How to setup your cable modem under Linux

   
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   
   
   _Disclaimer:_ The information contained herein is NOT official
   information of any kind and there are no warranties to the accuracy of
   the data. All information is provided in good faith. Use at your own
   risk.
   
   
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   
   
   Vladimir Vuksan, vuksan@veus.hr
   v 2.5, Last revised: January 29th, 1998
   
   This document attempts to answer basic questions on how to connect
   your Linux box to cable modem or cable Internet provider. This list is
   in no way complete, I try to add things up every so often so if you
   don't find information you are looking for you can try getting the
   latest version of this document at
   http://www.cro.net/~vuksan/cable.html. I might have included some new
   info in the meantime. Also if you have some corrections and additions
   please do not hesitate to e-mail me.
   
   
   
Is your ethernet card working ?

   
   
   All of the setups below use ethernet cards (network cards) to connect
   you somehow to the Internet. That is why first we need to check if
   your ethernet card is working and most importantly can be used (read
   is supported) in Linux. There is a comprehensive Ethernet HOWTO at
   http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/HOWTO/Ethernet-HOWTO.html if you would
   like to read it otherwise try this.
   
   Boot into Linux
   
   During boot up a message like this should appear
   

eth0: 3c509 at 0x300 tag 1, 10baseT port, address  00 20 af ee 01 23, IRQ 10.
3c509.c:1.07 6/15/95 becker@cesdis.gsfc.nasa.gov

   
   
   If you missed it type
   
dmesg

   
   
   If you see a message like that you are set and you can go to the next
   section. If you can't see a message like this there are two possible
   explanations, your ethernet card is PNP (plug-n-play) and you need to
   use tools such as isapnptools to get it recognized (I am not quite
   sure on this because I don't have a single PNP card so correct me if I
   am wrong). The other explanation is that you need to set up your card.
   Most cards today come with DOS programs that are used to setup your
   card. For example to get my 3COM 3c509 to work all I needed to do is
   boot into DOS and use a utility to configure my card. There is usually
   a Auto Configure option. If that does not solve your problem try
   changing the IRQ for the card using the same utility. I find that
   usually IRQs 10,11 and 12 work well. If none of this solves your
   problem please read the Ethernet HOWTO referenced above or post to a
   newsgroup such as comp.os.linux.setup or comp.os.linux.networking.
   
Who is my ISP ?

   
   
   If you think you have the card recognized you have to now look at the
   entry for your ISP. I have sorted the information according to a
   provider because setups are mostly ISP specific.
   
   MediaOne Express
   
   @Home/@Work
   
   RoadRunner
   
   Rogers Wave
   
   Sunflower Cablevision
   
   Jones Intercable
   
   GTE Worldwind
   
   Telstra Bigpond Cable, Australia 
   
MediaOne Express

   
   
   MediaOne Express is a Internet cable service provided by MediaOne. The
   hardware setup consists of a cable modem produced by LanCity or
   General Instruments which plugs into an ethernet card using a 10BaseT
   (UTP-45) cable. Assignment of IP addresses and other networking
   information is done using DHCP which stands for Dynamic Host
   Configuration Protocol. The only thing you need to do is read the
   DHCPcd mini-HOWTO and configure your system appropriately. There no
   other necessary configuration. DHCPcd mini-HOWTO can be found at
   http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/HOWTO/mini/DHCPcd.html.
   
   There is also Linux & MediaOne FAQ which I would you should read.
   
   Information about MediaOne Service can be found at their Web site at
   http://www.mediaone.com
   
   
   
@Home/@Work

   
   
   From what I understand @Home uses a similar kind of setup as MediaOne
   (to be investigated....)
   
   If you are experiencing problems with @Home and Linux check out the
   message from Dan Sullivan dsulli@home.com
   
   
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   _I finally got my cable modem working under Linux with @Home. Feel
   free to reproduce anything from now on. Here's the details:
   
   Before you try anything, go to control panel, network, and properties
   for your network card. Write down all of the information. You will
   need it later.
   
