DSL Setup
General – Common To All Carriers
If your line is shared with any other devices such as telephones, fax machines, or dial-up modems, you need to install a DSL filter between those devices and the telephone line. You do this by unplugging the device from the telephone jack, plugging in the DSL filter, and then plugging in the device. If you do not install DSL filters, your DSL connection may be slow, intermittent or non-existent. Do NOT install a DSL filter between the DSL modem and line. Also, use the phone cord provided with the DSL modem. Non-twisted pair telephone cords, such as the “silver satin” type provided with other devices, do not propagate the high frequencies used by the DSL modem well and can cause the modem either not to work at all, or to get a poor signal and provide a slower connection.
Since every brand of modem is different, you will need to consult your DSL modem manual to determine how to navigate to where you can put these items in. Basically, you will usually need the protocol, the DSL username, and the DSL password. Sometimes you will also need to manually configure VPI and VCI, that identifies a virtual circuit but most modems will auto detect this.
DSL modems have a built-in web server for you to use to configure them. These will be listening on some numerical address such as 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1, or 192.168.1.254. The specific address depends upon the brand, look in your modem manual. These web severs will work even when you are not connected to the Internet. However, Internet Explorer may refuse to talk while you are offline. I recommend using a less confused browser such as Firefox or Chrome for setting your connection up initially.
CenturyLink
CenturyLink circuits are usually set to auto connect with either PPPOE or PPPOA, so either of these protocols will work.
In CenturyLink territory you will be assigned a username and password. The username will be whatever your chosen login here is with ‘@dsl.eskimo.net’ after it. For example, if your e-mail address here were ‘joeschmo@eskimo.com’, then your DSL username would be ‘joeschmo@dsl.eskimo.net’. Your initial password may or may not be the same as your DSL password. You will be notified of your DSL password.
If your modem does not properly determine VPI/VCI, the correct values to use in CenturyLink territory will be 0 and 32.
All Other Carriers
These carriers use only PPPOE, so set your DSL modem protocol to PPPOE.
In all other service areas the DSL username will be your ten digit DSL telephone number plus @value.net. You will be assigned a password different from your e-mail password.
If your modem does not properly determine VPI/VCI, the correct values to use will be 0 and 35.
Wireless
Before you attempt to setup a wireless connection, first be sure that the connection from your modem to the Internet is working properly, otherwise it can be difficult to isolate a problem that is between your computer and your wireless modem router from a problem that is between your modem router and the Internet. You can most easily do this by plugging an ethernet cable into the modem and your computer and configuring your computer to at least temporarily used this wireless connection.
Wireless Encryption
Most wireless modem / routers will support WEP, WPA, and WPA2 encryption. The first is the least secure, the last is the most secure, and none of them are entirely secure. It is my recommendation that if you use a wireless device, use WPA2 if possible and use secure connections over it, ssh for terminal sessions, https for web.
Wireless Setup
You will need to configure the node name, security encryption, and username and password for devices to connect via a wireless connection. The specifics of how to do this different with each modem and device, so again, you will need to consult your manual.