Broadband Connection Question

[Roken]

With the upcoming PSU game coming, I know its a 'Broadband Only' game. I have dial-up however will switch to dsl or cable soon. What I want to know is, if I get either dsl or cable will that be considered a broadband connection? Anything high-speed?

[Dan21789]

Yes DSL or Cable is broadband and will be good enough to run PSU. I had dial-up for PSO v1, v2 and most of Ep. 1 & 2 and it still ran fine just took a bit longer to connect to the server.

[VioletSkye]

A broadband connection is typically anything with a 256kbps or higher downstream. Check pricing between the two (DSL and Cable) and check the pricing of the different speed tiers of service.

A few things to bear in mind (and these are just generalities.)
1. Cable is usually an easier setup and has less things to go wrong during the inital setup.

2. DSL (once up and running) can be more stable and have fewer connection issues (although I've have had mostly fantastic service with our cable.)

3. If you go with DSL and it doesn't work when you go to do the inital setup (meaning the DSL or equivilent light on the DSL modem doesn't light up) call and make sure they provisioned the correct line. Phone companies have a nasty habit of incorrectly provisioning the line or provisioning the wrong line (has happened to me twice and my fiancee once.)

4. Once you have your service up and running, run a few speed tests to make sure you are getting what you should be speed-wise. Speakeasy Speed tests (http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/). Make sure to run a few different tests from different places and run them multiple times. Go by your highest time.

5. If they want you to rent the modem, look into just buying a modem (which is usually cheaper in the long run.) Call and ask what modems are compatible with their service and unless you have intricate networking needs, you will most likely find a modem with routing capabilities so you don't have to buy a separate router. Many ISPs now offer wireless gateway modems that you can buy from them or you can get one locally from a store or order something from Newegg (http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/SubCategory.asp?SubCategory=18).


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: VioletSkye on 2006-06-23 20:58 ]</font>

[Roken]

Thanks for the information, and oh yeah if it helps/changes anything, Im playing off of PS2

[VioletSkye]

On 2006-06-23 23:01, Roken wrote:
Thanks for the information, and oh yeah if it helps/changes anything, Im playing off of PS2


If the router is near the PS2 you can go wired, otherwise pick up a wireless ethernet bridge (also called a wireless game adapter.) Some do not support WPA, but they should all support WEP.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: VioletSkye on 2006-06-23 23:04 ]</font>

[Roken]

I need to get a new router though, the one im using to plug into the hdd is for dial-up, so I WILL need a new line put in for the dsl or cable correct ? and whats WPA and WEP? Also, I heard that the wireless adapters after a month or a couple months can just stop working or something.

[VioletSkye]

What you have now is not a router but a Modem (a modem simply does the job of converting the analog signal carried over the phone line to a digital signal the pc can understand. It also converts the digital signal sent by the pc to analog to be carried back over the line to it's destination.) The router will "route" the traffic (packets) to each device connected to it. Unlike a Hub, it also has the ability to assign IP addresses (utilizing DHCP) to each device connected to it. Many ISPs now rent and/or sell wireless gateway modems that have the ability to route traffic and assign IPs also. Check with whatever company you decide to go with about what type of hardware they offer or at least what is compatible in case you decide to buy.

As for the wireless adapters, I suppose it depends on the quality of the adapter. Pretty much any device could stop working after x amount of time.

WEP is Wired Equivalent Privacy and uses the RC4 encryption algorithm (known as a string cipher) to protect your network from others getting in and stealing your bandwidth and/or getting into your system or network.

WPA is Wi-Fi Protected Access and is newer. It also uses an RC4 stream cipher to encrypt data but unlike WEP which is generally represented in hex (although it can use hex, ascii or a passphrase) and can't "rekey", WPA creates keys using any password you enter and also has the ability to change that key (rekey) after a specific amount of time or data has passed. WPA is also more standardized whereas WEP only equipment can be difficult to use together because different manufacturers use different key standards. Lastly WPA is a stronger form of wireless protection.

Anyway, the main point is that you will want to secure your wireless (if in fact you end up using the wireless.)


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: VioletSkye on 2006-06-23 23:45 ]</font>

[Blitzkommando]

I would like to note that those Wireless Ethernet Bridges tend to be rather pricy, especially in retail stores. The one I was forced into using for PSOGC was $100 locally.

If at all possible it is best to go wired as it is cheaper, has better speeds (Although 802.11g is very close, especially the signal boosted kind often called g+ or something like that) and doesn't drop randomly. My situation is rather strange and we are looking into getting it wired down to my level in the house but right now I am using 802.11g+ with MIMO signaling. Even with the '100+ foot range' I still get signals dropped even though the signal strength is excellent. I believe it is due to the fact that I live below surface level, surrounded on two sides by concrete that goes almost up to the ceiling.

Also, should you go wireless make sure you enable signal encryption. It simply makes your network less attractive to break into by other people who would have less than honorable intentions for your network.

I can also attest to VS's recommendation to purchasing a better modem and one without a router built in. It simply causes too many problems with all sorts of areas but especially with data transfers peer-to-peer (Gaming is a big part of this, not just file-sharing).

[Roken]

Thanks for the information Violet and Norvekh, I will probably get the wireless connection, even though some of the wireless adapters have privacy functions. Just going to keep it wired to avoid any future problems concerning that. But I'm going to be getting two routers for both the PS2 and PC. Hopefully I can get my PC upgraded just in case something happens to my PS2, but will only play on PC as a last resort.