A while back, I reported issues with my 3Com Home Connect Dual Link ADSL modem. Well, I’ve got more issues again. This time it’s even worse. I can get the modem to connect to the ADSL service (Cable and Wireless, Guernsey) but for some unknown reason, my wireless router (a Belkin F5D6230) is refusing to play ball with it. Well, I say “unknown”, because I’m fairly certain it’s the PPPoE protocol that’s stitching it up.
Basically:-
ADSL companies in the UK, use a protocol called PPPoA to connect a modem to its computer to issue an internet connection. But some also use a protocol called PPPoE, where the E stands for ethernet. There is essentially little difference between the two protocols, allegedly the A version allows one user at a time, whereas the E should allow more than one user to use the connection by plugging in a hub or similar over the ethernet port. Hence the E. Anyway C&W uses the A version, but my all singing all dancing 3Com modem is allegedly able to convert between PPPoE and PPPoA. So after a lot of fartarsing around, I finally got the modem to connect to the internet, using a straight ethernet connection from my laptop and the excellent RASPPPOE dialer – why is this necessary? Because 3Com being 3Com decided that they’d write their own fancy version of PPPoE called PPPoE:3Com – the problem being that my wireless router doesn’t speak said language, and as a result, it’s all gone tits up. I don’t really understand, it seems no-one on any forum understands it, and I’m all a bit stuck. And internetless. Pants.