   TCI, the company that runs @Home issues a Etherlink III 3c509b NIC for
   all of their customers. What TCI does not tell you is that when they
   install your ethernet card, it is in PnP mode. Now in Slakware, if you
   uncomment the proper line for this card, everything will appear to be
   working fine. There will be no system problems, but the 'PC' light on
   your CyberSURFR modem will never turn on. If you are using Slakware,
   and are having this problem, reboot in DOS and skip the next
   paragraph.
   
   In RedHat5, your system will have some trouble autodetecting the card.
   If you try to pass the paramaters manually, the system will hang. This
   should be obvious that your card is not setup properly. Before wasting
   anymore time, reboot in DOS (This is a must because as of 12/25/97,
   there is no utility written for Linux to turn off PnP and turn on
   ISA.)
   
   TCI does not give out a utility disk for your ethernet card, so you
   must download the utility from one of 3Com's sites. Here is a direct
   link to the file you need:
   
   ftp://ftp.3com.com/pub/network-interface-cards/shipping-drivers/3c509x
   .exe
   
   Once you have downloaded that file, put it in a temporary (or
   permanent) directory. Run it (self-extracting).
   
   There is a file that will be extracted called 'Pnpdsabl.bat'. You will
   need to run this batch file. Once that is out of the way, your card
   will be set to ISA not PnP. Fortunately, the ISA works in Linux.
   
   What you've now done has made your ethernet card 'broken' in Windows
   95. You'll need to go to Control Panel, Network, and remove the
   network card and the adapter. Reboot your computer, and again go back
   to control panel. Go to add/remove new hardware, and have it
   autodetect. It will automatically setup the correct i/o address for
   you. You will most likely need to reboot again. Now you should be in
   Windows 95, with the 'PC' light on your cable modem on. You will also
   notice that none of your internet applications seem to work, you can't
   ping, and you can't resolve DNS. You now must go back to control
   panels, network, and click on properties for your network card (not
   the adapter). Re-enter all the data you wrote down, and reboot.
   
   With a little luck, your ethernet card should be working in Windows
   95, and ready to rock in Linux.
   
   Hope this might help some people.
   
   Dan Sullivan _
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   
   
   If you live Hampton Roads, VA you should read a little note from Mark
   Solomon:
   
   
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   _With the @home service in Hampton Roads, VA, it is absolutly
   neccessary to run dhcpcd-0.70 (or higher) that supports the "-h"
   option to specify the hostname of your computer. Without this switch
   the @home dhcpcd server will not assign addresses. _
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   
   
   Information about @Home Service can be found at their Web site at
   http://www.home.com
   
RoadRunner

   
   
   RoadRunner is an Internet cable service provided by Excalibur Group
   (Time Warner). The hardware setup consists of a cable modem produced
   by Motorola and Toshiba which plugs into an ethernet card using a
   10BaseT (UTP-45) cable. The details about Linux setup for Road Runner
   can be found at http://home.neo.lrun.com/rrlinux/
   
   If that works out for you great, otherwise if it doesn't and you live
   in San Diego area this page might be of help
   http://people.qualcomm.com/karn/rr/index.html
   
   Information about RoadRunner Service can be found at their Web site at
   http://www.rr.com
   
Rogers Wave

   
   
   The hardware setup consists of a cable modem produced by LanCity which
   plugs into an ethernet card using a 10BaseT (UTP-45) cable.
   
   I don't know how RW operates but there is a pretty good page at
   http://home.on.rogers.wave.ca/mreid/rogwave/index.html explaining
   other aspects of the service.
   
   Other information about Rogers Wave Service can be found at their Web
   site at http://www.rogerswave.ca
   
Sunflower Cablevision

   
   
   This information is provided by Andrew Novick:
   
   _"I recently saw your cable modem howto and I have an addition.
   Sunflower Cable is a company stricly in Lawrence KS, however we have a
   rather large Linux community because of the University of Kansas. On
   our local LUG mailing list, we are starting to get more and more
   questions on how to configure their linux machine for the cable modem.
   It is just regular static addressing, and the modem is made by
   Zenith." _
   
   To configure your Linux box make sure you get all the pertinent
   information from the Cablevision tech support or use these.
   
