ADSL PPPoE connection - annex a vs. annex b

Hi all,

the admins may excuse me in case that I am posting a duplicate question, but actually I could not find any related threads here.

My general problem is, that I am trying to get a ADSL connection working via ADSL router with PPPoE, where the credentials are entered directly into the router. The connection is now working only via "dialing" from windows. I would like to change that to a persistent internet connection and above that I would like to set up a wireless network.
Currently I am working with two different routers. The working one is a router with 1 ethernet port not no wifi (simple router). It is set up to bridge mode.
The second one is a adsl router from T-COM (DSL-2641R) which I found somewhere and I was trying to simply enter the credentials into it and waited for connection, but he DSL led did not stop to blink. In other words, it could get no connection, or authentication, whatever.
I tried to copy all the settings from the simple router to this one, but with no major effect. Of course I tried to update firmware, reset, another firmware, another hundreds of resets..
The only part I could not set up were the MAC address, which eventually could be registered with the ISP from the previous device, and the other one was the ANNEX. From the box of the simple router I can read "Annex A". The DSL-2641R router has only Annex B and others instead.
My question is, if this annex can have such impact on acquiring connection. I read about it on wiki and ohter pages, but those were only technical information. Nothing in the kind "Annex A won't work with B" and so on.
Or am I completely misunderstanding the DSL and how it works and the part I am trying to move from Windows (the dialing) to the routers interface can't be set up at all.
Just for information, this DSL connection is not my own, I am setting that up for relatives. The quality of the connection could be the ADSL over POTS (Annex A) what I have noticed so far.

Thank you for advices!
Filip.

Annex B is for ADSL over ISDN, which we do not implement in the UK.

So - it won't work.

I'm pretty sure you're not in the UK as in the UK we don't normally have separate ADSL modem and router (unless you've bought a Draytek 120 or similar). No UK ADSL ISP requires the MAC of the router to be registered either, neither does Virgin Media cable. (Its possible Smallworld cable might in Scotland / IoW).

If you're in Germany for example where ISDN digital phone lines have been around for years, its quite possible you have ADSL using Annex B. In the UK we don't support ADSL on anything other than analogue POTS (plain old telephone system) lines using Annex A.

If you have a separate ADSL modem and router, the modem generally won't do any PPP authentication - the router will need to have an Ethernet WAN port (e.g. the Billion 7800's EWAN port, or the Draytek 2830's WAN2 port) and you enter the user ID and password into the Billion or Draytek.

good luck.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

No UK ADSL ISP requires the MAC of the router to be registered either, neither does Virgin Media cable. (Its possible Smallworld cable might in Scotland / IoW).

Yes they do i belive, several times after a package change/service outage ive had a webpage come up saying welcome and asking to wait while they provision the service. I belive this is due to the network no longer reconiseing the modem off the bat as it where and needing to be reregistered.

This is in carlisle (cumbria/north england) btw

In reply to a post by omnius:

Yes they do i belive, several times after a package change/service outage ive had a webpage come up saying welcome and asking to wait while they provision the service. I belive this is due to the network no longer reconiseing the modem off the bat as it where and needing to be reregistered.
This is in carlisle (cumbria/north england) btw

Thanks for confirming Smallworld has MAC registration. Virgin registers the Mac of the cable modem (or always did).

I didn't realise Smallworld was available south of the border

You are using a foreign router, DSL-2641R, in the UK (I presume).

The UK version is DSL-2640R.