason is offered by most ADSL providers (although it is neither the cheapest, nor the most convenient, nor fast enough): it uses an external ADSL modem connected directly to the computer via a USB interface. The only advantage of this option is its relative versatility (a USB interface is mandatory today for both desktop and laptop computers). The disadvantage, as in the previous version, is the impossibility of organizing a home network using such a modem as a router. 3. The solution that is the most reliable, convenient and fast, and which uses an external ADSL modem connected via Ethernet either directly to a computer or through a switch or hub (Ethernet Hub / Switch). The advantage of this option is the ability to build a small home or office network with general Internet access from several computers at the same time. Please note that in the latter case, the ADSL modem must be able to work not only in bridge mode (Bridge), but also as a router (Router). We note right away that not all ADSL modems, even with an Ethernet interface, are able to work as routers. So, for example, D-Link DSL-300T is positioned by the manufacturer only as a modem, while D-Link DSL-500T (which costs only $5 more) can already work as a router. The only downside this decision the need to equip the computer with a network adapter (if it is not available), as well as a network switch or hub for organizing Internet access from several computers simultaneously. 4. Complete solution based on an inexpensive ADSL router, which is best suited for providing Internet access from several computers, laptops, smartphones and communicators simultaneously. It differs from the previous version in that it already has a built-in switch or hub (Ethernet Hub / Switch), or an access point over a wireless Wi-Fi network (802.11g), or both in one device (in the so-called All-in- one). The only drawback of this solution is its cost. The composition and approximate price of such a single universal communications center are given in Table. 4. Naturally, the ADSL modem market is not limited to the described equipment, but all of the above works on the channels of the Moscow ADSL access provider MTU-Intel (including the Stream tariff plans). At the same time, MTU-Intel does not officially declare support for D-Link equipment, but it is confirmed on the website of the modem manufacturer http://www.dlink.ru. In principle, in other regions of Russia, ADSL access providers may have other preferences, but this does not mean that this equipment will not work there, although this must be checked in each specific case.

Universal communication centers

So, we have considered all the main modem configurations when connecting a home computer using ADSL technology.

However, we note that the future is still behind the universal communication centers, or the so-called "all-in-one" devices (All-in-one). In principle, of course, you can buy a modem, a network hub and a Wi-Fi access point separately, but why bother if all these functions can be implemented in one modern device?

By the way, it is sometimes quite difficult to find out the values ​​of the settings from the provider, since the ADSL modems they sell are usually already correctly configured for their DSLAM equipment, and the technical support service can only answer trivial questions like “where to buy / how to pay ". So, for example, the parameters of the MTU-Intel provider are, as it were, deliberately located at the end of the "Connection conditions" page (http://stream.ru/s-requirements) after the "List of acceptable types of subscriber equipment" in the section "Basic settings for equipment for Internet connection using ADSL technology.

What's more, modern devices such as ZyXEL's Prestige 662HW Integrated ADSL Modem/Ethernet Hub/Wi-Fi have automatic configuration capabilities.

To implement this feature, ZyXEL offers the so-called Zero Configuration a built-in tool for automatically detecting connection parameters, including the aforementioned "magic numbers" VCI/VPI. Such a modem, being connected to the line for the first time, will itself perform the entire setup procedure (although it may take several minutes for this, during which it will actively blink its lights like a Christmas tree).

In addition to the useful features described above, such as NAT and a firewall, ZyXEL 662HW also implements secure access over a wireless network WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access), has built-in support for VPN networks (Virtual Private Network), as well as its own internal anti-virus scanner that performs dynamic content filtering of traffic using an external, regularly updated database from the Web site http://www.myzyxel.com.

One of the unique and very useful features of this device is the presence of an additional port for connecting an external modem that provides a backup dial-backup communication channel (this can be an old analog dial-up modem or, for example, a mobile phone with Internet access via GPRS or CDMA) . Thus, your home or office network will be insured against possible problems with the ADSL provider in case of a broadband connection failure, you will be able to use alternative means of access.

A useful feature of the ZyXEL 662HW is also PPPoE Pass Through, which allows you to pass a PPPoE connection through itself (configured as a router, this modem can also work as a bridge, that is, you can also create a PPPoE session using Windows XP and interrupt it if you wish).

