WINDOWS 7 USB Modem Replacement needed in UK [Hardware]

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From: Trimble Bracegirdle on 16 Feb 2010 22:12

I'm now trying out & planning to fully buy Windows 7 64bit .
The Hardware has an well established Win XP 32bit install
where the SAGEM 800(a)Fast USB Modem gives me OK performance
for years now.

This type of basic USB Modem will not work with WINDOWS 7 .
So looks like I will have to buy a replacement Router type .
But looking (at great tiring length ..sigh !) has not found me a good
alternative .
...I'm in the UK..
Most I've looked at do not say WIN 7 & many say won't work.

Can people please give some suggestions about what to buy
for a Basic single Computer & standard 'Phone installation that does
not need the complexity & cost of Multi port Router & Wireless.
(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(") mouse (We Are In The UK)

From: Paul on 17 Feb 2010 00:09

Trimble Bracegirdle wrote:
> I'm now trying out & planning to fully buy Windows 7 64bit .
> The Hardware has an well established Win XP 32bit install
> where the SAGEM 800(a)Fast USB Modem gives me OK performance
> for years now.
>
> This type of basic USB Modem will not work with WINDOWS 7 .
> So looks like I will have to buy a replacement Router type .
> But looking (at great tiring length ..sigh !) has not found me a good
> alternative .
> ..I'm in the UK..
> Most I've looked at do not say WIN 7 & many say won't work.
>
> Can people please give some suggestions about what to buy
> for a Basic single Computer & standard 'Phone installation that does
> not need the complexity & cost of Multi port Router & Wireless.
> (\__/)
> (='.'=)
> (")_(") mouse (We Are In The UK)
>

Due to their mass market nature now, combined modem/router boxes don't
have to be that much more expensive than a basic modem. It is a false
economy, to shave a few bucks off a purchase, and then end up buying
the device all over again later. I think you're learning this, with
your USB box. I wouldn't touch a USB ADSL modem with a barge pole -
the *driver* situation is why. I seek to own hardware-only solutions,
where the computer is unaware where the network connection comes from.

For my home system, I use a modular approach. This approach would be
good, if I had both Cable TV and ADSL as options for broadband modems.
I could switch from one ISP to another, and get to keep my router.

Ethernet
Provider ----- High Speed Modem --------------- Router ------- Ethernet_Computer

Why is this such a good deal ? The router terminates the protocol, without
the computer needing *any* drivers. The computer thinks it is on a LAN, and
is unaware that ADSL or Cable is involved.

If you know that your area will only ever have ADSL providers (BT or BT resellers),
then you could buy a combined box.

Telco ---------- ADSL_Modem/Router ------- Ethernet_Computer

Again, there is no driver needed in that picture. And the multiple connectors
on the router interface, allows more than one computer to share the Internet
connection. My router has four ports, but I generally never use more than two of
them. But I would be inconvenienced, if I only had one Ethernet port. Even though
a lot of the time, I might only be using one connector, when I need a second
connector, I need the router.

This is your situation:

ADSL PPPoA LLC
ADSL2 ------ ADSL_Modem --- PPPoA VCMUX --- router ----- Ethernet_Computer
ADSL2+ PPPoE LLC
PPPoE VCMUX

The various ADSL standards support higher transmission rates. Your SAGEM
product right now, looks like it is an 8 megabit vanilla ADSL. Your ISP may in
fact support other options, and so buying another vanilla ADSL modem might
be a waste of money. Here in Canada, they're not in such a rush to upgrade,
so the rental modem I'm using is still vanilla ADSL. (The rental is forced on
us.)

The router has to support the protocol coming from the provider. In the diagram,
I notice your SAGEM supports four options. Here in Canada, PPPoE is how we do it.
You could be using PPPoA (point to point protocol over ATM or asynchronous transfer
mode with 53 byte packets).

