are all cable modems external?
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Posted by Jen on April 3, 2005, 11:12 pm
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I'm new to cable internet access and am researching Modems. From these discussions, the Motorola SURFboard 5100 modem seems pretty hot, and Linksys seems to be good for its routers. I'm trying to keep my total footprint very small (cute little Shuttle XPC), and wondered if there even was such a thing as an internal cable modem, just as there is for dial-up access. Also, I need firewall hardware, not just the firewall software. Do I need to buy a modem and router (only one PC needs access at a time) and a firewall all separately, or are any of these manufactured in a combined product? -- Jen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by Warren on April 3, 2005, 9:38 pm
Please log in for more thread options Jen wrote:  companies' lists of acceptable modems. They may be DOCSIS compliant, but that's only the first level of compatibility. The cable company has to be willing to support the modem with config files, and firmware updates. An internal cablemodem also has the disadvantages that it cannot be separately reset, and would also require OS-specific drivers. So even if the stars align, and your cable company allows any of the internal modems available, you'd be paying a high price just for cosmetic purposes. Most OS's can also act as routers. Windows has Internet Connection Sharing, for example. With multiple NIC's, and the right software, it can be done -- just not well. The computer's primary purpose is to run applications, and while pre-emptive multitasking is a wonderful thing, it's not a great environment to be running network routing services at the same time. And if you have an undersized case, there probably isn't room for multiple NIC's. The simple, consumer-level "broadband" router combines basic router capabilities, and provides a basic firewall as a side effect of using NAT. NAT means that each computer on your LAN has an internal IP address, and the only IP address that faces the rest of the world is the single, shared address of the router. Thus incoming packets need to be expected so they can be translated to the right internal node. A true firewall goes far beyond NAT, and would be a separate box. However, based on the questions you're asking, you are highly unlikely to be in a category that requires more firewall protection than a NAT router can provide. There are cablemodem / router combinations, however they also have deficiencies that far outweigh any cosmetic reasons for wanting them in a single device. If aesthetics are so important that you just can't have these boxes near your desk, Cat5 Ethernet cable can be up to 100 meters long, so you can always place your cablemodem and router in another room, and have nothing but the cable coming out of the wall. -- Warren H. ========== Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife. Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants to go outside now. Care for your landscape with Black and Decker cordless tools http://www.holzemville.com/mall/blackanddecker/index.html | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by Elmo P. Shagnasty on April 4, 2005, 9:49 am
Please log in for more thread options Ummmm, DOCSIS compliant means the cable company can by definition support the unit with config files. As for firmware updates....no, they don't. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by Giles Harney on April 4, 2005, 10:33 am
Please log in for more thread options LOL. That is all good in the theoretical world but in the real world you will find that its not the case. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by Ron Hunter on April 4, 2005, 11:54 pm
Please log in for more thread options Giles Harney wrote: Oh, they CAN, which isn't quite the same as 'they WILL'. -- Ron Hunter rphunter@charter.net | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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> discussions, the Motorola SURFboard 5100 modem seems pretty hot, and
> Linksys seems to be good for its routers. I'm trying to keep my total
> footprint very small (cute little Shuttle XPC), and wondered if there
> even was such a thing as an internal cable modem, just as there is for
> dial-up access.
>
> Also, I need firewall hardware, not just the firewall software. Do I
> need to buy a modem and router (only one PC needs access at a time) and
> a firewall all separately, or are any of these manufactured in a
> combined product?