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General discussion

DSL or Cable?

Feb 21, 2004 12:49AM PST

After 6 years of dial-up, my town is finally getting DSL and Cable services. My question is which is better? I only know people who have DSL. They say it is great compared to dial-up but how is it to cable? Thanks in advance.

Discussion is locked

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Re:DSL or Cable?
Feb 21, 2004 2:18AM PST

If only this was so simple. My DSL is some 640 Kbps plan. That's rought 64 kilobytes per second. Which handily beats out a dialup.

At our last house we had cable and it was blazing fast with about 5,000 (or more0 Kbps until they "capped" the speed to 500 or so Kbps. At that point, the speed was about the same as DSL due to packet turnaround time or other effects.

Bottomline? You have to find out what bit-rate they supply.

TIP! Don't get any USB only modem.

Bob

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Re:DSL or Cable?
Nov 27, 2004 9:16PM PST

OK--I respect your smarts, so I'll bite: why NOT USB? Why modem-only?

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Re:DSL or Cable?
Nov 29, 2004 11:10AM PST

Bob ony suggested not getting th USB only modem. So let us figure out why. I have usb and ethernet so if one goes down I can use the other one, Usb ONLY if your usb fails then ???

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Why not usb
Jan 11, 2005 2:10AM PST

USB network connections does not work very well some computers mostly on computers you get disconnects and have to reboot your computer to get your connection back network cards are cheap and easy to install and you have a strong connection

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No probs
Jan 11, 2005 4:53AM PST

I have been using a USB-modem on a DSL connection for about 3 years now, and never had a problem.

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Some Computers
Jan 18, 2005 2:30PM PST

Like someone said before, SOME computers have issues with USB modems, especially when some systems REQUIRE a restart if the USB connection is lost.

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Re:DSL or Cable?
Nov 28, 2004 9:28PM PST

I agree that you need to check the bit rate before getting into one or the other and you need to have a diverse modem. The DSL modem I have has wired, wireless and USB connectivity. It is supposed to have a firewall as well, but it is not the greatest thing in the world. I suggest that anyone running a high speed Internet connection at home run a separate firewall appliance or use trustworthy firewall software on each workstation you have running.

I have DSL at home and would not go with cable in my area. The reason: cable modems share the bandwidth - the more users there are online in your geographic area, the slower your connection runs. This is not true of DSL - you get your bandwidth all the way through to the Internet gateway at your provider.

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Re:DSL or Cable?
Nov 30, 2004 6:56PM PST

I was happy with 2 computers accessing the Internet through DSL. Then I switched to cable. The catch is my second computer is now disconnected, I'm told because the cable uses a VPN connection. There goes my happiness. Can somebody help ? ervin

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DSL or Cable
Jan 22, 2005 2:39AM PST

The single computer connection from your cable connection is not a VPN problem. Most cable companies are switching to a new modem type. In particular one brand that they use; Motorola Suferboarder allows only one MAC address to authenticate to their network. The workaround is to put a router between your PCs and the modem. With the router in place shut down your modem etc. Power the modem wait a couple of minutes, power the router and wait a couple more. Turn on your PC's.
If you want to test that this works before buying the router. Power off the modem \ PCs. Start the modem, wait, then start the second PC. It should now connect and the first PC won't.

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Mikeym, Please help with similar Problem
Jan 24, 2005 6:58PM PST

I also just subscribed to a cable but I am in the Third world country so they have given me only 96 Kbps or ( approx. 10 to 12 KBPS ) Bandwidth.

I need two kinds of advice.

(1) How do I protect myself ? I have Norton Antivirus 2005 but no firewall. Do you recommend to install a firewall software or a router or both? I do need fairly good protection. If a software then which Firewall would be good? ( I mean Name like Zone Alarm or something else)Cable guy says he has already assigned me a sinle exclusive ISP address so that no one else on the Network can access my computer and he also has firewall.

(2) I have another PC which doesn't have a network card and I would like to give internet access to both PCs but as you said you can't do that. Both PCs have 56Kbps internal modems. How can I achieve this without paying twice the amount. As it is cable is very very expensive in Third World country.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank You
Calvin

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Re: Third World broadband issues
Jan 25, 2005 7:13AM PST

1. Use ZoneAlarm. It never hurts to double protect your system.
2. Get a network card. Buy it over the internet to save cash. Get a router. Most isps won't notice you sharing the connection through a router. You only need ZoneAlarm. Buy the stuff from USA to save cash.
Good luck.

