DSL confusion

[Sgsteve]

Ho Booy! Here we go again. I'm mired in ignorance and confusion of a new (to me) computer topic. Help!

First a very basic question: What difference (if any) is there between DSL and ADSL?


We are looking seriously at going with DSL (GTE) before their promo (free sign-up/modem/NIC) runs out at the end of this month.

In our home we have 3 PC's on a LAN (Netgear with Microsoft software {Win98 SE}). All three PC's currently share one dial-up connection via Internet Connection Sharing. We want to be able to share the DSL connection on all three machines as well.

I've been looking through the list of GTE DSL compatable ISP's on GTE's website. It seems the more I read, the more confused I become. So far, the most appealing service I've seen is 101freeway.com. Their info page is:

http://www.101freeway.com/adsl.html

As you can see, they state:

quote:

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101freeway.com allows you to put as many computers as you'd like on the ADSL connection, by using NAT (see below for benefits of NAT). Or if you'd like, Static IP addresses are only $5 each, and there are no download limits!

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This brings up some questions for me:

1. What is a "Static" IP address vs. a "Dynamic" IP address. What are the advantages/disadvantages of each?

2. I don't really understand what their "NAT" is or how it works. What are the advantages to me?

Other questions I have about DSL in general:

1. What are the security issues here? We only have Norton AV 5.0 software.

2. Assuming I get this service, what additional security measures do I need to take? Is a hardware firewall a must? Is security software adaquate? Whose?

3. How does a firewall work? How do they affect/limit my use of the internet as I am currently used to it?

Any information or advice will be greatly appreciated. Please explain as if you are talking to a 5-year old (right now I feel like one!).

I'm sure I'll come up with more questions as result of the answers (Gawd!! It never ends, does it?)

Thank you all,

Steve

[This message has been edited by Sgsteve (edited 07-20-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Sgsteve (edited 07-20-2000).]

[glc]

Originally posted by Sgsteve:

First a very basic question: What difference (if any) is there between DSL and ADSL?

ADSL is a subspecies of DSL. The download speeds are higher than the upload speeds. Asymmetric (?) Digital Subscriber Line. SDSL is another type - Symmetric (?) which speeds are the same up or down.

1. What is a "Static" IP address vs. a "Dynamic" IP address. What are the advantages/disadvantages of each?

A static IP means you have one assigned IP address which never changes. It is yours. A dynamic IP means you are assigned an IP address out of a pool by a DHCP server every time you log on. When you log off, the IP address goes back into the pool.

2. I don't really understand what their "NAT" is or how it works. What are the advantages to me?

NAT = Network Address Translation. This is to allow multiple machines to share a single IP address simultaneously. The real IP address is assigned by the ISP and your machines use "private" IP addresses which are not visible to the outside world. The NAT knows which machine to route the requested data coming in off the Internet to. NAT is done either in a router (hardware) connected to your network hub and the DSL line or software on the "gateway" machine (the one which the DSL is connected to). The latter requires 2 network cards in the gateway machine - one connected to the DSL hardware and the other connected to your hub.

Other questions I have about DSL in general:

1. What are the security issues here? We only have Norton AV 5.0 software.

This is a good start. See below.

2. Assuming I get this service, what additional security measures do I need to take? Is a hardware firewall a must? Is security software adaquate? Whose?

If you go with NAT, you can buy a DSL router for under $200 that also acts as a hardware firewall. The Linksys is a bargain for what it can do. The other option if you are using software NAT (such as Win 98 ICS or Wingate, etc.) is a good software firewall such as BlackIce Defender for $40. Note - the free Zone Alarm cannot be used in a NAT situation without degrading security significantly.

3. How does a firewall work? How do they affect/limit my use of the internet as I am currently used to it?

It can be either a packet or application filter, or both. Properly configured, it will be transparent to the user in the normal course of using the Internet. It will hide your network from the eyes of the Internet.

[cobra]

I think you mean asynchronous