moving from Verizon DSL to Verizon FIOS

[Max Pyziur]

Greetings,

Have a box running FC2 which I use as a home server. I setup using an FAQ 
found on the tldp.org, using two NICs hooked to a Verizon-provided DSL 
modem.

Verizon is wiring the neighborhood and premises (building complex in NYC) 
for FIOS with a vengeance. As yet, no TV service is offered, though there 
are parts of NJ and Long Island which have this service already.

Once TV service is available (and competitive with cable) I'd like to flip 
from copper to fiberoptic and keeping a Fedora box to the duty of a 
router.

Any suggestions, links in this regard?

Thanks.

Max Pyziur
pyz(a)brama.com

[Amadeus W.M.]

On Sat, 22 Mar 2008 13:50:15 -0400, Max Pyziur wrote:

>  Greetings,
>  
>  Have a box running FC2 which I use as a home server. I setup using an
>  FAQ found on the tldp.org, using two NICs hooked to a Verizon-provided
>  DSL modem.
>  
>  Verizon is wiring the neighborhood and premises (building complex in
>  NYC) for FIOS with a vengeance. As yet, no TV service is offered, though
>  there are parts of NJ and Long Island which have this service already.
>  
>  Once TV service is available (and competitive with cable) I'd like to
>  flip from copper to fiberoptic and keeping a Fedora box to the duty of a
>  router.
>  
>  Any suggestions, links in this regard?
>  
>  Thanks.
>  
>  Max Pyziur
>  pyz(a)brama.com 

I have had FIOS for two years now in MD and I can tell it's outstanding. 
Nothing can beat that (business class T3 and such is faster, but costs 
way more). I never had a single network problem. The speed is fantastic. 
I could have gotten tv speeds too (30M download, IIRC), but I don't watch 
much tv, so I got the cheapest plan. For $35/mo I get 5M download 2M 
upload (yes, that's right, 2M upload!). Compare that with some 4-5M 
download and a whopping 30k upload for $60/mo with Comcast or the like. 
Right after I installed it I wanted to upgrade to the next better plan 
($40/mo for 15/2 M). I never bothered though. 

The speed is very good, the price is too and the network is super stable. 
What more can I ask for?

One thing Verizon does though is block the incoming http traffic, which 
means you can't run an http server on your machine and have people read 
your blog, say. First I thought they only block ports 80 and/or 8080, so 
I tried running httpd on a different, obscure port. No go. They ain't 
stooped. They block the http packets regardless of the destination port. 
The only way to beat that is through an ssh tunnel. 


Oh, and as for tv, there's hulu: www.hulu.com. Not a whole lot yet, and 
certainly no live games, but worth mentioning and keeping an eye on.

[Amadeus W.M.]

>  
>  You get what you pay for.
>   
I think what you get is pretty good for what you pay. 


>  They have business services too and these rates also look pretty
> good:
>  http://www22.verizon.com/content/businessfios/packagesandprices/
packagesandprices.htm
>  They aren't in my area so I don't have the service, but
> I'd guess that
>  even with the home/dynamic IP version they probably provide some hosted
>  web space like Comcast does so you don't need to run a server from home.
>     If not, there are plenty of places that will host a blog.
>   
Oh, they do provide web hosting. The only thing I would have liked to be 
able to access my http server remotely was for streaming images from my 
house to work. But the baby goes to day care now so it's not that 
critical anymore, and when I do leave on vacation I keep an eye on my 
house through an ssh tunnel. Other than that, I don't really care for 
blogs, it was just an example.

[Les Mikesell]

Bruno Wolff III wrote:
>  
> > The speed is very good, the price is too and the network is super stable. 
> > What more can I ask for?
>  
>  The freedom to use it. 
You get what you pay for.

> > One thing Verizon does though is block the incoming http traffic,
> which 
> > means you can't run an http server on your machine and have people read 
> > your blog, say. First I thought they only block ports 80 and/or 8080, so 
> > I tried running httpd on a different, obscure port. No go. They ain't 
> > stooped. They block the http packets regardless of the destination port. 
> > The only way to beat that is through an ssh tunnel. 
>  
>  I can't see how the service is outstanding when they are blocking ports.
>  Is that something you have to pay extra to have them stop, or can you
>  tell them you know what you are doing and don't need to be protected from
>  having your machines added to a botnet? 
They have business services too and these rates also look pretty good:
http://www22.verizon.com/content/businessfios/packagesandprices/packagesa...
They aren't in my area so I don't have the service, but I'd guess that 
even with the home/dynamic IP version they probably provide some hosted 
web space like Comcast does so you don't need to run a server from home. 
   If not, there are plenty of places that will host a blog.