If I take an example here, this has ADSL on the left hand side, supports
PPPoA and PPPoE internally, and has four wired Ethernet ports on the right hand
side. It is �47.00 . That means, even if your line was upgraded, you'd be
limited to 8 megabits/sec max. The router on this has SPI or Stateful Packet
Inspection, for detecting whether just the "conversation" you initiated, is
coming back to you. This box has auto MDI/MDIX on the Ethernet ports, so you
don't have to worry about the Ethernet cable being "straight-thru" or "crossover".

http://www.dabs.com/products/netgear-dg834-adsl-firewall-modem-router-2SR0.html?q=%22adsl%20modem%22

The reviews here for that unit look OK.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16833122024

(Left to right - power, four Ethernet, phone line. The little dimple could be
the reset button.)

http://images17.newegg.com/is/image/newegg/33-122-024-S02?$S640W$

Now, this box is a bit more expensive, and also a bit simpler in terms
of architecture. It supports ADSL2+, so if your line ever gets an upgrade,
you'd be ready. It has a single Ethernet connector on the output. The
very first question you ask, when you see a single Ethernet connector,
is does "PPPoA" come out of there, or does "vanilla Ethernet" come out
of there ?

http://www.dabs.com/products/draytek-vigor-120-adsl2--ethernet-modem-5JWN.html?q=%22adsl%20modem%22

"You can connect any device to the Vigor 120 which has a PPPoE client
facility, which includes PCs, most Ethernet-WAN routers and the
Apple Airport but the actual connection to your ISP is still PPPoA"

What that means, is the box doesn't take care of all the protocol details.
While it bridges PPPoA to PPPoE (so I could connect my router to it), it
doesn't eliminate PPP entirely. If I bought the Draytek Vigor, I'd still
have to connect my router box to it, to finish the protocol termination
job. The only benefit that box has, is the promise of higher speeds some
day, if the Telco rolls out a service upgrade.

If I chose to buy the Draytek Vigor box, and not use a router at all,
I would need to install some software to terminate PPPoA. I tried
that kind of thing years ago, and didn't like it. The router now,
is a cheap way to eliminate that software step.

To me, the Netgear comes closest to being the right solution. There is
no unnecessary wireless on it (did I mention I hate wireless ? :-) ).
You can always get a device with wireless - as long as it has an
external antenna, and you connect a resistive terminator connector to it,
you can render the wireless to a useless state, so it won't be speaking
to anyone. Devices that are wireless, and the antenna is printed on the
circuit board inside the box, are more resistant to easily being neutered.
(The web interface for a wireless product, may have an option to shut off
the radio, but don't count on that being present. You'd be surprised how
many wireless products don't include a simple feature to turn them off. If
you buy a wireless device, download the manual to see if the feature
exists.)

In any case, I'm in Canada, and a UK newsgroup, filled with BT users, may be
a better place to get your info.

One other tiny detail about the router part of the solution. Some people are
Torrent users, and some routers have poor support for large numbers of
connections at one time. If you're a Torrent user, then you would need
to read up on routers known to be good at handling Torrent. The router
doesn't necessarily do anything with the protocol, but the load that
Torrent puts on the router, can reduce the thing to goo. Some routers
don't do a very good job at all, when Torrent traffic is present. Again,
if you're a Torrent user, a more modular approach (modem in one box,
router in a second box), would allow you to pick the optimal router
for Torrent, and the optimal ADSL modem for the telco end.

HTH,
Paul

From: Darklight on 17 Feb 2010 04:23

From: Man-wai Chang to The Door (24000bps) on 17 Feb 2010 06:20

> I'm now trying out& planning to fully buy Windows 7 64bit .
> The Hardware has an well established Win XP 32bit install
> where the SAGEM 800(a)Fast USB Modem gives me OK performance
> for years now.

I had a big problem using a dial-up modem under Win 7!

When connected to my Linux PPP server using a 56k modem (server side: US
Robotics 56k internal hardware modem, client side: US Robotics USB modem
or cheap Conexant PCI winmodem), Win 7 would disconnect suddenly. The
duration was random, sometimes 1 minute, sometimes 10 minutes. I had no
such problem doing the same thing under Vi$ta.

And I am not the only one:
http://forums.techguy.org/windows-vista-7/848469-windows-7-modem-issues.html

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From: GlowingBlueMist on 17 Feb 2010 09:16

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