In conclusion, we note that such modems as the Prestige 662HW have the ability to quickly connect, that is, it picks up an Internet session after a break in just a few seconds. For a stand-alone ADSL modem that will work around the clock without interrupting the connection, this feature is very important, since providers can often break the connection due to problems at the PBX or for session billing. In addition, the ZyXEL 662HW has built-in support for Dynamic Domain Name Service (although it only works with DynDNS), so you don't even need to set DNS server names.

Thus, conventional ADSL modems (with one Ethernet port, and even more so with USB interfaces) can be rejected today in favor of a single universal communications center, which has the following modern requirements:

1. An ADSL modem is required for a regular telephone line with support for modern ADSL technologies (including G.dmt and G.lite with support for the G.hs protocol, which allows adaptive speed changes). It would be better if support for ADSL standards up to ADSL 2 (G.dmt.bis) or even ADSL 2+ would be implemented. The latest standard supports incoming data streams up to 24 Mbps, and outgoing up to 2 Mbps, which is twice as fast as the ADSL 2 standard and more than three times as fast as basic ADSL. Of course, the speed is set by the provider's equipment, and so far all existing ADSL access providers in Russia are limited to providing basic ADSL access (or even slower), but it would not hurt to think about the future, since communication technologies are developing very quickly.
2. The device must be equipped with a built-in router (Router) and a hub (Network Switch) for several Ethernet ports (for organizing a small home or office network).
3. The so-called access point will not interfere either. wifi wireless WLAN networks (according to the 802.11g standard up to 100 Mbps) for communication with laptops, communicators and smartphones.
4. And finally, we need support for a hardware firewall (Firewall) and NAT (Network Address Translation) technology, which will translate internal network addresses to the outside world and protect the user from uninvited intrusions from the outside.

However, these are all trifles: as you know, 90% of users use no more than 10% of the capabilities of a particular device. And, perhaps, much of what expensive integrated modems provide will be incomprehensible to you at first and in real life you will not immediately need it. However, if you are thinking of connecting to the Internet using ADSL technologies, then the All-in-one device will free you from a number of problems that owners of simpler, highly specialized devices will inevitably have to solve.

The modern Internet is developing so rapidly that almost everyone can connect to it. True, everyone has different opportunities, and the choice of how to connect to the Internet depends on them. If you are reading this lesson, then you already know at least one way to connect to the Internet :) About ten years ago, the choice was small - one, two, and miscalculated. Now I counted eight ways of connection known to me. Let's take a brief look at each of them.

What is the difference between dedicated internet access and "best effort" internet service? Best effort services overwrite sold bandwidth versus available bandwidth. Because not every client uses their connection to the maximum during every minute of the day, this may be a satisfactory solution.

The Importance of a Dedicated Internet Service for Business

In some cases, this is just a temporary nuisance. Nobody likes slowdowns, but for a residential internet service, this is probably acceptable. Even for some small businesses, this can be good. But in many companies, slowdowns and sporadic maintenance are completely unacceptable and cost business money in lost productivity. Dedicated internet access is like having your own private lane on the information superhighway, not on the same roads as everyone else.

Here are eight ways to connect. I'll start with the most ancient and end with the most modern, in my opinion. So:

4. Connection via cable TV.

Now a little about each type of connection.

Connection via Dial-Up modem.

This is the oldest but still widely used connection method. Modem (dial-up) connection is now used only where there are subscriber telephone operators providing dial-up connection services, and there are no other methods of connection.

Everyone knows that traffic becomes congested at certain times of the day. Even express lanes like "business class" deals aren't always true. But, when you have your own dedicated lane, you will travel exactly at the speed you were guaranteed.

Connection via Dial-Up modem

In today's market, fiber optics is often the delivery method for national carriers to deploy dedicated Internet access. If you are looking for high speed access to the Internet for their enterprises through a dedicated point-to-point scheme, we have solutions.

To connect in this way, you need a dial-up modem and a landline phone.
This connection method has the following advantages: it is the very ability to connect to the Internet, the low cost of the modem, ease of setup and installation. But there are much more disadvantages - low data transfer speed, if you are connected to the Internet, then no one will get through to you - the phone will be busy, you have to pay both for the Internet and for the phone, it is almost impossible to download large files due to low quality data transfer, and expensive.

