ISDN and Linux?

[Lasse Saarinen]

On 06 Aug 2001 20:55:39 +0000, Gregory J.Neumann wrote:
> Well, I've reached the bitter end in the "Quest for Access", ISDN.
>>From 
> what little experience I've had w/ Linux and internet access,
POTS/Modem 
> and Cable Modem, I would expect that ISDN access and routing to other 
> computers is a doable thing.  But I have no clue and providers don't
do 
> much to help!  Has anybody had any experience with Linux/ISDN setups?
> Any "gotchas" to look out for?  It's still iffy if we can get ISDN,
but 
> I'd like to be prepared.
> 
> TIA
> Greg-- 
> Gregory J. Neumann, E-mail: gjn at certainlywood.com
> Certainly Wood Inc., 13000 Route 78, East Aurora, NY 14052-9515
> Tel: 716-655-0206 ext. 206, Fax: 716-655-3446


OK, here comes my glorious comback to the list. Hello to all of those
who know me...

I now work for Auria Networks, the second largest telco operator in
Finland. ISDN has been a lot more popular as a home user service over
here than in the US. One of my jobs is to monitor and maintain the IAS
systems that integrate the 5000+ local ISDN lines coming through the
telco switches with the IP network that leads to the Internet. Thus, I
have a whole bunch of ISDN lines coming into my office for testing
purposes, and I also have a fancy assortment of different ISDN adapter
cards at my disposal. In the last month I've had a good chance to test
these cards on this Linux box I have here, and I must say most of them
work quite as advertised. For most of them, Linux drivers do exist and
Mandrake 8.0 even regocnizes and sets them up during installation with
no trouble (usually =)). There also is a myriad of ISDN software tools
available for Linux. There's no shortage of dialers and configuration
tools. ISDN always beats POTS 56K modem line hands down, even when only
using one B channel for a 64K connections. And of course you can always
use the second B channel simultaneously for a 128K connection. The
establishment of the connection is almost instantaneus, since there's
none of the negotiateon hassle of analog modems. Because of this, ISDN
lines also work nice in dial-on-demand configurations. If you can't get
"real" broadband sevice to your house, I think ISDN is a very good
option, just as long as you ISP can provide some decent service and
reasonable pricing. I can't say Verizon could boast with such merits,
though...


    - Lasse