[wplug] DSL prep

[Patrick Wagstrom]

Zach wrote:
> I've ordered DSL service from a local Verizon reseller called Nidhog
> on Penn Ave. I will be getting 728/128 service for $19.95 a month. He
> said I can have a free DSL modem and a static ip. I would like to
> prepare for this (expect techs to come in next week) so what should I
> do on my Linux side?

Zach,

There's been a lot of suggestions, some of which are more complicated than 
others -- some of which require lots of other equipment.  Here's some 
simple answers to your questions:

 > He said they run PPPoE so what will I have to do to get my connection
 > up once it is phsically setup?

Depends on the DSL modem.  Some DSL modems abstract all that away from you 
and just make it work.  At least my DSL modems in the past have done that.

 > How will I bring up my connection? If I need to bring it down how
 > would I do that?

In most cases, your network card should try and poll for an IP address when 
it senses that an ethernet plug is connected.  It's been years since I've 
found a wired NIC that didn't work in Linux, so it should "just work".  The 
easiest way to shutdown and restart the interfaces is probably just to use:

sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart

You can also use the argument "start", "stop", etc.

 > Since I'll have my own static ip how would I go about getting my own
 > domain? He said I can run my own webserver. Not sure about mailserver.

This gets into some hairier issues, and you'll get debates about what 
registrar is the best.  To start with, I'd just get a dynamic DNS name from 
http://www.dyndns.org/.  These are free domains that are something like 
YOURHOST.dyndns.org or YOURHOST.homeip.net.  If your IP ever changes, then 
you use a simple client script to update your address with their DNS.

If you want your own domain, you'll need to go through a registrar.  I've 
been happy with nearlyfreespeech.net -- they're affordable and provide free 
DNS hosting for your domain.  Domains cost around $10/yr give or take a few 
bucks depending on who you go through.  You'll need a credit card or paypal 
at most sites to pay for the domain.

With regards to a mailserver, my personal suggestion is don't.  In my 
experience, mail has become a huge pain because of the spam and the need to 
run spam filters, create accounts, etc.  If you're willing to make the 
tradeoff, I recommend the free version of google apps for domains.  They'll 
provide a gmail interface for your domain, give you 6+GB of storage an 
account, spam filtering, jabber, etc.  Some people are paranoid about the 
privacy implications of this -- but at least you have a good chance that 
your mail will work properly.  Running your own server is a good way to get 
blackholed if you're not careful.

People have also talked a little about firewalls.  Running a Linux box wide 
open on the internet can be done, and you'll probably be fine, but I tend 
to shy away from it.  You may want to consider picking up a WRT-54GL and 
installing DD-WRT on it.  This is a combination wireless access point and 
router with a nifty web interface for configuration.  It handles all the 
issues with managing PPPoE and DynDNS domain names.  It's also an virtual 
certainty that your installer will know exactly what to do to set one up. 
They're nearly ubiquitous.

With DD-WRT you can SSH into the router and install additional programs or 
configure settings through the command line.  This allows you to go beyond 
the simple port forwarding and set up things like port knocking on the machine.

Hope this helps!

--Patrick