Just bought a G4 and am in the process of getting Earthlink DSL, but just came across this warning in a bulletin board: OSX offers "no support for PPPoE DSL connections like those provided by Earthlink." I plan on porting to OSX eventually, so should I reconsider getting DSL from Earthlink?
No support for PPPoE DSL connections
- Thread starter Jonas Cox
- Start date
Yes, its true - no PPPoE is supported in the beta. By the time of the true release, the PPPoE software *should* be available.
But there is an alternative - an expensive one. You can purchase a DSL router from MacSense or LinkSys which has on-board support for PPPoE. Easy to set up and works with OS X. However, the cost is over $100.
PPPoE is an abomination; a screwy idea of applying the PPP dialup protocol to always-on DSL. Stupid idea. Problem is, most DSL providers are forcing it on you.
But there is an alternative - an expensive one. You can purchase a DSL router from MacSense or LinkSys which has on-board support for PPPoE. Easy to set up and works with OS X. However, the cost is over $100.
PPPoE is an abomination; a screwy idea of applying the PPP dialup protocol to always-on DSL. Stupid idea. Problem is, most DSL providers are forcing it on you.
Someone has developed a fix for this, and I am using my SWBell PPPoE DSL connection right now on OSX. You have to go into the command line and it's not very user-friendly, but if you follow the directions exactly it will work great. For instructions go to
http://media.helioshealth.net:8080/
http://media.helioshealth.net:8080/
Once the fix is applied, does it work automatically on start up ? In other words, must one go each time in the terminal window to set up ADSL after each restart in X or is it a "one time set up forget it afterwards" setting ?
MY ADSL provider (or maybe is it the software that was provided to me for OS 9), has the bad habit of droping the line when the ADSL has not been used for a certain time. I don't know if other providers do that, but if they do, what is this PPoE software's reaction to this situation : auto-detect and auto-reconnect (my wish) or wait for a human hand ?
has anyone gotten this working under sympatico access manager? I installed the path and went into the command line and followed all of the given instructions...i like it's set up right.....when trying to connect, my modem blinks and sends info out, but does not get anything coming back
any ideas
thanks
Josh
any ideas
thanks
Josh
When you use the Roaring Penguin PPPoE you can only connect once each time you boot. If you were to get disconnected you would have to reboot and type in 3 commands in the terminal to get it going again. Personally, I haven't rebooted OSX in nearly a week and have been using the same connection all that time. So for me it is not a problem, but if your provider has a bad habit of disconnecting you, then you will have ro reboot each time and retype in those commands to get back online.
-Dan
When it comes to computers and thier rules I never ask why, I just follow them, and I know from trying it myself that this rule is true. But if you are interested in learning why you can probably find out at MacNN.com. There is a very lengthy thread in the MacOSX forum in which the guy who ported Roaring Penguin to OSX collaborated with several other of the posters there on getting it to work. The link is http://forums.macnn.com/cgi-bin/Forum3/HTML/000861.html You will have to wade through 139 posts though. This would also be a good place to start if anyone is having problems with it since many many people have posted their troubleshooting questions there and had them answered. There are several people in that forum who are by now very knowledgeable about this program.
-Dan
MasonMcD
Registered
I'm a complete CLI newbie, and I'm posting PPPoE from Verizon with MacPoET on OS X. Don't be intimidated by the instructions. Just keep plugging away. It took me a couple of hours, but I eventually got it.
Oh, those commands that seem so onerous are 1) adsl-start 2) adsl-status and 3) route add default xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx which you get from the adsl-status command. Not too hard if I can do it. My default route is always the same (I'm assuming a router at the CO, or maybe my Wellfleet modem. Don't know if it acts as a router) so after the first couple of times, you can connect pretty effortlessly.
Oh, those commands that seem so onerous are 1) adsl-start 2) adsl-status and 3) route add default xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx which you get from the adsl-status command. Not too hard if I can do it. My default route is always the same (I'm assuming a router at the CO, or maybe my Wellfleet modem. Don't know if it acts as a router) so after the first couple of times, you can connect pretty effortlessly.
Yes, I know that Apple argues that MacOSX does not require you to ever look at the command line, but if you want to use the latest apps that have been ported over from unix like Roaring Penguin or Seti@home then you should go ahead and get comfortable using the terminal. It is not as hard as it may seem at first.
I think I read somewhere that you could make scripts that would automatically execute terminal commands. Does anyone know how to do this?
-Dan
I think I read somewhere that you could make scripts that would automatically execute terminal commands. Does anyone know how to do this?
-Dan
), combined with the scripting language of the terminal... (did I say I went to http://media.helioshealth.net:8080/, downloaded and installed PPPoE, configured my OSX environment -- followed the instructions meticulously. In 5 minutes, I was up and running. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
glowurm@mac.com
aH-NAH :: GHASAD-Ha
PPPoE support is native in my 4K78 build and it has been indicated that it is native in the release/GM (Supposedly the 4K78 build is the GM)