Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Setup BSNL EVDO Modem in Linux

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1. Plug in the modem 
2. Open a terminal and login to the root user account (use the command su).
3. Execute the command:
# lsusb
4. Output will be something like:
Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 1131:1001 Integrated System Solution Corp. KY-BT100 Bluetooth Adapter
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 05c6:6000 Qualcomm, Inc.
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
The second last line is what we are interested in:
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 05c6:6000 Qualcomm, Inc
The modem manufacturer is Qualcomm Inc. Note the USB device corresponding to it.
Here, 05c6 (in hexadecimal) is the Vendor ID and 6000 (again n hexadecimal) is the product ID. Note them down.
5. Execute the command:
# modprobe usbserial vendor=0x05c6 product=0x6000
The command is in the format:
# modprove usbserial vendor=0x<your_vendor_id> product=0x<your_product_id>
6. Execute the command:
# cd /dev# ls ttyUSB*
If there is a device with name ttyUSB0 then the modem has been recognized. Else, retry the above steps.

7. To configure the the dialler(the wvdial dialler is used), execute the command:
# wvdialconf /etc/wvdial.conf
NOTE: This command will work only if the wvdial is already installed. This dialler is part of most Linux distros (mandriva, ubuntu, fedora or openSUSE etc). If wvdial is not present, there should be some other dialler like kppp installed.
A file wvdial.conf will be created in the /etc directory. Execute the command to edit it:
For KDE users
# kwrite /etc/wvdial.conf
For Gnome Users
# gedit /etc/wvdial.conf
Change the file contents to:
[Dialer Defaults]
Init1 = ATZ
Init2 = ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
Modem = /dev/ttyUSB0
Phone = #777
Idle Seconds = 7200
Modem Type = Analog Modem
Stupid Mode = 1
Compuserve = 0
Baud = 921600
Auto DNS = 1
Dial Command = ATDT
Ask Password = 0
ISDN = 0
Password = 
Username = 
For example, if the username and password are 1234567 & 1234, then the file would look like:
[Dialer Defaults]
Init1 = ATZ
Init2 = ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
Modem = /dev/ttyUSB0
Phone = #777
Idle Seconds = 7200
Modem Type = Analog Modem
Stupid Mode = 1
Compuserve = 0
Baud = 921600
Auto DNS = 1
Dial Command = ATDT
Ask Password = 0
ISDN = 0
Password = 1234567
Username = 1234
8. Execute the command to dial up and connect to the internet:
# wvdial
DO not close the window as it would close the connection(better minimize it). And when you need to disconnect, press CTRL + C inside the window.
In case of problem, just add comment to this blog or mail me with the problem.

at 11:01 PM Posted by nasweef

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Sunday, March 29, 2009

BSNL EVDO service review

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I've been using BSNL EVDO for the last 2 months. It was pretty hard to get my hands on one - as there was a shortage of EVDO USB equipment. The tariffs BSNL proposed were also awesome - Rs.500 for 2.1 Mbps unlimited connection. I had two options - one buy the device or get it for rent. As I had heard that the service provided for the device is pretty bad, I decided to go for renting. So monthly charges became 750 (Rs. 250 as rent).
When I got one in my hands I was pretty impressed - a sleek little devide, slightly larger than a match box. The package also contained a 1 X 2 USB connector (might be for USB 1.0) and a mini CD. Plugging in the device is pretty simple - but XP does not identify the device. I put in the CD and installed the software provided - that's the drivers plus a dialing software for connecting to the network.
The dialler is pretty good - shows the signal strength too. The speeds available will depend on the signal strength you get - as the BSNL CDMA tower is within a couple of KMs from my place that was not an issue. Setting up the connection is also straight forward. The right side of the application has buttons - the second last one being for settings (u'll hv to scroll down for tht).

