[BUGA] Re: [sa-auug] VoIP connections (was: adsl2+ modems)

[Brett Lymn]

On Tue, Sep 06, 2005 at 03:18:00PM +0930, Greg 'groggy' Lehey wrote:
> 
> To dig out this old thread again: I find myself in the market for a
> new ADSL modem rather sooner than I expected, and VoIP has now also
> reared its ugly head.  From my particular point of view, I evaluate
> ADSL modem features roughly like this:
> 
>   ADSL2/2+	    very important
>   switch	    unimportant (what can you do with only 4 ports?)
>   802.11	    unimportant (already have the infrastructure)
>   Firewall	    unimportant (run a carefully tuned one myself)
>   QoS		    unsure (haven't investigated)
>   VoIP gateway	    unsure (in the process of investigating)
> 
> Looking at the price of the 7402 VGP, it's a lot higher (2.5 x) than
> the Billion 5102 el cheapo modem that claims to do the one thing I
> find very important.  In fact, they're so much more expensive that I
> could pay for one, for Internode's SPA-3000 adaptor, and still have
> money over.
> 

I have a Zyxel 2602HWL which, I think, is a bit more than the Billion
(though they may have come down a bit in price since I bought).  It
does all the requirements (only adsl2 at the moment - waiting for a
firware upgrade for 2+).  The one I have has an integrated ATA which
means I can plug a "normal" phone handset into the beast and it will
"just work" (not that I have tested this yet).  I have not had any
problems with the modem, it will quite easily cope with 10Mbit/s
downloads which is currently the best my adsl connection will do - I
maxed out the link to a well connected machine on the internet.

To my mind cheap adsl equipment is like cheap beer - not worth the
pain and suffering it induces.  Some of my workmates have gone the
cheap option with their adsl modems and the wailing and gnashing of
teeth this caused (and, the expense because they get sick of the
unreliability and rebuy) is something I willingly pay more not to
have.

-- 
Brett Lymn