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Re: Third World broadband issues
Jan 25, 2005 10:22AM PST

Superman Shipping will probably cost more than router.Half a Kg weight costs around US $50.00 via a courier like DHL but I still will ask.

1) Which is better (A) Zone Alarm (B) Zone Alarm PRO OR(C)Sygate

(2) Can I use 2 Firewall software simultaneously like Zone Alarm and Sygate?

(3) Can I use 2 types of protections like a Firewall and a router too?

(4)Any recommendations on a router? I mean Brand Name & how many ports etc.

Thank You
Calvin

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Re: Third World broadband issues
Jan 25, 2005 6:47PM PST

Free Zone Alarm is fine. You can read any computer publication - online or in print. They all recommend ZA. There's no point in paying for it. Using 2 at same time will confuse each other - kinda like how Windows Firewall and other Firewalls mess up each other on certain programs. As for a router, don't spend more than $60 US + shipping. Linksys, Netgear, and Belkin all have decent routers. You might as well get a wireless one for plans in the future. Get at least 802.11g. I have an older 802.11b belkin router with free mcaffe from aol and za installed. my system is fine. My isp catches nearly all viruses/ worms before they get to me anyway.

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Broad Band issues
Jan 26, 2005 1:41PM PST

First I never said that you can only get one connection from a cable modem. I was explaining how to split one connection into multiple connections for ISPs that have restrictions. Similar to your situation.

As for the router. You have some good advice already. I prefer the linksys. A four port will be fine for up to four connections(pcs \ network printers). Wired or wireless, your preference. Where I work we have several hundred Linksys's installed for our remote client's and have only had two power adapters fail in over two years. If your rich go with a Cisco product. In the end if you require more ports you can port a small 4, 8 16 port switch off of one of the linksys ports. Set up and configuration is simple or well documented. Just change the default admin password and set up. In your case it sounds you'll have to enter your hostname etc into the router as you were assigned a static IP. Then the linksys becomes your connection to the internet and with DHCP enabled you can connect up to 255 pc's behind that. The router is a hardware firewall, it stops\ protects you from inbound traffic

As to the 2nd PC. Buy a NIC for it and connect to the linksys with a patch cable. Using a P2P network modem connection with NetBIOS and windows file sharing turned on is asking for trouble. It can be done but from a security point bad news.

After the linksys; software wise yes use Zonealarm, they have a free version. If you like it buy the Pro for the extra features, or not. I prefer Zonealarm over Sygate. A software firewall protects you from inbound and out bound traffic (incase a little adware trojan gets installed inadvertantly).Also add ad-aware and spybot to protect from adware. Scan regularily.

To speed up your internet connection go to www.speedguide.net. They offer several registry tweaks that work and could possibly increase your speed. As these changes are to the registry they offer undo files so you don't have to mess with the registry unless you're familare with it.

Other issues you'll have. As you state that you're not in North America there will be power plug issues with the routers etc as most are manufactured for 110VAC but this can be fixed with power line adapters that are readily available.

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DO NOT USE 2 FIREWALLS!
Dec 28, 2006 3:43PM PST

Using two firewalls is very dumb, you can try it, and your computer most likely will crash. If Mcafee and Norton Internet Security are both running, they will fight each other till the end of your resources. I used to work for Charter Communications Tech Support, and those were some of the best calls I took, when people had 2 Firewalls, those calls were very long and drawn out, and whatever the problem was, after uninstalling one of them, everything was A-OK.

Me:Click on the Start Menu.
Cust: OK, nothings happening...
Me Thinking: (I wonder why?)

My advice to anyone is this...

1. CABLE service works great! Its a very reliable connection with the proper setup.

2. Always use Ethernet. If your Ethernet stops working, use USB as a last resort and get the Ethernet working ASAP.

3. Buy a good Anti-virus/Firewall software like Norton or Mcafee, and use 1 Firewall, and thats it!

4. BUNDLE YOUR SERVICES TO SAVE $$$... Cable TV + Broadband = Saving $ ... DISH Network + DSL = Saving $

Hope this helped in some way.