The line is capable of transmitting data simultaneously in both directions at a speed of 544 megabits per second. This allows a business that requires 24 phone lines to do so at the cost of another benefit. And knowing the difference, the best effort and dedicated internet will save you a lot of aggravation. When the plan is "best", it means that the advertised rate is the upper limit of what you can actually get.

The best plans are not bad things

Not "minimum" or "at least", not "average speed". The best internet connection gives us access to the internet so we can do amazing, magical things. These plans are "best effort" because they are usually shared data lines among many customers. You share the same uplink with your ISPs as your neighbors, and as such your uplink fluctuates with the traffic your neighbors push to the same stream.

Connection via ADSL modem.

It's over modern way internet connection. Here, as well as with a Dial-Up connection, you need a modem, though already a digital ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line), and a landline phone. In addition, you must have a stem card installed on your computer.

Imagine a neighborhood or a park. How many swims can you make when there are few people than when they are crowded? For most consumers the best options internet plans - great option because they are readily available and they live up to expectations for many: you can check email, play online games, and watch most streaming content, to name just a few common activities. The best thing to do is a general consumer to choose a "before" plan , which gives you enough bandwidth for the most complex tasks.

The disadvantage of this connection method is the high cost of connection. But there are more pluses - high-quality, high data transfer speed, the phone is not busy, even if you have a blocker, the ability to connect to an unlimited package.

Connection via mobile phone.

In connection with rapid development cellular communication, almost every person has a cell phone, so this particular method of connection is becoming increasingly popular. To connect to the Internet in this way, you must have a mobile phone with support for GPRS or EDG protocols (any modern, not older than 2-3 years, mobile phone supports these protocols) and means of communication with a computer - USB cable, Bluetooth, infrared port.

When a “Best Effort” Service May Fail

If you're more of a household that constantly streams high-definition audio and video, accessing them up to 10Mbps or more will serve you well. Then choose the plan that works best for you. Businesses and businesses that rely on heavy data transfer for mission-critical operations typically require something better than best effort. When your business depends on the Internet, you need reliability.

Now imagine if you are using the internet to make money to put food on the table and you can't connect to a scheduled video conference or your critical files won't download because your neighbor is clogging up all the bandwidth. This is a painful situation and you need to look for other alternatives.

An indisputable advantage of this method is mobility. The speed and quality of data transfer depends on the means of connection to the computer and the communication protocol, and are generally quite acceptable. The downside of this connection is of course the cost, unfortunately it is still high.

Connection via cable TV.

With this connection, special cable modems are also used. This method may be of interest if you have a cable TV operator in your house (if your TV is tuned from thirty to a hundred channels, then there is a cable TV operator in your house) and there is no Internet service provider directly.

Solution: Dedicated Internet Plan

A "best effort" plan will always come with risk in a scenario where urgency in data delivery is important. In the case of a critical business connection, the most reliable method will use a "leased" line. For example, if you have a 20Mbps leased line, you get 20Mbps all the time regardless of neighbor traffic.

They are in multiple time zones and you need your help right away. You grab your laptop and access your virtual private network on your office computer. A few tasks later, you are on your way to fixing the problem. You're sending email to a client that says "crisis averted" and you return in the evening.

The quality and speed of data transfer is at a high level, the prices for services are not high. True, the modem itself is a bit expensive, but some operators offer modems for rent with subsequent redemption.

Connection through a dedicated channel.

Now many providers provide Internet connection services through a dedicated line. To begin with, I will clarify who the Provider is. In short, the Provider is a company that provides an Internet connection service.
In order not to go into technical details, I will simply say: a leased line is a communication line (as a data transmission channel).

Different plans for different needs

If your business line is Best Service, there's a decent chance you'll be in trouble. Dedicated high speed internet lines usually cost more than the best effort line for obvious reasons. You are using more resources and therefore it is only fair that you pay a little more. Every last byte of this pipeline is yours, so for many, it's worth every penny.

My purpose here is not to say something bad about Best Effort plans, but to emphasize that the two types of internet plans serve different needs. Whether you're a four-person housewife, solo Jane or Joe, an aspiring startup, or a multi-year venture, there's going to be a plan online to suit your needs.

With this connection, data transfer is carried out using a special cable (optical fiber or twisted pair), which is connected on the one hand to the provider's equipment, usually located in the basement or in the attic of the building, and on the other hand to the network card of your computer. And also data transfer can be carried out wirelessly, using a WiFi connection, which is very convenient when moving within the building.