-- 
   Les Mikesell
    lesmikesell(a)gmail.com

[Gene Heskett]

On Monday 24 March 2008, Amadeus W.M. wrote:
> On Sat, 22 Mar 2008 13:50:15 -0400, Max Pyziur wrote:
> > Greetings,
> >
> > Have a box running FC2 which I use as a home server. I setup using an
> > FAQ found on the tldp.org, using two NICs hooked to a Verizon-provided
> > DSL modem.
> >
> > Verizon is wiring the neighborhood and premises (building complex in
> > NYC) for FIOS with a vengeance. As yet, no TV service is offered, though
> > there are parts of NJ and Long Island which have this service already.
> >
> > Once TV service is available (and competitive with cable) I'd like to
> > flip from copper to fiberoptic and keeping a Fedora box to the duty of a
> > router.
> >
> > Any suggestions, links in this regard?
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > Max Pyziur
> > pyz(a)brama.com
>
> I have had FIOS for two years now in MD and I can tell it's outstanding.
> Nothing can beat that (business class T3 and such is faster, but costs
> way more). I never had a single network problem. The speed is fantastic.
> I could have gotten tv speeds too (30M download, IIRC), but I don't watch
> much tv, so I got the cheapest plan. For $35/mo I get 5M download 2M
> upload (yes, that's right, 2M upload!). Compare that with some 4-5M
> download and a whopping 30k upload for $60/mo with Comcast or the like.
> Right after I installed it I wanted to upgrade to the next better plan
> ($40/mo for 15/2 M). I never bothered though.
>
> The speed is very good, the price is too and the network is super stable.
> What more can I ask for?
>
> One thing Verizon does though is block the incoming http traffic, which
> means you can't run an http server on your machine and have people read
> your blog, say. First I thought they only block ports 80 and/or 8080, so
> I tried running httpd on a different, obscure port. No go. They ain't
> stooped. They block the http packets regardless of the destination port.
> The only way to beat that is through an ssh tunnel.
>  
My local tests seem to indicate otherwise, only port 80 is blocked coming into 
here by vz DSL.
> Oh, and as for tv, there's hulu: www.hulu.com. Not a whole lot yet, and
> certainly no live games, but worth mentioning and keeping an eye on. 


-- 
Cheers, Gene
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
QOTD:
	"In the shopping mall of the mind, he's in the toy department."

[Bruno Wolff III]

On Tue, Mar 25, 2008 at 03:27:21 +0000,
  "Amadeus W.M." <amadeus84(a)verizon.net&gt; wrote:
>  
>  I have had FIOS for two years now in MD and I can tell it's outstanding. 
>  Nothing can beat that (business class T3 and such is faster, but costs 
>  way more). I never had a single network problem. The speed is fantastic. 
>  I could have gotten tv speeds too (30M download, IIRC), but I don't watch 
>  much tv, so I got the cheapest plan. For $35/mo I get 5M download 2M 
>  upload (yes, that's right, 2M upload!). Compare that with some 4-5M 
>  download and a whopping 30k upload for $60/mo with Comcast or the like. 
>  Right after I installed it I wanted to upgrade to the next better plan 
>  ($40/mo for 15/2 M). I never bothered though. 
>  The speed is very good, the price is too and the network is super stable. 
>  What more can I ask for? 
The freedom to use it.
 
>  One thing Verizon does though is block the incoming http traffic,
> which 
>  means you can't run an http server on your machine and have people read 
>  your blog, say. First I thought they only block ports 80 and/or 8080, so 
>  I tried running httpd on a different, obscure port. No go. They ain't 
>  stooped. They block the http packets regardless of the destination port. 
>  The only way to beat that is through an ssh tunnel.  
I can't see how the service is outstanding when they are blocking ports.
Is that something you have to pay extra to have them stop, or can you
tell them you know what you are doing and don't need to be protected from
having your machines added to a botnet?