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SBC/Yahoo DSL, Hubs, and Mac OS X?
John wishes to get to the core of this issue: "I recently had to move to SBC/Yahoo DSL due to the demise of DirecTV internet. This provider uses PPoE and dictates that users access the service through EnterNet Classic. The only configuration they support is a direct ethernet connection between the DSL modem and the Mac's built-in ethernet port. In order to access files on other home computers (not sharing Internet access however) and a printer, I would need to connect an ethernet hub between the modem and the Mac. Yet SBC does not support this configuration, which I believe wold be a very common setup. Does anyone know if there is a way to set up this layout and successfully connect via PPoE?"
Spend the $65 a month that the 5 static IP service costs. It's a good deal compared with other static IP options. No PPOE stuff to worry about, plus you can run your own servers.
If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
Sidebar: so obviously the Mac/EnterNet combination works, even though SBC doesn't "support" Macs. What that comes down to is they don't want the expense of hiring extra support people with Mac expertise. If you can get by with informal support from the Mac community, that's not a big deal. I found more than enough info online. Which says a lot, since I never work with Macs and am pretty ignorant of their basics.
I guess I've already answered your question, but I have to finish the story. We bought a Linksys Cable/DSL router with built-in PPoE, DHCP, and a password protected web server for administration. Just like SBC, LinkSys does not support Macs. I thought I could make it work without any handholding. In the end I was right, but a bit of pain and frustration intervened.
I wasted a lot of time trying to understand why the router shut down whenever connected to its web server. (One misleading theory was that there was some kind of security issue between the Sun Java running on the router and the Microsoft Java running on the Mac. Unfortunately I didn't have the disk space to install Mozilla.) After several hours of this, it finally dawned on me that the router was broken. Back to the store for a replacement, and things went smoothly after that.
Plugging in most of the machines (the PC and the OS 9 Macs) was pretty simple. Just needed a basic knowledge of DHCP as implemented on those platforms.
Plugging in the OS X machine was unreal! The system detected the DHCP server and configured itself without being told to. Instantly online.
I think there's an important implication here: don't bother with EnterNet. Get a router, even if you don't plan to share the connection. They're worth their cost just for the software that's built into them. And despite the "no Mac support" attitude of the manufacturers, they do play well with Macs. Just be sure to buy one from a physical store, in case it turns out to be DOA.
I do this same thing. I have my Airport connected to the DLink and then to the router.
:P
The ONLY thing I don't like about this situation is that I don't think the DLink was intended to be a fulltime device. After about 2 days it becomes unbearably slow and I have to reboot it. It only takes a few seconds (and then a minute for my computers to figure out it needs to rerequest an IP...should just go dedicated behind the NAT) and then everything is fine.
Still, for the price, I strongly suggest a DLink...I only paid $15 with a mail-in rebate
clif
Same here. I setup a Linksys Wireless router/firewall with Yahoo/SBC and a Mac. However, we didn't have to do the PPPoE thing, but I know the Linksys supports it. The annoying thing about the setup I did is that SBC assigns you an internal IP address (not routable on the net), so there's NO chance of sharing files. Kinda sucks IMHO.
Fortunately, for myself, I have SBC's 5 static IP service. Costs a little more ($15 difference), but I don't have to mess with the funky crap they pull on dynamic IP users. Well worth the extra $15.
-Alex