         1. IP address: Assigned by SunFlower Cablevision
         2. Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
         3. Gateway (router) address: 24.124.11.254
         4. Hostname: Assigned by SunFlower Cablevision
         5. Domain name: lawrence.ks.us
         6. Primary DNS server (nameserver): 24.124.0.1
         7. Secondary DNS server (nameserver): 24.124.0.6
            
   
   
   Have all those numbers written down before you proceed. To register,
   visit http://www.sunflower.com. To register in the lawrence.ks.us
   domain contact Stephen Spencer at gladiatr@artorius.sunflower.com
   
   Under RedHat use Control Panel and Network Configuration to put in
   these numbers. Just say Add Interface, Device type=Ethernet, Device
   name=eth0 (this is zero not O in eth0) then fill out all the fields.
   Then click activate.
   
   In Slackware type netconfig. When you are finished reboot and you
   should be up and running.
   
   If this doesn't work make sure you do network card troubleshooting.
   
Jones Intercable

   
   
   According to Bob Kimble:
   
   _Jones Internet Cable supplies a Hybrid cable modem that connects to
   your machine / network via 10BaseT ethernet. They provide you with a
   static IP address for your machine, and another static IP address for
   the modem. The modem acts as a gateway to their network. Your IP
   address and the modem IP address are on the same network and have the
   same network mask (in my case 255.255.255.0 -- 24 bits). They also
   provide two DNS IP addresses which you enter into your configuration.
   I just entered the numbers when I installed Red Hat Linux 5 and it
   worked like a champ from the beginning. Since then I have configured
   my Linux machine to enable IP masquerading and domain name services,
   and it now acts as a router for my entire private network. My other
   machines are connected via a private network using the addresses
   192.168.0.x. They are running Windows 95, Windows NT (Intel and Alpha)
   and OS/2. My Linux machine has two IP addresses -- the one from the
   cable company and one from the 192.168.0.x private network. Everything
   works like a champ. All six machines can browse the web
   simultaneously. My kids are even able to connect to their favorite
   game site, "The Realm" from Sierra. _
   
   According to Mike Hughes:
   
   _The information you provided for Rogers Wave works for GTE WorldWind
   cable modem services also. However, GTE's service is EXTREMELY slow,
   barely faster than ISDN. more information at http://www.psilord.com _
   
Telstra Bigpond Cable, Australia

   
   
   According to Douglas Garstang Linux cannot be used on Telstra's
   network due to proprietory software Telstra is using. Everyone should
   be advised to contact Telstra and demand that they make a Linux port
   of their access software :-). You can e-mail their Helpdesk at
   helpdesk@c3.telstra-mm.net.au. More about the whole thing from
   Douglas:
   
   _We have a Cable network here in Australia. It was launched officially
   to the public in May this year and its called "Telstra Big Pond
   Cable". Telstra, and its daughter company, Telstra Multimedia (who run
   the service) are the main communications carrier here.
   
   The network uses Motorola Cybersufr cable modems, over HFC available
   to a few million homes in the Sydney and Melbourne areas. Apparently,
   it was the biggest cable rollout ever. (sorry if I sound like a
   salesman... I used to work for them). The server complexes run Hewlett
   Packard software/hardware primarily I believe. The end user software
   is by NetManage.
   
   Unfortunately however, the connection between client systems and the
   server complex is partly proprietary and uses some form of internal
   "heartbeat" of some sort with Kerberos authentication. I'd tried with
   Kerberos on Linux, and dhcp but couldnt get any further than
   authenticating with the server complex. There are also all sorts of
   nasty firewalls in place and pretty horrific pricing.
   
   In short, Linux won't run with the network yet. The powers that be are
   promising big things for early next year.. (this is 1998) so I have my
   fingers crossed! _