God Bless! =)

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Re:DSL or Cable?
Dec 4, 2004 3:34PM PST

your point about sharing with others in your neighbourhood is really a moot poit, since all bandwidth is shared at some point, its the whole basis of the internet. I'm not sure how much upgrading to the cable networks the cable companies in the US have done, but the ones here in Canada have done such a great job with upgrading, though they have always been more up to date than their American counterparts, but not by much anymore, anyways i have a 5Mbit cable connection and its simply awesome, even shared among 3 wired and as many as 3 wireless connections, the bandwidth i get is shared between prtty much the 30 or 40 houses on my street and thats it, most of which are on cable, though most are only on 3Mbit connections. My grandparents have DSL at 3Mbits and the speed is more consistant than on cable but the average speed is much slower than mine thay only have one computer.
My cable modem is on ethernet connected to my 3-4 year old router (better than the current version of the same router), DO NOT USE USB, uses too much processor resources, Ethernet uses minimal processor resources and can be connected to a router.
If you can get 4Mbit or faster in your area on cable, even if you have to buy the modem (we had to buy the 5Mbit modem for $80CDN and the 5Mbit service was the same price as the 3Mbit service, but needed to buy the modem, needed to meet a new standard or something) buy it!!

Good luck.

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DSl or Cable
Jan 11, 2005 12:05AM PST

I perfer cable because there are no hang ups - such as too many people on line. I had DSL and it would cut me off at any time of day. For instance I was working at 2AM and it cut me off from my server at work. From ten on I went to cable and never had a problem. You also have better speed uploading and downloading. Here in Canada Cable is better than DSL. All my friends switched to cable from DSL for the same reasons I did. Here you now can download up to 1 G in seconds where DSL doesn't do this.

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DSl or Cable
Jan 18, 2005 12:29PM PST

Try http://www.dslreports.com/

For any service it depends on where you are because One service will be great in Boston and poor in Atlanta.

Also call the providers in your area and ask questions before signing up for anything.

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Re:DSL or Cable? Cable mdms sharing bandwidth
Jan 11, 2005 2:49AM PST

Ok, first of all, no they don't. Cable modems run off of what are called nodes, which handle a certain number of customers (usually max out around 1000). After that max is reached, another node is put in, and the overall bandwidth to the area is increased to maximize capacity. If anything, the DSL is the one that shares bandwidth from the CC (and you have to be within a certain distance of it). Not sure where you're getting your information, but you've got it backwards.

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CAble Sharing
Jan 11, 2005 4:38AM PST

Actually Cox Communications and Comcast and Storer and Warner Cable all have the same system with high speed internet. Yes there are nodes. Yes you DO share the node with your neighbors (maybe 10 houses, maybe 200 homes) Bandwidth is most definately shared. This is hardware limited - not controlled by a 'switch' at the office.

I know of at least a half a dozen folks around here that notice speed differentials depending on when they use the internet (off peak or on) Not only is bandwidth shared - you data co-mingles -

I can place a cable modem in promiscous mode and with a packet sniffer I can read your emails, see what websites you visit - possibly even look around on your computer if you have Windows and file & printer sharing is enabled. Not so with DSL - direct connection from your house to the phone company - dedicated lines here. DSL is slightly slower - but way more reliable and the connection is much more secure and the speed is steady.

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dsl beats cable by a mile
Aug 26, 2006 3:53PM PDT

actually no, if what you say were true out of 1000 people then your internet would be pretty damn slow bud! if 600 out of those 1000 people were on at once...enjoy your new dial up not your cable!!! DSL doesnt share anything even though it gets it from the same place--its the same speed 24/7! Another typical cable fan! and if you want speed anyway, get the 5 MB dsl-woopy do its 1 meg slower than most cable connections but at least it will STAY at 5 megs not go from 6 to 4 to 6 to 1 to 3 like cable!-so what it comes to, is would you rather get the speed they tell you at 4AM when no one is on, or get a LITTLE slower speed 24/7???

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Flip a coin
Jan 28, 2005 2:01AM PST

I've had DSL for five years and switched to cable 18 months ago. Speed is about the same, glitches are the same and tech support depends on the ISP. One had a cable modem, the other USB. So, it's sauce for the goose... Amos.

