Differences seen for ethernet-broadband net-connections

[David Cook]

I maintain and troubleshoot a number of Win-XP
systems. As a result, as you might imagine,
DIFFERENT people have done the initial setups.

Let's consider just the customers who are
all CONCEPTUALLY setup the same way:
(i.e. using a cat5-wired connection to a router/cable-modem
and have Comcast as their ISP).

Now clearly, some installers use the 'Comcast-provided'
CDROM, and others (like myself) do not.

However, here's what bothers me: When I look at the
'network connection' section from control-panel, on SOME
machines I'll see an 'extra' (unneeded?) BROADBAND
section, but on others I do not. (If I did the setup, the BROADBAND
section will NOT be there.)

So, where's this BROADBAND section coming from? And, more
importantly, is the internal linkage sigficantly different?

TIA...

Dave

 

[Chuck]

I maintain and troubleshoot a number of Win-XP
systems. As a result, as you might imagine,
DIFFERENT people have done the initial setups.

Let's consider just the customers who are
all CONCEPTUALLY setup the same way:
(i.e. using a cat5-wired connection to a router/cable-modem
and have Comcast as their ISP).

Now clearly, some installers use the 'Comcast-provided'
CDROM, and others (like myself) do not.

However, here's what bothers me: When I look at the
'network connection' section from control-panel, on SOME
machines I'll see an 'extra' (unneeded?) BROADBAND
section, but on others I do not. (If I did the setup, the BROADBAND
section will NOT be there.)

So, where's this BROADBAND section coming from? And, more
importantly, is the internal linkage sigficantly different?

TIA...

Dave

Dave,

I believe that the Broadband Connection is the UPnP entry for the NAT router,
seen from a computer with UPnP enabled. UPnP is a controversial service, having
attracted the attention of networking security Steve Gibson.
http://grc.com/UnPnP/UnPnP.htm
And the US Government
http://www.us-cert.gov/federal/archive/advisories/FA-2001-37.html

Get Steve's UPnP utility, and try it on one or more computers. See if your
mysterious Broadband section appears or disappears.

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

Dave,

I believe that the Broadband Connection is the UPnP entry for the NAT router,
seen from a computer with UPnP enabled. UPnP is a controversial service, having
attracted the attention of networking security Steve Gibson.
http://grc.com/UnPnP/UnPnP.htm
And the US Government
http://www.us-cert.gov/federal/archive/advisories/FA-2001-37.html

Get Steve's UPnP utility, and try it on one or more computers. See if your
mysterious Broadband section appears or disappears.

Chuck, on my computers the router's UPnP entry appears under the
heading "Internet Gateway", not under "Broadband".

Dave, the only time that I've seen a "Broadband" connection is with
DSL services that use PPPoE. The New Connection Wizard creates a
"Broadband" connection if you tell it that you "connect using a
broadband connection that requires a user name and password". Perhaps
the Comcast software mistakenly makes that setting. What do you see
if you right-click that connection and click Properties?
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

 

[David Cook]

Steve -

Ah, yes, it makes more sense that the BROADBAND icon (in Internet
Connections)
is associated with PPPoE (e.g. DSL). I do see alot of DSL systems these
days, too.

It is the 'Internet Gateway' icon (in Network Connections) that will
exist for
certain routers (such as Microsoft's model MN-700). And, I think I proved
to
myself yesterday that this extra 'Internet Gateway' icon will show up ONLY
if
you install the 'extra' stuff from the CDROM that comes with the MN-700
router.
(I wired up the MN-700 temporarily back at house, replacing my D-Link
router.
This was just to independently TEST a customer's MN-700 router.)

The MN-700 worked just fine (and without the stuff on its CDROM). So,
I've
concluded that the CDROM extra software is 'OPTIONAL', as long as you have
no need to 'poke holes in the INCOMING side of its builtin FIREWALL'. (e.g.
for very special cases such as wanting to run a WEB-SERVER on the
inside/home-network
and allow OUTSIDERS to use the web-server.) It appears to just be a
DIFFERENT
packaging of this router/firewall functionality, than all the other vendors
of router/firewall/access-point
boxes. (Good old Microsoft...they just 'love' to be different.)

HTH...

Dave