When you decide on the right internet plan for your business, you will need to choose between two main types of internet plans. These plans are not based on connection technology, such as wireless, satellite, fixed, or fiber Internet, but on dedicated bandwidth.

How does a general online business work

Before you can consider your plan options, you must first understand your needs. Here are the facts you need to know about each of these plans so you can decide which one is best for you. When you sign up for the Shared Internet Business Plan, the service provider calculates how many users may need the online service at once. The provider will register more users than the system can accommodate at the same time because the expectation is that they won't need to transfer a lot of information at the same time.

I myself use this connection method and see only pluses in it, this is a high, very high-quality data transfer, and low cost, and the ability to connect an unlimited package, mobility with a WiFi connection. The only thing you need is a network card and if there is WiFi, then you need a WiFi adapter.

Radio Internet - connection using a special antenna.

This type of connection is used if the provider, for some reason, cannot extend the cable to the desired place to use the Internet, but can provide a wireless access point. The access point must be within line of sight, at a distance of no more than 5 km from the desired place to use the Internet.

The download and upload speed in the overall system performs "up to" a certain speed. If the traffic on the shared system is lit, users will have faster download speeds. If the system is busy and other users are streaming video or downloading large files, the download speed will decrease.

Generally, providers will not specify minimum speed downloads, because it depends on what everyone else is doing in the overall system. For this reason, shared plans are sometimes referred to as "best" because the provider cannot give you any guarantees regarding connection speed and uptime.

If all the conditions are met, you can install a special antenna, just like you would put a television antenna (on a roof, pole, tree ...) and direct the antenna horn directly to the access point. The antenna itself is connected by cable to the radio card on the computer.

The quality and speed of data transfer is acceptable, however, may depend on weather conditions. Of course, you will have to spend money on equipment.

How an online business works

Dedicated internet access is one of the cleanest forms of internet access. With a dedicated plan, your company is the only subscriber at a certain bandwidth tier - the dedicated bandwidth is for your use only. Unlike general plan, your access is not overflowing and the speed is guaranteed, not "up to". Performance is consistent and has guaranteed minimums and uptime. The download and upload speeds are usually synchronous, which means they are the same.

Connection via CDMA or GSM modem.

The advantage of this connection method is mobility and independence from mobile phone. Any CDMA or GSM operator provides Internet services, you can also buy a modem from him. The characteristics of the speed and quality of data transfer are the same as when connected via a mobile phone.

Creating Choice for Online Business

A leased line is a dedicated symmetrical connection with a fixed bandwidth. What is a dedicated line used for? It is used to connect two locations together. The first location is usually the corporate office. The second location is typically another corporate office, an Internet-connected data center, or a data center connected to the company's existing WAN.

What is a leasing line?

Transferring data and phone calls, typically from business premises such as this one. By definition, dedicated lines are "dedicated". This means that for the entire route of your leased line, the required bandwidth is reserved exclusively for your use.

Satellite Internet - connection via satellite.

More recently, this connection method was practically not available for ordinary users. Now the situation is changing. The number of providers providing satellite Internet connection services is increasing every day and, as a result, prices for services are falling.

Leasing line ≠ Internet connection

This means that they can download data at the same speed they can download data. Companies often buy Internet access at the same time they buy a leased line. Just as a pipe can be used to carry many different things, so a leased line can be used to carry several different types of data traffic. There is no need to buy Internet access via a dedicated line.

What is the leasing line, probably for delivery, by speed?

What is a leased line that can cost you? Typically, a 10 Mbps connection costs twice as much as a 2 Mbps connection. And a 100Mbps connection costs twice as much as a 10Mbps connection.

Benefits of a Dedicated Connection

Disadvantages of a dedicated connection. The leased line will require new circuitry and will likely require some construction works to connect your building to a leased line provider's network.

What is the leasing line will probably cost me

• Fast download speeds are usually available.
• Fast download speed.
• Connections that don't slow down during peak times.
• Great reliability.
• The best support.

Because of this, it is often necessary to provide leased lines to day providers in order to provide you with a quote.

Satellite internet is used when there is no other connection alternative. You can be anywhere: in the desert, deep taiga, on a desert island - you will have satellite Internet!

