I've hacked up a quick list of FAQs about Chello, please feel free to
suggest more questions. It's a very untity list, but it's a start..

Dan, feel free to add this to the FAQ you maintain :)

---CUT---
Chello Frequently Asked Questions <dave2@earthling.net>
v0.01 (2 June 2000)
---------------------------------------------------------------------

The Questions:

 1. Does Chello support Linux/FreeBSD/MacOS/<insert your non-Windows OS>?
 2. Do I need a cross-over cable from my ethernet card to the cable modem?
 3. Can I get a static IP address?
 4. How is the dynamic address assigned?
 5. How often do the IP addresses change?
 6. Will I need to set any routes, DNS servers, etc?
 7. Where do I put my username and password for the connection?
 8. How secure is the connection provided? Will I need a firewall?
 9. Will Unreal Touranment/DirectPlay/<insert protocol here> work?
10. I see they have web proxies, are you forced to use them?
11. Chello appears to be based on web mail, please tell me they have a
    real POP server!
12. Can I connect my NAT/Masq/l33t gateway to Chello?
13. Is it _really_ flat rate?
14. What's the latency (ping times) like?

The Answers:

1. Does Chello support Linux/FreeBSD/MacOS/<insert your non-Windows OS>?

   Chello requires:
     - Any ethernet card with a RJ45 (UTP) connector
     - A DHCP Client on your OS

   If you can provide those things, Chello will work.

2. Do I need a cross-over cable from my ethernet card to the cable modem?
 
   You shouldn't need to provide your own cable (or ethernet card either,
   if you're running Windows), but for those interested the one supplied
   is _not_ a cross-over cable.

3. Can I get a static IP address?
 
   No. Chello seems very firm on not supplying static IP addresses.

4. How is the dynamic address assigned?

   Chello operate a DHCP server, and since the cable modem acts more like
   and ethernet bridge than a modem, your ethernet card is assigned a real
   live public address via DHCP.

5. How often do the IP addresses change?

   The DHCP server sets a lease timeout of 24 hours. It would be fair to
   assume the address will change that often, assuming your machine is
   not requesting an address at any other time (eg, Windows will do so
   on boot.)

6. Will I need to set any routes, DNS servers, etc?

   No, these are all carried by DHCP. Your machine should configure these
   automagically.

7. Where do I put my username and password for the connection?

   Nowhere. The cable modem seems to be tied to your account in the
   back end, so there's no username/password on it to set.

8. How secure is the connection provided? Will I need a firewall?

   Your computer will have a public IP address, with no filtering done
   by the cable modem. It has about the same level of security as a
   normal dialup, in other words: none. If you are not reasonably careful
   about what you plug in, what you share, etc then you will be at risk.

   Personally I wouldn't connect to Chello without a firewall, but
   YMMV.

9. Will Unreal Touranment/DirectPlay/<insert protocol here> work?

   Anything that works on a normal dialup modem, will work without any
   special settings on a Chello connection.

10. I see they have web proxies, are you forced to use them?

   Nope, but they do seem to make a significant difference.

11. Chello appears to be based on web mail, please tell me they have a
   real POP server!

   Yes, thankfully! pop.chello.co.nz, standard port.

12. Can I connect my NAT/Masq/l33t gateway to Chello?
 
   Although the terms and conditions specifically talk about not allowing
   multiple PCs on the same connection, I believe this does not refer
   to NAT/Masq gateways. Certainly the installer I dealt with had no
   problems with the presence of one.

13. Is it _really_ flat rate?

   It would appear so. But like any flat rate deal, how much real
   bandwidth you get compared to the advertised bandwidth is anyone's
   guess.

14. What's the latency (ping times) like?

   Latency to hosts within Saturn and those on Citylink that are WIX-aware
   seem to be pretty good, around 40ms, but varies considerably between
   20 and 200ms. More distant hosts seem to gain around 300ms at seemingly
   random points, I haven't figured out why this is occuring.
---CUT--

-- 
David Zanetti <dave2@earthling.net> | "It doesn't matter a damn what the
Moderator, nz.politics.announce     |  [ISOCNZ] members think or say"
#include <geek/unix.h>              | Jim Higgins, (then) ISOCNZ chairman
This message is part of the NZ Broadband mailing list.
see http://freebsddiary.cx/adsl/ for archives, FAQ,
and various documents.
To unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@freebsddiary.cx
with "unsubscribe adsl" in the body of the message