I just got my first look at this beast today… Its slightly bigger than an ADSL filter.

It also has just 2 connectors:

• A usb connector (where it also gets its power)
• A standard phone socket

I don’t like it when modems don’t have ethernet connectors… it eventually leads to problems (although I shouldn’t complain, as it means more work for me)

Anyway, the ISP (Dodo) just ships the modem, with no instructions on what to do.

I just follow the dlink install CD & install the usb driver… then after experimenting with the settings (Dodo didn’t say what the VPI/VCI etc settings should be), and installing filters, I eventually get a solid ‘link’.

But how do I enter the ADSL username and password?

With most modems, its easy enough to figure out the modems IP network address, and then point a browser at this address (ie something like: http://10.0.0.138). After that, you just browse the modem menus and complete various details (particularly the username and password).

There is no indication, in the manual, on how to do this. Calling Dodo would be as exciting and useful as watching grass grow (and emailing them is not much better).

So I tell the customer (a neighbour) to try to contact Dodo, and I’ll do some research and get back to him.

I quickly find an excellent guide on the dlink website: dlink technical support. It even has hints for most major ISPs in Australia!

The bottom line is: the modem is setup like a dialup modem! You need to enter your username an password on the dialup window, with a weird ‘phone number’ (0,35)

I’m not sure I like this… It’s probably ok for people who are used to dial-up networking, as there is no learning curve. But I don’t like the lack of firewall, filtering, security, etc

However, I’m comfortable connecting to the internal configuration pages of most ADSL modems, and having complete control over all the modem features… this is just so different… but its probably dirt-cheap for dlink to make, so I guess I’ll be seeing more of these wacky modems in the future 🙁

Anyway, the customer gets the modem going, but spend a few days “connecting and disconnecting” just like using a dial-up modem, until someone tells him he doesn’t need to do that… just leave it connected all the time… this is just another confusing aspect that most dial-up users will encounter with this modem.