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Stuck in internet purgatory here!!!!
Jan 11, 2005 6:49AM PST

Unfortunatley for me this debate is rather moot at this point, as I do not have DSL service available in my area. This really galls me, especially when I see the TV ads for it all the time, and everytime I call or check availability I'm told it is not in my area! Not to mention that I live in a very populous (and fast-growing) suburb...
We used to have Adelphia cable but that really sucked so we ditched it in favor of satellite tv. I believe that Adelpia will sell just the internet access without the tv, but still, what do you do when your computer is no where near any cable hook-up? I'd much rather just hook into the phone line like I'm doing now instead of trying to run a bunch of cable to meet my computer, and even then, since the satellite uses the cables I don't even know if it would even be possible to hook into the cable service again without ditching the satellite tv...so essentially I feel I am stuck in dial-up hell until Verizon decides to install DSL service close to me. Anyone have any ideas about what to do? I feel I'm going to grow old waiting for Verizon to do something, and I'm not giving up satellite tv! Also - I have limited means - Verizon advertises $29 per month for DSL here and that would about be my limit. $50 a month is beyond my means, as is Direcway, which I could get, but last I checked it was something like $95 a month!!!!

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DSL or CABLE?
Jan 22, 2005 4:02AM PST

There are usually several choices of plans. The less expensive plans will have less speed.

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olp post concerning usb modem
Feb 14, 2005 7:41AM PST

Hi, thanks in advance! In your "tip" you said not to get a usb only modem. What do you suggest? i need any info you can give me. My preferred email address is hlktlk@yahoo.com

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Re:DSL or Cable?
Feb 21, 2004 4:53AM PST

Cable, for the most part is faster then DSL. Cable, depending on your area and ISP, can be good. DSL, while not being as fast, is constant and dependable through most ISP's. You really need to check your ISP's out, as not all are the same. A good starting place is here, http://www.broadbandreports.com/forums/all

Ed

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Re:DSL or Cable?
Mar 8, 2004 9:50PM PST

Two other things to consider. You probably already know, but in order to get DSL you have to live within approx. 3 miles of your telephone central office. Also, if you have satellite TV you may have to switch to cable TV to get cable internet service. Some cable companies won't allow you to subscribe to their internet service unless you also subscribe to their TV service as well.

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Re:Re:DSL or Cable?
Mar 20, 2004 12:35AM PST

It does indeed depend on many factors. Cable claims faster service, but then they capped it. Also, the more
users in your area, the lower the speed. Another thing that has come to light lately is that cable companies
(Comcast is one) sell you unlimited use then secretly
limit your use without telling you what the criteria is.
On DSL, the closer you are to the substation, the faster the speed. The condition of your phone lines also affects the speed. But whatever that turns out to be, the speed is constant. Most DSL purveyers have different levels.
I lucked out in getting a special that gave me 2nd tier
service(768kbs-1.5mbs) for 1st level price(up to 768kbs). My speed is running at 1.536mbps, but I'm close to the substation. Great difference from dial-up.
Unfortunely, it means I'm stuck with Yahoo, which I'm already learning to hate. Hope this helps. chuck

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Re:Re:Re:DSL or Cable?
Mar 28, 2004 12:50PM PST

chuckieu, I also had the same problem when I went DSL, and I hate Yahoo as a portal and mandatory anything. Got installation tech to give me abreviated older copy of installation program with no yahoo. I am a happy surfer.

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dsl vs cable
Dec 31, 2006 7:52AM PST

well as long as your are relativly close to the "dsl" office within i guess 2 miles, then you should have a good connection. anything beyond 2 miles and you may not be able to get dsl.

with cable you can pretty much get it anywhere you live, take that into consideration.

with cable as far as traffic and the network being slow it depends how many people are on your node, wether the node is overloaded, or if anyone is running a server off of that node.

cable connections bottleneck is at the node.
dsl's connection bottleneck at the server.

so there is some slowdown no matter what in the connection with either service.

as far as what bob was saying about dont get a USB modem. because
A. you have to install drivers for the usb modem. if the modem drivers are ever uninstalled you'd better have the CD or your screwed.
B. usb is slower than ethernet
C. disconnects are much more commen with usb then ethernet

ive had DSL and cable, only difference was cable had a faster download speed for the same price. i dont care about download speed. i want upload speed!!!
currently ISP's haven't caught onto this yet, i currently work for a very well known isp service and still have not been able to convince them to raise the upload speed even for my connection, i just had to get more then one connection.