Topic: ADSL2+

[enchesss]

Can SME use ADSL2+?

Are you using ADSL2+ ?


Please give instructions on ISP configuration when changing from ADSL 512 to ADSL2+

[jumba]

This question has really nothing to do with SME.

SME simply uses ethernet, - whatever you connect on that ethernet line doesn't matter, it can be a router to a T1 line or even a device connected to a phone modem.

So you don't need to "change" anything at all with your SME, - just hook up tha ADSL2+ modem and drive

[arne]

Yes SME server supports a PPPoA modem running in semi bridge mode. (WAN card is set to receive external ip via dhcp). 

[jumba]

Well, maybe I misinterpreted the question a bit, but at least here in Sweden almost every ADSL modem I've seen has got an ethernet interface, so I assumed that was the case.

[christian]

Well, maybe I misinterpreted the question a bit, but at least here in Sweden almost every ADSL modem I've seen has got an ethernet interface, so I assumed that was the case.

Some Service Providers want authentication and so implement say PPPoE to do so. SME does support a variety of authentication methods and they are documented at:
http://wiki.contribs.org/SME_Server:Documentation:Administration_Manual:Chapter5#Server_and_Gateway_Mode_-_Dedicated

We're not all as free as the Swedes 

Christian

[arne]

Well, maybe I misinterpreted the question a bit, but at least here in Sweden almost every ADSL modem I've seen has got an ethernet interface, so I assumed that was the case.

Yes, but even though the cable is the same, the format of the "signals" could be totally different. Lets say for pppoe, the "box" could be a modem or it could be a router modem. For a pppoa connection it could be a bridge mode or semi bridge mode modem or it could be a router. For pppoe the logon could be from the sme gateway of from the modem. For pppoa it will allways be from the modem, but the modem could be running in bridge mode, semi bridge mode or routing mode.

I think actually that the SME server actually support all those possible ways.  (Using ADSL+ with pppoa and semi bridge mode myself.)

Note: I think most vendors in scandinavia nowadays will deliver a router modem as the basic option. In such a case it will be just to connect, and then to receive a local ip to your sme gateway. If you make some modifications, switching over to bridge mode etc, you will receive the external ip direct into the sme gateway and possible obtain some benefits from this. (IPtelephony runs bether, you will not have to do a double port forwarding, etc.)

[CharlieBrady]

Can SME use ADSL2+?

The simple answer is 'yes', as jumba has said. All the rest of this discussion is just unnecessary confusion.

[capri]

Confused well, but there are options to tune ADSL/2+ to the best results, one of the most importand option in many countrys and providers ist to fix the right MTU size, this can solve problems and increase performance of data receiving.

(Sorry about my badly englisch, but I am only speaking bavarian, and a little bit german ).

[arne]

Exactely.

I think that the performance and the the result how everything will work will vary a lot, depending how you does the ADSL+ connection and configuration.

For my connection a PPPoA connection over a ISDN physical line the default setup as delivered by the vendor would be a router modem so that the SME gateway would run with with local adresses on both sides. There would be a double nat and all ports that has to be forwarded had to be forwarded at both nat connections. All servers on the SME gateway including an eventuall Asterisk server will run with local adresses.

When I reconfigured it all over to "real bridge mode", I think the way this worked was that I first configured all physical ADSL+ parameters while running in router modem mode, and then after that reconfigured over the unit to work as a brige modem. All options for reconfiguring the modem and the ADLS+ parameters were then lost as the bridge modem lost its ip and vere not accessable for logon any more. On the other hand the wan card received the external IP.

When I then configured it over to work in "semi bridge mode" I optained all the benefits of the "pure brigde mode" plus the option of loging on to the modem via an extra lan adress assigned to the bridge modem. This logon to a semi bridge modem can be done trough the SME server without a problem. In this way, when using a semi bridge ADSL+ modem configuration, you will till be able to logon to the modem itself, and reconfigure and optimeze the ADSL+ parameters as required.

One other trick that I think is usable for optimizing the use of the ADSL+ line is to configure a local ip no2 to the lan card. Server clients on lan (like iptelephony clients) are then configured to logon on this ip no 2 instead of the ordinary lan gateway address. In this way by applying or not applying this ip no 2, server functions like the Asterisk server can be operated from within the SME gateway, using the external ip, or it can be moved to a natted server on lan, without the need of reconfiguration of the clients.

(Adding the extra ip to the lan adapter is done via the /etc/rc.d/rc.local script )

According to my point of view, the way you do the ADSL+ connection will have a great impact of the overall performance of your installation. I think that all gateways might not do these options as well as the SME server does it. 

When running in ADSL semi bridge mode the SME gateway will do all the job of picking up an external address if you are using dynamic adresses, and there will not be a problem if you want to configure the semi bridge modem from lan and trough your SME gateway.

One other thing - My ADSL+ line is a rater slow one 2500/1000, so I actually only get the speed out. On this speed and when using a powerful gateway PC and the web proxy is on, on the SME gateway, then SME gateway really speeds up web browsing etc.

[CharlieBrady]

Confused well, but there are options to tune ADSL/2+ to the best results, one of the most importand option in many countrys and providers ist to fix the right MTU size, this can solve problems and increase performance of data receiving.

SME server doesn't currently have any option to adjust the MTU size. If you think this is an important feature, then you should open a New Feature Request in the bug tracker.

[arne]

Yes, but if running in semi bridge mode explained as above, you can still do it.