[PLUG] Victor wants a reality check with regard to raspberry pi and ZyXEL C1100Z

Victor Soich vsoich at gmail.com
Fri Apr 1 07:13:10 UTC 2016


Hi all,

First, a bit of background....
I thought I lived in a comcast monopoly area, and just recently had a knock
on my door in S.E. Portland from a guy saying I could get centurylink
internet services.  I might make the plunge and pay 25 bucks a month for 40
Mbs download speed, unless I hear heavy criticism about centurylihk
service, as opposed to comcast.
If I take the plunge, then I have to go through the rigmarole of returning
a recently purchased docsys 3.0 comcast cable modem.

So...if I take the plunge, and return the comcast modem, then I have to get
a  ZyXEL C1100Z
<https://internethelp.centurylink.com/internethelp/modem-c1100z.html>
https://internethelp.centurylink.com/internethelp/modem-compatibility-table.html
https://internethelp.centurylink.com/internethelp/pdf/modems/datasheet-c1000z.pdf
http://www.amazon.com/C1100Z-802-11n-Wireless-Gateway-CenturyLink/dp/B015ELWZ16/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1459492620&sr=1-1&keywords=ZyXEL+C1100Z+Modem
http://www.amazon.com/Zyxel-C1000Z-Centurylink-performance-router/dp/B0074VKK26/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1459492620&sr=1-2&keywords=ZyXEL+C1100Z+Modem

So, I bought a raspberry pi.  I want to turn it into a wireless access
point.  I have to learn about ifconfig, and other tools.  That's fine.
Also, I want to make it into a DHCP server, so I have to learn how to
configure some files.  That's fine.
Also, I want to build a firewall, so I have to learn about the nft command,
which is some sort of successor to iptables.  That's fine.
I basically want my future raspberry pi to have the functionality of the
ZyXel C1100Z

The part I'm concerned about is the RJ11 wire that goes from the ZyXEL
C1100Z to something called a network terminal, that will let me access the
fiber optic line that may come to my house.  I hope I said that correctly
enough.

So can I get some sort of dohicky converter thingy (to use a technical
term!) to turn one of the usb ports on my raspberry pi into a "phone jack"
or "DSL" port...if I'm saying that right, and then install some sort of
software on the raspberry pi rasbian debian OS, that will let me
communicate with the network terminal.  Just like I need to possibly learn
how to recompile a kernel to make use of the nft tool, do I analogously
somehow put on some software on the raspberry pi, that in the end will make
my raspberry pi a complete replacement for the ZyXEL C1100Z....and thus
communicate through the RJ11 ( not ethernet ) port.

I want to do this for the learning of DHCP servers, wifi access points,
firewalls, et. al.  I just don't know if the DSL RJ11 parts is possible.
If it is not possilble, then I'll buy the ZyXEL C1100Z.  If it is possible,
then I'll rent the ZyXEL C1100Z, until I figure out how to replicate the
latter product on a raspberry pi.  If what I'm asking to try to do is
really stupid, and very involved, i.e. the DSL RJ11 part, not the other
stuff, then I'll just buy the ZyXELL C1100Z.  If I have to do things like
solder something, for example, then I'm out.

This all assumes that I'm not disabused of my notion of switching from
Comcast to CenturyLink in the first place.

So, while I may be a bit barbarous in my phrasing, I hope I was articulate
enough to get my point across.  So, should I just stick with comcast over
centurylink.  If I go with centurylink, can I implement the functionality
of the ZyXEL C1100Z DSL phone jack RJ11 in the raspberry pi, or is that
just dumb to do.

Thanks.

Sincerely,
Victor Soich



More information about the PLUG mailing list