[SGVLUG] SBC (Residential) Static-IP DSL Plans??

[Emerson, Tom]

> -----Original Message-----
> Behalf Of sean at seanodonnell.com
> 
> Hi All,
> 
> I'm considering getting a static-ip DSL plan from SBC...
> wanted to hear if anyone else has had a similar plan ...
> ---
> SBC Yahoo!® DSL Pro-S Package
> 1.5 to 3.0 Mbps	(down)
> 384 to 512 Kbps	(up)
> 5 Static IPs
> One year
> $49.99/mo
> ---

When I started with pacbell, DSL was "new", so I ended up with a single-static IP address (it was all they offered...) and (at the time) it was a hefty fee.  Now, I think I'm paying $25/month or so, but there are two distinct differences:
 - my speed range is 384/384 (technically symetrical, but only because 384 appears to be their minimum "up" speed)
 - one IP address instead of 5

At one point, I was offered a higher speed (up to 1.5), but it didn't work well past 780-800k, [service flat cut out...] so they capped me at 384 because I was "grandfathered" at the prior rate.  It is on my list of things-to-do to see whether or not this cap needs to remain [the other tidbit to this story is that when the problems cropped up, they now had testing equipment that showed I was at 40,000 wire feet...]
 
> The reason I'm considering getting this sort of ISP service, 
> is because I want to ... host my (low traffic) web sites
[...]
> Now, we all know, running a web server from your house is pretty
> unorthodox/ghetto, but it has and can be done (for low 
> traffic / non-critical sites).

Ghetto?  :)  I've been doing this since "day one" with the above setup (http://osnut.homelinux.net -- yes, served via dyndns...)  As it turns out, there is a *specific* clause in their terms-of-use/acceptable-use-policy that allows me to run a server -- as you can imagine, I don't want to make any changes to my account that would jepordize that, so... I live with 384k  (the clause, btw, says something like "users provisioned with a static IP prior to May 1st, 200?, may run servers" -- it is an extremely difficult clause to find, but it's in there...)

Since that time, I've also added on an e-mail sanitation service for my parents [I get their e-mail from their ISP, pass it through spamassassin, then make it available for them to pick up already tagged & sorted]

> I know the bandwidth is pretty shallow, but I've been getting 
[...]

I run awstats on my server, and I've managed 2gig outbound once (well, that was kind of cheating -- I have a number of .mp3's I've downloaded [legally!] that I keep on my server so I can "play" them from work -- one month hit 2gig, but in the past I have gone over 1gig when hosting video clips of rocket launches...)  Since I don't actively maintain my site [sigh...] my current "visitor list" consists of spiders and zombies

> SBC doesn't mention Linux anywhere in their support docs and 
> faq, but I have found some useful information from other Linux users

In my case, I have an Alcatel 1000 modem, which most people regard as "crap", but hey, it works for me :)  Since everything is done through the modem, I merely configure my external-side of the firewall with my fixed IP address and I'm golden.  I believe with the 5-IP plan you will receive a dedicated firewall/router [perhaps a Cayman?] that is relatively easy to configure.  Again, everything happens "within the modem", so you'll bassically plug into a TCP/IP port and treat it like part of your network.

> Does anyone here have any experience setting up a DNS server 
> using this type of SBC DSL Plan?

As I pointed out above, I'm using dyndns as a sub-domain to their generic "homelinux.net" domain.  You said you've used them in the past, so you're already familiar with what you need.

tom