[clue-tech] Qwest DSL

[Peter Kuykendall]

I had the Qwest / MSN DSL deal a couple of years ago.  I had the Actiontec (I think) DSL router.  It was $99 for the router, followed by a $99 rebate a couple of months later.  The monthly cost was about $29.

> 1. Will they let me (occasionally) ssh into my home server?  Any restrictions there?

No, they blocked inbound connections, but there was a workaround.  The Actiontec router is set up as a NAT box, and all of the port forwarding is turned off, and you can't turn it back on (it's only configurable under an admin password which you don't have).  So there are NO inbound connections allowed.

The workaround is to buy a hardware hack kit.  It adds the UART chip and connector to enable an RS-232 console port.  From there you can dump the flash, extract the administration password, then open up port forwarding via the web admin GUI.  You can probably buy one pre-hacked on EBay.  I'd give you mine but I already gave it to somebody else.

Once I hacked the router I was able to SSH into my machine just fine.  At the time they weren't blocking port 22 or killing the protocol.  But then, Comcast wasn't forging TCP RST packets at the time, either, so things may be different now.  I have not read anything about Qwest mucking with their customers' traffic.  Cox, Comcast, and many others are, so the arms race has started.


> 2. Should I use their modem or purchase another (suggestions on other models --- compatibility with Linux is a *major deal*).

If it is possible to get a model that does not require the hack to open it up, then get it.  Otherwise buy a pre-hacked Actiontec if you can find one.  Last resort is to buy the hack kit and modify your own unit.

> 3. How is the performance?

My deal was 256K up and 256K down, if I recall correctly.  It was very solid.  I don't remember ever having a problem with it in several years of use.

- Pete
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