bsc
Premium
join:2003-03-11
Lexington, KY
| reply to Former
Re: New InsightBB SAS Registration Address
I would venture to say that the biggest reason a MAC is needed on cable is that it acts like a username/pw since there is none for cable systems. In effect, it prevents theft of service; If a cable modem whose MAC isn't registered with Insight tries to acquire a public IP on the network, it is denied. This way your neighbor can't hook up on your line with a cable modem he bought and steal internet. Comcast does do this actually and so does every cable system because they must have that MAC address in order to properly provision your connection.
also, most DSL modems aren't routers.. (they aren't even modems technically.. since they aren't taking analog signal and making it into digital.. they take a digital signal and bridge it to your ethernet card). most DSL 'modems' are simply bridges. And DSL modems with router type services are more like a bridge with a switch attached internally (whether it be 1 port or 4 or whatever.) Some DSL modems these days are a little smarter than that and actually have a PPPoE client built in to them, so they wouldn't qualify as just a bridge. |
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SammySmith
join:2002-03-19
Decatur, IL | Doesn't the cable modem itself have a MAC? I would think the if the cable modem has a MAC, and configured for the purchased IP, then it should not matter what is connected to the ethernet port. |
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BeesTea
Network Janitor
Premium,VIP
join:2003-03-08
00000
| reply to bsc
said by bsc  :also, most DSL modems aren't routers.. (they aren't even modems technically.. since they aren't taking analog signal and making it into digital.. they take a digital signal and bridge it to your ethernet card). most DSL 'modems' are simply bridges. Technically a modem has nothing to do with analog or digital necessarily. It means modulator-demodulator. It converts one signal type to another. They might both be analog (like in a voice relay system), they might both be digital (like in DSL), or it may be both (like a dial-up data connection.
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Captain of the ATU Tux Racer Clan. |
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bsc
Premium
join:2003-03-11
Lexington, KY
1 edit | said by BeesTea :Technically a modem has nothing to do with analog or digital necessarily. It means modulator- demodulator. It converts one signal type to another. They might both be analog (like in a voice relay system), they might both be digital (like in DSL), or it may be both (like a dial-up data connection. I was refering to the case of dial-up modem where analog singnal on the line is convered into digital at either end for the computer/network.. but yes you are right ... technically ;p Either way, most DSL 'modems' are just dumb bridges
said by SammySmith :Doesn't the cable modem itself have a MAC? I would think the if the cable modem has a MAC, and configured for the purchased IP, then it should not matter what is connected to the ethernet port. Yes, I/we were talking about the MAC on the cable modem, not the PC or router. |
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SammySmith
join:2002-03-19
Decatur, IL | Unless Insight changed recently, they require MACs on both modem and ethernet devices. It is what is connected to the modem, I don't understand why they need the MAC |
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