Satellite Internet can be one-way (works only for reception) and two-way (reception and sending). The advantages of satellite Internet connection are, first of all, the very low cost of traffic. The cost of a set of equipment and connection is currently available to almost everyone and is approximately 200-300 US dollars (meaning one-way connection). The data transfer speed varies greatly depending on the provider and the tariff plan chosen by the user. Satellite Internet providers offer a very wide range of tariff plans, including unlimited ones. Very nice bonus is also the possibility of free reception of satellite TV.

The disadvantage of a one-way satellite Internet connection is the need for a channel for outgoing traffic - a telephone line or a telephone with GPRS support. However, now it is not such a big problem. The disadvantage of two-way satellite connection is the high price of equipment.

To connect satellite Internet, you need the following equipment:
- satellite antenna;
- satellite modem;
- converter for signal conversion.

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There are several types of Internet connection:

Communication channel via satellite. In this case, it is necessary to purchase the appropriate equipment (DVB-board, satellite dish). In addition, you need a regular "terrestrial" communication channel (for example, a telephone channel with a modem), since the satellite is used only to receive information, and it and your requests are transmitted via a modem. When working via satellite, you get very good reception speed. Equipment costs will start from $200, and you are unlikely to be able to set up such a system yourself.

Dedicated line. You can connect to the Internet through a dedicated line. At the same time, a communication channel is organized from the provider to the client to work with the Internet. If you want high speed, use a wired connection. In this case, a wired pair is specially laid or an unoccupied telephone pair is rented. It is also possible to connect via fiber optic cable. The provider's services for organizing a leased line are quite expensive. In addition, the modems that terminate the leased line usually must be provided by the client. For the Internet to work, two modems are needed - one on your side, the second on the side of the provider. If you don't have modems, you can rent them from your ISP. The subscription fee for the operation of a leased line depends on the connection speed, it is possible to pay separately for traffic (received and transmitted information) in excess of the limit included in the subscription fee. Leased line installation costs depend on specific conditions and usually exceed 10,000 rubles. Modems used for work cost from $ 200 for 1 piece. More expensive modems are used for high speed operation. The subscription fee depends on the speed of the leased line and usually exceeds 1000 rubles per month. The subscription fee includes traffic that is not paid (depends on the speed, usually more than 100 Mb). Exceeding this traffic is charged at a price of about 10 cents/Mb.

There are a number of cases when connection and operation via a leased line is much cheaper. If available in your home or office building a certain number of applicants, the provider can independently solve the problem of a leased line and equipment - you will only need to pay a small monthly fee and traffic.

Dedicated line work is certainly very convenient. Your computer is constantly connected to the Internet, and you can easily and quickly access any resources. Like all good things, you get used to it very quickly.

Data Over Voice. Data Over Voice translates literally as data over voice. The equipment allows the use of a telephone line for high-speed data transmission. The type of your PBX does not matter, as long as the provider has installed the necessary equipment on it. Such equipment costs about $400, and you get a high-speed Internet channel without losing your phone. In this case, there is usually no subscription fee, and you pay only for the received / transmitted data (traffic) at a price of about 10 cents / MB. Of course, your provider must have the technical ability to make such a connection.

ISDN. ISDN technology provides a whole range of services (Integrated Services Digital Network - a digital network of integrated services). At the end of the ISDN line there is a special terminal adapter for connecting various devices - telephone, fax or computer for Internet access. ISDN technology allows you to organize high-quality video conferences. One line forms two information channels and one service communication channel. To surf the Internet, you can use either one channel or both, while getting double the speed.

ISDN installation prices vary widely, as they depend on the type and composition of the equipment used, on the availability and quality of the telephone channel. The lower price threshold will be at least $500.

LAN connection. It happens that within the same building it is necessary to have high-speed Internet access. In such a situation, providers offer a LAN connection.
Typically, providers come up with their own names for such solutions (Internet building, LAN-Connect, etc.). Since local area network technologies are quite cheap today and the cost of connection is obviously divided among several users, the price of one connection is usually quite moderate (up to 5,000 rubles). Payment for Internet traffic is made at a price of up to 10 cents / Mb. Some providers also charge a subscription fee, which includes Additional services(mailboxes, free traffic, etc.). The undoubted advantage of such an Internet connection is the high speed of work at not very high costs. Abroad, the technical resources of cable television are also used to connect to the Internet, but in Russia this method has not yet become widespread. There are even successful studies on the use of power lines as a communication channel, that is, those wires that carry current to our irons and refrigerators.