Robert E.Seastrom wrote:
OK, not really "in the core", but the subject made you look at least. 
I'm interested in people's experiences with consumer-grade routers
functioning in non-NAT mode; that is to say, running PPPoE to the ISP
and routing a /29 or a /28. A sane filtering language and stateful
firewall that can operate in non-NAT mode is a plus.
I have changed from directly PPPoE to Linux.
It was an experiment only, but the box still stays here and I still have
to use it from time to time.
I have changed again. For a friend a had to connect a portable to the
internet. I choose the Seimens Gigaset 105. I have seen that box with
differnt names again but it seems not to be to widespread.
I literally grilled the first box. It was sitting on top of a wardrobe.
Friday it worked. Saturday not so shure. Monday the firealarm went off.
The box was silently replaced by the wender. The new one had a new
software version with new bugs, mustly about the wireless part. The
ethernet part works fine for a pharmacy with five computers. They use
only NAT and PPPoE and they use it as access point for the laptop.
They dont dare to connect the laptop to their pharmacy system not
even for printing.
The box is stable now - but I would not choose it again. But it tought
me I need a router too.
I choose a GrandStream ATA-486. The box is a VoIP gateway for old analog
phones. That is why I choose it.
It did not work behind my old linux router (IBM 486-SCL/II 66 MHz)
guess why? Too slow!
The ATA is a NAT Router, that is why I choose it. It replaced my linux
router and works fine since then.
Problems:
It breaks from time to when my ISP forced disconnect hits every 24 hours.
Mostly works but sometimes I have to reset it manually.
It breaks traceroute. I dont know if it always did. But there could have
been an automatic software update. It could have happened then
Experimenting, I have used the box as router. I have used the box with
both PPPoE and DHCP. It only does NAT.
Now I am looking dor a real router.
The CISCO PIX would be my choice if I had the money and if CISCO was a
bit more adult.
But seeing them mudwrestling now, having experienced first hand how
difficult and expensive it is to get updates that copany is out of
question.
My next choice probably will be some kind of linux box that is supported
but that I can fix it I ever need too.
I am still using my linux router. Mostly it is a server now. For me
their support is great:
http://www.fli4l.de/
http://www.eisfair.org
If I did not speak german, I dont know if I chose it.
But my box did run for years without me looking at. I know quite some
people who use it without ever looking after the box
My experiences with Linksys (and Netscreen, which isn't really at the
price point I wanted anyway) have caused me to rip out substantial
amounts of my already insufficient hair.
Have a look at HP. Their support is great. I could get all my updates
for free. Their downloadable handbooks, free, were good. I never had
any problems with them.
"Cisco 1700 series" or "Cisco 2600XM" would be nice answers if their
price had the decimal point moved one place to the left. Linux or
other non-vendor-supplied firmware, while cool, represents an
unacceptable support load for my application.
The support load for CISCO will be much higher than for the linux box.
Dont forget their red-tape departement
Any thoughts?
http://www.nat32.com/nat32e/htm/dg834g.htm
Overview
The Netgear DG834G is a combined DSL Modem,
NAT Firewall/Router,
4-port 10/100 Ethernet Switch and 802.11b/g Access Point
housed in a rather large (26cm x 17cm) plastic case.
The device can be wall-mounted to improve WLAN range,
and an external antenna can be connected if needed.
Internally, the DG834G contains a 150 MHz MIPS 4KEc CPU
running Embedded Linux, the source code for which is available
Note that the D-Link G604T uses the same CPU and OS,
so it most likely has very similar features and performance.
---Rob
Regards,
Peter and Karin Dambier
