Re: OpenBSD as SDSL router replacement?

[Jens Ropers <ropers_(_at_)_ropersonline_(_dot_)_com>]

On 10 Feb 2005, at 16:11, L. V. Lammert wrote:

> > Well... I'm on an SDSL connection --128kbps up and down-- and my
> > connection is via PPPoE, which _does_ require authentication.
> What you have sounds like IDSL - an ISDSN connected to a DSLAM to 
> obtain
> utilization of the entire bandwidth. If it *is* only 128Kbps, it also
> could be a plain ISDN line;

Nah. It /is/ an "A"DSL _line_, but throttled at the ISPs server to the 
symmetric 128/128 speeds -- as I wrote before. I know, because I used 
it as an ADSL line before and then decided to switch to this cheaper 
tariff which didn't involve any hardware changes -- I'm still using the 
same DSL modem and PPPoE.

> It may be symetric, but it is definately not an SDSL connection, as
> offerred by SDSL vendors in the states. YMMV internationally, of 
> course.

Ah, you see, I'm based in Germany.
So it's of course interesting --and important-- to get the terminology 
right.

The question is:
Apart from peculiarities specific to just the US national 
communications market, does the acronym SDSL really simply mean 
"synchronous digital subscriber line" and as such, could it possibly 
--in various countries-- pertain to a number of different 
technologies/offerings, as long as they are digital subscriber lines 
and symmetrical *OR* --again, internationally, without looking too much 
at what's a frequent feature of the comms market of any single 
country-- is the term SDSL really a term of the trade that's defined to 
specifically refer to a particular technology (which also just so 
happens to be symmetric and DSL)?

I acknowledge that sometimes super-national terminology just doesn't 
exist (yet) and terms just mean different things in different countries 
(which can be a source of confusion).

Thanks and regards,
ropers

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