having given up on trying to get my alcatel speed touch usb adsl modem to work under mandrake 9.1.... i have heard that it is very easy to get an adsl connection under mandrake with a router.

if this is the case what should i buy and how do i set it up

i would really like to get an adsl connection with linux as i want to get rid of my windows partiton altogether and this is stopping me

Use the westell a90 it is a adsl modem + gatway router + dhcp server very kick ass

will this be easy to set up as i dont want to buy it only to not be able to set it up, what does setting it up involve?

It uses a linksys like web interface. I like to use mozilla to set it up/

I would think any modem that is compatable with your ISP service with a RJ45 ethernet connection instead of a USB will work.

RJ45 is much easier to set up. usb networking sucks

As mentioned, if your DSL modem has an Ethernet (RJ-45) input, any of the commercial broadband gateway routers will work with Linux. The routers are transparent to Linux, so no drivers are necessary. Routers of this type from Linksys are popular and reliable, and I've personally had excellent experiences with Netgear's models as well.

The only thing I can think of that you might have to look for is that if your DSL provider uses the PPPoE protocol (many do), the router will have to support PPPoE as well.

Most of today's broadband routers provide all sorts of useful features such as the ability to act as a DHCP server for the machines on your LAN, NAT/firewall capabilities, port forwarding, user-friendly Web/browser-based configuration utilities, etc.

The Westel A90 has a RJ-45 out put. It has a dhcp server and limited firewall but I like to run smoothwall in my store.

well i have a pci adsl modem, do i just connect the router to this? sorry i am very new to routers etc, can someone explain it to me VERY basic

thanks

PCI adsl + USB Router. Really nice selection of hardware
You know, there's always ebay to sell this stuff and get some standard hardware:

-Ethernet + external adsl modem(connected via Ethernet) + DSL-Router(eth based)

Sorry- I was assuming that the modem was an external model, not PCI. Unfortunately, the router needs to be connected between the computer and the modem (via an Ethernet or USB cable), which isn't something you can accomplish with a PCI modem because the modem is directly connected to the computer through the PCI bus.

*--> In your first post you said you had an Alcatel USB modem, which would indicate an external model, not PCI. Can you clarify my confusion?

i have both, i have a pci that i use for windows, i couldnt get it to work with linux, my friend said that the alcatel usb is easy to set up in mandrake but i havent managed to do it, it is not showing up in usbview, i have the drivers etc but i cannot get linux to even 'see' it

Best way to get DSL working under Linux is the standard ethernet solution.
The most simple way is to use an ethernet card together with an external ADSL Modem and a DSL Router(no USB).

You could even do without a router and then set up the connection via the Roaring Penguin software (rpppoe). It comes with your Mandrake CDs and I found it to be the easiest way to get connected with Mandrake. (Though with a Router its even easier)

Wolfgang

The reason I say to use that modem / router is that It will make DSL setup as eary as a cable setup. It will do the dsl side connection for you. That way you do not have to install anc configer a ppoe client. You can just stard a dhcp client and be on line. Just like cable.