ISDN Modems

[dowmun]

This subject may have been done to death, but I didn't see a post that answered my question. I have an ISDN line ( live in the country and it's the best I can get). I put it into a NETWORK RH340 router, and we have 4 computers working off it. It is flaky and has to be reset several times a day. I want to put FreeBSD on my slowest machine, and use it instead of the router. As I understand it, I will need an ISDN modem for that machine. We have network cards in all the machines. My questions are:
Would this be cheaper/better/worse than going out and buying another ISDN router? (This our third router, and I'm not too thrilled with them)
Any suggestions on an ISDN modem that would work with FreeBSD?
How hard would this be to set up (assuming it works), with three Window users screaming at me?

The following enter into the equation:
Money is very much a factor.
I am not the computer whiz I pretend to be.

Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions.
John

[elmore]

Well, I don't think it'll be worse that's for sure.

Here's a list of the supported ISDN interfaces in 5.1

http://www.freebsd.org/releases/5.1R/hardware-i386.html#AEN1842

Your current modem might even be supported, who knows.

To be perfectly honest though dowmon, this seems like a great task for OpenBSD. In particular with all the recent pf improvements (think altq).

That'll allow you to maximize your limited amount of bandwidth for sure. Although FreeBSD 5.1 has a pf implementation in the ports. I'm not sure if -RELEASE has altq merged in, I know -CURRENT does.

Take a look at the pf FAQ for more info, in particular about altq.

http://www.openbsd.org/faq/pf/index.html

[dowmun]

Thank you very much for the prompt reply. I will study the links you listed.
I will look into OpenBSD, although I know less about it than the other things I know little about.
Thanks again.
John

[|MiNi0n|]

ISDN, wow... it's been a while since I used that fun stuff :) The flakey modem sounds like a real issue. We used to use Ascend P50's (now owned by Lucent). I just checked ebay and there are a wealth of them on there for really affordable prices, that is perhaps another option for you.

[dowmun]

Thank you very much for the information.

We live 7 loads from the C.O., and ISDN is about our only option.
Thanks, John