The username is the localcode+phonenumber, the code without the initial zero.(The code should be of the place you took the connection). The password is the last four digits of your phone number. Clicking the globe on the top left authenticates and connects to the network. The connection and network status are shown on the display (with BSNL logo on the background). Double clicking on the display swithces it to a graphical plot of data rates.
Review
After I have used BSNL EVDO for 2 months, Iam pretty impressed, thouhh not comlpetely aware of the BSNL customer service for EVDO (actually there have been no need to contact them till now). The speeds are pretty good - it does not reach anywhere near the offered 2.1 Mbps speed. as seen in the image above, Max Rate is 994 kbps - thats the maximum speed attained so far. I have been able to get speeds to about 1200 kbps. As it is a wireless service the speeds are fluctuating as u can see in the graph. But that does not affect the service quality too much. Downloads have speeds above 100KBps quite often. 
Compared to wired connections with unlimited data limits, the EVDO is a better option. 256 kbps unlimited service costs you around Rs 750. EVDO provides around 1Mbps around the same price. And being portable is a plus. The drawback currently being the coverage for the EVDO service. In India BSNL EVDO service is available only in cities and towns. But, the coverage will pick up within a year and as demand picks up.
TataIndicom and Reliance have also started their EVDO service - with the bandwidth being offered at 3.1Mbps. Compared to BSNL, this is better in terms of raw speed. But the tariffs offered is not anywhere near that of BSNL. It costs you around Rs.2 for an MB of data transfer. There are unlimited options, but the monthly rate being above Rs. 1K and the unlimited data transfer packs having a data limit of 10GB per month. Above that 1MB is charged as Rs 2. 
Conclusion
If anyone is within 5kms of the BSNL EVDO tower, then this service is their best bet ( The only other option that might be better is BSNL night unlimited with speeds of 2Mbps). It provides great speeds at a cheap price.
More Details
Tariff
Availability
Currently the cities covering EVDO are:
Kerala 
- Alleppy - Calicut  - Ernakulam - Malapuram
- Kannur  - Karaikal - Kilvelur  - Palaghat
- Kollam  - Kottayam - Trichur - Pathanamthitta
- Trivandrum

 Andhra Pradesh
- Hyderabad - Vijayawada - Vishakapatnam
- Guntur

- Ahmedabad - Anantapur - Assam - Bangalore - Bhopal  - Bhubaneswar - Bokaro - Coimbatore - Dhanbad
- Erode - Indore - Indrapuram - Jaipur  - Jamshedpur  - Kanchipuram - Kaushambi  - Lucknow
- Ludhiana  - Meerut - Nachiyarkoil - Nasik   - Patna    - Puducherry  - Pune  - Rajkot
- Ranchi - Salem - Surat - Kurnool - Tirunelveli - Vaishali Region of Ghaziabad
- Vasundhra
http://keralatelecom.com/Broadband/evdo.asp
http://chennai.bsnl.co.in/News/EVDO.htm

at 2:15 PM Posted by nasweef

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Saturday, March 28, 2009

PAE issue with AMD phenom

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After a resent system crash, I had to re-install winXP (Iam still on XP - vista be damned!). And after that my system was rebooting at random - within 5 minutes of startup. I removed one of the two 2GB RAM modules and rebooted. Hollaa!!! everything ok.
I rechecked the system configurations and found "Physical Address Extension"  on system properties. I had heard about PAE before - its something to remap the memory addresses for 32-bit systems - for them, the total addressable memory is 4GB. Some part of the addressable space would be used for other hardwares. So on using 4GB RAM, only around 3GB would be available. To access the rest, PAE should be enabled (with supporting hardware).
This is what MS says about PAE: 

PAE is an Intel-provided memory address extension that enables support of greater than 4 GB of physical memory for most 32-bit (IA-32) Intel Pentium Pro and later platforms.
The PAE kernel is not enabled by default for systems that can support more than 4 GB of RAM.To boot the system and utilize PAE memory, the /PAE switch must be added to the corresponding entry in the Boot.ini file. If a problem should arise, Safe Mode may be used, which causes the system to boot using the normal kernel (support for only 4 GB of RAM) even if the /PAE switch is part of the Boot.ini file.
The PAE mode kernel requires an Intel Architecture processor, Pentium Pro or later, more than 4 GB of RAM, and Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003.
The PAE kernel can be enabled automatically without the /PAE switch present in the boot entry if the system has DEP enabled (/NOEXECUTE switch is present) or the system processor supports hardware-enforced DEP. Presence of the /NOEXECUTEswitch on a system with a processor that supports hardware-enforced DEP implies the /PAE switch. If the system processor is capable of hardware-enforced DEP and the /NOEXECUTE switch is not present in the boot entry, Windows assumes/NOEXECUTE=optin by default and enables PAE mode.

Now I had to find out how PAE is enabled and disabled in XP - and that too was there on the same page . This is what it said:

Enabling PAE
Locate the Boot.ini file, which is typically in the root folder (for example, C:/) and remove its Read-Only and Hidden attributes. 

  • Locate the Boot.ini file, which is typically in the root folder (for example, C:/) and remove its Read-Only and Hidden attributes.
  • Open the Boot.ini file with a text editor, and then add the /PAE parameter to the ARC path, as shown in the following example: 
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2) \WINNT="Windows ???? Datacenter Server" /PAE /basevideo /sos
  • On the File menu, click Save. 
  • Restore the Read-Only attribute to the Boot.ini file.
Disabling PAE
Disable PAE by removing the /PAE parameter in the Boot.ini file. If you must disable PAE but your system processor supports hardware-enforced DEP, add /NOPAE /NOEXECUTE=alwaysoff to your Boot.ini file. Note: This will disable the DEP feature on your computer.

I changed boot.ini and rebooted the system with the whole 4GB RAM - and now everything works damn good!

at 12:56 PM Posted by nasweef

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